2013 is young, but in library circles, “rock star librarian” is quickly becoming the loaded term of the year. It all started with a post at Hi Miss Julie that sparked debate about gender and librarianship. Since then Stacked, The Magpie Librarian, and other blogs have continued the discussion. Heck, a friend even sent me the description [...]
The (mostly) monthly roundup of the books kids are lining up to read is over at Watch. Connect. Read. today. Head over there and take a look. Here’s a preview:
A couple months back I realized that although there are tons of infographics in the world, there aren’t many with a children’s literature focus. Let’s right that wrong. Last time out we had the world’s first Caldecott Medal infographic, and today we take on Newbery. Click to enlarge.
It’s about time for another round of “What Are Kids Reading?” This month, John Schumacher is hosting a gallery of library hold shelf pictures at his blog Watch. Connect. Read. Here’s how it works: Before 8:00pm CST on Wednesday, February 27 locate the hold shelf in your library. Take a picture. Share it by either of these [...]
Navigating Early By Clare Vanderpool Delacorte Press (Random House) ISBN: 9780385742092 $16.99 Grades 5-8 In Stores *Best New Book* Find it at: Schuler Books | Your Library When Moon Over Manifest won the 2011 Newbery Medal, it took everyone off guard. Any time a debut novel receives that sort of recognition, the followup isn’t just [...]
Best lamp ever? The Lumio lamp, a Kickstarter project, looks like it will soon be a reality. Click here to read more. (Thanks to Book Patrol for the link)
The following is a work of fiction. In a shocking move, the International Children’s Literature Commissioner has announced that all picture books must end in sleep. Appearing weary and sleep-deprived before the assembled children’s literature press this morning, the commissioner’s voice rarely rose above a whisper. “Currently, a full 71% of picture books end with [...]
I’m all for teaming up. When Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blogger Julie Danielson had the idea to do a Facebook page joining of forces with Philip Nel (Nine Kinds of Pie), and Elizabeth Bird (A Fuse #8 Production) my response was a very dignified “aww yeah”. Next, Phil came up with the Tove Jansson-inspired moniker. [...]
It isn’t often you come across something this gloriously odd. All credit to the website Book Patrol for bringing The Betty Glover Library Workout Tape to light. It’s a feast of obsolete library technologies, 80s hits, and “what the?!” moments. Created as a student project in 1987 at Arizona State University, this is pure VHS [...]
CALDECOTT SECRETS Or rather, why are there so many? Click here to read. NPR ON SENDAK Morning Edition recently used the occasion of Maurice Sendak’s final work “My Brother’s Book” to talk about the man and his legacy. Click here to listen. THIS BOOK NEEDS A HOLOGRAM What is the wave of the future when [...]
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*¹ It’s 4:30 am in the middle February – you know what that means: time to make the early morning trek to the annual Anderson’s Bookshops Children’s Literature Breakfast! ¹I became aware, soon after writing this, that starting a blog post with an alarm clock going off might be the most depressing intro [...]
Sometimes an awards list comes out and you think, “not too shabby”. Other times an awards list comes out and you think, “absolutely no shabbiness here whatsoever. Indeed, zero shabbiness”. That’s the 2012 Cybils winners. It’s an excellent group of winners. As a member of the Fiction Picture Book committee, I’m thrilled A Home for [...]
It’s been a while since we’ve done this (poor Homer Price) so let’s do a little recap. If a good book is sporting a cover that isn’t helping, you’ve got yourself an Unfortunate Cover. The Unfortunate Cover can be a tough situation to remedy. You can booktalk the heck out of it to spur some [...]
SENDAK SCHOOL You may have heard, but they’re naming a New York City public school after Maurice Sendak. This seems a fine idea to me. Click here to read. NEW HARRY POTTER COVERS Publisher’s Weekly just announced this morning that September will bring new covers for the paperback edition of the Harry Potter series. [...]
It’s time to once again to look at the season before us and say “that looks good”. What follows are books coming out in March, April, and May that appear to have promise. Picture Book Giant Dance Party by Betsy Bird; illustrated by Brandon Dorman April 23 | Greenwillow | Grades K-2 Ever heard of [...]
Recent Comments