Time to Celebrate!

by Judy Newman

I always get the blahs in January. The holidays are over. My New Year’s resolutions kick in, which means less chocolate chip ice cream and more salad, and shutting off the TV after watching only one episode of BBC’s Call the Midwife—not two—so I can go to bed at a decent hour. At Scholastic Book Clubs during January, we speak with teachers all over the country who are starting to dread the “season of testing” they need to prepare their students for in the spring. It’s a blah time for them and for me.

Fortunately, February comes along with lots of things to celebrate and book titles to get kids reading: Groundhog Day (Groundhog Gets a Say by Pamela Curtis Swallow, illustrated by Denise Brunkus); Valentine’s Day (Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Paul Yalowitz); and Presidents’ Day (Clifford for President by Acton Figueroa, illustrated by Tom LaPadula).

These holidays come once a year and my experience in children’s book publishing is that most of the sales of holiday-themed titles happen around the holidays themselves. I guess kids and their grown-ups are more interested in reading about groundhogs, valentines, and presidents in February than they are other times of the year. As part of our mission to help all teachers get all kids excited about books and reading, during February at Scholastic Book Clubs we follow the collective wisdom and feature titles that tie into these days of celebration.

February is also Black History Month and while February is a good month to celebrate wonderful titles about Black lives, history, and culture, it is also a good time to remind everyone that wonderful books about Black lives, history, and culture need to be available, promoted, and shared all year long, not just in February.

Supporting a robust collection of diverse books offered through Scholastic Book Clubs is a major part of my colleague, Sharon Corbin’s job and her passion. At Scholastic Book Clubs, Sharon manages the Voices Book Club catalog which comes out in print twice a year, showcasing titles which are available all year long through Scholastic Book Clubs.

Sharon and her colleague, Traci Swain, also manage Scholastic Book Clubs’ Black Educator Advisory Board, 15 classroom teachers from across the U.S. who meet bimonthly to share ideas for how to introduce all their students to a diverse range of the best children’s books.

In addition to recommending and discussing new and classic books, each month teachers from the advisory board create on-location videos about some of their favorite titles to share with teachers and students. So far this school year, members of the advisory board have created wonderful videos of the following books:

I Promise
by LeBron James, illustrated by Nina Mata 

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James

Through My Eyes
by Ruby Bridges

I Color Myself Different
by Colin Kaepernick, illustrated by Eric Wilkerson

Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking
Stream of Inventions
by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate

I urge you to watch these videos. They are interesting and engaging and help bring books to life.

I am grateful that February has rolled around once again and we can introduce all children to wonderful new books to inspire their imaginations, help them learn about the world around them, and develop their self-confidence as readers.

I welcome any suggestions for book titles you’d recommend we add to our February lists.Please email me at judy.newman@Scholastic.com any time.

Happy Reading!

xx
Judy

Judy Newman is President and Reader-in-Chief of Scholastic Book Clubs. For more information, visit judynewmanatscholastic.com.