called Families on the Fringes:

Alice Walker famously argued that a “woman is not a potted plant.” Whether we choose our paths or plant our own “seeds of change,” women strive to fit in to the skin we are given. In our own words, writers, teachers, and speakers share their stories of finding themselves through shifts–from great to small.

We are seeking submissions for an anthology that will focus on stories about major life shifts regarding unspoken needs, social change, community, and defining self. This book will be written by and for women about change.

Submissions can be short stories, essays, plays and poems.  3,000 word maximum.  Submit to musewritecommunity@yahoo.com by June 1. 2013.

www.MuseWrite.com

people and got on TV!

Check out the following link to the video Green Literacy & the Common Core

And if you please, check out the new website for Green Literacy

With many public schools adopting common core curriculum there are
many MORE opportunities for non-fiction writers to have their material
adopted for the classroom. Jen Cullerton Johnson has spoken about
Green Literacy and the role of environmental books for children and
adults for the EPA, Chicago Green Festival, Saturday Writers, Green
Schools Conference, Illinois Reading Council, National Catholic
Library Association, and more. Her book Seeds of Change  was honored
with a Coretta Scott King award and named a Notable Children’s Books
by Smithsonian Magazine. Her emphasis in writing is connecting people
and the environment.

RSVP to Jane Hertenstein, SCBWI Chicago co-rep @ janeh@jpusa.org.

Looking for something to do with your little one on those cold winter days?  ThePlayLab is a great indoor winter discovery area for young learners all year long.

Artists and Authors
Saturday, February 18, 11:00am – 2:00pm

Meet author Jen Cullerton Johnson as she reads from her award-winning book, Seeds of Change, and shares Wangari Maathai’s story—an environmentalist, scientist, and women’s right’s activist who inspired her country of Kenya to plant 30 million trees— and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Johnson will lead children in a seed planting activity echoing Wangari’s message of harabee, which means “let’s work together.”

Click here to learn about upcoming programs in the Crown Family PlayLab.

ISLMA

Illinois School Library Association Conference

Author’s Breakfast

October 29, 2011

7:30- 9:30 am

Springfield, Illinois

History of ISLMA

The Illinois School Library Media Association was formed on March 3, 1988 when a group of school library media professionals known as The Friends of School Libraries met at the Oak Brook Hills Conference Center and presented a proposal for formal organization. The necessary organizational tasks were begun immediately. They included filing for incorporation under the General Not for Profit Corporation Act of Illinois, and applying for 501e3 tax exempt status with the IRS.

ISLMA also became an affiliate of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) with voting status, began a membership campaign, and planned and executed a major conference. Committee chairs and committee members were appointed and a newsletter was begun.

Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement,  passed away on Sunday September 25 in Nairobi, Kenya at the age of 71.  Named one of the heroines of the world, she was a great advocate for human rights and the environment who inspired the planting of more than 20 million trees.

She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, the first African woman to do so.

Wangari Maathai’s dedication to protecting trees and forests began with her appreciation of the rural village environment she grew up in.  In her words,

In a message to the world’s children, Wangari Maathai said,

“Whatever you are doing, wherever you are, do not feel discouraged.”

We honor her by reminding all children that she lives on through the many books that have been written about her and will continue to be written. Here are some of them:

Seeds of Change, by Jen Cullerton Johnson, illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler.

Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa, by Jeannette Winter.

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai, by Claire A. Nivola.

Mama Miti, by Donna Jo Napoli, illustrated by Kadir Nelson.

Wangari Maathai, the Woman who Plants Millions of Trees, by Franck Prevot, illustrated by Aurelia Fronty.

What You Can Do

Support the Green Belt Movement