Children's Literature

Misrule
News! Views! Events! Blogs! and other stuff

3 Nov 2009 | 1:11 am

OK, a quick round-up!My great friend and colleague Pamela Freeman's fantasy trilogy, The Castings Trilogy, was reviewed on Radio National's Book Show yesterday by somebody who apparently is a constitutional law expert. So THAT'S who you have to be to get a gig on The Book Show! (Actually, not having yet had the chance to listen to the review, but knowing the books, it may well be that the fact that George Williams is a constitutional law expert is probably extremely pertinent, dealing as they do with with power and colonialism and dispossession of peoples, so I'll stop being sarky now. It's…

Big A little a
Poetry Friday

Kelly

29 Oct 2009 | 6:46 pm

Jennie of Biblio File is hosting this week's Poetry Friday. Head on over and leave your links!
Poetry Friday here!

Kelly

23 Oct 2009 | 5:19 am

Happy Friday to One and All!Today's Poetry Friday roundup will be held here at Big A little a. Leave your links in the comments, and I will roundup throughout the day.
Poetry Friday

Kelly

15 Oct 2009 | 5:54 pm

This week's Poetry Friday is hosted by Laura Purdie Salas. Head on over and leave your links!
Poetry Friday

Kelly

8 Oct 2009 | 5:28 pm

Anastasia Suen is hosting this week's Poetry Friday at Picture Book of the Day. Head on over and leave your links!
Poetry Friday

Kelly

1 Oct 2009 | 8:59 pm

This week's Poetry Friday roundup and the October-December calendar will be posted at Crossover. Head on over and leave your links!

Publishers Weekly - ShelfTalker: A Children's Bookseller's Blog
What's on Your Nightstand?

I'm curious what everyone is reading right now. Currently I'm reading two books: The Maze Runner and The Demon's Lexicon. I don't normally rea...
To Give or Not to Give

The season for charitable giving (and giving) is upon us. I have been keeping track of the number of times this fall I've been asked to make a do...
Pay-As-You-Go Reading

Guest blogger Kenny Brechner from DDG Booksellers writes: As you can see from this PW article, Simon & Schuster is now selling e-chapters of...
Best Costume Ever

I hope everyone had a splendid Halloween. I just wanted to report on two costumes I saw at the coffee shop across the street from the Flying Pig on...
Great Blog Discovery of the Week: Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves

What a great (and ambitious) idea! The blogger who writes Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves reads vintage children's books to her son...

Read Roger
If Jim Carrey says it's Christmas now, who are we to argue?

Roger Sutton

6 Nov 2009 | 8:12 am

While we've already given you our choice of the best holiday-themed books of the season, Deborah Stevenson and her elves at BCCB offer a handy handout of more than three hundred recent titles suitable for gift-giving. Deborah and I both learned our trade from Zena Sutherland and Betsy Hearne, so you know she has excellent taste. Too.
More Meta

Roger Sutton

4 Nov 2009 | 8:45 am

In Betsy Bird's SLJ article "This Blog's for You" (and I thank her for including Read Roger in the list of "Ten Blogs You Can't Live Without"), she asks a bunch of swell questions:Do kids' lit bloggers influence publishing decisions? Are library systems basing their purchasing decisions on our recommendations? Should they? And to what extent is a blog about literature for youth a reliable source of information?My short answers to the first three are not a lot, ditto, and no. As to reliability: while I don't see a lot of misinformation on children's lit blogs and am in fact impressed by the…
Not quite the Myracle it seems

Roger Sutton

2 Nov 2009 | 4:18 am

While Scholastic has gotten a lot of press these last couple of weeks about censoring its book club selections, this is not new; the company has been cleaning up its club editions ever since dirty words started appearing in children's books. Six Boxes of Books has the best analysis of the controversy I've seen yet.Props to SLJ for getting this story out in the first place, but I have to note one thing that skeeved me out about the lede in the original article: "Don't expect to see Lauren Myracle's new book Luv Ya Bunches (Abrams/Amulet, 2009) at Scholastic school book fairs this year. It’s…
Why Such a Lonely Beach?

Roger Sutton

1 Nov 2009 | 8:35 am

The new issue of the Magazine is out (with a cover by Lane Smith that makes me want to watch Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol immediately). You can see the table of contents with links to selected reviews (holiday books!) and articles (fan fiction!) right over here.
I know this has happened before,

Roger Sutton

30 Oct 2009 | 8:04 am

but when do you think trick-or-treating starts when Halloween is on a Saturday? I can't believe Hopey has been running things since January and still hasn't gotten back to us on this.

Publishers Weekly - Children's Books News
Riordan Sets His Sights on Egypt

5 Nov 2009 | 10:30 am

Like his Lightning Thief star Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan is a demigod—at least in the eyes of his readers. With the release next May of the first title in his new middle-grade fantasy series, about ancient Egypt, he is set to become a pharaoh, too. In The Kane Chronicles, Book One: The Red Pyramid, kids will meet Carter Kane, 14, and his sister, Sadie, 12, descendants of Egyptian magicians who battle gods accidentally released in the present...
Children's Book Reviews: 11/2/2009

2 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

This week's reviews include picture books from Alexandra Day, Peter H. Reynolds, and Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney; starred reviews for new fiction from Katherine Sturtevant and Jean-Claude Mourlevat; comics from Lark Pien and Holly Black; and books to invigorate minds and imaginations.
Children's Book Reviews: 10/26/2009

25 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm

Picture books from Claudia Rueda, Laura Leuck& Marc Boutavant, Sharon Werner & Sarah Forss, and more; fiction from Audrey & Akila Couloumbis, Helen Stringer, Andrew Auseon, Mal Peet, others; plus a jumbo roundup of Christmas titles.
It’s the End of the World as We Know It

22 Oct 2009 | 2:15 pm

Vampires may live forever, but the recent vampire trend in YA fiction won't. Author Michael Grant, for one, is "sick to death of vampires," and he is not alone. But when one hugely popular trend ends, what will take its place? Some readers have their fingers crossed for postapocalyptic fiction. Grant, along with fellow authors Scott Westerfeld, Carrie Ryan, and James Dashner, gathered with fans at a Barnes & Noble in Manhattan last Thursday to discuss their latest books...
Web Exclusive Children's Book Reviews: 10/20/2009

20 Oct 2009 | 7:24 am

This selection of web-exclusive children's book reviews includes new works from Sujean Rim, Geoffrey Norman and E.B. Lewis, Adam Selzer and Jean Little.

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Poetry Friday: One Impossibly Quick—But Fun—Q & A Before Breakfast with Bobbi Katz

jules

5 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pm

Why is my Q & A with Bobbi Katz—accomplished poet, writer, activist, and workshop-conductor extraordinnaire (that is, writing workshops for children, teachers, and librarians)—so impossibly quick this morning? Well, I talked a bit about—and featured some illustrations from—her newest title, the ever-so creepy yet also strangely beautiful The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme, released by Sterling in September, in my recent breakfast interview with Adam McCauley, the book’s illustrator. I had been presented the opportunity to ask Bobbi some questions as well,…
A Family Tree as Only Nelson and Qualls Can Bring It

jules

4 Nov 2009 | 2:42 pm

“My papa is a car man. He makes dented doors and crumpled fenders look brand-new. His shop always smells like paint, and he has to wear a safety mask. When Papa comes home from work, he washes his hands with Lava soap, takes off his big work boots, and stretches out on the living room rug. His feet are a little stinky, but that’s okay. I curl up beside him, and we rest till Mama calls us for supper.”(Click to enlarge spread.) Two weeks ago, I decided to check in with some of the Men of Children’s Lit (or, in one case, his publisher) Who Have Previously Visited the Blog…
Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Taeeun Yoo

jules

2 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pm

This is undeniably backwards, but I’m here to talk a little bit today about a book I have yet to read. It’s called Only a Witch Can Fly (published by Feiwel & Friends in August), and it’s by the prolific and talented Alison McGhee. The illustrations were done by Taeeun Yoo, who has illustrated enough picture books to count on one hand, but whose work I very much like. Every time she illustrates a new title, I’m all over it. (I featured two spreads from Yoo’s The Little Red Fish way back in ‘07, when 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks was but a wee babe. As I said…
One Impossibly Good Article Before Breakfast

jules

1 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pm

A quick note this morning, in the category of Interesting to Others Who Are Hip to Kids’ Lit Blogs (well, and also those who are interested in reading about the ever-changing world of contemporary book-reviewing): Betsy Bird has a great article about children’s lit blogs and their place in the world in the current issue of School Library Journal. Pictured here is the cover. How great is that? Look at those babes. The article is linked online at the SLJ site. It’s here. Tremendous thanks to Betsy for including 7-Imp in the “Ten Blogs You Can’t Live Without”…
7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #139: Featuring Up-and-Coming Illustrator, Tess Bailey

jules

31 Oct 2009 | 11:01 pm

Happy November to one and all, and I hope everyone had a great Halloween yesterday. I love the first Sundays of every month at 7-Imp, in which either a student illustrator, a newly-graduated illustrator, or someone otherwise new to illustration stops by to share some art. This week we have Tess Bailey, who recently graduated from the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Illustration. Tess, who I believe is in Maryland now, is sharing with us this morning some of her thesis art work, which I think is beautiful…

Finding Wonderland: The WritingYA Weblog
Turning Pages: Only YOU Can Save...Mankind, the Planet, the Realm, the Earth, Him/Her... Pick one.

tanita davis

6 Nov 2009 | 10:44 am

It's time for another reading round-up, and let me tell you, the books are being read faster than the reviews are being written. I'm keeping my head above water, but only just! However, someone out there appreciates our efforts here at Wonderland; a reader we don't know informed us that he'd gifted us with an award. Thanks for the Lovely Blog props, Mr. Maurer; we do try.Only YOU Can Prevent... Pick a heroic tale, and you'll see the familiar steps of the journey. The untried hero/ine is bewildered and beset, wrenched from Life As They Knew It onto the trail of a Quest. This journey is thrust…
A Quick Hola from Spain

a. fortis

5 Nov 2009 | 2:02 pm

Really, I just wanted to tune in and say that yes, I'm still alive and well...just filling each day on my trip with sightseeing, new food experiences, and, uh, not so much blogging. You can find a few posts on my personal blog, but I haven't even been great with that. I'm hoping to put another post up there tomorrow evening, if my eyeballs aren't completely shot when we return from the Prado!In the meantime, I took a few book-related photos I wanted to share, and this seemed like the perfect place. You'll notice that the photo above depicts a different kind of "book-mobile"--this hanging…
Turning Pages/Wicked Cool Overlooked Books

tanita davis

2 Nov 2009 | 6:06 am

First, may I just note that I wrote up this review well before the delivery of thirteen Cybils books to my home this morning...!It's Wicked Cool Overlooked Books Day, the first Monday of the month where some in the blogosphere pull out a particular book that's come to their attention in the previous month that they'd never heard of before. These are books are serendipitous grabs from the library, usually accompanied by the sounds of, "Huh!" as I look at the title and author. Today I wanted to take a moment and ponder the brilliance of Phillip Pullman. I'd never read any of his non-series YA…
Five Things That Make Me Happy This First Day of November

tanita davis

1 Nov 2009 | 8:11 am

1. A Book Moot Halloween: Every year, The Ents and Entlings get cooler. Every. Single. Year.2.Popcorn, jellybeans and toast for dinner, a la A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.3. The School Library Journal's Blogomania piece. Doesn't our Betsy clean up well?4. Pre-Cybils books -- blurb your NaNoWriMo month YA or kids' book in any genre and Anne Levy will run your professionally polished blurb on the Cybils' blog. Visualizing the dream of getting published -- and practicing for your jacket blurbs -- is just one more step toward making it come true.5. Homemade Caramel Popcorn. THE stuff of…
So Long, and Thanks for the Inspiration

tanita davis

30 Oct 2009 | 5:16 am

We're a little sad today to bid farewell to our buddy Eisha from 7-Imps. There aren't too many duo girl blogs in our "age" group (i.e., that started when we did), and we sort of shared a kinship with the neighbors at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Eisha shared more of herself than she thought, with her incisive poetry choices for Poetry Fridays (remember that scary awesome Thomas P. Lynch diatribe? Or that gorgeous one by the female sufi?). She introduced me for real to Naomi Shihab Nye and the Poets Upstairs. She had the amazing ability to find photographs and artwork and music…

A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Shiver

Liz B

6 Nov 2009 | 4:05 am

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Scholastic Press. 2009. ARC copy either from BEA or ALA.The Plot: It's a story as old as time. Girl meets Wolf. Wolf meets Girl. Wolf turns into Boy. Girl and Boy fall in love. But Boy has to turn back into Wolf, eventually.The Good: Shiver is a beautifully written, lyrical love story. As early as page 8, I was marking passages: "...the afternoon sunlight bleached all the books on the shelves to pale, gilded versions of themselves and warmed the paper and ink inside the covers so that the smell of unread words hung in the air."This is a romance; and yes, it's…
Please Come To Boston

Liz B

5 Nov 2009 | 4:17 pm

Come January, I'll be attending American Library Association Midwinter Meeting 2010 in Boston, aka Midwinter. I'm on the Schneider Family Book Award Committee; the books will be announced, with the other awards, on Monday January 18. As we get closer, I'll post more about my schedule at Midwinter.In the meanwhile -- Tweet up, for all you kidlit and YA bloggers who will either be at Midwinter or are in the Boston area! Mitali Perkins and Deborah Sloan have made all the arrangements, as explained at Mitali Perkins' blog, Mitali's Fire Escape: ALA Midwinter Kid/YA Lit Tweetup. I expect it to be…
November: American Indian Heritage Month

Liz B

5 Nov 2009 | 10:02 am

(image from 2009 Indian Health Service Heritage Site)November is American Indian Heritage Month.Various links of interest, in no particular order:The Creation of National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month (via Indian Health Services)The National Museum of the American Indian, especially its Education page.American Indians in Children's Literature by Debbie Reese, which should be read all year round, but November is a good time to remind you to add it to your must-read lists.Teacher and Librarian Resources for Children's and YA Books with Native Themes (again, an all year not…
Get It Now: November 2009

Liz B

5 Nov 2009 | 3:47 am

The following books were reviewed from ARCs and are being published in November:Letters to Anyone and Everyone by Toon TellegenAmazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
JOMB; Thank You, Mark & Andrea!

Liz B

4 Nov 2009 | 2:33 am

JOMB - or Just One More Book! is the premiere children's book podcast. American Library Association/Association for Library Services for Children named it one of its Best Web Sites for Kids. Others have dipped their toe into podcasting; but not plunged in.Mark Blevis and Andrea Ross plunged in and then some. From JOMB: "a thrice-weekly podcast which promotes and celebrates literacy and great children’s books. Each weekday morning, we take a few minutes out of our morning coffee ritual to discuss one of our many favourite children’s books. We also feature weekly interviews with authors,…

educating alice
Byatt on Tatar’s Enchanted Hunters

medinger

7 Nov 2009 | 3:12 am

This is a grown-up book for grown-up people who haven’t forgotten being childhood readers. It satisfies imagination and curiosity, revisiting things you suddenly remember clearly, telling you new things you didn’t know. A. S. Byatt reviews Maria Tatar’s Enchanted Hunters in the Guardian.
Oh, that Corpse!

medinger

6 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am

If you aren’t following The Exquisite Corpse Adventure I recommend you do so pronto. Just to recap, it is based on the game where one person writes a bit of a story and then passes it on to the next person to continue. In this case the highfalutin people doing the writing and illustrating are having a complete blast with this wild and wooly game. You may think of some of them only in terms of dark and serious writing, but you would be wrong, wrong, wrong. Sure, we expect zany behavior from our Ambassador, but did you know that Katherine Paterson, Susan Cooper, and Kate DiCamillo…
Coming Soon: Rita Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer

medinger

5 Nov 2009 | 2:42 am

My eyes stung. I was spilling-over mad. I couldn’t stop what I had to say, even if she stood over me and became my crazy mother mountain and knocked me down. I was spilling over. It is the summer of 1968 and eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters Vonetta and Fern have been sent from Brooklyn, New York to Oakland, California to spend the summer with a mother they don’t know at all. A mother who abandoned them after Fern was born. Cecile is still a mother who wants nothing to do with them. She refuses to call Fern by her name, leaves them to get their own meals, and makes…
Arggh: Two Great Events at the Same Time

medinger

4 Nov 2009 | 2:29 am

I’m in need of a time-turner for this Saturday. Anyone got a spare they can lend me? You see, there are two events that I badly want to go to taking place at the very same time at opposite ends of town. In midtown at Betsy Bird’s library there is the monthly Literary Cafe featuring a wonderful panel built around the Cybils. I’m honored to be a middle grade fiction judge this year and so would love to meet the creators of the award and hear all they have to say. And then uptown at the NYPL’s Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture there is a program…
Holt’s Darwin Ladies

medinger

3 Nov 2009 | 2:21 am

A few weeks ago I was in one of the coolest conference rooms, a prow-like space in the Flatiron Building, at the invitation of Henry Holt, to hear their Dynamic Darwin Duo, Deborah Heiligman, author of Charles and Emma and Jacqueline Kelly, author of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Afterwards I managed to get a very poor Iphone pic of the two signing (so I could tweet it, natch); please take it from me that Deborah’s face is as gorgeous as her hair and blue dress. Coincidently, before the event I’d given Jackie’s book to one of my history-loving fourth graders to read. …

Chicken Spaghetti
Chipmunk Story

Susan Thomsen

5 Nov 2009 | 7:21 am

Click on image to enlarge. Cover Image: © Kathy M. Miller. Used here with permission. All rights reserved. Does your kid like chipmunks? Like seeing them doing adorable things like stuffing their little cheeks and washing their faces? Then he or she will get a real kick out of the picture book Chippy Chipmunk Parties in the Garden. Kathy M. Miller, the book's author and a professional photographer, spent two years taking pictures of a chipmunk who visited her yard. Her dedication paid off in some Cute Overload-worthy photographs. Chippy talks and thinks like a human, though…
It's Cybils Time in NYC. Join us!

Susan Thomsen

2 Nov 2009 | 9:34 am

The New York Public Library's Children's Literary Café presents a panel discussion on the Cybils: the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards. Who: Children's book bloggers Pam Coughlan (MotherReader), Anne Boles Levy (one of the Cybils founders), Elizabeth Burns (A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy), and me. Moderated by Elizabeth Bird (A Fuse #8 Production), of the New York Public Library. When: Saturday, November 7th, at 2 Where: New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, in the Children's Center, Room 84 Our discussion promises to…
The List of Lists Begins: Best Children's Books of 2009

Susan Thomsen

29 Oct 2009 | 7:55 am

Last year I started compiling all the year-end "best of" lists in newspapers, magaziness, and other sources. I added in many of the various children's literature prizes throughout the year, too. (You can peruse "The Best of the Best: Kids' Books '08" right here.) A person who chooses titles from these lists will read—and give and recommend to children—many good books. In the process, I discovered that there is no such thing as awards season. Children's books are honored and feted throughout the year from the Newberys and Caldecotts in January to the Cybils in February to the…
Prize-Winning Mexican American Children's Books & the Texas Book Fest

Susan Thomsen

28 Oct 2009 | 6:54 am

Earlier this year, I mentioned two books that tied for the 2009 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award. Published in 2008, both are for young-adult readers. The award will be officially presented this week at Texas State University-San Marcos, the prize's sponsor. The books are The Holy Tortilla and a Pot of Beans, by Carmen Tafolla (Wings Press) He Forgot to Say Goodbye, by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing)Sáenz's novel also made the honorable mention list for the Américas Book Award, given last summer. Marjorie Coughlan…
A "Boy Year," for The Book Whisperer

Susan Thomsen

26 Oct 2009 | 11:29 am

Donalynn Miller, a Texas language-arts teacher who also writes a blog at Teacher Magazine, is having a "boy year," in which guys make up about 2/3 of her middle-school students. She's loving it.Go see what they're reading, and contribute your book recommendations in the comments. It's fun checking out what other teachers and parents are suggesting, too. My boy is currently engrossed in Encylopedia Horrifica and is thrilled that he received The Encyclopedia of Immaturity as a gift recently.Link: "Boy Year," at The Book Whisperervia Jen Robinson at PBS…

Chasing Ray
Round-Up

6 Nov 2009 | 7:35 pm

Dave Itzkoff on the "No. 1 Omission from Top Ten Book List". Yep, it's where in the world are the women (and oh the irony that the NYT would be asking). I do have to confess that while I'm finding Shop Class as Soul Craft interesting reading, I'm perplexed as to how it's a top ten of the year. (He's no Tracy Kidder, that's for sure.) (Sometimes I feel like I'm reading a graduate thesis.) Hat tip to @Gwenda Moving right along, Tanita on an overlooked Philip Pullman: "Nothing is reliable anymore when half-remembered wisps of things she thought were dreams are perhaps a real part of Ginny's…
What a Girl Wants #9: Maybe Winona Ryder got this one right

4 Nov 2009 | 8:48 pm

The topic today is mean girls, specifically mean girls in literature (and as an ancillary, in pop culture). From Nellie Olson to Cordelia Chase to a couple of YA novels that came across my radar lately (The Complete History of Why I Hate Her by Jennifer Richard Jacobson and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook) it seems that for every faithful friend and all-round good girl there is some darn near demonically possessed mean girl out there determined to take her down. The fact that demons never have anything to do with these scenarios is perhaps their most terrifying element. What I…
New York's forgotten underground

3 Nov 2009 | 5:02 pm

I am working on a review of Martin Sandler's Secret Subway about plans and early construction of an 1860s subway system in NYC and while very cool on its own, it has gotten me thinking about underground cities in general and Julia Solis' New York Underground:The Anatomy of a City in particular. Secret Subway is mostly about Alfred Ely Beach, one of those utterly brilliant and talented people who come up with amazing ideas that get thwarted by power-mad politicians (hello Boss Tweed) and others who are more interested in themselves then the greater good. (More about him here.) Beach's subway…
Draw me a life

2 Nov 2009 | 12:07 am

Smithsonian has an excellent short article this month on artist Janice Lowry's illustrated diaries which has made me long again for some kind of artistic talent. Here's a bit: From childhood on, Lowry filled small notebooks with daily musings and drawings. Then, in the mid-1970s, she moved to a larger format, 7 1/2- by 9 1/2-inch notebooks. For almost 40 years, Lowry—an artist best known for her intricate, three-foot-tall assemblages—filled the roomier notebooks with jottings and sketches. The pages contain everything from original drawings, collages and rubber-stamp images to…
Three controversies; one bigger issue

29 Oct 2009 | 10:19 pm

Several controversies brewed around the lit blogosphere this past week and I started to see a larger connection that bugged me a lot. Let me know what you think. First, Betsy had an indepth post yesterday on the Amazon VINE program. Essentially, Amazon receives ARCs from publishers and makes them available to a group of select reviewers, all of whom belong to the VINE program. They request the books they want to review from a prepared list and then are required to post reviews about them at Amazon (positive, negative, whatever but they have to review). The VINE reviews receive precedence on…

Arthur Slade: Writing for Young Adults
Miami Festival!!

