For her two-year term as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Meg Medina will engage readers across the country via her platform "Cuéntame!: Let’s talk books."

Inspired by the phrase Spanish-speaking friends and families use to catch up with one another, Cuéntame! encourages connection amongst families, classrooms, libraries, and communities by talking about books—both those books that reflect the readers’ lived experiences and those books that expose readers to new perspectives.

Over the course of Medina’s national tour, she will inspire students and families to experiment with “book talks” — the process of sharing books to start conversations and build excitement about reading. Medina aims to emphasize books and stories as a part of everyday life, encourage story sharing and conversation among friends and within families, and to highlight libraries as a welcoming place for families to explore, learn and connect.

At each tour stop, Medina will hold two separate programs: a public event at a local library and a private program at an area school. Each participating student at the area school will receive one of Medina’s acclaimed books, donated by Candlewick Press. Staff at the local library will receive a curated set of collections items about their local community from the Library of Congress’ digital archives. All tour stops will receive complementary materials, including tailored information session(s) about Library of Congress resources and/or grant opportunities.

For educators who want to incorporate Cuéntame!: Let’s talk books into the classroom, please download Medina’s National Ambassador Educator Guide External.

Otherwise, make sure to tune in and follow along with National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Meg Medina as she travels all over the internet and country! You can also subscribe to the Library’s Bookmarked blog for updates.