Toronto, ON – March 8, 2018 – Loan Stars voters have chosen A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities as their top pick for March/April 2019
Public and school libraries across Canada have a new tool for recommending books to their youngest patrons. The inaugural Loan Stars Jr. list has just been released, featuring the 10 most anticipated juvenile and young adult titles publishing in March and April 2019. The number one top pick recommended by Canadian library staff is A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities by Mady G. & J.R. Zuckerberg from Oni Press, distributed by Simon & Schuster Canada. The first top pick is a young adult non-fiction book that explores and guides the reader through the spectrum of human experience in unexpected ways.
"We're thrilled to be able to highlight new picture, middle-grade, and young adult books that have been endorsed by library staff across Canada," said Elizabeth Barker, the Loan Stars Project Manager at BookNet Canada. "We can't wait to see the diverse array of juvenile and young adult titles that library staff will be recommending in the months to come."
The full top 10 list can be viewed here. The Jr. list is the latest addition to the Loan Stars readers advisory program, which highlights the most anticipated forthcoming titles chosen by Canadian library staff. The program is coordinated by BookNet Canada in partnership with the Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC/CBUC). The adult top 10 lists have been released every month since April 2016 and have been shared widely by public libraries, publications like the Toronto Star and Quill & Quire, and online by the always enthusiastic and supportive Canadian library community. The new bi-monthly Jr. lists hope to shed light on books for young readers across a spectrum of genres and voices, and to provide children's library staffers across the country with an opportunity to collaborate on a national tool for sharing recommendations and supporting new and established authors, illustrators, and publishers.
"The Loan Stars Jr. list will empower library staff with a great timely resource for recommending books to children," said Kat Drennan-Scace, Manager of Hamilton Public Library's Red Hill Branch and member of the Loan Stars Advisory Board. "As all books have been voted on by the library community, we can feel confident putting these books into the hands of children and parents, regardless of our own expertise in children’s literature. My hope is that the list will help all library staff become more familiar with great children’s reads, and help kids connect with amazing books.
All forthcoming books publishing for the first time in the Canadian, English-language print trade market are eligible for the Loan Stars lists. Any staff member of a Canadian library who wishes to participate in the program can sign up for BNC CataList, a readers' advisory tool available free to libraries, to start voting for the forthcoming titles they want to recommend to their patrons. An archive of top 10 lists, as well as more information for library staff and publishers wishing to get involved, are available at loanstars.ca.
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Loan Stars is a readers advisory program that allows library staff across Canada to vote on upcoming titles they deem essential for Canadian library systems. Using CataList, a readers' advisory tool available free to libraries, library staff can endorse the fiction, non-fiction, juvenile, and young adult titles they want to recommend to their patrons. The Loan Stars program is a joint collaboration between BookNet Canada and the Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC/CBUC), library vendors, independent Canadian publishers, multi-national publishers, and others.
BookNet Canada is a non-profit organization that develops technology, standards, and education to serve the Canadian book industry. Founded in 2002 to address systemic challenges in the industry, BookNet Canada supports publishing companies, booksellers, wholesalers, distributors, sales agents, and libraries across the country.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for this project. / Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada par l’entremise du Fonds du livre du Canada (FLC) pour ce projet.
Media Contact:
Zalina Alvi
Marketing & Communications Manager
BookNet Canada
zalvi@booknetcanada.ca
(416) 362-5057 x 2250