Arthur Slade

6 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pm

Well in a week, I'll be off to the Miami International Book Fair to talk about The Hunchback Assignments. I'm looking forward to my "fun in the sun" tour (sadly, I'm really only there for about 36 hours). It looks like a high of 29 C (84F) there and here in Saskatoon it'll be 2 C (35F). So slightly warmer in Miami! The event is on Saturday, Nov. 14, 1:30 p.m., Auditorium Pavilion C. I'll be sharing the stage with Reade Scott Whinnem and Frank McKinney. So be prepared for laughs and frights and frights and chuckles. As you can see I'm listed as "no image available." The weird thing is that I…
The French Hunchback edition

Arthur Slade

5 Nov 2009 | 10:09 am

Just got word that my French publisher, JC Lattès, will be releasing The Hunchback Assignments in February, 2010. The cover will be the same as the American cover, except, of course, titles and words will be in French. The series will be published under a different name in France: LES AGENTS DE MR. SOCRATES with the subtitle LA CONFRERIE DE L'HORLOGE. Alas my French is rusty (I took it in school a million years ago), but babelfish helped me out. It's The Agents of Mr. Socrates: The Brotherhood of the Clock. Curious, eh? I wish I could have sat in on that meeting to know all the reasons for…
BOOKED video #5

Arthur Slade

3 Nov 2009 | 6:33 pm
Unmask the Truth!

Arthur Slade

30 Oct 2009 | 9:05 am

Here's the final version of the Australian cover, along with the cool "shoutline": UNMASK THE TRUTH.*I'm looking forward to the book coming out Down Under (Dec. 1st!).Art*my suggested shoutline was: Buy this book and your IQ will quadruple!They didn't go for it...
A Top Secret Interview

Arthur Slade

29 Oct 2009 | 3:57 pm

A month or so ago, I was interviewed for Costco Magazine for an article about Steampunk and what is hot in YA literature. When the interview was printed I was pleased to see a mention of my book, but the rest of the interview ended up on the cutting room floor. Now I understand that these things happen, but I thought that I’d resurrect the interview and post it on my blog. Since the answers belong to me, but the questions don’t, I’m going to leave the Q’s blank. You can guess what the questions were...heck, make up your own!Here it is: Q:?A: Arthur Slade, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,…

Original Content
Avoid All These Things

gail

5 Nov 2009 | 1:47 pm

If you NaNoWriMoers have a moment to do something other than write, you might check out Why Your Manuscript Can Get Rejected (Part II) at Guide to Literary Agents. Among the most interesting of agent Donna Bagdasarian's top reasons manuscripts are rejected:"4. Not having the protagonist involved in the climax." This seems as if it would be impossible to do. However, a few years back I read a YA novel in which the protagonist was unconscious in the hospital during the climax, heard about it afterwards, and, being a first-person narrator, told us about it at that point. I was somewhat startled,…
Science Fiction Formulas

gail

4 Nov 2009 | 4:42 pm

I was reading some of the responses to last night's premiere of V. I thought it was better than I expected (I wasn't a fan of the original, though I did like the mini-series--I think they should have left well enough alone after that.), but, you know, it is just an invasion story. The character in that crowd scene last night who said, "This is Independence Day!" hit the nail on the head, as far as I'm concerned. An invasion story is an invasion story.I feel the same way about apocalyptic novels. Have you ever read one that didn't involve civilization falling, leading to a dystopian world?
One Issue Down, Another To Go

gail

4 Nov 2009 | 4:30 pm

I'm feeling very good today about my presentation for the Connecticut Children's Book Fair on November 14 at UConn in Storrs, Connecticut. Now I just have to work out what to wear. Sad to say, I actually have already been thinking about this and poking around at some of my possessions. When the seasons change, I sometimes am pleasantly surprised by what I find in the bins in my closet. Not so much this fall.
Repeat After Me, Class..."Ruritania"

gail

3 Nov 2009 | 4:13 pm

I learned a new word today at The Trease Project. While referring to one of Geoffrey Trease's books, blogger Farah Mendlesohn writes, "This is a ruritania, set in an unknown Latin American country."I must admit, at first I thought "ruritania" was some kind of typo. But I looked it up and it's for real. As used at The Trease Project, it means a "setting of adventure, romance, and intrigue." It is derived from the name of the setting of some books by Anthony Hope, including The Prisoner of Zenda.Don't ruritanias appear quite frequently in fantasy novels? I'm thinking of a number of Shannon…
More Graphic Novels

gail

2 Nov 2009 | 4:02 pm

I was in my favorite library last week, and what do I see on their new book shelf, but another Ottoline. I thought, What the heck, Gail. Give the series another shot. And that's how I came to read Ottoline Goes to School by Chris Riddell. I liked this Ottoline better than the first. It has a little more substance, what with Ottoline being attracted to a new friend and Mr. Munroe (whatever he is) feeling left out. The new friend is interesting because she is both upper class snotty and sympathetic at the same time.The Ottoline books, this one in particular, use a lot of oddball names and…

Booktalks Quick and Simple
Taylor, Barbara. PLANET EARTH

Nancy J. Keane

5 Nov 2009 | 4:16 am

Taylor, Barbara. PLANET EARTH
Tafuri, Nancy. BLUE GOOSE

Nancy J. Keane

4 Nov 2009 | 4:16 am

Tafuri, Nancy. BLUE GOOSE
Steele, Philip. ANCIENT ROME

Nancy J. Keane

3 Nov 2009 | 4:16 am

Steele, Philip. ANCIENT ROME
Stadler, John. WILSON AND MISS LOVELY

Nancy J. Keane

2 Nov 2009 | 4:16 am

Stadler, John. WILSON AND MISS LOVELY
St. Crow, Lili. STRANGE ANGELS

Nancy J. Keane

1 Nov 2009 | 4:16 am

St. Crow, Lili. STRANGE ANGELS

Books for Boys
Knowonder - Legend of The White Wolf

max

2 Nov 2009 | 6:07 am

The November issue of Knowonder Magazine is out, and in it is chapter 1 from my adventure book, Legend of The White Wolf. You can find the free, electronic issue athttp://www.knowonder.com/magazine/november/ on Page 54.Knowonder is a magazine intended to, "Inspire your child's Imagination." I like that.Legend of The White Wolf is available on Amazon, or you may order signed copies. Contact me for more information about that at mander8813@aol.comMax Elliot AndersonLEGEND OF THE WHITE WOLF $10.95 0-9752880-3-2They didn’t call him a liar; they just couldn’t believe his story. Brian Fisher…
Two New Books For Boys

max

28 Oct 2009 | 2:11 pm

When my son, Jim, was growing, up, he became interested in any sport that included a ball, a puck, or an athlete. In other words, he was consumed with sports. He's # 25 on the left of this picture. Jim would have loved these books, I’m sure.I’m happy anytime I find books that will appeal to boys, especially reluctant readers, since that's where my books are focused. Author Fred Bowen is writing just such books, published by Peachtree Publishers in Atlanta, Georgia.From his website at http://www.fredbowen.com/home.htm you can find a lot more background information about this author. He…
My Article On Crosswalk.com - Help For Struggling, Reluctant Readers

max

28 Oct 2009 | 6:21 am

If you'd like to read my article, Help For Struggling, Reluctant Readers, you can find it on Crosswalk dit com at http://www.crosswalk.com/homeschool/11610318/Max Elliot Anderson
Speaking About Books For Boys

max

26 Oct 2009 | 1:47 pm

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to speak to over 100 people who had gathered at the Crystal Lake Evangelical Free Church in Crystal Lake, Illinois. They came there to learn how to better reach out to kids. Each person was connected, in one way or another, to an organization called Awana http://www.awana.orgI had been invited for two reasons. Our two adult children had been involved in Awana when they were little. But there was something else. An Awana leader at Winnetka Bible Church, in Winnetka, Illinois, had been reading my action-adventure & mystery books, out loud, in his…
My Wrestle With The Reluctant Reader

max

22 Oct 2009 | 9:46 am

This article captures much of the same journey that I've experienced - minus the music career -as I began writing action-adventures & mysteries, especially for boys. In my case, too, girls like these books.Not long ago, I also reviewed one of the author's books on this blog, "Captain Nobody."Here's a link to the article:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/21/my-wrestle-with-the-reluc_n_327263.htmlMax Elliot Anderson

About.com Children's Books
Picture That! - For Teachers of Tweens and Teens

5 Nov 2009 | 4:46 pm

Among other uses of children's picture books, author and educator Sharron L. McElmeel recommends, "Using picture books to introduce a topic, to build a schematic background for content-area studies, and to develop higher-level thinking skills..." In her book Picture That! From Mendel to Normandy, McElmeel encourages teachers of tweens and teens (grades 4-12) to use picture books across the curriculum and provides guidance as to which children's books to use and how to use them. Using picture books with older kids can be very effective in getting them interested in a topic. I have found that…
2009 Teens' Top Ten - Favorite Books

4 Nov 2009 | 4:01 pm

From August 24 through September 18, teens voted for their favorite books in the 2009 Teens' Top Ten online poll. More than 11,000 of them chose Paper Towns as their favorite book. Teens' Top Ten is sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), which is a division of the American Library Association (ALA). YALSA describes Teens' Top Ten as "a 'teen choice' list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year. Nominators are members of teen book groups in fifteen school and public libraries around the country. Nominations are posted online and…
The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett

3 Nov 2009 | 4:01 pm

If you have children, you probably already know about popular picture book creator Jan Brett, who has more than 33 million books in print. Her picture book, The Three Snow Bears, is a retelling of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," set in a traditional Inuit village. Brett includes accurate details about Inuit lives and customs in the picture book. I have long been a fan of Jan Brett's illustrations and her books. Does your family have a favorite Jan Brett picture book? One of my favorites is Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury a collection of her holiday and winter stories. To share your family's…
A Book About Alzheimer's Disease and More

2 Nov 2009 | 4:01 pm

Did you know that November is National Alzheimer's Disease Month? Alzheimer's disease affects the entire family. It's hard to explain to young children what has happened to their grandfather or grandmother when they are afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. The children's picture book Singing with Momma Lou might help. More than just a book about Alzheimer's disease, it also emphasizes family love and respect, family memories, and the importance of preserving and handing down family stories from one generation to another. Singing with Mama Lou is intended for the 4-8 year old child, but it…
Tsunami! - A Memorable New Book

1 Nov 2009 | 4:55 pm

The picture book Tsunami! is the dramatic story of a tsunami and one man's sacrifice that saves all of the people in a Japanese village threatened by the giant waves. Both the story by Kimiko Kajikawa and the striking artwork by Ed Young are strong enough to stand alone, but together, they create a memorable experience for the reader. I recommend Tsunami! for children six and older, as well as teens and adults. Ed Young's picture book Wabi Sabi, by Mark Reibstein, is on my list of the Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2008. (Cover art courtesy of Penguin) Tsunami! - A Memorable New Book…

Wands and Worlds
Book Review: The Ask and The Answer

20 Oct 2009 | 9:46 am

The Ask and the AnswerChaos Walking, Book Twoby Patrick NessWarning: This review is slightly spoilerish to the first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, so if you haven't read that book, I recommend you stop now and read it first. I loved the first book, but qualified my review with a caution about the ending. Having read the second book, I can now give the series an unqualified recommendation. It's an outstanding series, and one with a lot of teen appeal. My only warning is that bad things happen, and this isn't a series for sensitive readers. My Review of The Knife of Never Letting GoThe…
Bartimaeus prequel in the works!

14 Oct 2009 | 5:50 pm

Terrific news, from Fantasy Book Review via Charlotte's Library: Jonathan Stroud is writing a prequel to the Bartimaeus Trilogy! According to Fantasy Book Review, "The new and fourth Bartimaeus book will follow Bartimaeus’s adventures during his 5,000 year career as a djinni." I'm a little unsure how that will work out, because it's tough to write a book that spans 5000 years but still has a narrative that holds together, unless it's going to be more like a series of short stories. But I loved the trilogy, and the snarky Bartimaeus was such a great character with a unique voice, so I'm…
Book Review: Sacred Scars

13 Oct 2009 | 8:28 am

Sacred ScarsA Resurrection of Magic, Book 2by Kathleen DueyWarning: This review is slightly spoilerish to the fist book, Skin Hunger, so if you haven't read Skin Hunger, I recommend you stop now and read that book first. My review of Skin HungerAs with its predecessor, Skin Hunger, Sacred Scars tells two stories, separated by many years and yet linked together. Sadima is in hiding with Somiss, Franklin, and the boys; she does what she can to protect the boys and prepare for the day that she and Franklin can leave, and escape Somiss' cruelty forever. But she begins to suspect that day will…
Cybils Award 2009

12 Oct 2009 | 10:36 am

For anyone who doesn't know, the 2009 Cybils awards are now open for nominations. Anyone can nominate their favorite children's or young adult book first published between October 16, 2008, and October 15, 2009 for this award, given by the children's literature bloggers to honor the best children's and YA books of the year. Books published in English anywhere in the world are eligible.Nominations close at 11:59 pm PDT on October 15, so you only have a few days left to nominate. First read this post then read this one, then you can go to our handy-dandy nomination form here. (Which, if you…
Pablo Defendini interview

7 Oct 2009 | 8:36 pm

There is a fascinating interview on Bibliophile Stalker, with Tor.com producer Pablo Defendini, about his role at Tor.com and the goals of the site, his background, and his love of speculative fiction. I love this quote:As far as the appeal of SF for me, personally, it’s all about exploring the possibilities of the human race, of our—and other—civilizations. It’s very much about the sense of wonder, the exploration of the ideas of today within the worlds of tomorrow, the building of fantastic worlds that—who knows—could maybe come to pass one day.Read the entire interview here.I…

American Indians in Children's Literature
Back from Madison, and, Sewell Illustrations in LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE

6 Nov 2009 | 6:21 pm

Yesterday afternoon I was at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Janice Rice. We were there at the invitation of Ryan Comfort of the American Indian Curriculum Services office in the School of Education. Working with the theme "Expanding the Narrative," I talked about problems with "the Narrative" as exemplified by Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie, and, uncritical observance and activities about Thanksgiving. Janice highlighted books that have been selected for the American Indian Library Association's Youth Literature Award. We also talked about Best Practice,…
Analysis: PETER PAN IN SCARLET

3 Nov 2009 | 4:02 pm

After spending the last 24 hours re-reading and making notes on Geraldine McCaughrean's Peter Pan in Scarlet, I feel a bit like Mr. John. The book opens with him saying "I'm not going to bed." (p. 2) He doesn't want to go to bed, because he'll have another dream. These dreams are unsettling to him. The worst nights, we read, are when John dreams of Captain Hook.Riffing off this book.... As I read, I'd take time out for meals, teaching, talking with students, and the like. It was a relief to set the book aside to do those things! Tasks finished, then, I was a lot like John. I…
Notes and Summary: PETER PAN IN SCARLET

3 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pm

Back when Geraldine McCaughrean's Peter Pan in Scarlet (nearly everytime I type the words "Peter Pan" I have to fix a typo.... instead of Pan it comes out as Pain) was published, I posted some initial notes. I finished the book, but, events at that time were such that a follow-up post was lost. A colleague wrote to me asking if I'd done anymore work on the book. His query prompted me to dig out the book and my notes (thanks, PN!).I begin, anew. Below are notes and pretty thin chapter by chapter summaries. Chapter 1 - The Old BoysAtop John's wardrobe are things from Neverland. Among the…
Edit(s) to 1935 edition of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE?

1 Nov 2009 | 5:07 am

While doing research on Syd Hoff's Danny and the Dinosaur, I came across information about a revision to Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie. When it was first published in 1935 by Harper, the illustrations were done by Helen Sewell. I knew the publisher asked Garth Williams to redo illustrations for the book in the 1950s, but I did not know text had also been changed.In Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, is the following letter. Nordstrom was the editorial director at Harper from 1940 to 1973, and she was Wilder's editor. The letter writer's name is not provided in…
George Littlechild's THIS LAND IS MY LAND

30 Oct 2009 | 6:39 am

Among my favorite books is George Littlechild's This Land Is My Land, published in 1993 by Children's Book Press. Written and illustrated by Littlechild, the book won the Jane Addams Peace Award.The title, of course, is familiar. Across the United States, in schools and gatherings, people sing "This land is my land, this land is your land..." with a certain patriotic warmth and fervor. But when a Native person utters those words, it is quite different. Those five words have a different meaning... Littlechild is a member of the Plains Cree Nation. Opening the book, I pause at the dedication,…

Archimedes Forgets
Tinker v. Sleepyside-on-Hudson

Sarah Rettger

1 Nov 2009 | 7:12 am

The seventh Trixie Belden book, The Mysterious Code, was published in 1961. That means we have to take a little legal-framework field trip back to the days before Tinker v. Des Moines.Tinker, decided by the Supreme Court in 1969, holds a pretty secure place in lists of significant Supreme Court decisions. It's got some great pull quotes, like "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate" and "In our system, state-operated schools may not be enclaves of totalitarianism. School officials do…
The James Herriot of bookselling

Sarah Rettger

30 Oct 2009 | 6:25 pm

Or something like that.
The Bob-Whites added Arizona to "Places I've Been"

Sarah Rettger

12 Oct 2009 | 1:23 pm

(In other words, Sarah Schmelling's Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float is definitely worth a read. And maybe a place in English classrooms, for when you need a break from comparing Poe's brand of horror to that of Ambrose Bierce.)Sorry about that. Totally unsolicited (and uncompensated) book plug over.Actually, Trixie could use a dose of lit humor in The Mystery in Arizona, since she starts the book by announcing"I'm not passing math and English, and it's all your fault, Honey Wheeler. I would have spent more time studying if I hadn't been having such fun up at your place…
What's your limit?

Sarah Rettger

22 Sep 2009 | 3:11 pm

Mine, in this case, was two words.More to the point, two wrong words.I was enjoying Jay Winik's American Upheaval, a massive book that deals with US, Russian, and French affairs after the American Revolution - until I got to this line on page 478:"Ironically, where Jefferson was a magnificent populist, Hamilton was alternatively derided as pseudo-aristocrat (he married Jane Schyler, a daughter of one of America's wealthiest families)..." [emphasis mine]Um, that would be Elizabeth Schuyler.After slogging through 477 pages - which were really very interesting, filled with stuff I was mostly…
Help me make a reading list, please

Sarah Rettger

21 Sep 2009 | 3:08 pm

After going to hear an excellent Irish-US group last night, I'm in a mood to spend some time reading about Ireland.When I pick books out for myself, I usually gravitate to historical fiction - which is great; I loved the Irish Country Doctor books, but I have no idea what good contemporary stuff is out there.Basically what I'm looking for is the Irish equivalent of Ian Rankin's books, something with a great story, with a setting that's almost a character itself. YA and adult fiction are both good, but I try to avoid depressing books.Any suggestions? They'd be much appreciated.

Bildungsroman
Poetry Friday: Envoy by Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt

5 Nov 2009 | 11:16 pm

Sweet World, if you will hear me now: I may not own a sounding Lyre And wear my name upon my brow Like some great jewel quick with fire. But let me, singing, sit apart, In tender quiet with a few, And keep my fame upon my heart, A little blush-rose wet with dew. - Envoy by Sarah Morgan Bryan PiattView all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.Consult the Poetry Friday roundup schedule at Big A, little a.Learn more about Poetry Friday.
Best Books of October 2009

3 Nov 2009 | 7:58 pm

October 2009: 33 books + many scripts read Picture Books Stormy Weather by Debi GlioriHug Time by Patrick McDonnellTeen FictionSleepaway Girls by Jen CalonitaJumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles A Field Guide for Heartbreakers by Kristen Tracy (coming out May 2010) Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers (coming out January 2010) The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau Non-FictionGuardians of Being - words by Eckhart Tolle, art by Patrick McDonnell
Timestamps: Books Getting Dated (or Not) by Pop Culture References

3 Nov 2009 | 7:54 am

In response to the questions Cynthia Leitich Smith posed in her recent post, cross-posted at the readergirlz blog and here at Bildungsroman:[D]o you believe that dating the book really matters? Does it bother you to read a book written for a contemporary audience that has a few tie-ins that seem a couple of years old? Or do you just assume that the story is a near history, set a couple of years ago, and go ahead with reading the story? Why or why not?If a year is ever stated outright, or a specific historical event, then I'll know right when I am, just as I'll know right where I am if the…
Guest Post: Cynthia Leitich Smith

3 Nov 2009 | 7:54 am

And now, a guest post from Cynthia Leitich Smith:As the author of one of this month's suggested reads, Rain Is Not My Indian Name, I thought I'd discuss a question I struggled with in writing the novel: how should I weigh the need to convey a contemporary setting with the risk of dating the book too quickly? Because so many images of Native people in books are historical, I wove a few pop culture references - mostly related to science fiction - into Rain's narrative to give the book a fairly "now" feeling. However, I selected and framed these tidbits carefully. For example, I planted into…
Readergirlz: November 2009

2 Nov 2009 | 8:33 am

Welcome to November"In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, it is an honor to spotlight Marlene Carvell's novel Sweetgrass Basket at readergirlz. In beautiful free verse, Marlene sensitively relays the struggles of two girls clinging to their Mohawk heritage in the midst of forced assimilation. This is a book that should be read and treasured." - Lorie Ann Grover, rgz co-founderTo learn more about the author and her stories, check out the November 2009 issue of readergirlz as well as our roundtable discussion of Sweetgrass Basket and my review of the book. Once your curiosity is…

bookshelves of doom
Many, many lookalikes.

Leila

6 Nov 2009 | 5:20 am

A great gallery of art used again and again (and, holy cow, again some more) on book covers.
Tillmon County Fire -- Pamela Ehrenberg

Leila

6 Nov 2009 | 5:18 am

From the prologue: I can look at this page, this news about the trial and all the background noise around it, and I can say that this is my life, and also the life of a lot of other young and old and church-going and non-church-going and hard-working and not-so-hard-working people who live in Tillmon County and places just like it. It's my life, but it's their life too. We're in this together, however we might feel about each other at any particular moment. And remembering that makes me think, at least for a little while, that maybe I've found the point. Tillmon…
Catching up: The Season, by Sarah MacLean

Leila

5 Nov 2009 | 5:02 am

While my TBR piles are still towering over me, the To Be Written About piles are starting to give 'em a run for their money. So I'm going to do some short responses -- I need to return a pile of them to the library before my co-worker calls me a deadbeat again. The Season, by Sarah MacLean This one and I didn't get along. I was so very excited about it, because: Regency era! Romance! Murder! Mystery! But... I found that the only aspect of the book that suggested that it wasn't set in the modern day to me (other than the descriptions of the clothes…
Things I Missed While I Was Sick, or, Things That Could Possibly Make Me Sick All Over Again.

Leila

4 Nov 2009 | 4:49 am

So, I'm glad to be back. I was sick sick sick sick sick for a long long long long long time. So sick that I wished I was back at work. Which is pretty sick. Anyway, clearly I missed a whole lot while I was away from this Land of Wonder that we call the Internet. I haven't even started getting caught up. But I'm going to make a Bold Statement based on Nothing But Assumption and state that the A#1 Most Important thing I missed has to have been the Edward Cullen panties. Now. The first picture was scary enough, what with poor RPattz' brooding face centered…
I called it!

Leila

22 Oct 2009 | 7:04 am

Two years ago, when I read Adam Selzer's How to Get Suspended and Influence People, I said that I wouldn't be surprised to see it get challenged. Thank you, lady in Idaho, for making me right.

the excelsior file
Amulet, Book Two: The Stonekeeper's Curse

david elzey

5 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am

by Kazu KibuishiScholastic 2009Here's a problem. If you're an author of a series, you would want your readers to have such vivid memories of your previous books to be able to delve right into the new one and get their bearings instantly. But, if you were creating a strong, well-developed story and it was taking you longer than they usual book-a-year grind that most series require, you would
The Seems: The Lost Train if Thought

david elzey

3 Nov 2009 | 1:01 am

by John Hulme and Michael WexlerBloomsbury 2009By all accounts I should really like this series. No, I should love it. It's got all the things I've identified as being the perfect book for boys. It has action and adventure, clever wordplay and humor, other-world fantasy with real-world consequences, a tinge of romance, political upheaval, and a teen boy working alongside a world of adults.
Half-Minute Horrors

david elzey

30 Oct 2009 | 2:03 am

edited by Susan RichHarperCollins 2009Billed as a "collection of instant frights from the world's most astonishing authors and artists," Half-Minute Horrors lives up to its title by presenting super-short sudden fiction to middle grade readers who like a little creepiness. Just a little, not too much. A set-up, some sort of mystery, and an unsettling cliffhanger of an ending are the norm here,
Punch and the Magic Fish (with video bonus)

david elzey

28 Oct 2009 | 2:27 am

A Grimm Brothers' Tale Retoldby Emanuele LuzzatiPantheon / Random House 1973Luzzati's retelling of the Grimm's "The Fisherman and His Wife" get overlaid with the Punch and Judy comedy of the hapless hunchback and his shrew of a wife. Not as opulent as some of Luzatti's other illustrations, the story melds the two stories fairly well until the end when it veers a little and the magic fish from
See and Say

david elzey

26 Oct 2009 | 2:39 am

a picture book in four languageswoodcuts by antonio frasconiharcourt, brace & world, inc 1955Until just this moment when I looked up the publication date I would have sworn this book was 15 to 20 years younger than it is. This multi-lingual abecedarian groups words and images at random throughout with each object named in English, Spanish, French and Italian, including a pronunciation guide as

Jen Robinson's Book Page
After Ever After: Jordan Sonnenblick: Middle School Book Review

Jen Robinson

5 Nov 2009 | 4:02 pm

Book: After Ever After (sequel to Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie)Author: Jordan SonnenblickPages: 272 Age Range: 10-14 I adored Jordan Sonnenblick's Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, a book that I picked up largely because it had such a great title, and found to be much more than I had expected. Therefore, I was thrilled to learn that Sonnenblick has a sequel to Drums, Girls coming out in February, and even more thrilled to get my hands on an advance copy. First of all, if you haven't read Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, please do NOT read this review. Any description of After…
Rampant: Diana Peterfreund: YA Book Review

Jen Robinson

5 Nov 2009 | 2:50 pm

Book: RampantAuthor: Diana Peterfreund (blog)Pages: 416Age Range: 13 and up Rampant by Diana Peterfreund is a young adult fantasy novel chock-full of strong teen girl characters. We've seen other novels in which the villains are fairies, vampires, and zombies. In Rampant, the villains are vicious, poisonous, clever unicorns. As the story begins, teen Astrid Llewelyn learns that her mother's apparent delusions about the existence of unicorns, and their family's role as legendary unicorn hunters, are actually true. The unicorns, long thought to be extinct, are back, and…
Cookie Monster!

