15 Ways to be a Great Literary Citizen

 

Literary citizenship goes beyond just wanting a literary career. It’s about being an active, supportive participant in the writing community.

Don’t worry! You don’t have to have a big budget to be a great literary citizen. In fact, most of us cannot run to our favorite bookstores every week (or every month!) to buy the latest book we're excited about. Fortunately, there are many free ways to partake in serving as a stellar literary citizen. That's right! No matter your background or socioeconomic situation ★ you belong to this community ★ and you can engage. Here is a list of both big-budget, budget-crunching, and free ways to participate. Find what fits for you!

1.       Check out and review books from your library

2.      Read, read, read!

3.      Request that your library purchase a book for their collection. Most libraries have a “purchase request” or “suggest a purchase” form for members to fill out. All you need to do is google is your library’s name along with the words, “suggest a purchase.” Here’s more advice from EverydayReading.

4.      Shop indie! Indie bookstores and your local Barnes and Noble are packed with employees who love reading and will guide you to your next great book. Frommers created this fun list of indiebookstores across America. Bookstores I particularly love include TheWandering Jellyfish in Niwot, Colorado; Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Colorado, BookBar Denver, Tattered Cover, and Second Star to the Right in Denver, Colorado, and Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona. Please support indies by telling me about your favorite bookstore in the comment section below!

5.     
Attend a book launch party, reading, or signing! Your bookstore probably has a monthly list featuring author events. Even if you can’t buy a book, please consider attending the launch party. You’d be surprised how often I’ve seen award-winning, best-selling authors speak to a room of only five people. Please fill those seats, say hello to the author, and then go to your library and request the book!
 

   6.      Celebrate authors and illustrators on their awards, lists, launches, book-birthdays and/or good news! If you have Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or any other social media account please help celebrate and spread the word!

   7.      Subscribe to free blog sites. In September 2021, Writer’s Digest published their 101 Best Websites for Writers

8.     Talk to event organizers about hosting inclusive events with diverse representation, perhaps even serve as an event volunteer! 

9.      Ask your local school and library to host an author or illustrator presentation. There are public and private funds for such purposes—don’t let them go unused!

10.  Subscribe to literary magazines such as Writer’s Digest , The Horn Book, or Poets & Writers

11.   Share articles or Op-eds written by your favorite authors. For example, last Sunday Meg Medina had an Op-ed in The Los Angeles Times titled: Want to shape your bicultural child’s sense of self before society does?  Lead them to books

12.  Join a critiquing group

13.  Write a Goodreads review

14.  Give Books as Gifts!

15.  Post an Amazon review

And remember to stay informed, stay active, and READ READ READ!

 

 

What to Read Next: List of 2016 Notable Children's Books and YALSA Awards

YALSA Names 2016 top ten best fiction for Young Adults

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced its 2016 Best Fiction for Young Adults (BFYA) list.

Albertalli, Becky. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Harper/Balzer and Bray. 2015.

Bardugo, Leigh. Six of Crows. Holt. 2015.

Brooks, Kevin. The Bunker Diary. Lerner/Carolrhoda Lab. 2015.

Crowder, Melanie. Audacity. Philomel. 2015.

Older, Daniel José. Shadowshaper. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books. 2015.

Reynolds, Jason. The Boy in the Black Suit. Atheneum. 2015.

Ruby, Laura. Bone Gap. Harper/Balzer and Bray. 2015.

Shabazz, Ilyasah and Kekla Magoon. X: A Novel. Candlewick. 2015.

Shusterman, Neal. Challenger Deep. HarperTeen. 2015.

Silvera, Adam. More Happy than Not. Soho Teen. 2015.

YALSA The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced its 2016 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers list.

Nonfiction

• Maggs, Sam. A Fan Girl’s Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks. 2015. Illus. Quirk Books.
• Schatz, Kate. Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History... and Our Future! 2015. Illus. City Lights Books.

