National Institute 2026: Full Schedule

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8:30am EDT

Saturday Big Ideas: Dive Deep Into Discovery - Celebrating Children's Nonfiction

Saturday October 3, 2026 8:30am - 9:30am EDT

Hyatt Regency Buffalo | Grand Ballroom A-D

Join us for a discussion celebrating children's nonfiction with the first Sibert Medalist, Marc Aronson; this year's Excellence in Nonfiction winner, Candace Fleming, and prolific writer of nonfiction for children, Lesa Cline-Ransome. This discussion will be moderated by the Sibert 25th Anniversary Task Force Chair, Judy Ehrenstein (Montgomery County Public Libraries).

Thank you to Library Advocate Sponsor Scholastic for underwriting this program, along with Holiday House and Macmillan for sponsoring speakers.

Speakers

Marc Aronson

Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Rutgers University, School of Communication and Information

Marc Aronson won the inaugural Sibert medal for Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado; he also edited an initial honor book, Judd Winick’s Pedro and Me, and the 10th medal winner, Tanya Lee Stone’s Almost Astronauts. The author or co-author of over 25 highly honored... Read More →

Lesa Cline-Ransome

Author

Lesa Cline-Ransome is the Newbery Honor Award author of more than thirty books for young readers including the award-winning Finding Langston trilogy. Her work has received a number of honors, including dozens of starred reviews, NAACP Image Award nominations, a Coretta Scott King honors, the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, a Christopher Award and a Jane Addams Picture Book Award. Her work has been named to... Read More →

Candace Fleming

Author

Candace Fleming is the award-winning and highly acclaimed author of more than twenty books for children and young adults, including Is It Real? The Loch Ness Monster; Crash from Outer Space: Unraveling the Mystery of Flying Saucers, Alien Beings, and Roswell; The Curse of the Mum... Read More →

Sponsors

Candlewick | Holiday House | Peachtree

Macmillan Children's Publishing

Scholastic, Inc.

Saturday October 3, 2026 8:30am - 9:30am EDT
Hyatt Regency Buffalo | Grand Ballroom A-D 2 Fountain Plaza, Buffalo, NY 14202, USA

General Session

3:30pm EDT

Saturday Closing Session: Playful Picture Books featuring Kari Lavelle, Deborah Marcero, and Rhode Montijo

Saturday October 3, 2026 3:30pm - 4:30pm EDT

Hyatt Regency Buffalo | Grand Ballroom A-D

From optical-illusion nonfiction to the simply, sweetly macabre comics to the layered, poetic beauty of nature - picture books engage the youngest readers in varied and dynamic ways.

Join Kari Lavelle (Butt or Face Volume 5: Rainbow Butts), Rhode Montijo (Skully's Best Día Ever!) and Deborah Marcero (The Great Escape) for a discussion of what it means to create a playful picture book. How does the concept of "play" influence a picture book, from conception to creation to publication?

Speakers

Derek Ivie Reed

Youth Services Coordinator, Suffolk Cooperative Library System

Derek Ivie is the Youth Services Coordinator at the Suffolk Cooperative Library System where he works with youth services librarians from across the county. For the American Library Association, Derek has served on YALSA's Quick Picks for Young Adult Reluctant Readers Committee and... Read More →

Rhode Montijo

Creator

Rhode Montijo is the creator of Sí. ¡No!, Más. ¡Menos!, and Hola. ¡Adiós!, the first three books set in Skeletown, a fun, imaginative world inspired by Día de los Muertos. He is also the author and illustrator of the Gumazing Gum Girl! chapter book series, as well as the p... Read More →

Kari Lavelle

Creator

KARI LAVELLE is the award-winning author of many children’s books. She has always had a love for words: as a kid reading books, as a speech pathologist helping children communicate, and now as a writer creating stories. Kari lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, their two children, and dogg... Read More →

Deborah Marcero

Creator

Deborah Marcero is the author and illustrator of the picture books In a Jar, which was called “stunning” in a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and “beguiling” by the Wall Street Journal; Out of a Jar, which was an Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year and an ALA No... Read More →

Sponsors

National Institute 2026

8:30am EDT

Marc Aronson

Lesa Cline-Ransome

Candace Fleming

Candlewick | Holiday House | Peachtree

Macmillan Children's Publishing

Scholastic, Inc.

3:30pm EDT

Derek Ivie Reed

Rhode Montijo

Kari Lavelle

Deborah Marcero

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Penguin Young Readers

Sourcebooks

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