Jen Robinson

5 Nov 2009 | 9:24 am

Just popping in to say that while I enjoyed yesterday's Big Bird logo on Google, I LOVE today's Cookie Monster logo. Is that not the best thing ever? Happy 40th Birthday Sesame Street. My childhood wouldn't have been the same without you. And now, I have this crazy urge to leave the rest of my email unanswered, and go make cookies...
Wednesday Afternoon Visits: November 4: Kidlitosphere News and Views

Jen Robinson

4 Nov 2009 | 11:42 am

It's been a pretty active week around the Kidlitosphere. Here are a few links for you. Today is Sesame Street's 40th birthday. Happy Birthday to Cookie Monster, Oscar, and the rest of the crew. One of my earliest memories is of singing "C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me" in the car. According to this news release, "Google, an innovator in the world of technology, has partnered with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, to create original “Google doodles.” Starting today, Google will feature photographic…
Children's Literacy Round-Up: November 2

Jen Robinson

2 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

This week’s children’s literacy and reading news round-up, brought to you by Jen Robinson’s Book Page and Scrub-a-Dub-Tub, a Reading Tub blog, is now available here. This week Terry Doherty and I have collected plenty of content for you about literacy & reading-related events; literacy and reading programs and research; 21st century literacies; and grants, sponsorships & donations. Events Saturday, of course, was Halloween. One of my favorite blogger holiday traditions is by Camille from Book Moot. She always asks trick-or-treaters about their favorite books, before giving…

Writing and Ruminating
On the benefits of seeing live productions of Shakespeare's plays

6 Nov 2009 | 7:44 pm

Rather than (merely) taunting all of you with my having seen Hamlet on Broadway last night starring the lovely and talented Jude Law in the title role, with Kevin R. McNally ("Mr. Gibbs", first mate to Johnny Depp's "Captain Jack Sparrow") as Claudius, I thought I'd also generalize a bit about the benefits of seeing live theatre. My celebration (I shall try to refrain from out-and-out crowing) over my attendance at the play last night will be mixed in with some general points. But first, a few facts about my trip:1. I purchased the tickets over a month ago. At the time, I was seriously hoping…
The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme by Bobbi Katz & Adam McCauley

6 Nov 2009 | 4:30 pm

There are books that I like, and books that I love, and books that I wish that I'd written. This book falls into that last category (actually, all three categories, really), for a number of reasons. Because it's gotten far later in the day than I'd anticipated (I had to take M and her friend into Philly for the day, and managed to lose the entire afternoon along the way), I'm going with a list-like review in discussing The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme "ghostwritten by" Bobbi Katz and illustrated by Adam McCauley.1. Even though this is nothing over which an author (usually) has control,…
Coming soon

6 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am

A poetry-related book review post of Bobbi Katz's The Monsterologist for Poetry Friday and my thoughts on Jude Law's Hamlet last night. The nutshell version is that both of them are great.Oh. And by "soon", I mean "this afternoon".ETA: By which it turned out I meant, respectively, "this evening" and "late tonight".
Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

5 Nov 2009 | 11:53 am

On November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes and a group of collaborators planned to ignite a large quantity of gunpowder beneath the halls of Parliament at a time when King James I was speaking there. The plot was foiled, Fawkes was tortured and slated for execution (but jumped to his death, thereby avoiding the "being drawn and quartered" portion of his sentence), and the identified co-conspirators were all killed one way or another.In due course, rhymes about the day sprang up, as they are wont to do. At the end of this post, one of the most popular versions of the full rhyme that was traditionally…
NaNo? No!

4 Nov 2009 | 2:37 pm

Today, I learned that Tara Lazar (whom I met earlier this year) is hosting something called "Picture Book Idea Month" (PiBoIdMo). This is the sort of thing that is right up my alley. None of this "write 1,666 words a day" business for me. Instead, Tara's November is dedicated to coming up with possible picture book ideas. She did it last year as a solo project and came up with at least 30 ideas, from which she wrote 4 picture books, one of which is already out in the world on submission. I have to say that I find this idea to be inspired. And, as I said before, right up my alley.Of course, it…

The Miss Rumphius Effect
Three Years and Counting - Happy Birthdy TMRE!

Tricia

5 Nov 2009 | 9:02 pm

It's hard to believe, but The Miss Rumphius Effect is three years old today. I started blogging in November of 2006 because I wanted to launch a practicum blog with my students during the spring of 2007. Before I asked them to do this, I was convinced I needed to model the practice myself. I'm not particularly proud of those first few posts, as they aren't really focused, but it didn't take me long to find my footing. Three years later, I'm still reading, still writing, and so very blessed by all the friends I've made in this amazing community.In the spirit of celebration, grab yourself a…
Poetry Friday - Gabardine

Tricia

5 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm

I read this one and couldn't help but think of my Dad, the men who sit in the park, and those who gather daily for coffee and conversation at the local pharmacy lunch counter.Gabardineby Ted KooserTo sit in sunlight with other old men,none with his legs crossed, our feet in loose shoeshot and flat on the earth, hands curled in our lapsRead the poem in it's entirety.The round up is being hosted by ... (When I find out I'll link it here!)Happy poetry Friday all!
Books for Elementary Social Studies - Geography

Tricia

5 Nov 2009 | 5:45 am

Last week my preservice teachers posted their reviews of books for teaching economics in the elementary classroom. This week they've focused on geography. I'm amazed at the number of wonderful selections they have, including nonfiction, poetry, and some very creative picture book suggestions. Head on over to Open Wide, Look Inside this week to see what they're sharing.
Books for Elementary Social Studies - Economics

Tricia

3 Nov 2009 | 10:41 am

Last week my students returned to the task of reading and reviewing books for the elementary classroom, this time with an eye for the social studies. This first time around they tackled economics. You'll find books on trade, barter, wants and needs, money and more. Head on over to Open Wide, Look Inside and see what they're sharing.
On Poetry and Meeting Jane

Tricia

3 Nov 2009 | 5:46 am

Yup. That's me sitting next to the inimitable Jane Yolen. Without completely gushing and getting all fan-girly, let me tell you that she is a lovely, lovely woman. After having her drop by to stretch with us so often, I was thrilled to finally meet her.Okay, bear with me for a sidebar, just for a moment.I know you've heard this before, but I work at an amazing institution. Two years ago I had the pleasure of dining with John Green and hearing him speak. He was brought to Richmond to deliver the Cathleen Mallaney Trees Lecture. Two weeks ago I lunched with Tobin Anderson and heard him speak as…

The Longstockings
Big Changes and Big Thanks

daphne grab

20 Oct 2009 | 11:05 am

We’ve had such fun here at the blog dissecting the writing process, reflecting on the publishing industry and discussing all things kidlit.It’s been awesome hearing from all of you these past years and getting to know so many of you in the kidlit community.But we’ve now decided that the time has come for a change.We have a few new things in the works that we will definitely keep you posted about (so be sure to check back in the next few months!), but from here on out this blog space will no longer be for active discussion but a place to check in and find out what’s new in the lives of…
Come see me and 5 other authors!

Caroline Hickey

13 Oct 2009 | 12:13 pm

As part of this year's KidLitCon, there will be a group book signing Sunday, October 18th with 6 great authors at Hooray for Books in Old Town Alexandria.1:00pm- Cynthia Cotten presents Rain Play Jacqueline Jules presents Unite or Die! Sue Corbett presents Last Newspaper Boy2:00pm- Caroline Hickey presents Isabelle's Boyfriend Elizabeth Scott presents Something, Maybe Paula Chase-Hyman presents Flipping the ScriptIf you're in the hood, please come by!*caroline hickey
Another win for the Wimpy Kid

Kathryne B Alfred

13 Oct 2009 | 2:04 am

Did anybody else see this in today's New York Times Health section?Here I thought they were just fun to read: child psychologists are endorsing the books for giving grown-ups "a rare glimpse into a child's ethical mind."Even better than a column dedicated to the idea that "you can learn something about your kids by reading the books they love," are the comments in the related post on the Well blog. A few moralists sniff that Kinney is letting the side down by creating a main character who often does the opposite of what parents would want their children to do. But they're outvoted by the…
I'm so excited...

lisa greenwald

1 Oct 2009 | 6:06 am

to be going to this !!!I'm an author sponsor which basically means I will have a table there with giveaways. I'll get to chat with the tween girls and I'm helping a few girls with their travel and hotel costs.YAY!!!!!!xoxox lisa gw
An Office to Envy

Caroline Hickey

24 Sep 2009 | 4:28 pm

This is the Berkshires vacation hideaway/office of the fabulous author/illustrator Jan Brett. It was just featured in the NY TIMES Great Homes and Destinations. Sigh. Isn't it dreamy??? I have a very lovely office and I'm still greening over this one! Here's the full article if you want to see more. *caroline hickey

MotherReader
Booklights, NaNoWriMo, and NYC

MotherReader

5 Nov 2009 | 7:02 am

Today at Booklights I’ve got three Cybils-nominated picture books that are worth a look for the toddler set. That said, I’m pretty sure that the French one will be staying on my personal shelf for a long time to come. And I’m no toddler, though I occasionally cry like one. Generally on election day. (Stupid Maine.)My progress in NaNoWriMo has been stalled by my supremely annoying life. I believe I have made some necessary adjustments in some areas and made my peace with other aspects, and hope to get back on the writing bandwagon today. I’m still having trouble finding…
ABC Storytime: G Is for...

MotherReader

3 Nov 2009 | 7:41 am

Does anyone have songs or rhymes for giraffes or gorillas? Seems like there should be one or two floating around. I'll have to use my back-up song for any letter, now featuring...The Letter GBook: Giraffes Can’t Dance, by Giles AndreaeBook: Gorilla! Gorilla! by Jeanne WillisSong: “What Begins With G?”(to the tune of Farmer in the Dell)What begins with G?What begins with G?We all know, we’ll tell you so.What begins with G.Giraffe begins with G...Gorilla begins with G...Girl begins with G...Book: The Three Silly Girls Grubb, by John and Ann Hassett or Goldilocks and the…
Poetry Friday: Folloween

MotherReader

30 Oct 2009 | 7:10 am

Yesterday at Booklights I talked about monster books that are perfect for Halloween but aren’t shelved in the holiday section of your library in case, say, you were supposed to get a book for reading to your child’s class and somehow put it off until the last minute and then realized that the only thing you had in the house was Clifford’s Halloween and you were not using that because okay, he’s a BIG dog and you so get it already and there has to be something better and there totally was except all the moms who were doing their job correctly made it to the library when…
Booklights, Monster Books, and NYC

MotherReader

29 Oct 2009 | 8:15 am

I am slowly making my way back to the land of the living. Or at least the land of the living online. After the KidLitosphere Conference and the week of wrapping up — both posts and other tasks — I was off to the Internet-free world of my mother’s house to help in her recovery from surgery. She’s doing fine, and I’m now back at home with piles of laundry, stacks of books, loads of activities, and my beloved Internet... family! I meant, beloved family!Anyway, these are the days when frantic parents hit the library looking for a Halloween book to read at…
ABC Storytime: F Is for...

MotherReader

27 Oct 2009 | 12:10 pm

Yeah, I know it happened again with ABC Storytime. I’m all off schedule. Let’s just say that I’m going rogue.Anyway, back to the letter F. Yet again there are so many good picture books to use for this letter that I’ve done whole programs on just fish, farms, or friends. Oh, and food is a good one too. Here is a nice combination. The Letter FBook: Ten Little Fish, by Audrey Woods, or The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark, by Ken GeistSong: “Once I Caught a Fish Alive” One, two, three, four, five.Once I caught a fish alive.Six, seven, eight, nine,…

Pinot and Prose
Poetry Friday

Laura Lutz

6 Nov 2009 | 8:49 am

I don't normally take part in Poetry Friday - other than Walt Whitman, I'm just not a fan - but I'm just feelin' it after the week I've had. Here's my contribution:A Dream Deferred What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry uplike a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-- And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? ~ Langston HughesI first read this poem in high school and, while I loved it then, I didn't "get it". Because most of what high school students are forced to read won't…
Not a graham cracker in sight

Laura Lutz

5 Nov 2009 | 1:39 pm

Ashley over at Not Without Salt posted this intriguing, mouth-watering recipe for an Applejack Rabbit cocktail, circa 1965. The photo is tantalizing, no? Ashley takes amazing pictures:And I'll bet it tastes a lot better than my now-notorious crappy pumpkintini.Here's another:Calvados is one of my favorite beverages. A few years ago, I went to dinner with a bartender friend of mine and I ordered an apple crumble for dessert. I wanted an after-dinner drink. Damon heartily recommended the Calvados with the apple crumble, particularly when he discovered I had never tried the brandy. It was a…
Book Blogger Holiday Swap

Laura Lutz

5 Nov 2009 | 6:20 am

I read about this first at Presenting Lenore, followed by GreenBeanTeenQueen - they're both participating. It sounded like an absolute hoot to me so I signed up. Go to the holiday swap official website to sign up - you only have until November 12th!
"One thing's for sure, we're all gonna be a lot thinner!"

Laura Lutz

5 Nov 2009 | 6:12 am

No words can describe my love and affection for these bookends: I would go so far as to say that my day just got infinitely better, knowing these exist in the world.Thanks to ALA Direct and Oddee for bringing them into my life.
Blogging and drinking: these are a few of my favorite things!

Laura Lutz

1 Nov 2009 | 6:41 pm

I'm thrilled to see some of my favorite ladies on the cover of School Library Journal this month:Betsy Bird (Fuse #8), Liz Burns (A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy), Monica Edinger (Educating Alice), Cheryl Klein (Brooklyn Arden), and Jen Hubert Swan (Reading Rants!). You all look gorgeous!And check out the accompanying article!Eat, drink, and cheers to my blogging cohorts!

Poetry for Children
Birth of the Zeno

Sylvia Vardell

30 Oct 2009 | 5:53 pm

I’m on a JPat roll at the moment, happy to share news of another contribution of J. Patrick Lewis. He has invented a new poetic form, the zeno! Tricia scooped the news at The Miss Rumphius Effect earlier this week, but I think it bears repeating. I know teachers enjoy introducing the form of poetry to kids, as they model for children the different ways a poem can look and sound. And kids often enjoy this aspect of poetry too—approaching it as a puzzle to solve and understand. And I know poets themselves approach the form and structure of poetry with great intentionality and I’m always…
Riddle poems and Spot the Plot

Sylvia Vardell

28 Oct 2009 | 7:58 am

I’m a big fan of riddles and love sharing them with kids. Riddles exercise those higher level thinking skills and stretch young minds to use logic, deduction, analysis, and problem solving skills. Plus, I’ll never forget when my son, age 4 (and now 21), first realized that riddles usually followed a regular formula: Pose a question, suggest attributes, offer clues, wait… and provide answer. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that riddles also involve subtlety and indirectness—so he would pick an object in the room, describe it, and ask us what it was—all while staring at said…
Poetry for Teens

Sylvia Vardell

24 Oct 2009 | 2:29 pm

Here's a big shout out to my former students, Cynthia Bartek and Heather Schubert, who are now UberLibrarians in Austin (Texas) and have launched the first Austin Teen Book Festival TODAY! What a terrific event they have planned. I had hoped to go, but it didn't work out. But I promised them a poetry booklist for teens, which I am sharing with you here. It focuses on a few titles (mostly published post-2000) in a few fun categories with a focus on maximum teen appeal. Enjoy! Crazy Awesome Poetry for Teens 1. Engle, Margarita. 2008. The Surrender Tree. Henry Holt. 2. Frost, Helen. 2003.
e-poetry news

Sylvia Vardell

16 Oct 2009 | 9:27 am

A variety of electronic tidbits have crossed my desk recently, so I thought I might gather them all here to share. It's a hodge podge of blog world news, best lists, book plugs, and downloadable readings. Check it out!Poet David Harrison has launched a new blog and is featuring a "Word of the Month Poetry Challenge" (along with links for young aspiring poets). He joins the likes of Tricia Stohr-Hunt, Elaine Magliaro, Greg Pincus, among others, in helping nudge along the poetry writing process for those who care to join in. So many poets writing for young people have joined the blogging fray…
The Global Scene

Sylvia Vardell

9 Oct 2009 | 9:52 pm

I just came back from the amazing biennial IBBY regional conference held in St. Charles, Illinois (near Chicago) where we had an incredible line up of speakers from all around the world (Shaun Tan, Ana Maria Machado, Carmen Diana Dearden, David Wiesner, Katherine Paterson, Naomi Shihab Nye, Vladimir Radunsky, Klaas Verplancke, and more). It’s always a great event—an opportunity to learn, but even more, an opportunity to meet and mingle with like-minded people all weekend long. I’ve always characterized it as more of a “retreat,” than a conference, because you spend as much time in…

children's book news - Google News
Need help finding a children's book? - LiteracyNews.com

7 Nov 2009 | 3:50 am

Need help finding a children's book?LiteracyNews.comI am looking for a children's book that was read to my by one of my professors in my Children's Literacy class last fall. It was adorable and I'd like to
THE LION AND THE MOUSE Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney - New York Times

6 Nov 2009 | 9:14 pm

THE LION AND THE MOUSE Illustrated by Jerry PinkneyNew York TimesPicture books and novels for kids and teens — plus the best illustrated children's books of the year. This is Pinkney's second go at “The Lion and the Mouse
Blowin' in the Wind - New York Times

6 Nov 2009 | 9:14 pm

New York TimesBlowin' in the WindNew York Times(Ages 10 to 14) Picture books and novels for kids and teens — plus the best illustrated children's books of the year. So begins “Years of Dust: The Story of
By Liz Garton Scanlon Illustrated by Marla Frazee - New York Times

6 Nov 2009 | 9:14 pm

By Liz Garton Scanlon Illustrated by Marla FrazeeNew York TimesPicture books and novels for kids and teens — plus the best illustrated children's books of the year. Liz Garton Scanlon can do it well.
Children's Books Poached, Then Coddled - New York Times

6 Nov 2009 | 9:14 pm

New York TimesChildren's Books Poached, Then CoddledNew York TimesSimon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. $15.99. (Ages 4 to 8) Picture books and novels for kids and teens — plus the best illustrated children's books of

Kids Lit
All of Me! A Book of Thanks

saecker

6 Nov 2009 | 11:51 am

All of Me! A Book of Thanks by Molly Bang A small child thanks each body part for how well they work. Fine feet hold you up, hands can grab and hold, arms to hug, mouth, eyes, nose, ears, and heart. Each bit of us is constantly supporting our life, allowing us to do what we need to do. Every day we feel so many different things, do so many different things. And in the end? We are part of the universe and alive! Bang’s art is so beautiful and simple here. The end pages of the book feature some of her work space and then some ideas for children to start…
Luv Ya Bunches

saecker

6 Nov 2009 | 11:04 am

Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle Yes, this is the book that was not included in Scholastic Book Fairs because one of the characters has lesbian parents. Sheesh! That has since changed and they will be carrying the title. This book though is so much more than the subject of that controversy! It’s funny, smart, and simply wonderful. It all starts with a big gesture in the hallway made by Katie-Rose, who slams into Milla, sending her backpack and everything in it skittering across the floor. Katie-Rose skulks away, so Yasaman is blamed for the event though she had…
Finn Throws a Fit!

saecker

5 Nov 2009 | 1:40 pm

Finn Throws a Fit! by David Elliott, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering I was sold on this book from the very first page, which features a huge image of Finn hugging a peach. The look on his face of complete and utter bliss is the essence of joy. Then of course, the book changes… Today, Finn does not like peaches. He doesn’t like anything at all. He is just plain grumpy! He slams doors, yells, cries, stomps his feet. His temper is so huge that when he does these things they have disastrous effects. His tears flood the house. Lightning…
The Mitten

saecker

5 Nov 2009 | 1:24 pm

The Mitten retold by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Barbara McClintock This is a retelling of Ukrainian folktale made popular by Jan Brett whose beloved version is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. A little boy heads out to play in his new hat, scarf and mittens that his grandmother has knitted for him. While playing, he loses one of his mittens. The mitten is found by a squirrel, a rabbit, a fox, and a bear who manage to squeeze into the mitten and be nice and warm. But when a mouse comes by and begs to join them too, it is too much for even…
You and Me and Home Sweet Home

saecker

4 Nov 2009 | 11:06 am

You and Me and Home Sweet Home by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Stephanie Anderson In poetic form, Lyon tells the story of a young girl, Sharonda, and her mother who have a Habitat for Humanity house built for them. The story moves from them living in a tiny room together in her Aunt Janey’s apartment and through the process of the home being built and completed. Beginning with the empty lot and hope, the story is built as sturdily and lovingly as the home itself. Lyon’s poetry does not rhyme and for most children will not read as a poem, but it is. Filled with…

Cynsations
Guest Post Elizabeth O. Dulemba on Marketing - The Snowball Effect

Cynthia Leitich Smith

6 Nov 2009 | 7:09 am

By Elizabeth O. DulembaI’m in the thick of marketing my newest picture book (and first as author-illustrator)--Soap, soap, soap (Raven Tree, 2009), and I keep getting emails from friends asking how I market, especially online.To me, marketing is a two-phase process. There’s general marketing (getting my name out there), and then there’s specific marketing (of a particular title).It’s like building a snowball. When I got into this business eight years ago, my career (AKA snowball) was the size of a pea. But I was willing to put in the work, and had time to make it grow. Hence began my…
Cynsational News & Giveaways

Cynthia Leitich Smith

6 Nov 2009 | 6:43 am

Enter to win one of two author-signed copies of Soap Soap Soap Jabón Jabón Jabón (Raven Tree, 2009), one of three author-signed copies of My Father's House by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by Raul Coln (Viking, 2007), an author-bookplate-signed copy of Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French (Amulet, 2009) and a contributor-signed copy of Immortal: Love Stories with Bite, edited by P.C. Cast (BenBella, Oct. 2009)!From the promotional copy of Soap Soap Soap Jabn Jabn Jabn:Hugo's mamá sends him to the store to buy soap. Of course, Hugo takes the long way there which gets him into loads of…
Craft, Career & Cheer: Deborah Noyes

Cynthia Leitich Smith

5 Nov 2009 | 6:47 am

Learn about Deborah Noyes and her new releases, Sideshow: Ten Original Tales of Freaks, Illusionists and Other Matters Odd and Magical and African Acrostics: A World in Edgeways with poems by Avis Harley (both Candlewick, 2009).What do you love most about being an author? Why?For a daydreamer, there's no better work. I get to be a mental traveler, chair-bound maybe but always on the move, always exploring, discovering, uncovering, collecting, picking characters' psychological and emotional locks.I'm also crazy about--can't get enough of--historical research, immersing myself in other times…
Five Questions with Scholastic Editor-Author Lisa Ann Sandell

Cynthia Leitich Smith

5 Nov 2009 | 6:33 am

5 Questions with Lisa Ann Sandell: "On Our Minds asks [author and] senior editor at Scholastic, Lisa Ann Sandell 5 simple questions about YA and what it's like to be an editor."Cynsational NotesLisa is on the faculty of the 2010 Houston-SCBWI Conference, scheduled for Feb. 20, 2010, at the Merrell Center in Katy. Other faculty members include: Ruta Rimas of Balzar & Bray; Patrick Collins of Henry Holt; Alexandra Cooper of Simon & Schuster; literary agent Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger, Inc.; Nancy Feresten of National Geographic; and author Cynthia Leitich Smith.Lisa's latest release…
New Voice: Joy Preble on Dreaming Anastasia

Cynthia Leitich Smith

4 Nov 2009 | 5:52 am

Joy Preble is the first-time author of Dreaming Anastasia (Sourcebooks, 2009). From the promotional copy:Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't.Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her. When she wakes up she discovers that she is in the ancient hut of the witch Baba Yaga, and that some things are worse than being dead.In modern-day Chicago, Anne doesn't know much about Russian history. She is more concerned about getting into a good…

Blog from the Windowsill
Speaking of Jean Webster

web

21 Oct 2009 | 4:04 pm

as I was, once upon a time, I just started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and I suspect the authors are channeling her. Will be interesting to see where it goes.(I see that Nancy Pearl sees more of a Helene Hanff thing going on. That's good too.)
Another reason people write fanfic?