Fiction

• Aveyard, Victoria. Red Queen. 2015. HarperTeen/HarperCollins.
• Black, Holly and Clare, Cassandra. The Iron Trial. 2014. Illus. Scholastic Press.
• Lee, Fonda. Zeroboxer. 2015. Flux/Llewellyn Worldwide.
• Murphy, Julie. Dumplin’. 2015. Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins
• Myers, E.C. The Silence of Six. 2014. Adaptive Studios.
• Older, Daniel José. Shadowshaper. 2015. Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic.
• Stevenson, Noelle. Nimona. 2015. Illus. HarperTeen/HarperCollins.
• Yoon, Nicola. Everything, Everything. Illus. 2015. Delacorte Press/Random House.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has selected its 2016 list of Notable Children’s Books. The list of titles includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry and picture books of special interest, quality, creativity and value to children 14 years of age and younger.

The titles include:

Younger Readers

"An Ambush of Tigers: A Wild Gathering of Collective Nouns." By Betsy R. Rosenthal. Illus. by Jago. Lerner/Millbrook.

"The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth, & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore." By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. Illus. by R. Gregory Christie. Lerner/Carolrhoda.

"Ballet Cat: The Totally Secret Secret." By Bob Shea. Illus. by the author. Disney/Hyperion.

"Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!" By Todd Tarpley. Illus. by John Rocco. Little, Brown.

"Boats for Papa." By Jessixa Bagley. Illus. by the author. Roaring Book/Neal Porter.

"A Chicken Followed Me Home! Questions and Answers about a Familiar Fowl." By Robin Page. Illus. by the author. Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane.

"Detective Gordon: The First Case." By Ulf Nilsson. Illus. by Gitte Spee. Gecko.

"Don’t Throw It to Mo!" By David A. Adler. Illus. by Sam Ricks. Penguin.

"Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music." By Margarita Engle. Illus. by Rafael López. HMH.

"Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah." By Laurie Ann Thompson. Illus. by Sean Qualls. Random/Schwartz & Wade.

"Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear." By Lindsay Mattick. Illus. by Sophie Blackall. Little, Brown.

"Float." By Daniel Miyares. Illus. by the author. Simon & Schuster.

"Flop to the Top!" By Eleanor Davis and Drew Weing. Illus. by the authors. TOON.

"Flutter & Hum / Aleteo y zumbido: Animal Poems / Poemas de animales." Ed. by Julie Paschkis. Illus. by the author. Holt.

"Gingerbread for Liberty: How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution." By Mara Rockliff. Illus. by Vincent X. Kirsch. HMH.

"Grandma Lives in a Perfume Village." By Fang Suzhen. Illus. by Sonja Danowski. NorthSouth.

"The Grasshopper and the Ants." By Jerry Pinkney. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown.

"Growing Up Pedro." By Matt Tavares. Illus. by the author. Candlewick.

"Hippos Are Huge!" By Jonathan London. Illus. by Matthew Trueman. Candlewick.

"I Yam a Donkey!" By Cece Bell. Illus. by the author. Clarion.

"If You Plant a Seed." By Kadir Nelson. Illus. by the author. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray.

"Last Stop on Market Street." By Matt de la Peña. Illus. by Christian Robinson. Putnam.

"Lenny & Lucy." By Philip C. Stead. Illus. by Erin E. Stead. Roaring Book/Neal Porter.

"Leo: A Ghost Story." By Mac Barnett. Illus. by Christian Robinson. Chronicle.

"Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965." By Jonah Winter. Illus. by Shane W. Evans. Random/Schwartz & Wade.

"Mango, Abuela, and Me." By Meg Medina. Illus. by Angela Dominguez. Candlewick.

"The Moon Is Going to Addy’s House." By Ida Pearle. Illus. by the author. Penguin/Dial.

"The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea." By Brenda Z. Guiberson. Illus. by Gennady Spirin. Holt.

"Moving Blocks." By Yusuke Yonezu. Illus. by the author. Michael Neugebauer/Minedition.

"Mr. Squirrel and the Moon." By Sebastian Meschenmoser. Illus. by the author. NorthSouth.

"My Tata’s Remedies = Los remedios de mi tata." By Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford. Illus. by Antonio Castro L. Cinco Puntos.

"A Pig, a Fox, and a Box." By Jonathan Fenske. Illus. by the author. Penguin.

"Piper Green and the Fairy Tree." By Ellen Potter. Illus. by Qin Leng. Knopf.

"The Popcorn Astronauts: And Other Biteable Rhymes." By Deborah Ruddell. Illus. by Joan Rankin. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry.

"The Princess and the Pony." By Kate Beaton. Illus. by the author. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine.

