Although librarians typically focus on language and literacy when planning children’s programs, research suggests that math skills are valuable too. Today, proficiency in math is an essential professional skill. Many careers involve math, and math classes act as gateways to attaining degrees in STEM fields.1 In our personal lives, math is used daily to manage household finances and make informed decisions about our health.2 Finally, math skills at school entry are strong predictors of later academic achievement in both math and reading.3 Therefore, math development should be considered an important part of children’s school readiness skills.

In the face of a changing landscape of youth services, LIS education can push the field of librarianship forward by adopting research-based frameworks that are directly applicable to the profession. We combined the Connected Learning framework with Radical Change theory and Outcome-Based Planning and Evaluation (OBPE) to establish the structure and content for a brand-new culminating course in the children's and youth services track at the University of Washington Information School. We taught the course in Spring 2015 using a conference-like model based on the late Dr. Eliza T. Dresang's teaching plan. Innovative delivery methods engaged both online and residential students, deliberately seeking to change boundaries, change perspectives, and change formats in how programs for digital-age children and youth are planned, delivered, and evaluated. This paper highlights how applying a radical approach to teaching that focuses on hands-on learning connects practice with pedagogy, and provides takeaways that offer a new model for LIS educational approaches.

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Since most children’s librarians regularly present preschool storytimes, here’s a look at some of the research on the topic and how it has developed over time.

What Is International Youth Literature? Why Does It Matter?International youth literature—translated books and English-language imports first published outside of the United States—can be the missing link in diversifying collections. Our diversity discussions tend to focus on multicultural literature that is originally published in the United States. At first glance diverse books from here and abroad can seem indistinguishable since they may have a similar focus or setting—that is, by race, ethnicity, ability, socioeconomic status, etc.—so it is not surprising that international books are often mistaken for multicultural books. Sometimes only a close look will reveal that a book has been translated or was first published in English abroad. Reading international youth literature moves us to the margins for a change and is an opportunity to see what the rest of the world thinks. By paying attention to this literature, we broaden our perspectives and validate international voices.