web

10 Oct 2009 | 10:23 am

I reread Jean Webster's Dear Enemy the other day -- it's hard to judge a book you've loved for around 30 years, but I think it hold up tremendously well despite being around a hundred years or so old -- and got a craving to reread just the ending of Daddy-Long-Legs. And when I did, I noticed something I don't think I've ever noticed before. Judy, the heroine of DDL, is a dedicated writer and has just published a book as that story ends. Judy is a prominent character in DE -- both books are in epistolary form and most of the letters written in DE are written to her. We hear a fair bit of…
Reading with Ben - Poetry Saturday

web

3 Oct 2009 | 8:49 pm

My son tends to find his own books, and very selectively too, so it was a little thrill to see him reading something I'd put on his shelves, Making Friends with Frankenstein. Tonight his dad was out of town, so rather than the usual installment of Harry Potter with voices, I picked up MFwF and read him some of it. What a fascinating experience it is to read comic poetry with a highly intelligent autistic child. He wanted me to explain many of the jokes, especially the puns, but then he found them just hilarious.He's reading to himself now and I can hear almost constant laughter.It doesn't…
I dunno, this might be better than what they actually did do

web

9 Sep 2009 | 3:05 pm

xkcd on filmed children's classics.
review: Violet

web

7 Sep 2009 | 8:27 pm

Violet by Tania Duprey Stehlik. Illustrated by Vanja Buleta Javanovic. Second Story Press, 2009 (978-1897187-60-9) $14.95I couldn't get a cover illustration for Violet, but here's a book trailer that gives a sense of the illustrations. It's a very eye-catching book, with a spiky haired, elongated heroine and some seriously surreal backgrounds; the overall effect is sometimes childlike, sometimes pretty, and occasionally even a bit creepy in a rather Coraline-esque way. It sorts of makes sense when you realize that Violet is set in an alternate world, one in which people are red and blue and…

BookMoot
The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear

BookMoot

6 Nov 2009 | 9:16 pm

The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear by David Bruins; illustrated by Hilary Leung, Kids Can Press, 2009 (review copy supplied by publisher)As I approached the school where I was to do a storytelling gig last week, I noted that the school's marquee was featuring the character program trait for October, Individuality. This book came to mind and it occurred to me that this is a perfect book to share that message.The Ninja, the Cowboy and the Bear are good friends but they argue and face off against each other in a series of contests. Each one has a strength or ability, unique to them. Bear can build…
Keys, keys, keys

BookMoot

4 Nov 2009 | 4:50 pm

100ScopeNotes tweeted me over to BookEnds at BookList -- Keyed into Cover ControversyLook at all the keyed up covers!All I can say is that when Tiffany & Co. starts selling them, it is officially a trend. Thanks to entling no. 1 for the heads up to these little gems.Tiffany Key Pendants
NonFiction Monday: Texas Bluebonnet List Picture Book Biographies

BookMoot

2 Nov 2009 | 12:31 am

The Texas Bluebonnet List for 2010-2011 was announced by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett at the Texas Book Festival this past weekend.Not one, but, TWO picture book biographies are on the list which is unusual and acknowledges the excellence of the books and the import and novelty of their subjects. Interestingly both books are about two men who made mark on the world via the oceans!Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe, illustrations by Richard Waldrep, Lee & Low Books, 2007Duke Kahanamoku was an Olympic gold medalist, the father of modern surfing, and an icon of Hawaiian culture.
Halloween 2009

BookMoot

31 Oct 2009 | 8:19 pm

And then Night Fell......and the winner for the evening is...Twilight, followed by Harry Potter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, New Moon, Star Wars -- with individual votes for Pendragon, Running Out of Time, Junie B. Cat in the Hat, Goosebumps, Sponge Bob, the Immortals, Warriors, Lightening Thief, Animal Farm, Lord of the Rings, Inkheart, Savvy,and two nonfiction titiles Insects and Trains.
Missing you

BookMoot

30 Oct 2009 | 8:05 am

Author Anthony Horowitz tweets "In Bungay. The first copy of Crocodile Tears has just rolled off the presses and into my hot and sweaty hands..."This bit of news made me so happy.It occurred to me that I have missed Alex Rider. Odd to miss literary characters, but there it is. I miss Harry, and Hermione and Ron. Every once and a while, I find myself wondering how they are, what they are doing. Did they get a flu shot?I have many series that I follow with interest but there are some characters that I feel very personally about, like I've spent time with them which, in a way, I have.Hokey…

Read Alert
FAQs

Mike Shuttleworth

4 Nov 2009 | 9:27 pm

One of the most frequently asked questions recently goes something like this. “What’s going on the Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas?” Well, now you can find out by receiving regular email updates. So now you know. What is the CBWI, I hear you ask? Find out here.
Don’t cry for me, Anthony Horowitz

Mike Shuttleworth

4 Nov 2009 | 7:16 pm

The truth is, Crocodile Tears, the latest Alex Rider novel, is out later this month. But you can win a copy now over at boys, blokes, books - where Tristan Bancks is in control.
Too late for Halloween

Mike Shuttleworth

4 Nov 2009 | 5:59 pm

Salem Brownstone is a deliciously moody graphic novel for teenagers and older. When Salem’s estranged father dies suddenly, his quiet life managing a laundromat is turned upside down and inside out. He pitched into a world of ghosts, wraiths and destructive spirits. The purple cloth and spidery cover illustrations give you a taste of what is [...]
Best books 2009, from Publishers Weekly

Mike Shuttleworth

4 Nov 2009 | 3:59 pm

The American trade journal Publishers Weekly have posted their best of 2009. Scroll down their list and see Shaun Tan’s Tales From Outer Suburbia taking its place in a list dominated, unsurprisingly, by North American writers. The US cover looks like this.
Say hello to Mariko

Mike Shuttleworth

3 Nov 2009 | 7:13 pm

Welcome to Mariko Tamaki, who has joined insideadog as the writer-in-residence. Mariko is one half of the team that created Skim, currently on the Inky Award shortlist.

The PlanetEsme Plan: The Best New Children's Books from Esme's Shelf
BOO TO YOU! (PICTURE BOOK)

Esme Raji Codell

23 Oct 2009 | 4:41 pm

PICTURE BOOKBOO TO YOU! by Lois Ehlert (Beach Lane)A raccoon or a squirrel might bite a veggie,But a cat loves meat, and that makes us edgy.The mice are planning an autumnal celebration, but guess who they didn't invite? Their nemesis will have to crash that party, but at his peril, as these mice are prepared to scare! Busy collage illustrations camouflage the turquoise torn-paper mice, but nothing can hide the pumpkin seed teeth of the cat against a midnight black background. One part spooky and two parts seasonal, visuals are this story's strength, and the last page sports a double page…
THE MONSTEROLOGIST: A MEMOIR IN RHYME (POETRY)

Esme Raji Codell

22 Oct 2009 | 7:54 am

POETRYTHE MONSTEROLOGIST: A MEMOIR IN RHYME "ghostwritten" by Bobbi Katz, illustrated by Adam McCauley (Sterling)Greasy green lizardsAnd raw chicken gizzards,Spell-binding spellscast by spell-casting wizards.Dead mice and head liceand flapping bat wings--these are a few of my favorite things!Yes, even Rogers and Hammerstein takes a Halloween hit in this erudite collection of rememberances by one who has spent his life chasing the most famous of creeps. This poem is a good representation of the work because it underscores the poet's distinct lyrical quality, with a wit, sophistication and…
THE YELLOW TUTU (PICTURE BOOK)

Esme Raji Codell

9 Oct 2009 | 7:19 am

PICTURE BOOKTHE YELLOW TUTU by Kirsten Bramsen, illustrated by Carin Bramsen (Random House)Too-too adorable. While that should probably be the summation line of a review, the degree of darlingness of this book dictates that adjectives go first. When Margo receives a lovely yellow tutu for her birthday, she decrees that the garment is better suited for wearing on her head, and is shocked and wounded when her circle shirks her fashion-forward thinking. Luckily, by putting her true self out there, she is able to locate an equally true friend, who appreciates a little creative couture. The…
REDWOODS (NONFICTION)

Esme Raji Codell

7 Oct 2009 | 7:48 am

NONFICTIONREDWOODS by Jason Chin (Roaring Brook)In this effective melding of picture book format and nonfiction content, a redwood forest sprouts from a book that a boy finds in a subway station. A Thanks to a fertile imagination, the facts carry him off into the world of the tallest living things on the planet, rising over three hundred feet in the air. Through the perils of a forest fire, encounters with things that creep and leap and soar (follow the little flying squirrel from page to page!) and a majestic climb into the crown of the Titan tree, the boy comes to appreciate the survival of…
S IS FOR STORY and OTHER GREAT NEW BOOKS ABOUT BOOKS AND WRITING

Esme Raji Codell

4 Oct 2009 | 8:00 am

PICTURE BOOKS IS FOR STORY by Esther Hershenhorn, illustrated by Zachary Pullen (Sleeping Bear Press)Y is for Your Story,yours to live and grow,of all you do,and where you've beenand where you hope to go.Well, I have stopped regular hours of the PlanetEsme Bookroom while I pursue my Master's in library science, but I HAD to open it up again today at 2:00 p.m. to celebrate the release of this book with a visit by the legendary author herself, famous not only for her own award-winning work but for her support of and influence upon the writing of other authors, and an open mike for kids (e-mail…

childrens-book « WordPress.com Tag Feed
Another book down, loads to go

revruth

7 Nov 2009 | 3:06 am

This week I have to thank my gal pals for introducing me to Madeleine l’Engle and A Wind in the Door. Not sure which gal pal recommended Madeleine l’Engle which put her on my wish list but I’m assuming it was one of my American sisters as the author is indeed from the new world. Actually the book I had on my wish list was A Wrinkle in Time which is the first book in the Time Quintet but another gal pal sent me A Wind in the Door which is the second. These are children’s books but immensely enjoyable and intelligent. There are cherubims masquerading as dragons,…
Thanks Jim Henson, Sesame Street turns 40

Dave Mott

6 Nov 2009 | 10:28 pm
Claus and Finn – A Cast of New Characters

jaimeanderson

5 Nov 2009 | 9:48 am

Let me introduce Claus and Finn, a particularly curious duo…
#4 Pip J Squeak, The Brave Little Gerbil

Crash! Landen

4 Nov 2009 | 7:14 pm

Here’s my fourth character: Pip J. Squeak, the Brave Little Gerbil… I added a sliver of a background just to illustrate why he’s dressed warmer than your average gerbil… Much like Yngvie J. Malmsteen, Pip Sqeak uses his middle ‘J’ initial to separate himself from all of the other ‘Pip Squeaks’ out there. And PLEASE!!! No gerbil jokes… I’ve heard that one and it’s not so much funny as it’s just gross… -Crash! crashlanden.wordpress.com
Momo

syulie

4 Nov 2009 | 1:57 pm

Kids story about a little girl with the talent to listens to people. Reminding us to ’stop and smell the roses’. Life’s too short to be wasted in rushing with work. Live your life. Read and take more control of your life. Author: Michael Ende Number of pages: 236 From the back cover: ‘Would you like to see where time comes from?’ At the edge of the city, in the ruins of an old ampitheatre, there lives a little homeless girl called Momo. Momo has a special talent which she uses to help all her friends who come to visit her. Then one day the sinister men in grey…

School Library Journal Breaking News
PBS, NASA Partner to Help Educators With Climate Change Lessons

5 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

If you’re looking for a way to teach a lesson on climate change that includes science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts, you’re in luck. PBS TeacherLine has partnered with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to create a series of professional development courses and teaching resources on the subject.
Roanoke Schools Temporarily Removes ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower’

4 Nov 2009 | 1:05 pm

Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower (MTV, 1999) is in trouble again—and this time it’s been removed from shelves as it goes through the review process outlined by Virginia’s Roanoke County Public Schools.
KY Library Fires Circ Staffers for Refusing to Check Out Graphic Novel

4 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

Two circulation staffers at the Jessamine County Public Library (JCPL) in Nicholasville, KY, have lost their jobs for refusing to let an 11-year-old girl check out a book in the graphic novel series, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Their reasoning? She was too young.
Younger Teachers Support Incentive Pay, Report Says

3 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

The latest crop of young teachers says they don’t mind being rewarded with incentive pay, but they also don’t think their success should solely be based on how students perform on standardized tests, says a new report.
Author Esther Hautzig Dies at 79

2 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

Esther Hautzig, author of The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia (Ty Crowell, 1968), a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book, as well as other award-winning books, died November 1. She was 79

School Library Journal - Nonfiction Matters
We Are In the Great Days of Revisionism, and What a Thrill That Is

Some Books On My Shelf Did you all catch the article in the Times about new views of the Battle of Agincourt? tinyurl.com/ykg235l If you, o...
Revelation

The HF Seminar Clarified Something For Me -- And I Hope For You -- About K-12 Nonfiction As we discussed historical fiction, I suddenly came to ...
My Take On the Final

Both I selected the passages from March because I see in them examples of what I treasure as well as what I dislike in HF. Oddly enough the...
Monica's Talk and Blogs on HF

Some Links, Courtesy of Monica My Travels With Alice -- talk she gave at a conference we both attended Blog posts tinyurl.com/ylpl6o2...
Finishing Up a Fun Week on HF, the Final Exam

So fellow seminarians, we've had -- and I hope continue to have -- a lively discussion. So for your final assay (consideration) and essay (if you w...

School Library Journal - A Fuse #8 Production
Remembering Esther Hautzig

I started working at the Central Children's Room at the Donnell Branch of NYPL around four years ago. While working there I often spoke wit...
Fusenews: In which I finally get to use the term "man up".

Working with Pooh Bear is lovely. He is polite and refined. A little honey in his pot and that is all that he requires. Really...
Press Release Fun: I Don't Usually Mention Giveaways, But This One's Special

Y'all like free books and I like debut authors. Two great tastes that taste great together then. Take note fellow librarians: The ...
Librarian Preview: Harper Collins (Spring 2010)

It's all about self-published authors and flowers this year. I will endeavor to explain. Eventually. Yes, it's that time once again....
Review of the Day: Wild Things by Clay Carmichael

Wild Things By Clay Carmichael Front Street (an imprint of Boyd Mills Press) $18.95 ISBN: 978-1-59078-627-7 Ages 10-14 On shelves now I ...

washingtonpost.com - Michael Gerson
Michael Gerson on Obama ceding the center

Michael Gerson

5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

During long campaign swings in Virginia's recent gubernatorial campaign, Bob McDonnell's staff would count the cars that sported both Obama and McDonnell bumper stickers. These ideologically confused motorists turned out to be an important demographic. On Election Day, according to exit polls, about one in 10 voters who supported Barack Obama in 2008 voted for McDonnell, the Republican.
Michael Gerson on forcing the young to fund health reform

Michael Gerson

3 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

As I was talking recently with the founder of a large American corporation, the conversation turned (inevitably) to health-care reform. His employees in their 20s, on average, cost the company about $1,500 a year in health bills. Those in their 50s cost at least 10 times more. The effect of proposed health-care reform -- which limits the ability of insurers to charge higher premiums for older adults -- would be, he said, a large shift of America's health-care burden to the younger generation.
In Virginia, Deeds's politics match the smallness of Obama's

Michael Gerson

29 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pm

R. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for Virginia governor, seems poised to lose the jewel in President Obama's political crown.
Democracy with a dose of moral clarity

Michael Gerson

27 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pm

There have been various attempts over the decades to bury moral philosophy -- to dismiss convictions about right and wrong as cultural prejudices, or secretions of the brain, or matters so personal they shouldn't even affect our private lives.
Michael Gerson on Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa

Michael Gerson

22 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pm

Sheik Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, possesses a wonderfully exotic title, a scholarly manner and the unique burden of issuing about 5,000 fatwas a week -- the judicial rulings that help guide the lives of the Muslim faithful. On a recent visit to the United States, he explained to me the process of "resolving issues of modern life." And modern life offers Gomaa and his team of subordinate muftis plenty of fodder for resolution, from the permissibility of organ transplants, to sports gambling, to smoking during Ramadan, to female judges, to the use of weapons of mass destruction, to…

Semicolon
Saturday Review of Books: November 7, 2009

Sherry

6 Nov 2009 | 8:07 pm

“A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.”~Henry Ward Beecher Welcome to this week’s Saturday Review of Books. Here’s how it usually works. Find a review on your blog posted sometime this week of a book you’re reading or a book you’ve read. The review doesn’t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can just write your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever. Now post a link here to the specific post where you’ve written your book review. Don’t link to your main blog page…
Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire by Brenda A. Ferber

Sherry

6 Nov 2009 | 7:55 pm

Girls of a certain age do this friend ranking thing. They have “best friends,” and they get jealous if their best friend spends too much time with another girl. They write notes that ask “am I still your BFF?” and try to figure out body language and sub-texts to conversations, and it’s all kind of sticky-icky sometimes. For most girls it’s all part of growing up. I have noticed that boys don’t mess with this kind of relationship/friendship stuff. Karate Kid (age 12) has nineteen or twenty best buds; he plays with all of them, hangs out, generally just…
Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan

Sherry

5 Nov 2009 | 3:46 pm

Afghanistan is in the news almost every day, and those children who hear about the war there have questions about the people of Afghanistan and the culture there. Wanting Mor by Pakistani author Rukhsana Khan could serve as an introduction to a country that has become, for better or for worse, a preoccupying subject for Americans and for the world. When Jameela’s mother, Mor, dies, her father decides that he and Jameela will move from their village to Kabul to start a new life. Unfortunately, Jameela’s father is a self-centered and cruel man. In a story that reminded me of Hansel…
I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have To Kill You by Ally Carter

Sherry

3 Nov 2009 | 8:39 pm

For me, the last panel discussion of the day on Saturday at the Texas Book Festival was a discussion with four children’s/YA authors about writing series fiction. The title was something like “How To Write Characters That Go the Distance: Writing Books in a Series.” The authors were Derrick Barnes (Ruby and the Booker Boys), Ally Carter ( The Gallagher Girls, beginning with the book that gives its title to this post), Pseudonymous Bosch (The Name of This Book Is Secret and sequels), and James A. Owen (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica). The only one of the four whose…
Elizabeth Berg and Amanda Eyre Ward

Sherry

2 Nov 2009 | 2:39 pm

One of the sessions I attended at the Texas Book Festival in Austin this past weekend was an interview/discussion with authors Elizabeth Berg and Amanda Eyre Ward. I had just finished Ms. Berg’s book, The Year of Pleasures, and I read Amanda Eyre Ward’s Forgive Me a few months ago, so I thought hearing them speak about their writing lives would be fun. And it was. First though, I’ll tell you something about my enjoyment of Ms. Berg’s book. Elizabeth Berg is a wonderful writer. By that I mean, she writes beautiful sentences and paragraphs and descriptions. She made me…

childrens-book-illustration « WordPress.com Tag Feed
new book beginnings ~ db

kirsti

22 Oct 2009 | 12:21 pm

More details from the last page spread sketch, a little further along in the drawing process. (pencil on tracing paper)
Yoga Done Right

manicddaily

21 Oct 2009 | 5:45 pm

Yesterday, I explained how to rush through the whole Ashtanga primary yoga series in just a couple of short pants (as in breaths, not trousers.) Below is an illustration of Ashtanga yoga done right, with steadiness, cheefulness, balance, and most importantly, an elephant. (Also practicing are a little white dog and a yogini mouse.) The pose depicted is trichonasana (triangle pose). The animals are really quite good at it, particularly considering all the extra legs. Elephant - Dog - Mouse Trichonasana (All rights reserved. Karin Gustafson) Unfortunately, the elephant-dog-mouse yoga…
new book beginnings ~ db

kirsti

21 Oct 2009 | 1:03 pm

this is a detail of the other side of the spread I posted yesterday.
new book beginnings ~ db

kirsti

20 Oct 2009 | 2:45 pm

pencil on tracing paper sketch detail from the last spread of the book. still got a long way to go. My reference is from a bunch of photos I shot at the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens a few years ago. In addition to the swans, Kensington Gardens is also home to Peter Pan.
CCBC Picture Book Art Auction

kirsti

20 Oct 2009 | 10:55 am

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has a brand new website up for the Take Home An Original: The Art of the Picture Book auction. This year’s live and silent auction will be held at the National Gallery of Canada on Tuesday November 24th, 2009 and full details, including ticket info, are on the website. If you are not in Ottawa between November 10 & November 24 to see the artworks in person during the preview at the National Gallery of Canada, you can see them online here. The auction benefits the Canadian Chidren’s Book Centre, a not-for-profit organisation…

NPR Topics: Children's Books
Some Parents Wary Of 'Wimpy Kid' Series

23 Oct 2009 | 10:54 am

Not everybody is enthusiastic about the Wimpy Kid series. Some parents feel uneasy about their children identifying with a main character who is at times selfish and lazy, and whose hijinks often land him in trouble. Tanya Turek, a mother of three who works in the children's department of a Barnes and Noble, has blogged about the series.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
'Wimpy Kid' Author Answers Kids' Questions

22 Oct 2009 | 11:59 am

Kids all over the world, forced to listen to NPR by their parents, finally have a chance to weigh in. They've e-mailed hundreds of questions for Jeff Kinney, who writes the wildly popular children's book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
An Orphan, An Elephant And A Hapless Magician

20 Oct 2009 | 9:12 am

Kate DiCamillo's latest children's book, The Magician's Elephant, begins with a crash when an elephant bursts through the ceiling of an opera house.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Julie Andrews Celebrates The Sound Of Poetry

15 Oct 2009 | 9:17 pm

Though her singing voice was irreparably damaged in 1997, Julie Andrews' innate musicality is irrepressible. Her new book, a collection of poems, songs and lullabies, features an accompanying CD in which Andrews reads some of the verses that played an important role in her family.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Pooh Faithful Return To The Hundred Acre Wood

2 Oct 2009 | 12:56 pm

In the first authorized sequel to A.A. Milne's classic tales of Winnie the Pooh, author David Benedictus treads gently on the sacred woods of the original.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us

Mad Woman in the Forest
Random thoughts, incl Guy Fawkes, Wintergirls & Neeko

5 Nov 2009 | 4:49 am

Do we teach about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 in American schools? Should we?Remember, remember the fifth of November,The gunpowder treason and plot,I know of no reasonWhy the gunpowder treasonShould ever be forgot.And there is the great speech fromV Is For Vendetta.My favorite quote, "Words will always retain their power."LOOK! I buried the lead! WINTERGIRLS made the Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2009 list!And from the Misc. List, Bookavore has a great idea for how to get the books you really want.And the Office Mouse sends us to this video, because even…
Blog appearing soon.

4 Nov 2009 | 9:54 am

Time has mysteriously condensed again. I have been writing like, well, like a possessed crazy woman who lives in a forest. Tomorrow I hop a plane south so I can speak at the American Association of School Librarians in Charlotte, NC. When I get back, I will have very happy news from overseas to share with you. Until then, keep writing, keep revising, keep scribbling!!!
Happy Writing Month!

1 Nov 2009 | 8:23 am

November is the month for words - the best one ever. That's why NaNoWriMo takes place starting today. From their website:"National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing…
Kristen Stewart Speaks, a bit

31 Oct 2009 | 4:46 am

Thanks to everyone who voted for Zoe in the last couple of weeks, and to everyone who put up with me blathering on about voting for Zoe in the last couple of weeks. I'm pretty sure she didn't make the Top 5. We'll know for sure in January. It was a blast to have a book that was even considered breakfast food for the mind; I'm a happy camper.A Facebook Friend (thanks Chris!) pointed me to this interview with Kristen Stewart for Irish television. She mentions playing the lead in the SPEAK movie around the 4:30 mark.Here is a Public Service Announcement Kristen made about college campus security…
LAST DAY FOR THE ZOE VOTE!

30 Oct 2009 | 4:55 am

I'm waiting for my shuttle to the airport, so this is short and simple.(I'll respond to several of YOUR responses to yesterday's health care debacle rant tomorrow.) You only have until 11:59pm Central Time tonght to vote!! 1. Go to the voting page. 2. In the bottom right corner, click on MORE BOOKS twice. (Yes, this is the tricky part. No, I don't know why Zoe is buried at the absolute back of the pack. Kind of makes you feel sorry for her, huh?) That will take you to ZOE.3. Click on the yellow box that says VOTE!4. Notify every person you have ever met in your entire life to…

Holly Black, No Longer Dry Like a Martini
Happy Halloween!

31 Oct 2009 | 4:23 pm

Hope you are having a fabulous night. I am newly back from Mexico and in no mood to do anything but sleep, but I trust out there you are partying such to raise the dead.Now to sprawl on my couch like a corpse.
Back on the Road in the Morn

24 Sep 2009 | 8:30 pm

I have been home for a week, running around trying to finish White Cat copyedits and clean my clothes for the second leg of the Spiderwick tour. Soon I better repack my suitcase.We are also dog sitting. Or, well, what passes for dog sitting around here. My favorite part of this picture is the ominous rubbery cat in the background.And here is me, writing the acknowledgements to White Cat with the mysterious white cat on my armchair. Yes, I look apocalyptically tired. I am.
Canada Appearances with Scott Westerfeld and Cassandra Clare - updated!

