Children's and YA authors are carrying on producing quarantine-entertainment for their kid, tween and teen readers. Starting today, YA authors Dhonielle Clayton and Nic Stone will, in Stone's words, "chat it up with some of our favorite 2020 debuts (and a couple of 2019s that changed my life, don't @ me)." Every day at 2 p.m. EST for the rest of May, Clayton and Stone will host an Instagram live featuring an upcoming author. Also on Instagram is Christian Robinson's Sunday Making Space video posts--each episode features "a special theme (gratitude, friendship, perseverance, caregivers), an art activity and sometimes a special guest." (These videos can also be found on YouTube.) Eileen the Storyteller, Mother of Puppets, hosts bilingual Spanish/English KidTime StoryTime read-alouds of picture books on YouTube.
The collaboration between Penguin Young Readers, Random House Children's Books and PBS Kids, "Mondays with Michelle Obama," is being extended with four new storytimes on Monday, May 18, and Monday, May 25. "Mondays with Michelle Obama" will be livestreamed simultaneously on the PBS Kids' Facebook page and YouTube channel, as well as on Penguin Random House's Facebook page, and will remain available for viewing on all of the platforms.
Groundwood Publishing put out a call to its Spring 2020 authors and illustrators to create content to help entertain and educate families stuck at home during the Covid-19 pandemic. Readings, interactive lessons, a poetry contest and more can be found here and by searching for the hashtag #ReadingApartTogether on social media platforms. The HarperCollins Children's School & Library Hub continues regularly to post new content, and Magination Press, the American Psychological Association's children's book imprint, is offering free resources on its website "from authors and psychologists to help caregivers manage their kids' stress and anxiety, while developing mindfulness." --Siân Gaetano, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness