Morning Notes: ‘Don’t Read this Book’ Edition

UNRELATED STORIES: SLJ SETS A BAD EXAMPLE, NAMES BEST BOOKS

After upsetting some over last month’s bars ‘n bloggers cover (see the Tweet o’ the Week below for more on that), School Library Journal reminds us all what they do best by posting their best of ’09 picks. A list not to be missed.

NEW CHILDREN’S LIT AMBASSADOR TO BE NAMED ON JAN. 5; SCIESZKA TO HAND OVER KEYS TO ARMORED LIMO

Jon Scieszka announced via FaceBook that the time for a new National Abassador of Young People’s Literature will soon be upon us. It’ll be sad to see Jon go.

EBOOKS COMING TO NINTENDO DS; AUTHORS RACING TO WRITE MARIOKART: THE BOOK

In the UK, Electronic Arts is bringing ebooks by the likes of Enid Blyton and Eoin Colfer to the handheld Nintendo DS. With all the talk about ebooks lately, it will be interesting to see how this goes over.

Lego Star Wars: the visual dictionary by Simon Beecroft. Currently #3 on the New York Times Picture Book Bestseller list.

Every October, two of the schools where I work host book fairs. This year there was one clear winner in terms of popularity: Lego Star Wars. Both schools promptly sold out of the book – which is something considering the costs: 22 bones. Soon thereafter it popped up on the NYT bestseller list. I’m thinking it will be calling the list home for a while. If you’re looking for high interest titles to add to your collection, you can’t do much higher than this.

New school, familiar story. Teacher wants to use certain books for teaching, higher-ups don’t like said books and try to remove them. It’s too bad. Click the image above to read about the craziness in a Kentucky high school at A Chair, a Fireplace & a Tea Cozy.

A legitimate cover controversy? I was honestly surprised to learn that a number of School Library Journal subscribers were not pleased with the bar setting for November’s “This Blog’s for You” cover. Call me oblivious, but I didn’t think twice when I saw it. @FuseEight links to their letters to the editor.

Apparently, children’s books also make good ping pong paddles. The UK staff of HarperCollins Children’s Books is at it again. Last time it was the world’s longest children’s book domino rally, this time it’s Tollins table tennis. I need to work here someday.

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