"Raindrops Roll." By April Pulley Sayre. Illus. by the author. Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane.

"Red. By Jan De Kinder." Illus. by the author. Eerdmans.

"Roger Is Reading a Book." By Koen Van Biesen. Illus. by the author. Eerdmans.

"Sidewalk Flowers." By JonArno Lawson. Illus. by Sydney Smith. Groundwood.

"The Skunk." By Mac Barnett. Illus. by Patrick McDonnell. Roaring Brook.

"Special Delivery." By Philip C. Stead. Illus. by Matthew Cordell. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.

"Supertruck." By Stephen Savage. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.

"Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova." By Laurel Snyder. Illus. by Julie Morstad. Chronicle.

"Tiptoe Tapirs." By Hanmin Kim. Illus. by the author. Holiday.

"Trombone Shorty." By Troy Andrews. Illus. by Bryan Collier. Abrams.

"Two Mice." By Sergio Ruzzier. Illus. by the author. Clarion.

"Wait." By Antoinette Portis. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.

"Waiting." By Kevin Henkes. Illus. by the author. HarperCollins/Greenwillow.

“Water Is Water: A Book about the Water Cycle.” By Miranda Paul. Illus. by Jason Chin. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.

“Who Done It?” By Olivier Tallec. Illus. by the author. Chronicle.

“Wolfie the Bunny. By Ame Dyckman. Illus. by Zachariah OHora. Little, Brown.

“The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy.” By Beatrice Alemagna. Illus. by the author. Enchanted Lion.

“Woodpecker Wham!” By April Pulley Sayre. Illus. by Steve Jenkins. Holt.

“Written and Drawn by Henrietta.” By Liniers. Illus. by the author. TOON.

Middle Readers

"28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World." By Charles R. Smith Jr. Illus. by Shane W. Evans. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.

"Adam and Thomas." By Aharon Appelfeld. Illus. by Philippe Dumas. Seven Stories/Triangle Square.

"Adventures with Waffles." By Maria Parr. Illus. by Kate Forrester. Candlewick.

"Blackbird Fly." By Erin Entrada Kelly. HarperCollins/Greenwillow.

"The Blackthorn Key." By Kevin Sands. Aladdin.

"Echo." By Pam Muñoz Ryan. Scholastic.

"Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings." By Matthew Burgess. Illus. by Kris Di Giacomo. Enchanted Lion.

"Fish in a Tree." By Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen.

"Frederick’s Journey: The Life of Frederick Douglass." By Doreen Rappaport. Illus. by London Ladd. Disney/Jump at the Sun.

"Full Cicada Moon." By Marilyn Hilton. Penguin/Dial.

"Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras." By Duncan Tonatiuh. Illus. by the author. Abrams.

"Fuzzy Mud." By Louis Sachar. Random/Delacorte.

"George." By Alex Gino. Scholastic.

"Gone Crazy in Alabama." By Rita Williams-Garcia. HarperCollins/Amistad.

"Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible." By Ursula Vernon. Illus. by the author. Penguin/Dial.

"Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story." By Reem Faruqi. Illus. by Lea Lyon. Tilbury.

"Lost in the Sun." By Lisa Graff. Penguin/Philomel.

"Mad about Monkeys." By Owen Davey. Illus. by the author. Flying Eye.

"Mars Evacuees." By Sophia McDougall. HarperCollins.

"The Marvels." By Brian Selznick. Illus. by the author. Scholastic.

"Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery That Baffled All of France." By Mara Rockliff. Illus. by Iacopo Bruno. Candlewick.

"My Story, My Dance: Robert Battle’s Journey to Alvin Ailey." By Lesa Cline-Ransome. Illus. by James E. Ransome. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman.

"My Two Blankets." By Irena Kobald. Illus. by Freya Blackwood. HMH.

"Murder Is Bad Manners." By Robin Stevens. Simon & Schuster.

"The Nest." By Kenneth Oppel. Illus. by Jon Klassen. Simon & Schuster.

"Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton." By Don Tate. Illus. by the author. Peachtree.

"Red Butterfly." By A. L. Sonnichsen. Illus. by Amy June Bates. Simon & Schuster.

"Roller Girl." By Victoria Jamieson. Illus. by the author. Penguin/Dial.

'Sex Is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU." By Cory Silverberg. Illus. by Fiona Smyth. Seven Stories/Triangle Square.

"Stella by Starlight." By Sharon M. Draper. Atheneum.

"Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America." By Susan Campbell Bartoletti. illus. HMH.

"Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower." By Greg Pizzoli. Illus. by the author. Penguin/Viking.

"Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer." By Kelly Jones. Illus. by Katie Kath. Knopf.

"The War That Saved My Life." By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Penguin/Dial.

Older Readers

"Baba Yaga’s Assistant." By Marika McCoola. Illus. by Emily Carroll. Candlewick.

"The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club." By Phillip Hoose. illus. Farrar.

"Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War." By Jessica Dee Humphreys and Michel Chikwanine. Illus. by Claudia Dávila. Kids Can.

"Cuckoo Song." By Frances Hardinge. Abrams/Amulet.

"Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. "By Don Brown. Illus. by the author. HMH.

"Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir." By Margarita Engle. Atheneum.

"First Flight around the World: The Adventures of the American Fliers Who Won the Race." By Tim Grove. illus. Abrams.

"Goodbye Stranger." By Rebecca Stead. Random/Wendy Lamb.

"The Hired Girl." By Laura Amy Schlitz. Candlewick.

"The Lightning Queen." By Laura Resau. Scholastic.

"Listen, Slowly." By Thanhhà Lại. HarperCollins.

"Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War." By Steve Sheinkin. illus. Roaring Brook.

"My Seneca Village." By Marilyn Nelson. Namelos.

"Orbiting Jupiter." By Gary D. Schmidt. Clarion.

"Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip through the Motown Sound." By Andrea Davis Pinkney. illus. Roaring Brook.

"The Seventh Most Important Thing." By Shelley Pearsall. Knopf.

"The Smoking Mirror." By David Bowles. IFWG.

"The Thing about Jellyfish." By Ali Benjamin. Little, Brown.

"Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March." By Lynda Blackmon Lowery, as told to Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley. Illus. by P. J. Loughran. Penguin/Dial.

All Ages

"Bird and Diz." By Gary Golio. Illus. by Ed Young. Candlewick.

"Counting Lions." By Katie Cotton. Illus. by Stephen Walton. Candlewick.

"Hiawatha and the Peacemaker." By Robbie Robertson. Illus. by David Shannon. Abrams.

"Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure." By Nadja Spiegelman. Illus. by Sergio García Sánchez. TOON Graphics.

"My Pen." By Christopher Myers. Illus. by the author. Disney/Hyperion.

"National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry: More Than 200 Poems with Photographs That Float, Zoom, and Bloom!" Ed. by J. Patrick Lewis. illus. National Geographic.

"The Only Child." By Guojing. Illus. by the author. Random/Schwartz & Wade.

"Pool." By JiHyeon Lee. Illus. by the author. Chronicle.

"Sail Away." By Langston Hughes. Illus. by Ashley Bryan. Atheneum.

"Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement." By Carole Boston Weatherford. Illus. by Ekua Holmes. Candlewick.

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced its 2016 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list.

• Awkward. By Svetlana Chmakova. Illus by the author. Yen Press. (9780316381307)
• Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. By Don Brown. Illus by the author. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (9780544157774).
• Lumberjanes.
  • vol. 1. By Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis and Shannon Watters. Illus. by Brooke Allen. Boom! Box, paper, $14.99, (9781608866878).
  • vol. 2. By Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis and Shannon Watters. Illus. by Brooke Allen. Boom! Box, paper, $14.99, (9781608867370).

• Ms. Marvel.
  • vol. 2: Generation Why. By G. Willow Wilson. Illus. by Jacob Wyatt and Adrian Alphona. Marvel Comics, paper, $15.99, (9780785190226).
  • vol. 3: Crushed. By G. Willow Wilson. Illus. by Takeshi Miyazawa and Elmo Bondoc. Marvel Comics, paper, $15.99, (9780785192275).