24 Sep 2009 | 11:50 am

I will be in Canada, talking about my teen books with Scott Westerfeld and Cassandra Clare. Good Neighbors 2: Kith should be out by the time of these appearances and, of course, I will sign anything (even Scott & Cassie's books--my research for White Cat has increased my forgery abilities):Wednesday November 4th - Montreal7pmChapters Pointe-Claire6321 Trans-Canada Highway, unit 1410(514) 428-5500 Thursday November 5th - Ottawa7pm Chapters Rideau47 Rideau Street,Ottawa, Ontario(613) 241-0073 Friday November 6th - Toronto7pmTrinity St. Paul's United Church427 Bloor Street Westwww.ticketweb.ca**…
Listing of White Cat on Amazon with Hilarious Summary

4 Sep 2009 | 7:08 pm

The White Cat introduces Holly Black's new world! Cassel has always known he killed Lila, but now the pieces are starting not to fit.Well, it's not wrong, but uh, it seems kind of random. Also, exclamation pointy.
Goodies for You Guys

3 Sep 2009 | 3:48 pm

I am bringing a White Cat-related thingie with me on Spiderwick tour and it can be yours just for asking - at least so long as supplies last.All you have to do is come up during any of the September Spiderwick events and say: "Do you have a thingie for me?" I will immediately fork it over.So, if you're coming out, don't forget to ask!Event dates and locations here.

ALLY CARTER
Miniblog: The GG4 title reveal!

Ally Carter

6 Nov 2009 | 9:04 am

No, I'm not revealing it here today. Sorry if the subject line fooled you. But I have begun talking with my fab publisher, Disney-Hyperion, about our title revealing options.As long-time blog readers will remember, CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY was revealed first as a code that you guys had to break to learn the actual title.DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER was revealed via a crossword puzzle.So now it's time to reveal GG4 and I'd really like to do it in a way that lives up to its predecessors, is fun, is at least semi-spyish, and helps all of you out there start getting excited for the new…
Mini blog: greatest blog ever

Ally Carter

4 Nov 2009 | 12:10 pm

Today I will not blog because any blog I write would pale in comparison to the new blog from Jennifer Lynn Barnes.So go read Jen's blog (in which we talk about GG4, George Clooney, Glee, and vampires.)-Ally
Mini blog: writing, publishing, and how (not) to get into college

Ally Carter

3 Nov 2009 | 9:22 am

Lately I've noticed a trend of people who want to write and publish books--but they want to do it under some kind of deadline.I want to have finished a book by the time I'm 16....I want to be published by the time I'm 18....I want to win a Pulitzer/hit the TIMES list/have a movie made, etc., etc. by the time I'm 25....Don't get me wrong, I'm all for goals. I'm all for hard work. I'm all for putting your money where your mouth is and realizing that books get written when you stop TALKING and start WRITING.But something about the deadline-y nature of this gives me some concern. First, it makes…
Thank you, Texas!

Ally Carter

2 Nov 2009 | 9:37 am

Hi everyone!I'm home from the Texas Book Festival, and can I just say that the Lone Star State does book festivals right?They set up big tents all around the grounds of the state capital and then fill the tents and surrounding churches and other buildings--and even the capital itself--with books and authors and readers and corndog vendors.Really. Seriously. There are books AND corndogs. Does life ever get better than that?It was amazing. Volunteers picked me up and dropped me off at the airport. There were fancy, swanky parties that festival supporters and employees generously threw in their…
Mini blog: Thursday, in bullets

Ally Carter

29 Oct 2009 | 10:47 am

*It's raining. Which means I want to make it rain in every scene I write. It is a strange phenomenon, I know. But a real one.*Tomorrow I leave for the Texas Book Festival! I'm super excited, but I've also reached the point where super excitement has morphed into "what the heck am I going to wear?!?!?"*I heard from a fabulous reader, bookseller, book lover last night who LOVED Heist Society which made me really, really happy!*Jennifer Lynn Barnes has been studying the New York Times series best-seller list and has determined that what's missing from the Gallagher Girls series is vampires. As…

John Green's Weblog
The Whole National Book Awards and the Death of Genre and Stuff

John Green

15 Oct 2009 | 6:14 am

(This post is for publishing nerds only. And probably not interesting for anyone other than me. But anyway, please come see me live and in person at the Main Library in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday at 6:30. There will also be a smaller event at the Hilliard Branch of the public library at 1 PM that day. 4772 Cemetery Rd / Hilliard, OH 43026.)So, okay. The National Book Award finalists were announced yesterday, and one of the finalists in the books for young people category, David Small's STITCHES, was not published as a children's books and arguably is not a children's book. This has led to a…
Upcoming Appearances

John Green

12 Oct 2009 | 7:03 am

TOMORROW, Tuesday Oct. 13th, I'll be in LaGrange, Illinois Tuesday, October 13 at 7 PM at the LaGrange Borders. (1 N. La Grange Road) This event will also be livecast at Penguin's cool new web site, www.pointofviewbooks.comNEXT TUESDAY, October 20th, I'll be in Columbus, Ohio, at the Main Library, at 6:30. (96 S. Grant Ave. Columbus, OH)Hope to see you!
Hey Hoosiers

John Green

7 Oct 2009 | 5:14 am

The Indianapolis public library is currently doing this amazingly awesome thing with my books called Pass the Book. Hoosier readers should check it out and participate; in fact, anyone working in libraries should check it out, because you should totally steal this idea.
Banned in My Hometown: What's a Kid to Do

John Green

29 Sep 2009 | 8:08 am

So my hometown (or at least my home region, since Orlando is not so much a place as a series of interconnected geographical ideas) is dealing with a challenge to many books, including Looking for Alaska.The challengers involved say that my book would meet Florida's legal definition of obscenity, and that it shouldn't be available to teen readers in the public library of Leesburg. First, just let me note that I am not a pornographer:Let me make this clear: An individual scene from a novel cannot be read out of context. It won't make sense. It will seem other from what it is. You cannot know…
Some Recent Videos

John Green

14 Sep 2009 | 6:54 am

My Puppy's Secret Shame:My brother pwns CSI in one take (on his 23rd try):And lastly, a video about Caster Semenya, sex, and the role of ambiguity in life and sports:

Maureen's Blog
NANOWRIMO DAY THREE: POINTS OF WHAT?

Maureen

3 Nov 2009 | 7:49 am

NANOWRIMO DAY 3: POINTS OF VIEWHello, friends! Today I come to you LITERALLY from the middle of the move (on a STOLEN SIGNAL). I am sitting on the floor, in the corner, with my computer on my lap as men come in and out and take my things away. At some point, they may just pick me up and take ME away, so if I cut off abruptly, that is what happened. So forgive if today is a little short. But there is a fine, fine question to be answered:April asks: How do I decide what point of view to write from?I’m assuming you all know what POV is, right? A quick explanation if you don’t:First person:…
NANOWRIMO DAY TWO: WHERE THE SUCKMONSTER ROAMS

Maureen

1 Nov 2009 | 5:30 pm

Listen you guys . . . I am about to lay something critical on you. I am probably not supposed to be telling you this. I am going to get myself in trouble with the League of Real Writers. But you know that I am always compelled to tell you the truth. I won’t tell everyone, but I will tell YOU, friends. Just you. So here goes.If you want to be a Real Writer, you must learn the fine art of the excuse. Observe:So, you know how I said yesterday, on the first day of NaNoWriMo, that I would try to give advice EVERY DAY? Well, you may have to cut me SOME slack this week because I am moving…
NANOWRIMO BEGINS

Maureen

1 Nov 2009 | 7:56 am

Can you believe it! It’s November, which means it’s time for NaNoWriMo—National Novel Writing Month, in which something like 100,000 people have signed up to sit in a chair (or stand, if you like, or recline, or maybe suspend yourself from the ceiling, as I would like to do) for an entire month and string together approximately 1,666 words per day. That’s 50,000 words by the end of the month.It’s time to BUCKLE YOUR SEAT BELTS and GET IN THE CHAIR.Since writing is WHAT I DO, and since I love to provide SERVICES, I will be answering NaNoWriMo advice questions and attempting to…
THE LOST SYMBOL READERS GUIDE, PART FIVE

Maureen

12 Oct 2009 | 6:38 pm

Chapter 81Reader, if you have followed along through parts one, two, three, and four, you will know that I have been a strong supporter of Mal’akh from the beginning. Mal’akh is the hardest working bad guy in literature, and he has an evil lair that rivals any James Bond villian’s. In Chapter 81, we get to see more of his crazy house. We learn that while his basement has all of the traditional storage capabilities, it’s also super weird. He’s got rooms and rooms down there full of strange, with blue lighting in the ceiling. Every one of these rooms has a specific, evil purpose.The…
THE LOST SYMBOL READERS' GUIDE, PART FOUR

Maureen

1 Oct 2009 | 9:30 pm

Part four of the series. Parts one, two, and three are here for your reading pleasure.Chapters 51-52Chapter 51 begins by answering an important question, first posed in the movie Airplane!: “Hey, Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?” Except it wasn’t Joey, but Zachary Solomon, Peter’s son. He went bonkers when he turned 18 and got his share of Solomon money and ended up in the Turkish prison because of the drugs.We find out about this in an astonishing double flashback. Speaking as a professional writer, I can tell you that a double flashback is tricky and dangerous. Like its…

Among Amid While
Long and thoughtful TM review

Among Amid While

6 Nov 2009 | 11:13 pm

Over here.
No, no, NaNo

Among Amid While

5 Nov 2009 | 12:03 am

Everyone in the world seems to be doing NaNoWriMo this year, and I'm enjoying the blog posts by participants and by sage advisors like Maureen Johnson and Justine Larbalestier.I'm not nano-ing, though. If NaNoWriMo had been August–September, I would have, but now I've got (count them!) 70,000 words of selkie goodness that require more in the way of poking, prodding, resculpting and spakfilling than they do whole extra arms of plot development.Which is what I've spent today doing. I wrote maybe 5 pages, but I covered some tens of pages of manuscript with tiny-tiny green corrections as well.
The Russian translation of 'mudwife'

Among Amid While

4 Nov 2009 | 12:12 am

The Russian translator of Tender Morsels and I have been in conference—hi, Nadia! She wanted to know what a mudwife is:First I looked into every dictionary possible and searched the web all over, but then read half a dozen interviews with you as well as a number of articles on TM and other pieces ("The Goosle", in particular) and Muddy Annie's profile became quite clear. Still, I would like you to clarify this word a bit more. Could you please explain what's the difference between a mudwife and an ordinary witch? What is special about her? Must a mudwitch necessarily be old and muddy/dirty…
NZ capers to come

Among Amid While

3 Nov 2009 | 11:56 pm

And then, upcoming in March, there's this! Joan London and Gil Adamson and I will be attending the New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week, along with 19 international and 3 New Zealand writers, including, you know, Neil and Si and Richard and all my mates. We will wow Wellington.
How Boofle!

Among Amid While

3 Nov 2009 | 11:45 pm

Then, this! Which arrived yesterday - 2 copies. I don't know what made me think it would be trade-paperback size. It's one of those neat small format hardbacks. A really nice production, with my 'A Dark Red Love-Knot' buried in the middle of it. Oh dear oh dear oh dear, not a happy story.

Justine Larbalestier
NaNo Tip no. 6: Emergency Unstucking Techniques

Justine

6 Nov 2009 | 12:27 pm

One of the most frequent complaints I’m hearing from those down the NaNoWriMo word mines is that they keep getting stuck. As it happens I have already written a post on how to get unstuck. It is rather lengthy, however, so here’s a quick and dirty version of what you should do when you get stuck: Dance. That’s right, get up from the computer, turn whatever music you like up loud, and shake it! Dance! Dance! Dance! Do it till you’re sweating. Then dance some more. Run around the block. For some of us dancing is just not our thing. But we can run. Or shoots some hoops.
Tour Almost Over + Gorgeous Art

Justine

4 Nov 2009 | 11:10 pm

Today (yesterday) I had my last school events of the Liar tour at Joliet West High School and Glenbard South High School in the outer suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The students at both schools were amazing and asked many smart, engaged, funny questions. It was a total pleasure to meet you all. Thank you. In other news Cristina Hernadez posted her midterm project for her painting class on her blog and I was so impressed I asked if I could share it with you here. Remember, Cristina? She’s the one who photoshopped a very disturbing version of Maureen Johnson’s Suite Scarlett.
NaNo Tip no. 4: Word Count is Not Everything

Justine

3 Nov 2009 | 9:49 pm

I know that NaNoWriMo is set up with a specific word count in mind. And word counts are, indeed, a useful way to keep track of you progress. However, do not get obsessed with them. The world will not end if you don’t meet your daily word count. Nor will it end if you don’t have 50,000 words at the end of November. I’m seeing too many people stressing out about word counts and beating up on themselves when they fall short of them. Cut yourself some slack! Here’s why: NaNoWriMo is meant to be a fun, companionable way to try your hand at novel writing. That means that…
Chicago Events

Justine

2 Nov 2009 | 9:06 pm

Don’t forget to look out for Scott’s NaNo tip today. And here’s where I’ll be in Chicago today and tomorrow: Tues, 3 November, 7:00PM B&N Skokie 55 Old Orchard Center  Skokie, IL Wednesday, 4 November, 7:00PM Anderson’s Bookshop 5112 Main St  Downers Grove, IL Same deal: if all who turn up have read Liar then I will tell you what really happens at the end. Hope to see some of you there!
NaNo Tip No. 2: The Zen of First (Zero) Drafts

Justine

2 Nov 2009 | 8:24 am

This is the most important tip of all: It’s only a first draft, it doesn’t have to be perfect. You know what that means? You can relax. A first draft can be bad. In fact, it will be bad. Don’t worry about it. Plow on. Don’t even think of it as a first draft. That’s too much pressure, not to mention insulting to first drafts, think of it as your zero draft. That’s what I do. I get a lot of people asking for tips for dealing with writer’s block. I don’t get writer’s block. But only because I’ve learned not to be bothered by writing…

Writing in the margins
Apology to bogan suburbs

6 Nov 2009 | 8:21 pm

I had a rollicking great time with the talented young writers who attended the Youth Literature Days at the Fremantle Children's Lit Centre this week. They asked very astute questions, and produced some absolutely cracking pieces of writing (some of the best were heart-wrenchingly sad, but hell, there's nothing wrong with that. Writing shouldn't be insipid: give me pain over boredom, any day!)But, Lesley Reece did very kindly point out to me that in my expository bit (why/how I became a writer and all that) I may have been a little less than kind to the ghetto suburb in which…
Advice to a young writer

1 Nov 2009 | 12:45 am

For two days this week I will be in residence at the Fremantle Children's Literature Centre as part of its Youth Literature program. This has led me to ponder what advice I would give to young writers (if they even want advice: I'm not sure I would have taken much at 16, so I don't expect they will either). Anyway, if I had any, it would be:1) Keep going.2) Sit outside a lot.3) Read poetry (not the talented earache of modern poetry, as John Forbes memorably put it, but poets with heart and soul. WA poets like Sarah French, Morgan Yasbincek, Marcella Polain, Barbara…
Markus Zusak

28 Oct 2009 | 2:33 am

... came to deliver the Leslie Rees lecture at the Fremantle Children's Literature Centre last night. Judi J wrote a great summary of the talk here, but one of the (many) things that made me think was his comment about hearing his parents tell the stories that ended up being in, or contributing to the texture of, The Book Thief. There are a quite a few writers around who have used their parents' stories in their fiction, the latest being the inimitable Gabrielle Wang in Little Paradise (which actually features a photo of her mother on the cover). I did the same in…
Age of consent

16 Oct 2009 | 6:24 pm

29 January 1892, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS BILLClause 4 - Defilement of girls under 14 years of age:THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Hon S. Burt) said that upon a reconsideration of the question of fixing the age of consent at fourteen, the Government came to the conclusion that this age was rather high, and they proposed to reduce it to twelve, which was the age adopted in Queensland.
Truth and games

10 Oct 2009 | 9:54 pm

My editor recently sent me the draft blurb for Chess Nuts, which will contain something like:Julia Lawrinson isn’t a chess nut herself, but she is the mother of one and married to another. In fact, Julia’s husband might be a little like Mr F, and Julia’s ferociously independent daughter might have partly inspired the character of Anna. In the accompanying email, she asked me to disregard her playing a little wild and loose with the truth. This is because I am a chess nut, in the same way I am a Scrabble addict, and in the same way I used to spend my disposable income…

I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes
Dreaming of Amelia

Jaclyn Moriarty

3 Nov 2009 | 9:04 pm

My new book, Dreaming of Amelia, is now out in Australia and New Zealand. It will come out in the UK in April next year, and in the US and Canada in June (but there, it will be called The Ghosts of Ashbury High). It's about two new characters, mysterious strangers named Amelia and Riley, who've just transferred to Ashbury. And it's a ghost story. Another thing: I'm getting a website. It's almost ready. My brilliant brother-in-law named Steve is designing it. I have other things to talk about. I keep overhearing conversations about robberies, for instance. There was a curious day with a…
Melbourne

Jaclyn Moriarty

3 Sep 2009 | 2:36 am

Last night, I dreamed that I was on a flight to Melbourne and somebody phoned from the airline to tell me that my flight would be free. This meant I had to sit on a long, purple, comfortable couch. I saw my friend Michael. He was coming to join me on the couch, because the same thing had just happened to him. ‘Isn’t it great?’ I said. ‘I’m just thinking of all the things I am going to do with the money now that I don’t have to use it for this ticket.’ But Michael said he wasn’t sure he liked it. ‘Yes,’ I said, thoughtfully, ‘I see what you mean. If we are not technically…
Boys on the Beach

Jaclyn Moriarty

3 Sep 2009 | 2:10 am
1.

Jaclyn Moriarty

27 May 2009 | 1:57 am

So I just glanced sideways and these words caught my eye: the hours dissolve.Somewhere in the junkmail on my bookshelf.I panicked. I thought: YES. YOU ARE RIGHT. THE HOURS DO DISSOLVE. I MUST UPDATE MY BLOG! And therefore, here I am.It’s been so long!I feel overwhelmed and shy. I feel like a cold day practising piano: everything stilted and uncertain.
2.

Jaclyn Moriarty

27 May 2009 | 1:56 am

Beside me on the desk is a bowl that once contained: a mandarin, an apple, and some chocolate. But now it’s just peels and a core. It’s been so long, but I remember this: I’m always going on about the bowl of fruit and chocolate on my desk.

westerblog
Nano Tip #5: Write Your Way Out

scott

5 Nov 2009 | 12:18 am

I’m on tour in Canada this week, so today’s Nano Tip will be a blast from the past. This post is from early 2005, when this blog was young and tiny. (It got a whopping seven comments, and I was well pleased with that.) And yet its ancient caveman wisdom is as true today as it was then! So here it is again . . . “Write Your Way Out.” People in writing groups often ask me, “What do I do when I get conflicting advice? How will I ever decide which way to go?” My answer is: “Try it both ways and see which works! Don’t just write one ending, write…
Nano Tip #3: Dialog Spine Analysis

scott

3 Nov 2009 | 12:24 am

After all your great responses to Monday’s Nano Tip post, I though I’d spend one more post looking at the story. So many of you had cool interpretations and in interesting questions, so I thought I’d give you my own version. (For those of you who haven’t read the Dialog Spine Story, and most importantly the comments, you should go do that now. And don’t forget Justine’s Nano Tip #2 from yesterday.) Now, the author’s interpretation is privileged in some ways (people tend to give it extra weight) but that doesn’t mean that my version is…
Now with Added Tour!

scott

2 Nov 2009 | 9:26 am

First of all, thanks for all your fascinating thoughts on yesterday’s Nano Tip post. It’s been really cool hearing your interpretations of the story. All you Nanowrimo-ers should pay close attention to the comment thread; it’s really important for writers to realize how different reader responses can be. I’ll be posting my own personal thoughts on the story tomorrow, but today you can read Justine’s Nano Tip #2! Remember, she’s doing the even-numbered days of November and I’m doing odd ones. We’re organized like that. In other news,…
Nano Tip #1: Dialog Spine

scott

1 Nov 2009 | 10:09 am

Welcome to Nano Tips, a month-long festival of writing tips from me and Justine. We’ll be posting daily, me on the odd-numbered days of November, and Justine on the even-numbered days. This is, of course, all in celebration of NaNoWriMo. (And I think you know what that is.) So here’s my first tip: The Dialog Spine. Many writers use the so-called “dialog spine” as a way of mapping out a scene. As a sort of “zero draft,” they write just dialog, with no setting, action, or even attribution. It’s a quick once-over of conflict and resolution in a scene,…
Yo, Canada

scott

30 Oct 2009 | 1:03 pm

Okay, so the Canadian segment of the Leviathan tour starts next week. One cool thing is that I’ll be appearing with Cassandra Clare (author of the Mortal Instruments series) and Holly Black (author of Tithe, Good Neighbors, and the Spiderwick books). On top of that, the Ottawa event has bonus special guest Keith Thompson, illustrator of Leviathan! I’ve only done one event in Canada before, in Toronto, so I’ll be meeting a lot of you for the first time. Here are the dates: Montreal Wednesday, November 4th 7:00PM Chapters Pointe-Claire 6321 Trans-Canada Highway, unit 1410…

Deborah Wiles - One Pomegranate
permissions and the heart's desire

Deborah Wiles

5 Nov 2009 | 7:20 am

Wow! Thanks for all the passionate opinions about Jim's new album cover possibilities. Everything from "pick up that red line in #5 and make the print that same color" to "#9, because there's a sweet little boy vulnerability to the back of his neck, like he's working a puzzle."Y'all are good writers. And thinkers. Thanks for playing. We'll let you know how we proceed, although by far #6 got the most votes here at the Pomegranate.Next: Novel permissions. Every song, photo, clipping, and sketch has an owner (save what's in the public domain). Sometimes more than one owner. And every one of…
your opinion please

Deborah Wiles

4 Nov 2009 | 8:22 am

I've been at 800East this week, Ken Gregory's recording studio, with Jim, who is ready to release his new jazz album. Yesterday I took 310 photos of Jim at the piano in various poses. We're hoping one of these photos will become the cover of the new CD, which is titled "I'm in the Twilight of a Mediocre Career." He's not. :>I've shot the cover of this CD, and this one, and this one. You can take a look, to see what we've done and what we're going for (and you can listen to Jim's tunes, too!).There are only so many ways you can shoot a piano player at the piano... or are there? The outtakes…
wading through the week

Deborah Wiles

30 Oct 2009 | 4:41 am

Something I learned from good friends when I became so suddenly single in 2001 was that grief takes its time. It has a season. And best to honor that season instead of pushing it away or trying to shove it into clothes it's not meant to wear.So I didn't write this week. Way back in September, I set myself a goal of writing every day in October, and I did that until Norma died... and then I stopped.Well, that's not entirely true. I did write a remembrance to represent her many students, and that piece will run soon in Hunger Mountain, the Vermont College literary journal.But I stopped working…
norma

Deborah Wiles

20 Oct 2009 | 6:49 am

I'm going to write about my biggest fear with Hang The Moon, the second book in the Sixties Trilogy, but I can't do it today. My friend and mentor died on Friday, and she is part of this Hang The Moon story, so first I want to tell you about her.But I can't. I'm bereft and don't yet have the right words. So let me direct you to her website and her obituary, and let me say farewell in a most clumsy manner to Norma Fox Mazer today. I loved her and love her still. Her book When She Was Good knocked my socks off and was part of the reason I went to Vermont College to get my MFA in writing. Norma…
home in october

Deborah Wiles

16 Oct 2009 | 5:40 am

I've been breathless this week with beautiful autumn at my fingertips and a new novel to dig into. After eight years of traveling for work through most of October, I've spent this week in awe of "home in autumn" and what it brings me.Some of what it brings me is this apple-cake-in-an-iron-skillet made by Hannah:It brings me Mississippi family and brunch in Irene:It brings me a big family dinner in Irene, with my mother's pot roast recipe dusted off, and the introduction of family and friends in a convivial atmosphere:...especially when we got to singing "Hey, Jude." Some of us had been to the…

the thinkings of a lili
NaNoWriMo

lili

4 Nov 2009 | 4:04 pm

When I was in the UK I read an article in one of the Sunday magazines. And like the very best lazy-Sunday morning reads, I thought - that'd make a great book.So I've put the murder-mystery-in-a-natural-history-museum on hold for a month, and am delving into NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a 50 000 word first draft in the month of November - 1667 words per day.So Michael (who has also signed up) and I headed down to the Great Ocean Road for a few days to get some serious, internet-free, no-distractions writing done.pretty place makes pretty writing?I know…
Alan Turing and Bletchley Park

lili

12 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm

When I was in the UK, I made a special visit to Bletchley Park. This was part-research for a percolating book-idea, but mostly I went there for wholesome nerdy awesome. And Bletchley delivered.Ever since I read Neal Stevenson's Cryptonomicon I've wanted to visit Bletchley Park. It's an hour and a bit out of London, and there's a fascinating (and pleasingly lofi) series of museums and things there, including the National Museum of Computing. Also, Ian Fleming used to work there as a gopher, and obviously got some good spy-related ideas because he ended up writing some books that became quite…
Three things you might not have known about SLOTHS

lili

8 Oct 2009 | 12:40 am

1. There are two kinds of sloth, the Two-toed Sloth and the Three-toed Sloth. The Two-toed sloth, rather confusingly, has three toes (but two fingers). The two kinds pretty much look the same, do the same things and live in the same places.2. The sloth is the only animal in the world to not have seven cervical (or neck) vertebrae (apart from manatees). BUT the Two-toed and Three-toed sloths have a DIFFERENT number of vertebrae. The Two-toed has six and the Three-toed has NINE.3. This crazy vertebrae inconsistency is because the Two- and Three-toed sloths do not have a shared ancestor until…
The E-word

lili

5 Oct 2009 | 9:54 pm

I'm currently reading Richard Dawkins' The Greatest Show on Earth. And it's awesome. For those of you who get offended or irritated by Dawkins' attitude towards religion*, fear not! He barely mentions it**.The book instead is a fascinating, straightforward and entertaining explanation of evolution. And I have to say I'm confused. Not by the evolution thing, but by the people who say they "don't believe in it". Because, well, here:1. Dog breeders select dogs that carry desired traits to mate and produce puppies. Like a ridge on a Rhodesian Ridgeback, or a long body and teeny legs on a…
Analyse THAT

lili

4 Oct 2009 | 4:18 pm

Last night I dreamt that the Nazis built a huge 40-storey circus on the steps of Capitol Hill in Washington. Made from bluestone. Then President Bartlet and CJ, under cover of night, climbed up the outside bluestone circus, where the President set a chair on fire with his cigarette and then distracted the Nazis by pretending to be God. Allowing CJ to throw a snake at Hitler and kill him.

