This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by K.J. Howe’s The Freedom Broker.
Arsenic And Old Books
So, it turns out that three rare books from the 16th and 17th centuries contain large concentrations of arsenic on their covers. The poisonous books hail from the University of Southern Denmark’s library collection. Researchers were trying to read recycled Latin texts used to make the books’ covers when a lab came back with the results that the green pigment layer obscuring the texts was arsenic. (Note to self: never lick fingers after touching books again.)
ALA Approves Graphic Novel Roundtable
The American Library Association’s governing council approved a Graphic Novel Roundtable. This means we may get awards, events, guests and more from the ALA around graphic novels. The decision was announced at the ALA annual conference.
Philip Pullman Argues Against Emphasis On Exams
Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials, spoke against the emphasis on exam results in education and reading. “The function of a book or a poem or a story is to delight, to enchant, to beguile,” said Pullman. The author was one of dozens of children’s writers to sign a letter calling for Sats (curriculum assessments carried out in primary schools in England) to be scrapped.
And don’t forget–we’re giving away $500 of this year’s best YA books (so far)! Click here to enter.