School Library Advocacy Continues

Everyday now, we hear more depressing news about cuts to education and school libraries. In the midst of it all, we need to remember to keep on advocating and keep being positive.

Here's a couple of positives I just heard today:

• LASLA, the library group within Los Angeles Unified School District, is hosting a booth called "Ask a Librarian" at the Festival of Books at UCLA this weekend. Yesterday, they got so many visitors signing letters asking to restore library funding, that they ran out of copies and had to send someone to photocopy more. Way to go, LASLA!
• Marie Slim sent an email to the CALIBK12 listserv letting us know about a great new advocacy logo donated by illustrator Kazu Kibuishi. You can find it on the School Library Advocacy wiki Marie set up. Many thanks to Pat Nelson of Mrs. Nelson's Toy & Bookshop for contacting authors and illustrators and getting us great images for our campaigns. That's Kazu Kibuishi's art you see in this posting, and you can get it and information about him at this wiki page. Thank you to Kazu Kibuishi and to all the book illustrators who donated their work to the school library cause. 

While I was at the Festival of Books yesterday, one stop I made was the Target Stage where I heard Jacky Davis and David Soman (husband & wife  author/illustrator team) read from their delightful new book Ladybug Girl at the Beach, and I was able to have them sign the book for me.  I was lucky to win a piece of artwork for the book signed by David Soman at CSLA Southern Section's Silent Auction at our workshop March 27, and I wanted to get a signed copy of the book to go with the art. Here they are on the stage with a life-sized Ladybug Girl :)