ACHOCKABLOG
Running Wild by Michael Morpurgo | Book review | Books | The Guardian

achuka

7 Nov 2009 | 2:02 am

Guardian Review Michael Morpurgo's latest children's novel reviewed by Linda Newbery The former children's laureate has the happy knack of speaking to both child and adult readers, and of his vast body of work some of the most successful novels (Kensuke's Kingdom, War Horse, The Butterfly Lion) are those exploring bonds between humans and animals. With its emphasis on animal instincts and social behaviour, Running Wild, part epic adventure, part plea for threatened habitats, will surely rank alongside his best-loved books. LINDA NEWBERY
Enchanted Hunters by Maria Tatar | Book review | Books | The Guardian

achuka

7 Nov 2009 | 1:59 am

Enchanted Hunters reviewed by A. S. Byatt This is a grown-up book for grown-up people who haven't forgotten being childhood readers. It satisfies imagination and curiosity, revisiting things you suddenly remember clearly, telling you new things you didn't know. A. S. BYATT
Jeanette Winterson interviewed

achuka

6 Nov 2009 | 12:51 pm

Jeanette Winterson Interviewed After decades of creating fiction, Jeanette Winterson found herself too depressed to write before the idea for her latest children's stories provided salvation. She talks to Nicolette Jones about her goddaughters, stern mother and making peace with the past...
The CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards - Press Desk

achuka

6 Nov 2009 | 11:54 am

Kate Greenaway Nominations
The CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards - Press Desk

achuka

6 Nov 2009 | 11:53 am

Carnegie Nominations

Between the Lines Book Blog
Thirteen Reasons Why

btl

13 Oct 2009 | 9:17 pm
Blood Promise: A Vampire Academy Novel Vol 4

btl

31 Aug 2009 | 9:59 pm
Beatle Meets Destiny

btl

12 Aug 2009 | 9:58 pm
Raw Blue

btl

21 Jul 2009 | 11:38 pm

Hi everybody! First of all, wow. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Raw Blue has been getting some good reviews, and while that’s a relief, getting feedback from readers like you has given me a buzz...
Raw Blue

btl

13 Jul 2009 | 10:17 pm

OMG! I read about this book on girl.com.au and so my mum bought it for me. I am halfway through already and i just LOOOOOVVVEE it. I love surfing too and it is a big part of my life and...

Bookwitch
and then I’ll have a book festival

bookwitch

7 Nov 2009 | 12:29 am

Not content with imagining a bookshop, I need to dream a little about my imaginary book festival. As Amanda Craig said on her blog recently, everyone seems to think they should run a festival of sorts these days. And they don’t always do it well. That’s the part I don’t get. If you ask people round for dinner, most hosts don’t go out of their way to ignore the guests. So what’s different running a festival? It’s surely just one big dinner party or children’s party or whatever? I’m too lazy to go ahead with anything like a book festival, but the…
A Necklace of Raindrops

bookwitch

6 Nov 2009 | 12:29 am

Some years ago Daughter begged a copy of Joan Aiken’s A Necklace of Raindrops from my friend Pippi when we visited her. It was an old battered paperback, and she just had to have it. I didn’t forget about it, but I must admit to not having looked at it carefully enough to realise it was illustrated. Daughter was past needing it reading to her, so I just didn’t get involved. That’s why I was so keen to see a copy of the book now that it’s being published again. I somehow thought the illustrations by Jan Pieńkowski were new. They are, in fact, original, and were…
Y is for yay!

bookwitch

4 Nov 2009 | 11:36 pm

Unsolicited books get shorter shrift than the ones I ask for. But there can be real gems, that I didn’t even know I wanted. This is one such occasion. There is a pop-up book out to celebrate that Sesame Street is forty years old. Generally I am more of a C is for cookie kind of person. Offspring and I watched Sesame Street with our lunch for years, and then out of necessity we had to stop. I wouldn’t mind watching it again, but I get the impression it’s no longer on in Britain. Why not? A Walk Down Sesame Street is some consolation. Elmo walks round, meeting some of the…
In my pink imagination

bookwitch

4 Nov 2009 | 12:12 am

I walked past the empty shop again. Well, since it’s in amongst our nearby row of shops, I go past it often, so it’s hardly worth mentioning. The shop front is rather pink and purple, which might be because it was a florist’s before. In these hard times it’s not surprising they went out of business, and neither is it strange that the premises still stand empty. When I pass the shop, or even when I think about it, it turns into our local specialist crime bookshop. My bookshop, to be precise. Well, a person can dream. As someone who had a house covered in vividly pink…
I, Coriander

bookwitch

3 Nov 2009 | 12:12 am

I, Coriander is a prize in several ways. Daughter won her copy, personally signed by Sally Gardner herself, when the book was new. I forget what she did that was so good, but she won it nevertheless. It was something at the local bookshop, and Sally had been meeting the owners, and so the signed book came this way. It is a beautiful book, just like Sally’s two later novels, with old pictures of London on the cover and inside. A red ribbon to keep the right place for the reader. Very old-fashioned and attractive. But I could never quite get away from visualising a bunch of green herbs.

Collecting Children's Books
My Friend Irma

Peter D. Sieruta

5 Nov 2009 | 6:57 am

Beginning a new job is a bit like starting to read a novel by jumping right into the middle of the book. Suddenly you're in the midst of a scene and you have no idea who is who or what is what. You don't know the characters, you don't know the plot, and your head starts spinning just trying to keep up.That's how I felt when I started my current job nearly twenty years ago. Everyone in the library knew each other and shared a history of sorts. As a newbie and outsider, I listened to their memories of a beloved former director who would hire anyone who personally requested a job in the library.
The Mural in the Gym

Peter D. Sieruta

3 Nov 2009 | 6:58 am

The economy was a mess. Jobs were impossible to find. Sounds a lot like today.But this was back in the thirties. James Daugherty was an illustrator and muralist who had recently moved with his young family from New York to a small town named Weston, Connecticut. Soon after arriving in Weston, Mr. Daugherty joined a couple Connecticut arts organizations. His work in their group exhibitions attracted media attention and he soon found himself working for the "Public Works of Art Project" -- a New Deal program established by President Franklin Roosevelt to ease unemployment and create art for…
Then Came November's Brunch

Peter D. Sieruta

1 Nov 2009 | 1:08 pm

I’ve always loved October: the cooler weather...the colorful trees...my birthday...and then, of course, Halloween on the very last day of the month. When I was a kid, we spent the entire month planning and preparing for the big night. What made it special, of course, is that Halloween night only came once a year. And it lasted such a short time. Starting at twilight on October 31, there were only a couple hours before all the porch lights went out and we were back home, pawing through the treats in our pillow cases and desperately trying to trade our yucky Banana Chews for something cool…
"Hey, Let's Put on a Show!"

Peter D. Sieruta

28 Oct 2009 | 6:56 am

The musical MARY POPPINS is currently packing 'em in on Broadway. Filled with memorable melodies -- "Jolly Holiday," "Chim Chim Cher-ee," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" -- and featuring moments of stage magic such as Bert dancing upside-down on the proscenium arch and Ms. Poppins flying up to the rafters of the theatre, the show is said to be a real crowd-pleaser.My reaction? Yawn. It all seems kind of old-hat to me. After all, I performed in that show well over forty years ago.Of course our production wasn't on Broadway, it was in our basement. And there were only three people in the…
A Sunday Brunch with Tombstones

Peter D. Sieruta

25 Oct 2009 | 12:29 pm

Today’s Sunday Brunch includes a couple Mock Newbery lists and takes a macabre Halloween walk through a graveyard of Newbery and Caldecott winners.THAT TIME OF YEARThis is the time of year when a lot of us get serious about the Newbery and Caldecott Awards. Which fall books have the buzz? Which spring titles are starting to lose momentum? Which titles will ultimately be announced, then immediately blogged and twittered and argued and defended come January? To get a sense of what people are discussing, I always like to seek out Mock Newbery polls on the internet. The Allen County Public…

Confessions of a Bibliovore
Reading Roundup October 2009

Bibliovore

1 Nov 2009 | 5:07 pm

By the NumbersTeen: 23Tween: 15Children: 14Something I've forgotten to note lately: because of books that fall into multiple categories, sum > total number of books read. Just in case you think I go without sleep or meals to read. I eat.Sources(New category! Just to give you and the FTC an idea of where I get my books)Review Copies: 3Swapped: 8Purchased: 1Library: 32StandoutsTeen: Catching Fireby Suzanne CollinsTween: Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer CholdenkoChildren: The Runaway Dragon by Kate CoombsBecause I Want To AwardsMost Entertaining Apocolypses: Death From the Skies! by Philip…
YA, MG, and Blurry Borders

Bibliovore

28 Oct 2009 | 11:16 am

Back in August, the blog MiG Writers assembled a number of opinions about YA, MG, and what makes them different. They discuss such distinctions as the age of the protagonist, the wordcount of the novel, and the focus of the story itself. There are a lot of differing opinions gathered in one place. For instance, the definitive wordcount of YA novels is given as anywhere from 40k to "oh, heck, these days anything goes." Check out the post for more thought-provoking contradictions. There is a wind-up at the end of the article that seeks to distill and resolve it all.The article is aimed at…
Book Banners and Unspoken Messages

Bibliovore

26 Oct 2009 | 7:54 pm

See, I told you this kind of stuff was year-round.In April, The Boy Book was challenged in Texas, and when she found out last month, E. Lockhart posted a response on her blog. She discusses the elements that were objected to, acknowledging that the book isn't for all ages, but my favorite part is this: Also, I am sad for the kid whose mom made the fuss. Because that kid's mom has just said to her: "Don't come to me with questions about your developing body. Don't come to me with questions about drinking. Don't come to me with questions about boys and how to negotiate intimate situations.
Book Review: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Bibliovore

24 Oct 2009 | 2:38 pm

Book: Where the Mountain Meets the MoonAuthor: Grace LinPublished: 2009Source: Local LibraryEvery day, Minli works alongside her parents, ekeing out handfuls of rice from the dry, stubborn soil in the shadow of Fruitless Mountain. But every night, her Ba tells marvelous stories. Minli knows her parents work hard with what they have, but she dreams of better for them and for herself. With this in mind, she sets out on an impossible quest to find the Old Man of the Moon from her father's stories and ask him what she can do to change her fortune.As she journeys through a China-like land, she…
KidLitCon: Overview Part Two

Bibliovore

21 Oct 2009 | 12:58 pm

As promised, here's the second half of my conference day.Greg Pincus of the Happy Accident kept us wide awake, even after lunch, with his presentation on Social Media for Fun (and Profit?) His advice? Go play in traffic--meaning put yourself out there in the online stream. Things will come to you much easier if you go where they are, and even pursue them. Something else he brought up that I tend to forget is that all forms of social media are simply tools. So MySpace is on its last legs, Facebook is (allegedly) fading, and Twitter may soon hit the downslope. There will be something else to…

life or books?
Dance!

Penthe

6 Nov 2009 | 8:43 pm

Junior and I have spent some of our valuable Saturday afternoon time watching the Rock Eisteddfod judging on the telly. I have had, I can tell you, qualms. Qualms about watching telly on a quite pleasant Saturday afternoon in which the Noodle's pliable and ever-developing brains will be Turned to Mush or his eyes will become Square. I think I am channelling my grandmother. If it was winter and we were sitting in front of the heater I could also channel my grandfather and worry about both of us Melting the Fat Around the Kidneys. But for spring this is, thankfully, not an issue.But I am now…
Satire, or books that make you anxious

Penthe

5 Nov 2009 | 1:07 am

So here I am reading more Elizabeth Gaskell. Wives and Daughters, which is unfinished due to the death of the author (not in a metaphorical sense, she just died before she could finish it and also she had just bought a nice house to retire to with her overworked husband, which sounds hardly fair really).The thing is that Gaskell makes gentle or not-so-gentle fun of many of her characters. Never as broadly as Jane Austen with, for example, Mrs Bennet. Gaskell's characters always have good and well-demonstrated reasons for being the way they are, for their good points and their faults and the…
Gee-gees

Penthe

2 Nov 2009 | 6:34 pm

We've done our national duty by putting ignorant $2.00 each-way bets on horses running in the Melbourne Cup. The TAB are very helpful and have betting cards with 'Melbourne Cup' printed boldly on top so that ignoranties like us don't accidentally bet on the third race at Townsville instead.We didn't pretend to know anything about horsies or gambling and went for the tried and true 'we liked the name' method, so all of us are betting on Mourilyan. The Noodle might get a place with Basaltico, but I think generally we are unlikely to hit the big time.TAB was very crowded, but only a few…
Because humans do not live on cake and lollies alone

Penthe

1 Nov 2009 | 1:20 am

The Guardian reports that CERN might be churning out results (or ending the universe, which might be an intersting result for other universes out there) by Christmas. Wheeeeee!I'll have to see if I start having my 'Switzerland disappears down a black hole and wonders how long it will take for the grass to stop growing' dream again this time.
Party party party

Penthe

31 Oct 2009 | 3:30 am

So we have:1 cricket themed cake that is bright green2 golden snitches for 'Pin the Snitch on Harry Potter'.2 pictures of Harry Potter on a broomstick (1 for above, 1 for 'Throw the Bludgers at Harry' - a last minute innovation because I forgot to save cans for the roll or bowl a ball a penny a pitch kind of thing).2 bottles of lemonade1 bottle of juice2 pizza basesdivers pizza toppingschippies38 million lollies6 goodie bags with mixed goodiesTomorrow we will have:6 highly excited children30 degree heat, and2 tired parents.added 1 November, 2.31 pmLearned things.Even quite sensible 7 and 8…

We Heart Books
The Terrible Plop

Lou

5 Nov 2009 | 4:53 pm

Our great friend Nicci directed us towards this hilarious clip on Youtube… The Terrible Plop is definitely one of my favourite picture books this year.
Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2009

Lou

3 Nov 2009 | 9:54 pm

Publishers Weekly have announced their Best Books of 2009. The children’s list is fantastic and I think the children’s fiction section is the most outstanding group of novels. I have just finished reading When You Reach Me which is one of the loveliest and most imaginative intermediate novels I have read in a long time. Two of our favourite picture books are listed. Duck! Rabbit! byAmy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld and All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Marla Frazee. You may remember that we posted this gorgeous clip of Duck! Rabbit!
When We Were Little…

Lou

3 Nov 2009 | 2:20 am

My copy of Katie has lost it’s dust jacket and is falling apart- it has been very well loved. Written by Richenda and David Martin and published in 1974 it is based on the true story of the authors black and white kitten named Katie. ‘Mr and Mrs Dodds lived in the Australian countryside with their son, Ian. Mr Dodds wrote books and Mrs Dodds taught in the little bush school. In summer the big wide shady veranda of their house was also the schoolroom.’ Ian is given a kitten one day by the post mistress in their small town and he calls her Katie. She is a tabby cat with a…
Olive is Back!

Lou

25 Oct 2009 | 10:50 pm

OK so this might be a little early but we are starting to think about Christmas. Last year we had such fun with Christmas books on this blog. We found that so many people have such lovely traditions around Christmas involving reading books - you can revisit the posts we did last year here. In our little store last year Olive the Other Reindeer was the runaway bestseller and we now have it back in stock in two different editions. We also have a new and very beautiful Christmas hardcover in stock called Hurry! Hurray! Have You Heard? that would make a lovely family keepsake.
jellybeans

Lou

23 Oct 2009 | 3:49 am

I bought this gorgeous little picture book exclusively for me, although Ned may like it in a couple of years. This is one of those books that is deceptively simple and communicates so much, I only had to read it once and knew I had to have it. The characters are a rabbit called George and a cat called Oscar who are so very simply drawn but are yet so expressive. George and Oscar are best friends, they love being together and one beautiful sunny day they text each other to meet in the park and eat jellybeans. After eating a sky blue jellybean George starts to wonder about the sky and if there…

ReadPlus Review Blog
Vulture's Gate by Kirsty Murray

6 Nov 2009 | 10:09 am

Allen and Unwin, 2009. ISBN 9781741757107. (Ages 12+) With her grandfather dead, Bo lives alone in an abandoned opal dugout with her roboraptors, eking out an existence, keeping clear of outsiders, protected by a perimeter of landmines. She strives to remember all the things he told her, because they mean her very life. But when a landmine explodes, she knows someone has broken the perimeter and so takes her roboraptors out to investigate. She finds a young boy, who, like her, has to keep his wits about him to survive. He has been held by a brutal group of men and trained to do tricks on…
Hate that cat by Sharon Creech

6 Nov 2009 | 10:07 am

Bloomsbury, ISBN 9780 747599807. 2009. (Ages 8-12) Following the success of Love that dog, Creech has developed another story in verse form, set after Sky's death. Jack is in his old teacher's class again and Miss Stretchberry who loves poetry, asks the students to create a poem after telling them about metaphors and imagery and alliteration and onomatopoeia through the poems they read in class. Each of these words is modeled in the words Jack puts down on the page. He has an uneasy relationship with his Uncle Bill, a poetry teacher at a college, who insists that poems must rhyme and that…
Lock and key by Sarah Dessen

5 Nov 2009 | 6:16 pm

Penguin, 2009. ISBN 9780141324944. (Ages 14+) Recommended. The test for me for a really good story is when I reach the end of a book and feel bitterly disappointed that I'm not continuing to follow the paths of the characters that I have gotten to know so well, and when I know that I will have to reread the book because I loved it so much. Lock and key is one such book. Ruby has been abandoned by her alcoholic mother and manages to survive for several months on her own. When her landlords discover that she is living in squalor by herself, Social Security is brought in and she is sent to live…
The Land of Mirthful by Sally Morgan, Ambelin, Blaze and Ezekiel Kwaymullina

5 Nov 2009 | 6:12 pm

Walker Books, 2009. ISBN 9781921150784. Stop Watch: Book 2, (Ages 7-9) Each of the second markings on the stop watch Tom's grandfather has given him is the gateway to a different world. As the book begins, Tom and 'Bilby' are headed a mission, set by Grandpa, to 'a funny and sunny place' to find Finglethorn Underwood. Mirthful's rightful Queen, Jeromarni, and her family have disappeared and the self appointed Queen Mavis has taken over. Things are not as they should be and all appears to be doomed. The task of the heroes is to restore the Queen to her throne and save the kingdom of Mirthful.
60 classic Australian poems for children edited by Christopher Cheng

4 Nov 2009 | 6:09 pm

Ill. by Gregory Rogers. Random House Australia, 2009. ISBN 9781741664140. (Age 9+) Recommended. 'Hist! Hark! The night is very dark, And we've to go a mile or so Across the Possum Park.' Did Australian rhyming verse really lose its appeal or do we just need new editions to replace the tired poetry books in our libraries? The second scenario is the more likely. Children are still enthralled and delighted by the drama, humour and wit of poems by such writers as C.J. Dennis, Banjo Paterson, Henry Kendall and Henry Lawson. Christopher Cheng recalls the pleasure of reading and reciting Australian…

Young Adult (& Kids) Books Central Blog
Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Kimberly Pauley

6 Nov 2009 | 10:58 am

Autism is in the news a lot these days. And why wouldn’t it be? The statistics are alarming; more and more kids are diagnosed every day with everything from Asperger’s to Rett Syndrome and everything in between. Happily, great strides have been made in facilitating communication with those who have autism (on ALL sides of the spectrum).Nora Raleigh Baskin’s book, Anything But Typical is told from the viewpoint of an autistic boy. Jason is a sixth grader and a talented kid. But he also has a lot of trouble dealing with the day-to-day world in ways that a non-autistic person has problems…
Another Kickstart a Classroom Library winner

Kimberly Pauley

6 Nov 2009 | 9:41 am

This one is an 8th grade teacher: Jody Litkenhus.In her words: I started teaching a few years ago. I went to school in my 30s with three kids and a husband and all that comes with that. I have taught 8th grade this whole time and have students who I supply with books from Godwill and thrift stores. I rarely am able to purchase new books as there are so many students who need books in their hands and this is the only way I can get enough to go around.This library jumpstart would be such a cool thing for our classroom. Our school library is very limited, and…
Some Winners of Kickstart a Classroom Library

Kimberly Pauley

6 Nov 2009 | 9:38 am

Jacquelyn McCanse, as nominated by Kalina Badzioch.Ms. McCanse is a first grade teacher and, according to Ms. Badzioch: "She has a heart of gold, and truly deserves a jump start on building her class library."I don't have a huge amount of books for that age group, but what I have will be going to Ms. McCanse.-----------More winners: two teachers at Prairie Crossing Charter School (K - 8), as nominated by Terry Wrzesinski, a HS teacher. They are: Mrs. Mallin, 8th grade and Mrs. Jeffrey, 3/4th grade.More winners to come...I'm still dividing up the books.
Ghost Huntress: The Guidance

Kim Baccellia

3 Nov 2009 | 12:23 pm

Kendall is still trying to settle in her new home. Radisson, Georgia is a lot different than her hometown of Chicago. One thing that seems to be different is her ability to see ghosts. And there's a lot of them here in Georgia. Ghost Huntress: The Guidance continues the tale of Kendall and her team of ghost hunters as they search out more ghosts in this Southern town. But what's different is resident mean girl Courtney, former girlfriend of Kendall's now boyfriend Jason, is up to no good. Read more of my review at YA Books Central and find out what happens when Courtney decides to dabble in a…
Catching Fire Winners! Finally!

Myra

3 Nov 2009 | 10:09 am

At long last, here are the Catching Fire Giveaway winners: Sandra Bannerman Hillary Krajewski Tina Johnson Cheyenne Schroeder Beth RevisEmily Remer Yan Lin Dwan Proctor Sara Grochowski Julie HoldenCongratulations!

avengingsybil
Frustration Contemplation

Dawn Emerman

3 Nov 2009 | 11:55 am

I didn't love Castration Celebration. It had its moments, but I definitely had some problems with it.The good: the dialogue. The language was crass and sexually explicit, but I felt that Wizner definitely captured the way teenagers really speak to one another. I liked a lot of the clever, flirtatious banter. Plus I'm a sucker for stories about artsy, creative kids and their pursuits. The Twilight-themed spoof is a sick delight. And big props for making the central project a musical. HOWEVER, I can't get on board with the book's overall treatment of male or female…
...Because They Keep Trying to Ban Him

Dawn Emerman

21 Oct 2009 | 11:32 am

Happy (halfway over) Teen Read Week!Weirdly enough, it always seems like I'm not reading YA books when this week rolls around, and this year is no exception (I'm just about to get started on Castration Celebration though). The important thing is that I am reading, and I know that teens everywhere are doing the same, no matter what the material.It breaks my heart to hear of a brand-new challenge issued against I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, but what breaks it even more is that there are teens who could miss out on Maya Angelou's seminal work under the guise of it being for…
Would I Lie To You?

