Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, it now includes events in more than 193 countries.
These four brand new picture books pay tribute to the wonders of the natural world and are the perfect way to inspire children to preserve our earth for future generations.
Would you like to have a live performance at your library this summer?
Humanities Nebraska has many fine speakers, and David Marsh has a wonderful program that coordinates beautifully with this year’s Summer Reading theme. That program is titled Music From Around the World. David Marsh is an experienced musician and presenter who has delighted Nebraska audiences for many years. This is a program for all ages. The Central Plains Library System will provide the $50 administrative fee for every library in our System that books David Marsh for a program between May 1 and August 15. That means you can have a terrific live performance, without cost for your library.
First, contact the performer: Email: marshnmusic@aol.com
Phone: (402) 499-3262
After your program details are finalized, fill out the form on the Humanities Nebraska website: https://humanitiesnebraska.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Catagory-I-new.pdf, print it out, and mail it to the address on the bottom of page 2.
When completing the form, include the following on the bottom of the first page:
Please bill to CPLS
Book now to confirm your preferred date.
John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature:
Freewater, written by Amina Luqman-Dawson, is the 2023 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by JIMMY Patterson/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Three Newbery Honor Books also were named:
Iveliz Explains It All, written by Andrea Beatriz Arango, published by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House; The Last Mapmaker, written by Christina Soontornvat, published by Candlewick Press; and Maizy Chen’s Last Chance, written by Lisa Yee, published by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House.
Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
Hot Dog, illustrated and written by Doug Salati, is the 2023 Caldecott Medal winner. The book was published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House.
Four Caldecott Honor Books also were named:
Ain’t Burned All the Bright, illustrated by Jason Griffin, written by Jason Reynolds, and published by Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing; Berry Song, illustrated and written by Michaela Goade, published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group Inc.; Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement, illustrated by Janelle Washington, written by Angela Joy, and published by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group; and Knight Owl, illustrated and written by Christopher Denise, published by Christy Ottaviano Books, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group.
Due to the terrible weather and treacherous road conditions that started Tuesday, January 17, and continued through Friday, January 20, the Central Plains Library System’s workshop for the 2023 Summer Reading Program that was originally scheduled for Friday, January 20, will now be held on Wednesday, February 1st.
This workshop will be held in the same place, the Grand Island Public Library, and at the same time as originally published. We moved all registrations from the original date to February 1st. Please let us know if you will not be able to make it. If the new date works better for you, and you now want to attend in Grand Island, please register using this link.
The Central Plains Library System Office will be closed on Monday, January 16, 2023, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Here is a link to a word search puzzle for you to use as a passive program.
The CPLS office will be closed Friday, Dec 23, Monday, Dec 26, and Jan 2 in observance of Christmas & New Year’s Day.
The Central Plains Library System is closed this week for the Thanksgiving Holiday. We will reopen on Monday, November 28.
Happy Turkey Day!
Hello lovely and amazing librarians across the state of Nebraska!
Some of you know me, but most of you don’t — yet. My name is Tammy Marshall, and I am a lifelong resident of Nebraska — grew up in Papillion and Norfolk, went to college in Lincoln and later in Wayne for my master’s, and then taught English and Spanish (and other language-oriented classes such as speech, linguistics, and creative writing) for 30 years in Newman Grove and Neligh. For thirteen years, I’ve written a column about books and book-related topics for the Norfolk Daily News. That column is called “Novel Thoughts,” and last January it was picked up by the Bristol Herald Courier in Bristol, TN/VA, too. I write a variety of things, but my passion, and the thing I left teaching two years ago to focus on, is writing fiction, especially novels.
I am self-published — I spent the summer attempting to acquire an agent but didn’t have any luck . . . yet. I enjoy self-publishing, though, because I am in control of things that matter to me, like the covers of my books. Also, I really enjoy setting up and doing readings and presentations at libraries, bookstores, and literary events. That’s where some of you already know me from, and I appreciate those of you who have welcomed me into your libraries over the past year or so.
I’m hoping more of you will choose to do that. So far, I’ve appeared at about 30 libraries, and my books are housed in most of those. I would love to get that number up to 100 or more.
As you look ahead to programs you’d like to do in your libraries, I hope you will consider having me appear for a reading or a speaking engagement or both. I also hope you will check into my books and consider buying one or all of them for your libraries. They are all available through expanded distribution even though I used Amazon’s KDP to publish them, so they should show up in Ingram Sparks or other book-buying sites you may use. However, here is my author page on Amazon that shows all of the books, if you’d care to look at them: Tammy Marshall’s Amazon author page
As those who have purchased my books for your libraries already know, I am more than happy to personally bring you signed copies of my books for your libraries. Just let me know, and we can set up a time for that as well as a date for me to appear if you are interested in having me do that.
My newest novel is “Trouble on Tybee,” and, like all my books, there is a Nebraska connection in it. This one is minor compared to my other books, but Nebraska does come into play. It is the reason I am reaching out to all of you. I wanted to let those librarians who already have my first 4 books know that the 5th is now available, but I also wanted to reach out to every librarian in the great state of Nebraska to tell you about my newest book and about me and my previous books in the hope of being invited to your libraries.
I welcome any invitation to appear in your libraries, no matter the size of your facility or the number of attendees. I love building my readership one reader at a time, and meeting those who have read my books and loved them is a highlight of my life. I’m very accustomed to long car rides, too, so I welcome an invitation from any librarian, near or far.
Thank you for your consideration. Please visit my author website to learn more about me and what I write. I’d love to have some of you become subscribers to my weekly word-building posts called “Cognate Cognizance.” Feel free to follow me on any of the social sites, too. Here is a link to my website, and there is another below in my signature: Tammy Marshall’s author site
I hope to hear from you.
Tammy Marshall
author, novelist, columnist, blogger, speaker, Nebraska Writers Guild secretary
tammymarshallauthor.wordpress.com
Facebook: @tammymarshallauthor
Instagram: #tammymarshallauthor
Twitter: @AuthorTammyM
