Bulletin Board

To tie in with a new set of American history paperbacks, the Putnam Publishing Group has announced a nation-wide search for the best classroom-tested approach to the American history books written by Jean Fritz (Where Do You think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? et. al.). The teacher or school librarian who submits the winning teaching unit will receive Mrs. Fritz as resident author for the school for a week. All expenses for this week will be underwritten by the publishers. Over 500 entries are anticipated before the contest closes on October 31, 1983; the winner will be announced during Jean Fritz Week, March 19-23, 1984. A copy of the rules for the contest and a packet of free information about Jean Fritz is available from Jim Roginski, "Win Jean Fritz in '84," Dept. ChLAQ, The Putnam Publishing Group, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016.

The Third Pacific Rim Conference, an international symposium on children's literature, will be held on the campus of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles in the summer of 1984. During the week of August 19-25, 1984, speakers, panelists, and performers, representing those countries which rim the Pacific Ocean, will address the many ways through which children inherit their cultures: oral tradition, written literature, film, and art forms. Related fields, such as literacy, research, and children's access to information, will also share the agenda.

The First Pacific Rim Conference was called in Vancouver, Canada in May, 1976. The conference papers, edited by Sheila Egoff, were published under the title One Ocean Touching. The Second Conference, convened in Melbourne, Australia by Graham Corr in Sepember, 1979, considered minority groups. Papers from this conference were published with the title Track to Unknown Water. The proceedings from the Third Conference, A Sea of Upturned Faces: How We Share Our Literature and Related Traditions with Our Children, will also be published, and some sessions may be available on tape.

Winifred Ragsdale, former director of the George G. Stone Center for Children's Books, Claremont Graduate School, is chairperson for the Third Pacific Rim Conference. For further information, contact Ryna H. Rothberg, Publicity Chairperson, Newport Beach Public Library, 856 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach, California 92660, USA or telephone her at 1 (714) 640-2177.