PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE - FEB 2021

Dear USBBY members,

USBBY has started 2021 with much excitement.  We are thrilled about our new partnership with Teaching Books.  Nick Glass, founder of TeachingBooks and a longtime USBBY member, is sharing a complimentary personal license with each USBBY member.  This benefit has a monetary value of $125. TeachingBooks will display annotations of international children’s and young adult books on its website, written by USBBY members.  You should have received information about participating in this wonderful opportunity.  If you did not, please contact Christina Moorehead at: usbby@nl.edu

We hope you will join us on March 6, 2021 for the OPENING ACT of our postponed IBBY Regional Conference.  Our OPENING ACT event will be dedicated to exploring two amazing books: Ashley Bryan's Infinite Hope in the morning session (10:30 am - 12:00 pm EST) featuring award winning narrator Dion Graham, and Ruta Sepetys' The Fountains of Silence in the afternoon session (2:30 - 4:00 pm EST) featuring Ruta Sepetys.  The modest registration fee for this event will support USBBY's twinning partners, the IBBY national sections in Haiti, Lebanon, El Salvador, and Palestine and other IBBY Children in Crisis projects.  You can register at:  https://www.usbby.org/14th-regional-opening-act.html

We look forward to meeting in person March 4-6, 2022 at Vanderbilt University in Nashville for the  14th IBBY Regional Conference.  The call for proposals for presentations and poster sessions will be available soon.

If you were unable to attend the American Library Association’s virtual Midwinter Conference and see the launch of our fabulous 2021 Outstanding International Books list, the video is available on the front page of the USBBY website.  You will also find the bookmark and other information related to the list at:  https://www.usbby.org/outstanding-international-books-list.html

USBBY is so proud to be the sponsor of this year’s International Children’s Book Day on April 2, 2021.  We encourage you to plan celebrations—virtual, in-person or hybrid.  The beautiful poster , created by Roger Mello with an inspirational message by Margarita Engle, and brochure are available for download at:  https://www.usbby.org/international-childrens-book-day.html

We hope you are staying safe and healthy as we approach one year of living with this global pandemic in the United States.  We wish you and your loved ones all the best.

Warmest wishes,

Evelyn “Evie” Freeman, Ph.D.
USBBY President

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