A class-action lawsuit alleges Lucy Calkins, Heinemann Publishing, and Fountas & Pinnell, among others, engaged in "deceptive and fraudulent marketing" that resulted in harm to students exposed to the whole language reading method and curricular products; registration is open for LibLearnx in January; auction offers rare items and experiences to benefit We Need Diverse Books; and more in News Bites.

Parents sue Lucy Calkins, Heinemann, Fountas & Pinnell

Two Massachusetts parents have filed a class-action lawsuit against Heinemann Publishing and Fountas & Pinnell, as well as Lucy Calkins, Irene Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell, and the Reading and Writing Project and the board of trustees of Teachers College at Columbia University.

The suit alleges “deceptive and fraudulent marketing and sale of products and services which are undermining a fundamental social good: literacy.”

The plaintiffs allege that as a result of attending public schools in Massachusetts and being exposed to the defendants’ products, their children suffered “a variety of mental, emotional, and financial injuries.”

In 2022, the whole language reading model from Calkins and the related education materials were called into question by the APMReports investigative podcast Sold A Story. After the podcast was released, many districts and states changed their approach to reading and literacy.

Registration is open for LibLearnX

Registration is open for LibLearnX in Phoenix from January 24–27. There are single day rates, as well as full-access rates and group discounts. Creator Raina Telgemeier and author Scott McCloud will open the general session and discuss their forthcoming book, The Cartoonists Club.

Reporter and editor Vauhini Vara, whose debut novel The Immortal King Rao was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, will be the closing speaker on Monday January 27.

Authors for Voices of Color auction ongoing

The 2024 Authors for Voices of Color auction has launched, featuring VIP experiences, writing career help, exclusive authors’ notes, curated literary prizes, and more from renowned authors and publishing professionals, with all proceeds to benefit We Need Diverse Books’ fight against book bans, as well as internships and career support for underrepresented groups in the publishing industry.

This year offers more than 100 exclusive items and experiences include a Zoom visit to your book club from Bonnie Garmus, a signed and specially annotated copy of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, a manuscript critique from Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? author Crystal Smith Paul, handmade miniature books and a handwritten letter from Celeste Ng, a themed care package from Julia Phillips along with an autographed copy of herr novel  Bear, and a signed leatherbound special edition of Station Eleven and virtual chat with its author, Emily St. John Mandel.

These items are up for grabs in an online silent auction that runs through Tuesday, December 10, at 9 pm ET.

NYPL releases libraries and well-being report

The New York Public Library released “Libraries and Well-Being,” a report that set out to establish a relationship between public libraries and the well-being of their patrons.

“Findings from a 2023 survey of NYPL patrons show that the vast majority of responding patrons report that the Library positively contributes to their well-being,” the NYPL’s summary notes. “Our analysis of survey results, informed by the PERMA (Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment) model of well-being from positive psychology, indicates that this impact occurs across three stages of flourishing, comprising twenty factors of benefit (in bold below). Further analysis demonstrates impact based on socioeconomic status and patterns of library use. While this report directly draws upon the experiences of NYPL patrons, it presents a theoretical model of how and in which ways libraries impact well-being—which is likely relevant to libraries across the nation.”