AASL Conference: Patterson Says Librarians Need to Make More Noise

November 6, 2009

Best-selling author James Patterson addressed a special general session, "Turbocharge Your Day with James Patterson!-Read Kiddo Read! Parents and Librarians Band Together to Make Kids Lifelong Readers," November 6 during ALA's American Association of School Librarians national conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. "It's time for librarians to start making a lot more noise," Patterson told the packed crowd. "School libraries are not a luxury, they are a necessity." The author of young adult books as well as adult novels, some adapted to movies, Patterson said, "Right now, books are the best and most advanced media to practice in a wide-ranging point of view, not television, not the movies." He talked about the recently released movie Precious, adapted from the book Push by Sapphire. "Although it uses some bad language, it gets you to feel this black girl who no one would care about or pay attention to and was mocked. You will care so much about that girl from reading the book, if you can get pass the language, which you should, to step into another person's shoes. People should read all kinds of books; books are the best we have in looking at the world." Patterson has launched a new website, ReadKiddoRead.com, designed to help parents, teachers, and librarians find books that will appeal to kids at all reading and interest levels. It includes reviews targeted toward identifying books with high kid appeal and interviews by Patterson with leading authors. "If we raise a generation of non-readers, we will be raising a generation of narrow-minded nincompoops," he said. "When you turn kids on to reading, it is the most satisfying thing that you can do on the planet." Patterson also had a message for parents: "If you child isn't reading and their brain is turned off, this is not good. It is the parents responsibility to find books that will turn their kids on. There shouldn't be a holiday that goes by that you don't buy your kid a book." "Kids need to have positive experiences with books," Patterson explained. "Right now, there are millions of kids in this country that have never read a book and that is a national tragedy. The good news is that it is fixable and the people who can help are right here." An exclusive interview with Patterson is available online to all conference registrants at b there- Your Virtual Track Pass.

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