Dawn Emerman

15 Oct 2009 | 9:55 am

Justine Larbalestier, I don't even know what to do with you. Liar was such a mindfuck! I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. I went into the book knowing that a twist was coming, but when it arrived I was still totally blind-sided by what I read. At the same time, I didn't feel like it came out of nowhere-- it wasn't a cheap reversal or a manipulation. The author earned the "OH MY GOD" that she got from me.I'm so glad I went into the book unspoiled, kudos to the entire team who made this book happen and made sure that nothing leaked in the process…
Sam Hellerman Is Still Genius

Dawn Emerman

6 Oct 2009 | 9:16 am

I finally read the Westing Game, and enjoyed it very much. Turtle Wexler is fabulous, what a great children's character in the prickly, anti-sugar-and-spice Harriet M. Welsch vein. She's just rad. The overall ethnic and disability stereotyping was a bit much for me, but I do chalk that up to the time in which the book was written. I think we've come a long way in that respect since the early 1980s. What appealed to me about this book wasn't the mystery so much, but what was (or wasn't) going on in the characters' heads, and what was revealed (or not) little by…
Queen Dork

Dawn Emerman

29 Sep 2009 | 8:12 am

Looks like ended up with a great selection with which to kick off Banned Books Week (thanks to Kristin at Girl Detective for the heads up).How are you celebrating your intellectual freedom? Written material copyright 2009 Dawn A. Emerman

Maureen Johnson's Posts - YA for Obama
WELCOME

Maureen Johnson

Hello and welcome to YA for Obama! The YA for Obama project is closed. We stopped accepting members and adding blog posts a few weeks after the election. Forums are now closed and the site is an archive. Feel free to look around, however! There's plenty to read! Happy New Year!
THE MOMENT OF JOY

Maureen Johnson
THE AMERICAN JOURNEY OF BARACK OBAMA

Maureen Johnson

Thank you for all of your ideas about what to do with this site! I am still working on a plan, but in the meantime, there are twelve gorgeous books to give out. The winners of The American Journey of Barack Obama by the Editors of LIFE Magazine are: Adam Philpott Eileen Oboefae Jessica Goodman Mags Karolina Merrg PolitcalChickTayler Kurtis SupernovakGirl Genevieve Max To get your copy, please send a note with your full name and mailing address to me here on the site. Many thanks to the publisher for sharing this great new book with our members!
GRACIOUS

Maureen Johnson

This morning, I was sitting there with my cup of tea, reading the news. And the news, I have to say, was kind of fabulous. There were some incredibly enjoyable things on there, things that would have DESTROYED THE FABRIC OF MY MIND just three days ago. Like Bill O'Reilly, for instance, going on for FIVE ENTIRE MINUTES on Sarah Palin's incompetence. Like how she didn't know Africa is a continent, not a country. Or what countries are in North America. This was on FOX. "Tee hee," I said to myself. "Tee hee hee hee hee hee hee. Also, that's what we've been telling you for two months." Wonderful…
IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE

Maureen Johnson

To celebrate this historic day, I have ten copies of The American Journey of Barack Obama by the Editors of LIFE to give away, courtesy of the publisher. To enter to get one, post a blog with your ideas about what you would do if YOU ran this site from now on. How can we transform it?

I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I read?
Progress And Pressure: The Mechanics Of Winning Gay Rights. Lessons From Scholastic, Maine, And President Obama.

Lee Wind

6 Nov 2009 | 3:05 am

Three recent events have really highlighted for me the mechanics behind how things change. In particular, how we achieve Gay Equality and Rights.Scholastic's De-Gaying.Maine's De-Marriaging.And President Obama's D...well, "D" for Disappointing.Scholastic's De-GayingScholastic was caught asking "Luv Ya Bunches" author Lauren Myracle to change the two mom parents of a character in the book to a one-mom-one-dad family, in order to have her book included in their book fairs. When the author refused (Go, Lauren!) they told her they wouldn't carry her book in their fairs. When School Library…
The Boy In The Dress

Lee Wind

5 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am

By David WalliamsDennis is 12.He's a star soccer player.Oh, and he likes wearing dresses.One day, he wears a dress to school...This book has been nominated for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, which honors the funniest books for children.Add your review of "The Boy In the Dress" in comments!
Gay Fantasy Bookshelf (Teen Sci Fi and Fantasy Books with GLBTQ Characters and Themes!)

Lee Wind

4 Nov 2009 | 3:03 am

These awesome symbols actually stand for, from top to bottom: Gay Humans, Gay Aliens, and Gay Robots. It's from the wikipedia page on Gay speculative fiction here.Fantasy is arguably my favorite genre (see my article here in Crossed Genres Magazine for why) and I've long wished that there were stories I could have read when I was a Gay Teen that included a reflection of me.One of things I love best about doing this blog is that I've discovered so many Teen books with GLBTQ characters and themes - and I'm always a little extra excited when I get to share the Gay Sci Fi and Fantasy ones with…
A Gay Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine... "Crossed Genres: Issue 12"

Lee Wind

3 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am

Here's the amazing cover art image for the magazineby Julie Dillon!This just-released issue #12 of "Crossed Genres" has ten short Sci Fi and Fantasy stories, each featuring GLBTQ characters and themes. The issue also includes two articles, one of them by ME!"Why Gay Sci Fi and Fantasy Is Important" by Lee WindSo go on, click on by. And check it out.Happy reading!Namaste,Lee
GSA Monday Topic: Can Hate Thrive In The Light, Or Does It Need To Be Secret? Should the names of Anti-Gay-Marriage Petitioners & Donors be Private?

Lee Wind

2 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

So there's this controversy about whether signing a petition that seeks to take away rights for Gay people should be a private act, or if the names of everyone that signed should be known to all.The LA Times has a good article about this, explaining that:The Supreme Court voted last week to block release of the names of more than 138,000 people in Washington state who signed petitions seeking to repeal a same-sex domestic partner law in a ballot scheduled for Nov. 3.But there's a group called Know Thy Neighbor and their idea is that by publishing the names of voters who signed petitions…

School Library Journal - Practically Paradise
Girls' Lunch group of the Library Club

How do these things keep happening? We had too many students who wanted to be part of the library club during advisory period so we divided into se...
I challenge you! (and I need your help)

I would like to challenge you to donate $10, $6.50, $5, or even $1 to the Spectrum Scholarship program. You talk about helping bring others t...
b There virtually - YES You CAN!

I hope to see all of you at the AASL National Conference in Charlotte, NC. (Tell me that you read this blog please because I get insecure and think...
250 word contest for YA writer-wannabe's

I don't blog about many contests, but this one did appeal to me while I was wishing I had the freedom to just stay home and write. (Don't you have ...
Please invent booktalkapedia

I need someone to invent/create/organize this - BookTalkApedia. I would have said bookapedia but I think it may already be taken. I need a database...

CMIS Evaluation Fiction Focus
BBYA nominations 2009

judij

6 Nov 2009 | 5:10 pm

That would be Best Books for Young Adults, the list published annually by YALSA, the Young Adult arm of the American Library Association. Earlier this year there was considerable debate about the future of this popular list, which, like the Carnegie Medal nominations (see previous post) provides a terrific source of titles for keen readers. It’s difficult to find the final decision without being a member of YALSA ; this post in response to the SLJ article suggests that none had been made, certainly at the time of writing, but this post refers to a proposed readers’ choice award,…
Carnegie and Greenaway nominations

judij

6 Nov 2009 | 4:15 pm

The two most prestigious awards in the UK are the Carnegie Medal for outstanding writing and the Kate Greenaway Medal for distinguished illustration. The first stage of the 2010 process has begun with the lists of nominations for both awards announced overnight. From here it becomes: shortlist (23 April 2010); winners (24 June 2010). The lists are long, and keen readers will want to devour as much as they can get their hands on from the Carnegie list, Those who love illustration will savour the titles in the Greenaway list. Eagle-eyed Judith Ridge alerted us to the nomination announcements…
Everyone’s Reading

judij

4 Nov 2009 | 7:00 pm

Here’s another terrific free resource from the UK. Everyone’s Reading Plus is a 108-page PDF document listing titles suitable for readers of both genders aged between 11 and 18. A few Australian authors are included. This School Library Association publication complements previous free lists Boys into Books 5-11 and Boys into Books 11-14. All are part of the SLA Riveting Reads series. The titles on the Everyone’s Reading list can also be browsed online in a searchable database on the dedicated website. UK schools can select 15 titles from the list as part of a gifting…
Perth Writers Festival 2010

judij

4 Nov 2009 | 6:27 pm

Patrick Ness, Kate De Goldi, Angie Sage, Morris Gleitzman, Garth Nix, Andy Griffiths and Mark Walden … some of the writers for young people we will enjoy at the 2010 Perth Writers Festival. The full Arts Festival (PIAF) program was unveiled yesterday. Earmark Friday 26 February to Monday 1 March for the literature component, with the traditional free Family Fun Day taking place on Sunday 28 February. This is a long weekend in WA. PIAF runs from 5 February to 1 March.
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

judij

4 Nov 2009 | 1:25 am

Is this the longest longlist in the lit awards world? Well even so, as this Irish award consists of nominations from libraries around the globe, there are sure to be many titles here for the 2009 award that will suit your reading taste. The award is open to works of fiction written in, or translated into, English and published within a specified period of time, and as usual there are plenty of Australians on the longlist. Fiction Focus was planning to extrapolate all the Australian nominations, but being a bit slow to tackle this task, we are happy to see that Perry Middlemiss at the Matilda…

CMIS Evaluation Primary Focus
1001 must-read children’s books

catherina

25 Oct 2009 | 9:08 pm

Used with permission HarperCollins (ABC Books) Recently published is a must-have resource for all school libraries and parents’ bookshelves. Entitled 1001 Children’s Books you must read before you grow up, it includes one page reviews (many by well-known authors) of the best of children’s and adolescents’ books from different countries and from different periods of history. These are grouped into broad age bands: 0-3, 3+, 5+, 8+ and 12+, and most are illustrated with the original cover art. The preface, written by Quentin Blakeand the introduction, written by the…
Are the kids now in charge?

judij

18 Oct 2009 | 10:59 pm

With the release in the US and Canada last week of the movie Where the Wild Things Are (although made in Australia, we won’t see it until 3 December), the mainstream media seems to have rediscovered children’s literature. Or more specifically, children’s picture books. And they don’t always like what they see. In the New Yorker today critic Daniel Zalewski has penned a lengthy essay entitled ‘The Defiant Ones’ in which he cites changes in the tone and messages of picture books over the past 40 or so years. Parents no longer rule, it seems: Many recent…
Exploring fairytales

judij

16 Oct 2009 | 2:22 am

The Guardian newspaper has been running a nice little series on fairytales in recent days. As well as discussing aspects of the tradition, some well-known and not so well-known stories have been retold or newly translated. Here are the links: Themes Adult content warning : beware fairystories Love (A.S. Byatt) Wicked parents (Hilary Mantel) Quests (Adam Phillips) Justice and punishment (Sarah Churchwell) Rags to riches (Philip Pullman) Beastly tales (Marina Warner) Translations and retellings The black geese (retold by Alison Lurie) Mossycoat (retold by Philip Pullman) The little mermaid…
Beware of the Dog

judij

12 Oct 2009 | 2:03 am

Have you caught up with Colin Thompson’s latest baby, Fearless? This time he has outsourced the illustrations to Sarah Davis, and they make a fine pair. The publisher’s website has a short trailer, and here are some teaching notes. Definitely one for dog animal lovers.
Time to swash the buckles again

judij

17 Sep 2009 | 7:08 pm

Run for your lives, me hearties. Or at the very least, shiver yer timbers. Tomorrow is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. The day, always 19 September, when even the most unlikely people start to talk strangely, with lots of arrrrrrrrs and curious head gestures. What happened last year? Google has some ideas about how you can join in for 2009, including the never-fail pirate name generator. And here’s a few (well, 76 actually) pirate stories to get you in the mood. Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos and used under Creative Commons licence.

Literacy, families and learning
Asterix turns 50! More than a Comic.

Trevor Cairney

31 Oct 2009 | 3:46 am

As a child aged 11 or 12 years I can recall looking curiously at a new series of cartoon books. The name itself was intriguing - Astérix. As a typical boy of the age, I loved comics - Phantom, Donald Duck, Superman, Mickey Mouse and many others were devoured. I bought comics, collected them and swapped them with my friends. To be honest, comics were just about all I that read outside school. This was the 1960s and some schools had banned comics. So it was with surprise that I found the books in my small school library, and it was an even greater surprise when I tried to read them. The…
Firsthand Experience, Literacy & Learning

Trevor Cairney

25 Oct 2009 | 4:30 pm

I have written previously about the 'The Language Experience Approach' to literacy on this blog (here). It is a term known primarily by teachers and educators and probably had its genesis in the creative activities of many teachers who drew on children’s firsthand experiences when structuring early literacy. Typically, these were teachers of young children who grasped just how powerful real life experience is to the stimulation of children's language and learning:The squelch of mud between toes on a wet day in the back yardRunning on a sandy beach for the first timeWatching a worm wiggle in…
Author Focus: Tohby Riddle

Trevor Cairney

17 Oct 2009 | 11:30 pm

1. About Tohby RiddleTohby Riddle is an award-winning Australian writer who was born in Sydney and still lives there. His early education was spent at a Steiner school where a love of creating things (mainly with drawings and words) flourished. He is an illustrator, cartoonist, designer and occasionally an editor. He has written and illustrated many successful picture books as well as a novel (published as a young adult book). His work as a cartoonist appeared for almost 10 years in two major daily Australian newspapers, the 'Sydney Morning Herald' and 'The Age'. He is also a former editor of…
Nurturing Creativity in Children

Trevor Cairney

10 Oct 2009 | 7:11 pm

Children have a natural tendency towards creativity. Not all children are as creative as one another, but all start out showing an ability to demonstrate creativity. We can encourage and build on this natural creativity or we can inadvertently shut it down. Here's an example that I shared in a post on play last year (here). My wife Carmen and I called at our daughter Nicole's house one Saturday and we both ended up in the back yard with our grandchildren. Carmen was cutting the children's hair (it was Jacob’s turn); Nicole and David were preparing afternoon tea. The girls took the…
Making history come alive with literature: The importance of historical fiction

Trevor Cairney

4 Oct 2009 | 10:15 pm

I’ve just returned from a trip to Western Australia. I was attending a conference in Fremantle just south of Perth perhaps the most isolated major city in the world. Fremantle is home to one of the most interesting museums I have visited, the Western Maritime Museum, specifically, the historic shipwrecks gallery. A central part of this museum is part of the wreck of the Batavia (see below) that floundered on uncharted rocks of the Western Australian coast on 4th June 1629. The British ship the ‘Trial’ was the first confirmed European landing on the great Southern Continent in 1620 some…

The Graphic Classroom
ALL-ACTION CLASSICS: DRACULA

Mr. Wilson

29 Oct 2009 | 6:51 pm

By Tracy Edmunds Staff Writer Original Author: Bram Stoker Writer: Michael MucciIllustrator: Ben Caldwell Colorist: Bill HalliarPublisher: SterlingGenre: HorrorFormat: SoftcoverPages: 128Color: Full colorISBN-13: 978-1402731525 STORY SYNOPSIS A graphic adaptation of the iconic novel by Bram Stoker featuring the familiar tale of Jonathan Harker’s strange journey to the castle of Count Dracula and the evil doings of the Count in England. REVIEW ALL-ACTION CLASSICS: DRACULA is a wonderful adaptation that will surely appeal to younger readers. I know many kids find the original novel…
IN THE CLASSROOM THIS WEEK & LAST

Mr. Wilson

28 Oct 2009 | 6:10 pm

From the Editor You are correct. I did miss my deadline last week, neglecting to publish so much as a “not this week” post. I was terribly sick last weekend and had little time for rest as our schedule was jam-packed. I offer my humblest of apologies. To make up, I am posting early this week and adding an extra review. I can only hope all is forgotten. Scary Day is almost upon us. Our annual horror fest is finished with this series of posts. We will get back to other genres next week. I hope you enjoyed fright fest with The Graphic Classroom, and please remember that the horror genre is…
DUNGEON: MONSTRES VOL. 2 (THE DARK LORD)

Mr. Wilson

28 Oct 2009 | 5:42 pm

By Chris Wilson Editor-in-Geek REVIEW Periodically, I run into a book that has a strange dichotomy being either questionable or unsuitable for the classroom on one hand, and at the same time diabolically enjoyable on the other. For me DUNGEON is one of those strange books. It has enough questionable material (cursing, violence, sorcery and sex or brief sexual situations) to make a classroom recommendation difficult if not painful. DUNGEON, at least the volume I read, was one of those books that slowly punctured my side with its dragon claws, clasped onto my ribs and held tight. By the…
THE STAND

Mr. Wilson

28 Oct 2009 | 5:26 pm

By Chris Wilson Editor-in-Geek Original Author: Stephen King Adaptation: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Pencils & Inks: Mike Perkins Colors: Laura Martin Lettering: Chris Eliopoulos Publisher: Marvel Comics Genre: Horror Format: Comic Issues: Captain Trips #1-#5; American Nightmares #1-#4 Color: Full color STORY SYNOPSIS THE STAND is a heavy-duty apocalyptic story of a horrific, military-engineered airborne virus that gets released by mistake and infects 99.6 percent of the population. Death comes within four days or so and there is no treatment, no cure, no inoculations. The government, with an…
EEK & ACK VS THE WOLFMAN

Mr. Wilson

28 Oct 2009 | 5:05 pm

By Chris Wilson Editor-in-Geek Author: Blake A. Hoena Illustrator: Steve Harpster Publisher: Stone Arch Books Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi Format: Hardcover Pages: 40 Color: Full color ISBN-13: 978-1-4342-1189-7 STORY SYNOPSIS Eek and Ack, the comedic extraterrestrial duo, fly to Earth in their washing machine-shaped ship for the sinister purposing of determining the best way to conquer the third rock from the sun. It just so happens that they land at Lake Lobo, which we already know is home to at least one werewolf. Dressed as a space alien (duh) and a ballerina they head out incognito…

Kids' Comics
Reading a Comic Strip

TOON Books

2 Nov 2009 | 7:16 am

Have you checked out TOON in the Classroom lately? Not only can teachers find lesson plans and activity sheets, but you can also watch kids act out Luke on the Loose, and listen to your favorite TOON Books read aloud by the authors in the TOON Reader! Hear Otto's Orange Day read by artist Frank Cammuso, and Little Mouse Gets Ready, read by Jeff Smith!We loved finding the blog of Mrs. Clarken's class. To teach a lesson on reading a comic strip, she assigned Otto's Orange Day, and asked the students to comment on what makes a comic different from a picture book. One child wrote in:"Mrs.
Have you seen Little Mouse?

TOON Books

30 Sep 2009 | 6:41 am

To celebrate our newest bestseller, Jeff Smith's Little Mouse, we are offering a limited number of the ultimate collectible, a handmade plush animal by renowned dollmaker Sabrina Cho. The perfect gift for a very precious young child or a loved one, the doll is available exclusively at TOON-Books.com, and comes with a certificate of authenticity, as well as a copy of the book autographed by Jeff Smith.
Busy week for TOON!

TOON Books

14 Sep 2009 | 7:13 am

On Thursday night, a fantastic crowd of fans, friends, and aficionados turned out at the Strand to see Art and Françoise launch their newest endeavor, The TOON Treasury of Classic Children's Comics, just out from Abrams! Check out the Book Bench for images from this "unprecedented collection of the greatest comics for children," and then get your own copy!Our TOONmania continued into the weekend, when Geoffrey and Leigh read at the Brooklyn Book Fest on Sunday afternoon. See pictures below from our post-reading puppet-making!Stay tuned for information about TOON authors near you!
Eleanor Storms Chicago

TOON Books

17 Jul 2009 | 8:17 am

Last weekend, Eleanor Davis flew to Chicago for the 2009 American Library Association conference. While there, she signed some books at The Magic Tree, drew a slew of monsters, and accepted a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor for Stinky! We're tickled by the turnout, and pleased to share these photos from her windy city tour!Extra special thanks to Debra Mitchell at The Magic Tree, and John Shableski from Diamond Books.If you'll be in San Diego for ComicCon, please stop by Cartoon Books booth #2109 at 12:30 on Friday, July 24th, for an opportunity to get a signed copy of Jeff Smith's Fall 2009 TOON…
Pirates & Princesses in the Park

TOON Books

11 May 2009 | 8:48 am

This Saturday, TOON Books was thrilled to participate in the kick-off to Children's Book Week in Bryant Park. Hosted by majestic Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Jon Scieszka, the event included a stirring telling of "The Stinky Cheese Man," a pop quiz on the life cycle of butterflies, and official (and delicious) Children's Book Week cookies.When it was TOON Books' turn, Geoffrey drew a pirate ship ("No, it's a box!" "It's a ship!") to set the scene, and Leigh got to wear her princess hat and read in a squeaky mouse voice, two of her favorite things. Everyone loved the story of the…

The Book Bench
Everything is Relative

Christine

6 Nov 2009 | 7:04 am

Our current family nightly read is the first Hardy Boys book. My sons are very interested and my daughter hates it. She has no interest whatsoever in Joe and Frank Hardy with their motorcycles and sleuthing skills. It's just not her thing. It has gotten us talking however, about how different people view the same thing in different ways. Besides the Hardy Boys, a recent example is my daughter's Halloween costume. She made a candy button costume and kept it secret from her friends until the big day. About a week before Halloween we were at a neighbor's house and the kids kept asking me and…
Happy Halloween!

Christine

31 Oct 2009 | 7:53 am

Happy Halloween! While I LOVE these homemade costumes my children are wearing this year, none of them are particularly bookish. You could argue that my little guy's Frankenstein is inspired by Mary Shelly's novel, but it's not. He doesn't know the book exists. He just wanted to look creepy. I have seen some other people in good book-inspired costumes this year. One of my older son's fifth grade classmates is going dressed as a thesaurus! How great is that? A student at the high school where I work dressed as the other mother from Coraline, carrying around big buttons, a needle, and thread…
In A Dark, Dark Room

Christine

29 Oct 2009 | 3:26 pm

Every summer, my children attend a camp out on the beach at our local lake. They enjoy setting up tents, roasting marshmallows, racing around in the dark with friends, and two of my three children love to hear and tell ghost stories around the campfire. Ghost story fever stays with them from the time of the camp out until Halloween. They spend those months on the lookout for new ghost stories. I try to find good ones at the library, but it is a difficult task balancing high interest with low fear factor. They don't want any "babyish" books, but I don't want to be woken up by children crying…
Foodie Friday: Fast Food Edition

Christine

23 Oct 2009 | 2:53 am

I haven't written a Foodie Friday since the summer and prepare yourself, this one isn't earth shattering. Three kids on three different soccer teams is killing me. Last night after an evening dental appointment and dragging the kids through Target for toilet paper and sundry other items, I treated them to dinner at Wendy's. I was feeling a small measure of guilt about the fast food dinner because they rarely pick the healthy side choices preferring grease and salt like their Mom. Redemption came in the form Kids' Meal "toy." Rather than a toy, each kid's meal contained a Scholastic Audiobook.
Mixed Reviews

Christine

18 Oct 2009 | 4:42 pm

On Friday night my ten year old son saw the new Where the Wild Things Are film as a guest at an eleventh birthday party. He loved it. He was inclined to enjoy the evening as he also went out for pizza beforehand and milkshakes afterward. My nine year old daughter attended the movie at a nine year old's birthday party. My daughter did not enjoy the movie one bit. None of the girls did. Indeed, the birthday girl cried at the sadness and darkness of the film. I did not see it, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to. I adored the book as a child. Actually, I still do. In some review I read, the…

3 Evil Cousins
Double Helix by Nancy Werlin

Tay Darramont

5 Nov 2009 | 5:18 pm

Eli Samuels, high school senior, soon to be high school graduate, is looking for a job. On a drunken impulse, he writes an embarrassing email to Dr. Quincy Wyatt, the most famous geneticist in the world, asking for a job at Wyatt Transgenics, Dr. Wyatt’s company. Eli regrets the email as soon as he sends it. He does not expect that he will actually get the job- after all, he hasn’t even graduated yet, and he’s planning to take a year off before going to college. Incredibly, Dr. Wyatt gives Eli the job. For a while, it seems too good to be true. Though it’s only an entry-level,…
The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld

Tay Darramont

19 Oct 2009 | 3:39 pm

Millennia in the future, light-years away, the Risen Empire spans eighty planets. To the people of the empire, the Risen Emperor, inventor of immortality, and his eternally young sister, the Child Empress, are more than rulers- they are gods. They have ruled for sixteen hundred years, and the empire seems as immortal as they are. But the empire is not alone in the galaxy. The Rix are a civilization of cyborgs, and their domain lies just outside the Risen Empire. The Rix have no leader and no culture. They are a Spartan civilization with only one goal- to propagate an artificially intelligent…
How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford

Briar K.

4 Oct 2009 | 11:14 am

How to Say Goodbye in Robot, by Natalie Standiford, is the story of Beatrice Szabo and her very unique friendship with Jonah “Ghost Boy” Tate. Bea’s family moves all the time, so when Beatrice is told that they are moving to Baltimore for her senior year, she readies herself for yet another year of gossip and parties and shallow friends. Instead, she meets Jonah, nicknamed “Ghost Boy” by his taunting peers, and the two of them embark on a relationship that cannot appropriately be pinpointed by words such as “friend” or “boyfriend.” To Bea and Jonah, their togetherness is…
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Briar K.

