About Rita Soltan
Rita, an experienced children’s librarian, worked in public libraries in both New York
and Michigan for more than 30 years.  Rita holds a
Bachelor of Arts in Education/Spanish Literature and a Master of Library Science,
from Queens College of the City University of New York. She also holds a Master of
Arts in Teaching Reading and Language Arts from Oakland University, Rochester,
MI.

Rita has conducted numerous workshops for librarians, teachers and parents using
literature throughout the curriculum.   She has organized and led many different
book discussions for groups including Mother/Daughter and Father/Son book clubs,
as well as, groups for children and family reading.  She has been involved in
planning and implementing numerous staff development programs including
literature conferences that incorporate provocative book discussion and was
responsible for initiating the annual "Literature and the Child" conference held,
under her direction, in southeast Michigan from 1995-2004.  

Rita is the author of Reading Raps: A Book Club Guide for Librarians, Kids and
Families (Libraries Unlimited/Greenwood Press, 2005).  She has written two
articles for the MLA Forum, an electronic journal for the Michigan Library
Association,  Precocious Readers, and The Tween Market .  Her latest article, Fairy
Tale Characters Breathe New Life , is for the ALSC journal Children and
Libraries, Summer/Fall 2007 issue.  Her newest book, Summer Reading
Renaissance (Libraries Unlimited/Greenwood Press) is scheduled for publication in
September, 2008.

Currently, Rita is a regular reviewer for Kirkus Reviews, Horn Book Guide and
School Library Journal.  She is also teaching at Oakland Community College in
the English and Library Technician departments.