Posted on January 14, 2020 at 9:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Congratulations to author Jason Reynolds — and young readers — on his selection as the new national ambassador for young people’s literature!
Reynolds has written thirteen books for younger readers, with the most recent, Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, being a National Book Award finalist.
The position was established in 2008 to emphasize the importance of literature in children’s lives; Reynolds plans to also reverse that script, in a way.
“Instead of explicitly encouraging young people to read, my goal is to get them to see the value in their own narratives — that they, too, have a story, and that there's power not just in telling it, but in the opportunity to do so,” he said in a press release.
To that end, he’ll conduct and record interviews with students as he tours the US, then archive them at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
Reynolds will serve in his role through 2021; he succeeds Jacqueline Woodson.
You can read more about Reynolds and the position of national ambassador for young people’s literature in a Library of Congress press release.
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Categories: Today in Books