“Children can have too many toys, but never enough books.” – Jarrett Krosoczka from his Picture Book Month Essay.
When The New York Times declared, “Picture Books No Longer A Staple for Children” in an article published in October 2010, the controversial article incited a barrage of responses from the children’s book industry, many in defense of the venerable picture book. In addition, the digital age has ushered in an unprecedented amount of ebooks and, with devices like the iPad, the color Nook, and the Kindle Fire, picture books are being converted to the digital format.
Thus, Picture Book Month was born. Founder Dianne de Las Casas decided it was time to celebrate picture books in their printed format so she created an initiative to designate November as “Picture Book Month.” Katie Davis, Elizabeth Dulemba, Tara Lazar, Wendy Martin, and Australian International Liaison, Christopher Cheng, came on board to champion the cause and spread the word. A logo was designed by Joyce Wan. Videos were created by motion graphics designer, Carter Higgins. PictureBookMonth.com features essays from “Picture Book Champions,” thought leaders in the children’s literature community. Each day in November, a new essay is posted from such notable contributors as Peter Brown, Suzanne Bloom, Denise Fleming, Leslie Helakoski, Eric A. Kimmel, Jarrett Krosoczka, Tammi Sauer, Dan Yaccarino, and Jane Yolen. Looking ahead, 2012 Picture Book Month Champions will include such notables as Doreen Cronin,Tony DiTerlizzi, Brett Helquist, Tom Lichtenheld, John Rocco, Karma Wilson, as well as international authors.
Though the website officially opened on November 1, the site has seen over 25,000 visitors in the first couple weeks. The initiative became a movement and the movement went viral. Not even a third of the way through November, a Google search of “Picure Book Month” lists over 4 million results. It has been tweeted, Facebooked, Googled, linked, and blogged. Press coverage come from media outlets like Oprah.com, Huffington Post, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews, to name a few. Organizations such as the Children’s Book Council, Reading is Fundamental, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators support the initiative as partners.
The Picture Book Month website also features links to picture book resources, authors, illustrators, and kidlit book bloggers. In addition, parents, educators, and librarians can download the theme calendar to help them plan their picture book celebrations and access picture book activities. Libraries and schools worldwide are holding Picture Book Month celebrations. Join the celebration! Visit www.picturebookmonth.com.
“But if you really want more curious, intelligent, creative children in the world, then go ahead and give them picture books.” – Peter Brown
