To remind people that Black History is worth teaching all year long, Lee & Low is having a end-of-Black-History-Month book giveaway. For a chance to win one of three sets of six fantastic books, you must enter the contest by midnight of February 28th. So hurry up! There are four ways to enter, and the more actions you take, the better your chances of winning! Head on over to Lee & Low’s blog now for the details, and good luck!

11am-5:30pm
National Museum of American History
Washington, D.C., USA

Bring the whole family to the Smithsonian’s Black History Month Family Day Celebration. The day includes performances of an award-winning interactive theatrical presentation Join the Student Sit-Ins; a musical program, Sing for Freedom, which explores the central role of freedom songs in the civil rights movement; a puppet show by Schroeder Cherry, Can You Spell Harlem?; arts and crafts activities; and an “interactive bulletin board” that allows visitors to share their thoughts on the civil rights challenges still faced in the US.

This event is free and open to the public. No reservations required. For more information click here.

This is the first feature event of the 2010 Smithsonian Heritage Month family-day series, titled “Tapestry of Cultural Rhythms.” The series explores the dynamism of cultural expression. The Black History Month feature event is also part of the fiftieth-anniversary commemorations of the Greensboro sit-in at the National Museum of American History.

Today, in honor of Black History Month, the Spirit of PaperTigers (whose news has been spreading far) make way for the spirit of Coretta Scott King.

In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards (established in honor of Coretta Scott King’s legacy to increase the presence and appreciation of African-American writers and illustrators in the book community), last year TeachingBooks.net launched the Coretta Scott King Book Award Curriculum Resource Center, “a free, multimedia, online database for educators and families, featuring more than 250 original recordings with the award-winning authors and illustrators, and hundreds of lesson plans” (including material on Jerry Pinkney’s work—he’s the only artist to date to win the award five times).

We encourage you to explore these resources and seek out the fantastic books they highlight. Doing so would make for a wonderful way of honoring Black History Month. And since we are talking about going deeper, beyond the “festivals & heroes” surface of the occasion, here’s a little piece of trivia for you: Did you know that Coretta Scott King initially didn’t like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? She thought he was too short. But, luckily, she knew better than to let first impressions get in the way of better judgement. Amen to that!

(Click on event name for more information)

African American History Month~ USA

National African American Read-in~  USA

Black History Month~ Canada

February Literacy Workshops for Parents, Teachers and Writers with Daphne Lee~ Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

National Storytelling Week~ ongoing until Feb 6, United Kingdom

Kolkata Book Fair~ ongoing until Feb 7, Kolkata, India

“Tea with Chachaji” A Musical Production based on Chachaji’s Cup by Uma Krishnaswami~ ongoing until Feb 11, New York, NY, USA

Stories from Childhood: Lin Hai-yin’s Children’s Literature Book Exhibition and Activity Series~ ongoing until Mar 1, Tainan City, Taiwan

2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ ongoing until Mar 1, Seoul, Korea

Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books Presents: Journey to Adventure~ ongoing until Mar 6, Toronto, ON, Canada

Entries Accepted for the Growing Up Asian in America Contest~ ongoing until Mar 10, San Francisco, CA, USA

The Making of the Word Witch: The Poetic & Illustrative Magic of Margaret Mahy & David Elliot~ ongoing until  Mar 14, Ashburton, New Zealand

21st Annual Children’s Book Illustrators Exhibit~ ongoing until Apr 3, Hayward, CA, USA

Mother Goose in an Air-Ship: McLoughlin Bros. 19th Century Children’s Books from the Liman Collection~ ongoing until Apr 18,  Amherst, MA, USA

Heart and Soul: Art from Coretta Scott King Award Books, 2006–2009~ ongoing until Apr 18, Chicago, IL, USA

From The Tiger Who Came to Tea to Mog and Pink Rabbit; A Judith Kerr Retrospective~ ongoing until May, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Leo Lee Arts Centre Presents Renowned Canadian Author Deb Ellis~ Feb 1 – 2, Hong Kong

Association of Jewish Libraries Presents the 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour~ Feb 1 – 5

Book Signing Event with Paula Young Shelton author of Child of the Civil Rights Movement~ Feb 2, Washington, D.C., USA

Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable Presents Authorfest 2010~ Feb 2, Vancouver, BC, Canada

International Conference on Children’s Libraries – Building a Book Culture~ Feb 4 – 6, New Delhi, India

New York Public Library Exhibit: 2010 Caldecott Winner Jerry Pinkney’s African-American Journey to Freedom~ Feb 5 – Apr 18, New York City, NY, USA

SCBWI Workshop: Picture Books – The Perils, Pitfall and Promise~ Feb 6, Ventura, CA, USA

8th Annual Orion School Author and Illustrator Festival~ Feb 6, Redwood City, CA, USA

Imagine 2010: Children’s Literature Festival~ Feb 6 – Mar 2, London, United Kingdom

Seven Stories Presents Taffy Thomas, First Laureate for Storytelling~ Feb 6, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Words on Wheels~ Feb 12 – 17, New Zealand

Kids ♥ Authors Day~ Feb 14

First Nations Public Library Week~ Feb 15 – 20, Province of Ontario, Canada

SCBWI’s Annual Golden Gate Conference At Asilomar~ Feb 19 – 21, Pacific Grove, CA, USA

Freedom to Read Week~ Feb 21 – 27, Canada

Northern Ireland Booktrust Conference: The Gift of Books – Inspiring a Lifelong Love of Reading~ Feb 22, Antrim, Ireland

Exhibition of Joy Mallari’s Artwork From the Book Doll Eyes~ Feb 25, Makati City, Philippines

International Conference on Children’s Literature in Language Education~ Feb 25 – 27, Hildesheim, Germany

Latvian Book Fair~ Feb 25 – 28, Riga, Latvia

Hubbs Children’s Literature Conference~ Feb 27, Saint Paul, MN, USA

Joy Cowley Writing Workshop: Writing from the Heart~ Feb 27 – 28, Auckland, New Zealand

Bath Literature Festival~ Feb 27 – Mar 7, Bath, United Kingdom