This week it was announced that Minnesota author Kelly Barnhill won the Newbery Medal for her book The Girl Who Drank The Moon.
This article from the St. Cloud Times describes the plot of the book, in which a village fears a witch that lives in the nearby woods and to keep her happy (so they think) they bring a newborn baby to her forest each year. But the witch is actually good, and brings the babies to be with families on the other side of the woods.
In the article, Barnhill shares how the book can easily translate to real life situations for her young readers: “This notion of rumor spreading and of getting the wrong idea about a person,” she said, “that’s like real stuff for these kids, that’s what their life is like right now.” Barnhill is a teacher in Minneapolis for a nonprofit arts organization, and really enjoys interacting with the kids that read her books, and hearing how they interpret the story.
Fox Animation has acquired the rights to The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Barnhill looks forward to the interpretation into film.
Looking for a great Continuing Education opportunity? Another of Minnesota’s multitypes is hosting a webinar specifically for librarians!
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Early literacy and love of reading is so important, and has lifelong benefits for young readers. In order to encourage this, libraries and parents can participate in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program! Reading 1,000 books sounds impressive, and it definitely is! But as their website explains, it’s completely achievable:
Each month CMLE will highlight three books that have some factor in common. We hope they will give you ideas for your collection, or influence an activity, lesson plan, or display.