Children's Literacy and Reading News Round-Up: February 15

This week’s children’s literacy and reading news round-up, brought to you by Jen Robinson’s Book Page and Scrub-a-Dub-Tub, a Reading Tub blog, is now available at the Reading Tub. This week Terry Doherty and I have collected plenty of content for you about literacy & reading-related events; literacy and reading programs and research; 21st century literacies; and grants, sponsorships & donations.

Here are a couple of interesting tidbits from the roundup:

"The New York Times Room for Debate blog takes on the question of whether or not school libraries need books. A number of panelists respond formally (including the headmaster of Cushing Academy, the school that announced last fall that they were getting rid of most of their books), followed by 300+ reader comments."

"In a commentary for Education Week, Nancie Atwell makes the case for “why literature should continue to be taught in the 21st century.” Atwell says: “giving corporate interests a role in setting education policy is like letting foxes supervise the henhouse. These foxes are not vested in children’s reading books. They are interested in profitmaking—in selling prefab curricula, standards, and the diagnostic, formative, and summative tests that measure them.”"

In other news: My post at Booklights today is about the Cybils winners. The most recent Poetry Friday roundup was hosted by Lee Wind. Today's Nonfiction Monday roundup is being hosted by Amy Graves.