2008 ALSC/Tandem Library Books Literature Program Award
Lisa M. Shaia has been named the winner of the 2008 ALSC/Tandem Library Books Literature Program Grant for her program, “Superhero Club.” Sponsored by Tandem Library Books, the award is administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
The ALSC/Tandem Library Books Literature Program Grant is designed to honor a member of ALSC who has developed and implemented a unique and outstanding reading or literature program for children (infants through age fourteen). The award provides a grant of $1,000 to support the winner’s attendance at the ALA Annual Conference, to be held in Anaheim, June 26-July 2, 2008.
Shaia's program, Superhero Club, encouraged children to use their imagination by creating a superhero alter-ego, complete with a costume, accessories, superpowers and a sidekick. Each club member then drew a comic book starring his superhero and at the end of the session, used their superhero powers to compete against supervillains in an obstacle course.
The program, which ran for five weeks in the spring and then eight weeks in the summer, introduced club members to the superhero genre and encouraged them to read from the library's growing graphic novel collection. It is Shaia's hope that introducing young readers to pleasure reading, such as comic books and graphic novels, will keep them interested in reading through their 'tween and teen years and into adulthood.
Members of the 2008 ALSC/Tandem Library Books Literature Program Grant Committee were: April Rachelle Roy, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Mo.; Natalie Arthur, Johnson County Public Library, Whiteland, Ind.; Marna L. Elliott, Somerset County Library System, Kingston, N.J.; Jerri J. Heid, Ames Public Library, West Des Moines, Iowa.
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