Sharing Jane’s Story with Teen Librarians + Young People
Jane Jacobs’ legacy is celebrated around the world this week as people gather together to learn about their city’s history and culture. In the spirit of Jane’s Walk, this annual international event, I’m talking all about community resilience and connection (in Jane’s honor!) for School Library Journal’sTeen Librarian Toolbox.
In March I had the honor of discussing JANE JACOBS for the Village Preservation community. I focused the talk on Jane Jacobs’ successful civic battle against Robert Moses to keep Washington Square Park as a place for people, not cars. Thank you to the young people and educators who joined and to Village Preservation for having me!
Earlier this year I visited New York City Public Schools for a virtual author visit. The students had just finished a project-based unit on authors! I spoke about my career as an author, freelance writer, and writing mentor.
We discussed the stages of book writing (from idea generation to publication), storytelling, and making time to read and write about the things you care about.
The kids were so knowledgeable (they told me all about archival sources 🤯) and had a great understanding of activists like Jane Jacobs (“they help make a change for the better!”)