Although it is the oldest known celebration of the abolition of slavery in the United States, Juneteenth was only officially declared a national holiday in June 2021. Children's literature is a great way to expand our knowledge of this important day.
This year's Mildred L. Batchelder Award, given to an outstanding children's book translated into English, is the wonderful Italian middle grades memoir Just a Girl: A True Story of World War II. Sensitive and age appropriate, this standout book is an ideal shared read aloud for older children.
This year’s Southern Festival of Books is October 14-16! The festival is in-person again this year and takes place at Nashville Public Library and War Memorial Plaza. It is free and open to the public.
During Hispanic Heritage Month we intentionally recognize the many contributions made by persons of Latin American, Hispanic, and Latina/o descent to every part of U.S. American life. Check out these picture book biographies about Hispanic and Latino trailblazers, strivers, and justice seekers.
During a career spanning over six decades, Ashley Bryan (1923-3022) illustrated more than 70 children's picture books in a variety of media and in several genres.
This is part II in the series commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attacks. This post continues with more library staff memories of that day.
The difficult periods of life will hurt, but beauty can still found within them. Katherine May recounts a painful season and the inevitability of sadness in her nonfiction book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times.
If you weren't able to check out any physical books from the Library before self-isolating at home, or perhaps the one you have hasn't turned out to be very good - don't worry! Here are some recommendations for titles to check out NOW from the Library's Overdrive page.
In honor of African American History Month, and to highlight a few individuals in Metro Archives' new display on Nashville women, this blog post is dedicated to a few notable women of Music City.
Mark your calendars! The Southern Festival of Books is October 11-13. The festival takes place at Nashville Public Library and War Memorial Plaza and is free and open to the public.
Emily Guendelsberger spent several months working at an Amazon fulfillment center in Kentucky, a Convergys call center in North Carolina, and a McDonald’s in San Francisco. Her account of this time is an enraging, eye-opening, essential book.
The author of multiple books, Carole Boston Weatherford "mines the past for family stories, fading traditions and forgotten struggles" to write poetry, nonfiction, and picture books that give pride of place to the African American experience.
This spring, as we read the 2019 Nashville Reads book Hidden Figures, and reimagine our country’s history together, there’s no better place than Nashville Public Library to explore the "hidden figures" in our own local history. Dr. Margaret Rhea Seddon is one of these local hidden figures with an incredible story about reaching the stars.
Born in rural Kenya and educated in the United States, Wangari Maathai was the first woman in East Africa to earn a doctoral degree, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and is the founder of the Green Belt Movement. Her incredible story is the subject of several picture book biographies for children.
An acquaintance of mine is fond of saying "28 days will never be enough," to refer to Black History Month. That is, one month out of the year (and the shortest month at that) is not enough time to highlight the full depth and breadth of black history in the United States and around the world. Nor should it be limited to one month out of the year. Black History is History writ large. But during African American History Month it is important that we bring our particular attention to the contributions of African Americans. Picture books are an ideal (and beautiful) way to address the gaps in our knowledge.
The announcement of the Caldecott, Newbery, and other recipients of the American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Awards is a cause for celebration! Did your favorites win? Or what books will now be on your reading list? Check out our round-up (with links to our collection) below
A fresh new year means it is time to set a fresh new reading goal. Whether you are hoping to finally break 100 books read in a year, or you are hoping to finish at least one book this year, here are a few ways you and I can reach our goals.
Punk rock is the voice of the silenced. It rises in troubling times, disquiets in times of peace. We take a look at some of Nashville Public Library's most punk rock books by pioneers who were there for its rise, its fall, and its revival. After all, libraries are punk: what's more punk than free access to information?
There are a bevy of picture book biographies about musicians, artists, and singers from all genres! Add some rock, jazz, folk, swing, blues, and hip hop to your reading this summer for Summer Challenge!
In The Recovering, author Leslie Jamison confronts her own alcoholism with the help of a chorus of famous drinking writers: Raymond Carver, Jean Rhys, Charles Jackson, and Denis Johnson, to name a few.
A new picture book biography of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, whose enormous book collection formed the basis of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, is an artistic and literary achievement.
It’s almost that time of year again. We’ll soon know who is going to play in the World Series. Will the Cubs repeat or will it be another 108 years until we once again know the joy of victory?
Someone sitting at this keyboard has a birthday in September. So since this month is all about me, I’m going to write about what I love most – music.
He wrote with Bob Dylan, played Dolly Parton’s husband, penned prize-winning off-Broadway plays and maintained a dignity to his work through the years that never betrayed his rough beginnings. When you consider a modern day Renaissance man, you could easily be referring to Sam Shepard.
What happens if all your dreams come true when you're still teenager? Usually, you become Justin Bieber. Wil Wheaton avoided the path taken by most child actors, but his journey was still as bumpy as it was beautiful.
From the bestselling author of Destiny of the Republic and The River of Doubt, a thrilling narrative of Winston Churchill's extraordinary and little-known exploits during the Boer War.
Let me start out by saying that I usually have a harder time focusing on essay books, which may or may not be attributed to some mild attention problems. However, I loved every moment of Alan Cumming’s essays in You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams.
In honor of African American History Month, I'm recognizing the first African American woman elected to the Tennessee State Senate—Senator Thelma Harper of District 19. Prior to her 1991 historic election to the State Senate, Harper served 8 years on Davidson County's Metro Council.
After making a stunning self-discovery about my lack of presidential knowledge, I set out on a quest to correct my deficiency. This is how far I got...
It's been a rough week: we've lost some talented people. Longing to know more about Gwen Ifill, Leon Russell, Leonard Cohen, or Janet Reno? We offer these selections.
In her delightful memoir How to Be a Heroine or, What I’ve Learned from Reading Too Much, playwright Samantha Ellis revisits the stories that shaped her development as a woman and a writer, paying homage to the those literary heroines who became her muses.
A. Philip Randolph was an activist who spoke out about inequality and labor rights in the early part of the 20th century, helping to pave the way for civil rights even before Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X.
Since New Year’s is all about making resolutions, I think one of the best resolutions a reader can make is to diversify what they read throughout the year. That being said, POPSUGAR has created a 2015 Reading Challenge, a list of different genres or themes to use as a jumping off point to expand your reading horizons.Here are a few highlights from the POPSUGAR list, and what I'll be reading for each one.
