Bartography Express, March 2019
Hey there!

This month brings my first-ever school visits in the state of New York, as well as the news that Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion has become my fourth picture book to be included on a Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Awards Program Master List , sponsored by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association.

Thank you to the librarians in these states who have made me feel so welcome and appreciated.

I also want to salute the librarians in my home state who last week made the case for including school librarians in a Texas Senate bill calling for $5,000 pay raise for teachers. The Senate voted on the bill yesterday, unanimously passing a version that extended the raise to librarians .
My esteem for librarians — already mighty high — went up another notch or two this past Saturday when I stopped by the open house of Austin's co.lab Community Makers and chatted with one of the founders, elementary librarian Elizabeth Mikeska.

This maker space was bustling and buzzing with artists and creators, kids and adults alike, and co.lab's highly visible emphasis on inclusivity was inspiring.

***

At a recent school visit just south of Dallas/Fort Worth, I was delighted to see that the school library included copies of each of my books. Seeing such a complete collection outside my own office is a rare treat for me, and I shared a photo of the stack on social media.
A friend of mine, however, noticed that my third book for young readers, Can I See Your I.D.? True Stories of False Identities (a YA nonfiction title published in 2011), wasn't pictured. He wondered why it had been overlooked.

The short answer is that Can I See Your I.D.? is no longer being printed by its publisher, meaning that libraries can't get copies through their regular channels. That makes me sad, because I worked hard on that book. I was proud of it, and I always believed there was an audience for it that simply did not know that the book existed. But it happens. A lot.

A thoughtful, detailed explanation of what all that means for authors and for others can be found in a recent series on Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations blog, " Lindsey Lane on Reframing the Reality of Books Going Out of Print ."

As someone who always loves learning more about the children's literature ecosystem, and as someone who can certainly relate to this particular topic, I so appreciate Lindsey's efforts and the voices she wrangled (including Don Tate, Kathi Appelt, and Uma Krishnaswami) to share their own perspectives.
***

Now for my monthly Q&A and new-book giveaway. My guests are author Melissa Stewart and illustrator Stephanie Laberis, creators of the nonfiction picture book Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs , published by Peachtree.

If you’re a Bartography Express subscriber with a US mailing address and you want to be the winner of a copy of Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers , just say so in a reply to this email before midnight on March 31, and I’ll enter you in the drawing.

In the meantime, please enjoy my two-question Q&A with Melissa and Stephanie .