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January 31, 2020
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 | Kobe Bean Bryant-August 23, 1978-January 26, 2020 Kobe Bryant was the son of former NBA player Joe Bryant. He attended Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, where he was recognized as the top high-school basketball player in the country. Upon graduation, he declared for the 1996 NBA draft and was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick; the Hornets then traded him to the Lakers. Bryant played his entire 20-season career in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers, and won five NBA championships. In 2018, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his film Dear Basketball. Bryant was born in Philadelphia, the youngest of three children. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu. His middle name, Bean, was derived from his father's nickname "Jellybean". When Bryant was six, his father retired from the NBA and moved his family to Rieti in Italy to continue playing professional basketball at a lower level. After two years they moved first to Reggio Calabria and then to Pistoia and Reggio Emilia. During summers, Bryant would come back to the United States to play in a basketball summer league. Bryant assigned himself the nickname of "Black Mamba", citing a desire for his basketball skills to mimic the eponymous snake's ability to "strike with 99% accuracy at maximum speed, in rapid succession." During the 2012-13 season, he began referring to himself as "vino" to describe how his play had been aging like a fine wine. Kobe Bryant died on January 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant, were also killed.Learn more and check out these titles |
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 | Books on the Air An overview of talked-about books and authors. This weekly update, published every Friday, provides descriptions of recent TV and radio appearances by authors and their recently released books. See the hot titles from the media this week. |
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 | Charles Yu Charles Yu is the author of four books, including the novel How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, which was a New York Times Notable Book and named one of the best books of the year by Time magazine. He received the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 Award, and was nominated for two WGA awards for his work on the HBO series, Westworld. He has also written for upcoming shows on AMC and HBO. His fiction and non-fiction have appeared in a number of publications including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Slate and Wired. Check out his titles here. |
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 | 2020 Youth Media Awards Each year the American Library Association honors books, videos, and other outstanding materials for children and teens. Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, the ALA Youth Media Awards, including the prestigious Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, and Coretta Scott King Book Awards, guide parents, educators, librarians, and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by committees composed of librarians and other literature and media experts, the awards encourage original and creative work in the field of children's and young adult literature and media. Check out some of this year's winners. |
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| Heroes come and go, but legends are forever.-Kobe Bryant
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