24 Sep 2009 | 3:47 pm

Noughts and Crosses, by Malorie Blackman is the tale of a world with a clear class distinction, an alternate universe in which racial and social roles are completely reversed. The world is run by the dark-skinned Crosses and served by the white Noughts—hatefully called daggers and blankers, respectively. The story is that of Sephy Hadley and Callum McGregor , whose love and friendship struggle against the wide gap between their social standings. Sephy, a Cross, is the daughter of one of the most powerful politicians in the country, while Callum is a low-class “blanker,” and would never…
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Briar K.

31 Aug 2009 | 10:31 pm

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, was the wildly popular dystopia novel released last year. Catching Fire, the eagerly awaited sequel, was equally as riveting—full of extraordinary twists and turns as well as further fleshing of conflicts introduced in its predecessor. For those unfamiliar with The Hunger Games, the story centers around Katniss Everdeen, who takes her young sister’s place in the The Hunger Games. The Games consist of twenty-four “tributes,” or teenage citizens, who are put in an arena and forced to kill each other off in the hopes of being the last one standing.

Dulemba.com
My Marketing Strategy: The Snowball Effect at Cynsations!

Elizabeth O. Dulemba

7 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

Friday I had the honor of being a guest blogger at Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations! She asked me to share my marketing strategy. And since I get a lot of questions from you guys about exactly that - I hope you'll go have a read: Guest Post Elizabeth O. Dulemba on Marketing - The Snowball Effect. But that's not all! Cynthia is also giving away a signed copy of SOAP, SOAP, SOAP (all-English or Bilingual)! Click Here to enter the drawing! (Told ya there would be more giveaways!) Cynthia Leitich Smith is the author of the FABULOSO…
National Bookstore Day!

Elizabeth O. Dulemba

6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

National Bookstore Day is tomorrow!!! It's sponsored by Publishers Weekly to help drive traffic to bookstores as sellers gear up for the holiday book-buying season. And what better way to show love than to share a book? Go visit your local bookseller this weekend!!!
MG vs. YA?

Elizabeth O. Dulemba

5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

The authors at MiG Writers recently shared a FANTASTIC post about the difference between MG (Mid-grade) and YA (Young Adult) fiction: MG vs YA fiction: What's the Difference? It includes this funny cartoon by Debbie Ohi. Remember Debbie? She did that awesome comic strip of me during my Soap, Soap, Soap blog tour? So, if you ever wondered what age range your novel falls into - maybe you'll find an answer there! (Thanks to Anastasia Suen for this heads up... )
Kirby Larson's NUBS (THE TRUE STORY OF A MUTT, A MARINE, AND A MIRACLE)

Elizabeth O. Dulemba

4 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery have created a story about a wonderful dog who finds the perfect human, but goes through some serious trials to stay with him (Major Brian Dennis). I dare you to keep a dry eye as you read NUBS (THE TRUE STORY OF A MUTT, A MARINE, AND A MIRACLE). Today, I ask Kirby about her latest picture book (which is already getting RAVE reviews).Q. You've done it again Kirby - you've written a story that brought me to tears. How did you first hear about Nubs?A. It was all thanks to Mary. We loved collaborating together on Two Bobbies and were looking for another project. She…
Coloring Page Tuesday! - Leaf Canoe

Elizabeth O. Dulemba

3 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted and to view more coloring pages - click here! We're well into the browns and oranges and yellows of the year. Leaves float to the ground and have all sorts of uses you may not have known about... Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Send me your colored version (less than 1mb) to coloringpages@dulemba.com and I'll post it to my blog! Click here to find more coloring pages. Click the cover to learn about my newest picture book, Soap,…

The Book Chook
Scrap Coloring

6 Nov 2009 | 8:17 pm

Terry Doherty from Scrub-a-Dub Tub is always on the lookout for sites that contribute in some way to children's literacy. (Terry and I are part of a committee working toward another Blog Literacy Tour, scheduled for March 2010, and Terry is building a huge database of literacy links which will be of great benefit to parents.)At her blog today, Terry mentioned Scrap Coloring, and of course I had to take a look. I couldn't resist a little play, and coloured-in the chameleon template you see at left.The site works well (best in Firefox). Basically, once you've found and clicked on an image, you…
Book Review, outside IN

6 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

One of our strongest human needs is to fit in. This drives so much behaviour, particularly in our teenage years. Do you remember feeling that everyone else was cool, confident and charismatic, while you didn’t even fit inside your own skin? I don’t think things are any different for Generation X, Y or Z: Feels like everyone else’s got the answersYou got shadows, they got lightYou just got a heap of questionsWhile they got everything right Written by Chrissie Keighery, and published by Hardie Grant Egmont (2009), outside IN is definitely a YA novella worth reading. I think girls will…
Resource Roundup (November 09)

4 Nov 2009 | 10:13 pm

Here are some sites I've discovered recently that support parents and kids toward literacy, creativity and education generally.Design SquadPBS have done it again! There is a TV show called Design Squad, and this is the companion site. I love the great challenges for kids to solve , like "build a tower that can support a tennis ball at least 18 inches off the ground while withstanding the wind from a fan." The site provides a list of materials, as well as questions to help guide the process. There's lots for kids to read, as well as prompts to get them thinking creatively, or as the site says,…
Reader's Theatre (1)

1 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

In July 2009, I discussed developing a child's imagination through play by spring-boarding from literature. Reader's Theatre is another wonderful medium for encouraging kids to use their imaginations. Basically, you develop a short script based on a book you've read together. Depending on your child's age, you could co-write a script with her, or she may have the confidence to try it alone. If your child has a group of friends over, they might want to perform the Reader's Theatre for you after a chance to practise (and giggle!).You can see a video of some children reading a Reader's Theatre…
More Nonsense

31 Oct 2009 | 11:13 pm

A comment by Terry Doherty from Scrub-a-Dub-Tub after my Oh, What Nonsense! post yesterday, reminded me of some more nonsense that can be fun for kids, and involve them in reading and writing. We used to write these little stories in autograph books, or to try to puzzle others. We loved them as kids, and I think your kids might enjoy them too. Because I know many of my readers love word games, I thought I would make this a challenge. (Although, those of you who send a lot of text messages will have an unfair advantage.) If you’d like to take up the challenge, write out a translation for any…

Reading Rumpus
Silverstein and Me: A Memoir by Marv Gold

Tasses

25 Oct 2009 | 5:54 pm

Information on the reclusive, but dearly loved, Shel Silverstein is rare. Students seeking information on the author will find few interviews given and little written about him. Shel Silverstein would be happy that this is the case. A man of wildly divergent talents, Silverstein wanted his body of work to do the speaking for him. Enter author Marv Gold. Gold’s Silverstein and Me: A Memoir begins with a dead Shel Silverstein haunting his boyhood pal via song. From there, Silverstein’s life is recalled from their meeting at six years of age to Silverstein’s death. Though a tiny final hint…
The 13 Days of Halloween by Carol Greene with illustrations by Tim Raglin - book review & teaching ideas

Tasses

24 Oct 2009 | 12:08 am

The Thirteen Days Of Halloween is the perfect Halloween picture book for the little ghouls and goblins in your life. The text follows the same rhyme scheme as the famous Christmas song (12 Days of Christmas) and the illustrations offer wonderfully bizarre scenes of mayhem to support the text.The Thirteen Days Of Halloween is an excellent book for emergent readers. Rhyme and repetition, as well as predictable language, are important tools in learning the sounds and patterns of language. The Thirteen Days Of Halloween is just the sort of book that should be read over and over as young students…
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2010

Tasses

8 Oct 2009 | 4:48 am

Students are going to pour over the fabulously stuffed-to-the-brim National Geographic Kids Almanac 2010. Is it possible to pack any more animals, geography and culture into a book? This book is great for mini-reports or beginnings of further exploration on an amazing array of topics. The only criticism, from a reluctant reader standpoint, is the small text and overwhelming content. Teachers and parents might offer the sections in small chunks to these sorts of readers. 5th - 8th grade readers, especially gifted or strong readers, will have no difficulty, and find the amazing array of…
Ghost In The Machine by Patrick Carman

Tasses

7 Oct 2009 | 4:37 am

There's a new review of Ghost In The Machine up at my Reading Education post on Examiner.com.Basically, I just restated my interest in the story and linked to my original thoughts on the fantastic and unique concept by author Partrick Carman. If you missed my review of Skeleton Creek, here's the link.This series is a great one for lovers of the mystery genre and reluctant readers. Libraries and classroom should add this one to their shelves. It won't stay on them long.Oh! And don't forget all the wonderful links to additional content:Author siteMaking of SiteSpooky Easter Egg SiteCharacter…
Win a copy of Horrid Henry - 3 Winners!

Tasses

4 Oct 2009 | 7:27 pm

Back in May, Henry had just landed on the Reading Rumpus doorstep, but it was instant love. The Horrid Henry series is aimed toward the early independent reader. However, it's also an excellent resource for struggling readers. Each book contains four tales with a large font style, quick pace and illustrations for excellent contextual support (and also a laugh or two).From the May review, "Horrid Henry is HUGE. He’s all over Europe with a television series, a play and famous people like Miranda Richardson loving him up. But here, we Yanks have missed out on his mania. Not so anymore! Horrid…

Brimful Curiosities
Full to the Brim - Kid's Book Giveaway List (11/6/09)

Brimful Curiosities

6 Nov 2009 | 7:00 pm

Please check out my other "Full to the Brim" posts as well. Many contests are still underway. I publish "Full to the Brim" every Monday and Friday. Thanks for visiting my blog and come back soon!My Book Related Giveaways (see sidebar for all giveaways):Alfred Nobel: The Man Behind the Peace Prize by Kathy-Jo Wargin [picture book giveaway] Ends 11/23/09 Other book giveaways:Seattle Moms Deal Finder - Book Giveaway Ends 11/30/09The Patterson Puppies and the Rainy Day by Leslie PatricelliBooking Mama - Book Giveaway Ends 11/17/09Touch the Art: Catch Picasso's Rooster by Julie Appel and Amy…
Full to the Brim - To be published later this evening

Brimful Curiosities

6 Nov 2009 | 8:21 am

Look for today's Full to the Brim post later this evening. My nephew is visiting today and the kids are having fun playing together. Cousins are the best!
Touch the Art Books by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo - Book Review - What My Children are Reading / stART

Brimful Curiosities

5 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

One of my friends is the director of the local art gallery in our community so my kids have had a chance to see various art exhibits. I always keep a close eye on them both when we visit and make sure that they understand that touching the exhibit items is a big no-no. Recently Sterling Publishing sent me two great new books where kids can touch art -- real art. The Touch the Art series by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo puts famous art and historical artifacts right into a child's hands and encourages them to explore the art up close and personal. It's an educational touch and feel experience.
Full Count by Brad Herzog - Book Review

Brimful Curiosities

5 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

"Gather around the TV set. It's time for baseball heaven. Sometimes there's an October treat. It's World Series Game 7!" - Full Count by Brad Herzog, illustrated by Bruce LangtonI happen to enjoy watching baseball. I generally find the experience relaxing. I played softball in high school (spent a lot of time in center field) and liked the slow pace of the game. However, those big moments do come and create excitement, the moments when you are at bat hoping to score a runner or diving to catch the fly ball. I can't imagine the thrill of playing in a World Series. There won't be a game 7 in…
Alfred Nobel: The Man Behind the Peace Prize - Book Review and Giveaway

Brimful Curiosities

4 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

"Alfred named his invention after the Greek word dynamis, which means power. But to the world, Alfred Nobel had invented something called dynamite." - Alfred Nobel: The Man Behind the Peace Prize by Kathy-Jo Wargin, illustrated by Zachary PullenToday, on the first anniversary last year's historic election, I watched the live TV coverage of President Obama as he spoke to students, teachers and parents at the Wright Middle School here in Wisconsin. He talked about his new educational agenda and the Race to the Top grants. In his speech he remarked that, "The right education is a prerequisite to…

Brimful Curiosities
Full to the Brim - Kid's Book Giveaway List (11/6/09)

Brimful Curiosities

6 Nov 2009 | 7:00 pm

Please check out my other "Full to the Brim" posts as well. Many contests are still underway. I publish "Full to the Brim" every Monday and Friday. Thanks for visiting my blog and come back soon!My Book Related Giveaways (see sidebar for all giveaways):Alfred Nobel: The Man Behind the Peace Prize by Kathy-Jo Wargin [picture book giveaway] Ends 11/23/09 Other book giveaways:Seattle Moms Deal Finder - Book Giveaway Ends 11/30/09The Patterson Puppies and the Rainy Day by Leslie PatricelliBooking Mama - Book Giveaway Ends 11/17/09Touch the Art: Catch Picasso's Rooster by Julie Appel and Amy…
Full to the Brim - To be published later this evening

Brimful Curiosities

6 Nov 2009 | 8:21 am

Look for today's Full to the Brim post later this evening. My nephew is visiting today and the kids are having fun playing together. Cousins are the best!
Touch the Art Books by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo - Book Review - What My Children are Reading / stART

Brimful Curiosities

5 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

One of my friends is the director of the local art gallery in our community so my kids have had a chance to see various art exhibits. I always keep a close eye on them both when we visit and make sure that they understand that touching the exhibit items is a big no-no. Recently Sterling Publishing sent me two great new books where kids can touch art -- real art. The Touch the Art series by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo puts famous art and historical artifacts right into a child's hands and encourages them to explore the art up close and personal. It's an educational touch and feel experience.
Full Count by Brad Herzog - Book Review

Brimful Curiosities

5 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

"Gather around the TV set. It's time for baseball heaven. Sometimes there's an October treat. It's World Series Game 7!" - Full Count by Brad Herzog, illustrated by Bruce LangtonI happen to enjoy watching baseball. I generally find the experience relaxing. I played softball in high school (spent a lot of time in center field) and liked the slow pace of the game. However, those big moments do come and create excitement, the moments when you are at bat hoping to score a runner or diving to catch the fly ball. I can't imagine the thrill of playing in a World Series. There won't be a game 7 in…
Alfred Nobel: The Man Behind the Peace Prize - Book Review and Giveaway

Brimful Curiosities

4 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

"Alfred named his invention after the Greek word dynamis, which means power. But to the world, Alfred Nobel had invented something called dynamite." - Alfred Nobel: The Man Behind the Peace Prize by Kathy-Jo Wargin, illustrated by Zachary PullenToday, on the first anniversary last year's historic election, I watched the live TV coverage of President Obama as he spoke to students, teachers and parents at the Wright Middle School here in Wisconsin. He talked about his new educational agenda and the Race to the Top grants. In his speech he remarked that, "The right education is a prerequisite to…

Moms Inspire Learning
Putting the Listening Back into Literacy: Tell Me a Story

Dawn Morris

5 Nov 2009 | 1:47 pm

I've mentioned before that history was my least favorite subject throughout my years in public school. Later on, after I had my children and started graduate school for teaching, I suddenly became fascinated by the subject.When I started researching the many types of children's books and online resources relating to social studies, it became one of my favorite subjects to write lesson plans and units for. Since I felt strongly that geography and diversity were important topics that were (and still are) not being addressed enough, I decided to try to infuse them into every lesson plan and unit…
Putting the Listening Back into Literacy

Dawn Morris

4 Nov 2009 | 2:41 pm

Television. Video games. Computers. Cell phones.Have you noticed that many children, and even adults, seem to lack a sense of focus these days? They are easily distracted, and who can blame them? Being surrounded with so many forms of advanced technology is kind of like having ten different doors in front of you! Just thinking about your choice is a distraction, which can lead to a partial or complete lack of focus on any one thing. We all seem to be moving so fast that I wish that - for one day - we could all go back to the time when there were none of these things. A time when a simple…
Listening for Literacy

Dawn Morris

3 Nov 2009 | 6:59 pm

The definition of literacy, as per the Concise Oxford American Dictionary, is "the ability to read and write." True literacy, though, encompasses so much more.Before children learn to read or write, they first need to listen to what people are saying and respond in an appropriate manner. The more they are spoken with and read to, the greater the chances that they will grow into active listeners, speakers, and storytellers. THEN they can become the strong independent readers and writers we so want them to be. True literacy to me is more about communication than anything else. The more that…
Moms Inspire Learning Reader Interest Survey

Dawn Morris

2 Nov 2009 | 7:27 am

I've put my heart and soul into this blog for the past 8 months, and now it's time to reevaluate. I've been told that I need to narrow my focus. So, I really need your help! If you've gotten anything out of this blog over the past year, I really would appreciate it if you'd take a couple of minutes to complete my brief (4 question) survey. You can do so anonymously. Please click here to take the survey. The future of this blog depends upon your participation. Thank you so much!
Friday Photo Fun: Happy Halloween!

Dawn Morris

30 Oct 2009 | 10:40 am

©iStockphoto/Gary Martin (tirc83)Can't you just see the excitement?! I hope you and your children have a happy, safe Halloween. I also have a favor to ask of you. In my effort to serve you better, I need 100 readers to participate in a brief (4 question) survey. So, if you could possibly spare a couple of minutes sometime this weekend, I'd really appreciate it if you would help me out. Please click here to take survey.Thank you so much!

Gail Carson Levine
The End of a Chapter

4 Nov 2009 | 6:40 am

After my last post, Freak of Nature asked how long a chapter should be and how many chapters a book should have. I wrote back that a book can have any number of chapters, and each one can be almost any length. But I’ve been thinking that there’s more to say on the subject.As a child I was a major reader, the kind who reads while brushing her teeth. I read anything, no matter how long or short. But after I became a writer I became less of a reader - much less, for a bunch of reasons, like editing as I read and reading books I didn’t like to keep up with children's lit. Lately I’ve been…
Playing with Blocks

28 Oct 2009 | 11:33 am

After the post two weeks ago, Debz asked about writer’s block and ways to overcome it. Also, a friend has asked about self-loathing in connection with writer’s block.Self-loathing first, I always say.Several months ago I applied for admission to an advanced poetry workshop and sent along six of my poems that I like a lot. I was rejected. The professor takes only ten students. The woman who gave me the bad news said that sixty people had applied, which wasn’t much comfort. Six million applicants would have been comfort, a little.The rational one percent of my brain told me that this…
Whose Eyes? Whose Voice?

21 Oct 2009 | 10:48 am

After my last post, Kim wrote,How do you choose the point of view for a particular story, and what, to you, are the pros and cons of 1st person versus 3rd person POV?My last novel was in the 3rd person, but my work in progress is (currently) in 1st person. I can't seem to get the voice right--it feels a bit pretentious, to tell the truth, because I'm trying to write a lyrical piece--and I've considered going back to the 3rd person. Do certain novels scream a particular POV to you as you're working on them? I noticed in this post that you bounced around in the POV you chose until you selected…
Transformations

14 Oct 2009 | 1:53 pm

After my last post Erin Edwards wrote: I was thinking some more about this. It is interesting that you don't do a lot of planning and organizing before you write, because I have found that if I don't do at least some, I can't write *anything* that isn't extremely boring (if I can write anything at all.) I am beginning to think that what some writers call first drafts and some call outlines look nothing like what I think a rough draft or an outline would look like. I learned a lot once from a conference where an editor showed the steps a manuscript took between submission and the final picture…
Tense again

7 Oct 2009 | 8:41 am

After my last post, Pam wrote this comment: "These all seem like things that you need to plan ahead. How do you organize your stories and plots to make sure these stay consistent?"Most of my consistency comes from revision. For example, in the mystery I’m working on, I gave the ogre a cat as a pet. Later, the plot demanded that the cat - poof! - become a dog. If you make a change like this, you can stop where you are and go back to the beginning to transform the cat everywhere it appears, not only changing the word, but also the animal’s behavior. Or you can wait until the end and then…

Kids Lit
All of Me! A Book of Thanks

saecker

6 Nov 2009 | 11:51 am

All of Me! A Book of Thanks by Molly Bang A small child thanks each body part for how well they work. Fine feet hold you up, hands can grab and hold, arms to hug, mouth, eyes, nose, ears, and heart. Each bit of us is constantly supporting our life, allowing us to do what we need to do. Every day we feel so many different things, do so many different things. And in the end? We are part of the universe and alive! Bang’s art is so beautiful and simple here. The end pages of the book feature some of her work space and then some ideas for children to start…
Luv Ya Bunches

saecker

6 Nov 2009 | 11:04 am

Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle Yes, this is the book that was not included in Scholastic Book Fairs because one of the characters has lesbian parents. Sheesh! That has since changed and they will be carrying the title. This book though is so much more than the subject of that controversy! It’s funny, smart, and simply wonderful. It all starts with a big gesture in the hallway made by Katie-Rose, who slams into Milla, sending her backpack and everything in it skittering across the floor. Katie-Rose skulks away, so Yasaman is blamed for the event though she had…
Finn Throws a Fit!

saecker

5 Nov 2009 | 1:40 pm

Finn Throws a Fit! by David Elliott, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering I was sold on this book from the very first page, which features a huge image of Finn hugging a peach. The look on his face of complete and utter bliss is the essence of joy. Then of course, the book changes… Today, Finn does not like peaches. He doesn’t like anything at all. He is just plain grumpy! He slams doors, yells, cries, stomps his feet. His temper is so huge that when he does these things they have disastrous effects. His tears flood the house. Lightning…
The Mitten

saecker

5 Nov 2009 | 1:24 pm

The Mitten retold by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Barbara McClintock This is a retelling of Ukrainian folktale made popular by Jan Brett whose beloved version is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. A little boy heads out to play in his new hat, scarf and mittens that his grandmother has knitted for him. While playing, he loses one of his mittens. The mitten is found by a squirrel, a rabbit, a fox, and a bear who manage to squeeze into the mitten and be nice and warm. But when a mouse comes by and begs to join them too, it is too much for even…
You and Me and Home Sweet Home

saecker

4 Nov 2009 | 11:06 am

You and Me and Home Sweet Home by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Stephanie Anderson In poetic form, Lyon tells the story of a young girl, Sharonda, and her mother who have a Habitat for Humanity house built for them. The story moves from them living in a tiny room together in her Aunt Janey’s apartment and through the process of the home being built and completed. Beginning with the empty lot and hope, the story is built as sturdily and lovingly as the home itself. Lyon’s poetry does not rhyme and for most children will not read as a poem, but it is. Filled with…

Moms Inspire Learning
Putting the Listening Back into Literacy: Tell Me a Story

Dawn Morris

5 Nov 2009 | 1:47 pm

I've mentioned before that history was my least favorite subject throughout my years in public school. Later on, after I had my children and started graduate school for teaching, I suddenly became fascinated by the subject.When I started researching the many types of children's books and online resources relating to social studies, it became one of my favorite subjects to write lesson plans and units for. Since I felt strongly that geography and diversity were important topics that were (and still are) not being addressed enough, I decided to try to infuse them into every lesson plan and unit…
Putting the Listening Back into Literacy

Dawn Morris

4 Nov 2009 | 2:41 pm

Television. Video games. Computers. Cell phones.Have you noticed that many children, and even adults, seem to lack a sense of focus these days? They are easily distracted, and who can blame them? Being surrounded with so many forms of advanced technology is kind of like having ten different doors in front of you! Just thinking about your choice is a distraction, which can lead to a partial or complete lack of focus on any one thing. We all seem to be moving so fast that I wish that - for one day - we could all go back to the time when there were none of these things. A time when a simple…
Listening for Literacy

Dawn Morris

3 Nov 2009 | 6:59 pm

The definition of literacy, as per the Concise Oxford American Dictionary, is "the ability to read and write." True literacy, though, encompasses so much more.Before children learn to read or write, they first need to listen to what people are saying and respond in an appropriate manner. The more they are spoken with and read to, the greater the chances that they will grow into active listeners, speakers, and storytellers. THEN they can become the strong independent readers and writers we so want them to be. True literacy to me is more about communication than anything else. The more that…
Moms Inspire Learning Reader Interest Survey

Dawn Morris

2 Nov 2009 | 7:27 am

I've put my heart and soul into this blog for the past 8 months, and now it's time to reevaluate. I've been told that I need to narrow my focus. So, I really need your help! If you've gotten anything out of this blog over the past year, I really would appreciate it if you'd take a couple of minutes to complete my brief (4 question) survey. You can do so anonymously. Please click here to take the survey. The future of this blog depends upon your participation. Thank you so much!
Friday Photo Fun: Happy Halloween!

Dawn Morris

30 Oct 2009 | 10:40 am

©iStockphoto/Gary Martin (tirc83)Can't you just see the excitement?! I hope you and your children have a happy, safe Halloween. I also have a favor to ask of you. In my effort to serve you better, I need 100 readers to participate in a brief (4 question) survey. So, if you could possibly spare a couple of minutes sometime this weekend, I'd really appreciate it if you would help me out. Please click here to take survey.Thank you so much!