Discover new stories at children’s and YA book sale Dec. 3 and 4
As a kid, Western English Professor Nancy Johnson would refuse rides home from school so she could walk and read. Her favorite books were “Mister Dog,” “Charlotte’s Web” and a biography about Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. She still loves those titles.
“I don’t think we ever grow out of a good story,” said Johnson, who teaches children’s and young adult literature courses at Western.
Community members, students and teachers are invited to discover classic stories and new favorites through the annual Children’s and Young Adult Book Sale happening this December.
More than a thousand new children’s and young adult books will be for sale from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4 on the sixth floor of Wilson Library. Attendees can pick up hardbacks for $5 and paperbacks for $2.
Proceeds from the sale support student scholarships to Western’s 13th Annual Children’s Literature Conference, which will take place Saturday, Feb. 27 at Western, where four award-winning children’s and young adult book authors and illustrators will share their work.
This year’s speakers include children’s book author and illustrator Peter Brown; young adult novelist Cynthia Lord; picture-book illustrator Melissa Sweet; and graphic novelist and comic book author Gene Luen Yang.
Last year over 600 teachers, librarians, writers, and artists from across the country attended the conference to celebrate children’s literature.
“Well-crafted young adult literature deals with the same issues we deal with,” she said. ‘Who am I? How do I fit in this world?’ They are ‘everybody’ books.”
Johnson serves on several children’s book award committees that review and select books for honors and medals. She donates the hundreds of books she receives each year to the sale.
To register and find out more about the 13th Annual Children’s Literature Conference, please visit http://wwuclc.com.