• Nimona. By Noelle Stevenson. Illus. by the author. Harper Teen, hardcover, $17.99, (9780062278234).
• Roller Girl. By Victoria Jamieson. Illus. by the author. Dial Books for Young Readers, hardcover, $20.99, (9780525429678).
• Sacred Heart. By Liz Suburbia. Illus. by the author. Fantagraphics, paper, $24.99, (9781606998410).
• A Silent Voice.
  • vol. 1. By Yoshitoki Oima. Illus. by the author. Kodansha Comics, paper, $10.99, (9781632360564).
  • vol. 2. By Yoshitoki Oima. Illus. by the author. Kodansha Comics, paper, $10.99, (9781632360571).
  • vol. 3. By Yoshitoki Oima. Illus. by the author. Kodansha Comics, paper, $10.99, (9781632360588).

• Trashed. By Derf Backderf. Illus. by the author. Abrams ComicArts, hardcover, $24.95, (9781419714535).

• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.
  • vol. 1: Squirrel Power. By Ryan North. Illus. by Erica Henderson. Marvel Comics, paper, $15.99, (9780785197027).
  • vol. 2: Squirrel You Know It’s True. By Ryan North. Illus. by Erica Henderson. Marvel Comics, paper, $14.99, (9780785197034).

American Library Association Announces 2016 Winners

2013 Newbery Winners Announced by American Library Association

    

2013 NEWBERY WINNER:  What's as beautiful as Charlotte’s Web and as sweet as George and Martha (with writing for middle-grade readers)? It's Katherine Applegate's  THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN and it’s also the latest Newbery Winner as announced by the American Library Association this week.  

Ivan's tale is not told in third-person spider, or first-person hippo; readers get the pleasure of enjoying the story straight from the source--first person gorilla.  Meet Ivan, a charming gorilla whose story will make you laugh and cry.  Ivan is a Silverback gorilla, and if you've ever watched National Geographic, you know that Silverbacks are protectors.  Unfortunately Ivan has spent over thirty years starring in a circus mall’s cheap production. There are no other gorillas to protect. But his Silverback nature comes out when a baby elephant moves into the cage next door, and Ivan is compelled to find a way to save her from a bleak future.

This is definitely a book I will gift over and over again. It’s a story I can’t get out of my head, and the fact that there is a real-life Ivan, makes it all the more magical.     

Support Independent Book Sellers:
(pick up a copy at Oblong Books in the Hudson Valley, Tattered Cover in Denver, CO, Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, CO or Book Passage in San Francisco, CA)

Honor book include:

SPLENDORS AND GLOOM  Candlewick; 1 edition (August 28, 2012) by Laura Amy Schlitz

“Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz brings hersorcery to a Victorian gothic thriller — an enthralling, darkly comic tale thatwould do Dickens proud.

The master puppeteer, Gaspare Grisini, is so expert at manipulating his stringed puppets that they appear alive. Clara Wintermute, the only child of a wealthy doctor, is spellbound by Grisini’s act and invites him to entertain at her birthday party. Seeing his chance to make a fortune, Grisini accepts and makes a splendidly gaudy entrance with caravan, puppets, and his two orphaned assistants. 
Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are dazzled by the Wintermute home. Clara seems to have everything they lack — adoring parents, warmth, and plenty to eat. In fact, Clara’s life is shadowed by grief, guilt, and secrets. When Clara vanishes that night, suspicion of kidnapping falls upon the puppeteer and, by association, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall. 
As they seek to puzzle out Clara’s whereabouts, Lizzie and Parse uncover Grisini’s criminal past and wake up to his evil intentions. Fleeing London, they find themselves caught in a trap set by Grisini’s ancient rival, a witch with a deadly inheritance to shed before it’s too late.” 

BOMB (Roaring Brook Press 9/2012) by Steve Sheinkin

"Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’sMost Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin, published by Flash Point, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press.

Balancing intersecting threads of scientific discovery, political intrigue and military strategy, “Bomb” is a riveting historical nonfiction drama. Sheinkin’s engaging narrative explores the complex series of events that led to the creation of the ultimate weapon and introduces many memorable personalities involved in the pursuit." 

THREE TIMES LUCKY (Dial May 2012) by Sheila Turnage

"A hilarious Southern debut with the kind of characters you meet once in a lifetime 

Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone's business is fair game and no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a hurricane eleven years ago, and she's been making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes someday to find her "upstream mother," she's found a home with the Colonel--a café owner with a forgotten past of his own--and Miss Lana, the fabulous café hostess. She will protect those she loves with every bit of her strong will and tough attitude. So when a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known.

Full of wisdom, humor, and grit, this timeless yarn will melt the heart of even the sternest Yankee."