Toby Rajput

Programs/Classes Taught: 

RLL 520 Overview of Children's Literature RLS 514 Teaching Research to Children and Adolescents RLS 591 Supervised Experience in School Libraries Overview of Library Resources for teaching with Children's Literature

Areas of Expertise:

Children's literature: Creating Culturally Relevant Collections Evaluating Children's Books for Racism and Sexism Digital Resources for Teaching with Children's Literature Differentiating Instruction with Children's Books Elementary Battle of the Books Teaching Plant Science with Children's Books Nurturing Engaged Readers Motivating Reluctant Readers Book Discussion facilitator: National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Mock Caldecott Medal Mock YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Mock Sibert Medal Mock Coretta Scott King Award One Book, One Chicago GLBTQA community book discussion Suburban Mosaic Book of the Year

Biography:

Toby Rajput, National Board Certified Teacher,(renewed 2012), directs the School Library program at National Louis University and is the Children's and Youth Literature Librarian for the University and for the Center for Teaching through Children's Books. Toby has experience in public, school and academic libraries; she served as Area Library Coordinator in the district office for Chicago Public Schools, overseeing over a hundred libraries in the system. She has presented at conferences, in classes, and for colleagues on reading motivation, nurturing engaged readers and evaluating children's books for racism and bias. Toby has served as an audiobook judge for the Audio Publishers' Association for a number of years. Most recently, she served as a member of the 2012 American Library Association's Sibert Medal committee to select the most distinguished informational book of the year. A published scholar in the area of authenticity in books, Toby reviews children's books for School Library Journal.

Education:

BA Bachelor of Arts University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI MLIS Masters in Library and Information Science Dominican University, River Forest, IL Ongoing coursework and professional development, particularly related to children's literature

Research and Interests:

School library advocacy Using Children's Literature for Teaching and Learning #WeNeedDiverseBooks Creating culturally authentic collections Critical thinking, multiple literacies, 21st century learners, inquiry-based learning Designing quality online coursework

Contact Information:

Toby Rajput
National Louis University
5202 Old Orchard Road
Skokie, IL 60077
(224) 233-2515
Toby.Rajput@nl.edu