PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Dear USBBY members,
We hope you are doing well and staying in good spirits during this turbulent, challenging time.  Thank you very much for your generosity in supporting our Twinning partners:  Haiti, Lebanon, Palestine, and El Salvador.   In these countries, all children are in crisis.  We have raised over $4000 to ensure that they can continue to be part of IBBY and provide books and reading promotion projects amidst dire circumstances.


Although we cannot meet together at the conventions of ILA and NCTE this fall, we have some exciting virtual programs planned for you.  Please save the date of Saturday, November 14 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time (1:00 p.m. Central; noon Mountain; and 11 a.m. Pacific) for our annual business meeting.  This one- hour meeting will include a special program to highlight USBBY’s sponsorship of the 2021 International Children’s Book Day, April 2. 

• Hans Christian Andersen recipient Roger Mello from Brazil and award-winning Cuban American author Margarita Engle will share thoughts about the ICBD poster and poem that they have designed.
  
• Liz Page, Executive Director of IBBY, will describe the history and meaning behind International Children’s Book Day and its celebration worldwide.​
  

Information about the login and other details will be emailed closer to November 14 and posted on our website.


We will also be emailing information about some other exciting opportunities in the coming weeks.


Did you know if you buy books and other products from Amazon and Indie Bound, you can designate USBBY to receive a donation?  USBBY is a member of both the Amazon Smile Program and the Indie Bound Affiliate program.   More information and directions are posted on our website: usbby.org.  If you click on “How to Get Involved”, there will be a drop down for “Shop to Support USBBY. “ Or you can you use this link: https://www.usbby.org/shop-to-support-usbby.html  


Our many committees continue to work diligently and with enthusiasm during the pandemic. We are especially grateful to last year’s Hans Christian Andersen Award committee which successfully nominated Jacqueline Woodson, who received the award.  This year’s committee is already at work to decide on USBBY’s nominees for the 2022 awards.


We welcome your participation, suggestions, and ideas.  Please share your thoughts with me at: freeman.5@osu.edu.


We wish you all the best as the new school year begins.


Warmest wishes,
Evelyn “Evie” Freeman,
USBBY President