Morning Notes: Secret Town Edition

FURTHER THEORIES…

Let the conjecture continue! In the fall I tried to figure out what happens at the end of Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. Over at Bookie Woogie, Aaron Zenz and his nine-year-old son talk about what they think happened, and I love every moment of it. Click here to read.

MAGNIFICENCE

A Fuse #8 Production shares her favorite 100 books of the year. All I can say is … instant library, y’all! Click here to see the list.

JKLGB

(FYI: This is the texting acronym for Jon Klassen is on the Let’s Get Busy Podcast)

This Matthew Winner guy is on a roll, blowing past 100 episodes of his Let’s Get Busy podcast and going strong. This week he chats with Jon Klassen. Click here to listen.

RAINA TELGEMEIER IS HAVING THE BEST WEEK EVER

The Sisters creator was featured in the Wall Street Journal, and was named Comics Industry Person of the year this week. I’m only sad that it’s not 2005, so Vh1’s Best Week Ever could talk about it.

SPEECH!

I had a great time reading the acceptance speeches for the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, and if you’ve read the books that won, I’m guessing you will too. Click here to read them all.

CYBILS SHORTLISTING

The 2014 Cybils shortlists are live! I was on the fiction picture book panel this year, so be sure to check our work there. The winners will be announced on Valentines Day. Click here to see the lists.

NERDIES ANNOUNCED

The Nerdy Book Club has also announced the winners of their people’s-choice-style awards. Click here to check them out.

RESOLVING TO ROCK

At Storytime Underground, they’re challenging readers to share their professional New Year’s Resolutions. Click here to read.

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead. Out August 4, 2015.

The Newbery Medalist returns this summer with a book about “an accident survivor who’s wondering why she’s still alive”. Sign me up.

And you can click here to read Rebecca Stead’s blog post on Goodbye Stranger.

Whether you’re trying to evaluate them, make them, or just understand them, everyone should read this excellent breakdown over at This Picture Book Life: Elements of an A+ Picture Book: Where Bear?

This is one of those times where the video really deserves a post of its own. As they did with Mo Willems last year, the CBS Sunday Morning show profiles a children’s literature giant and the results are fun to watch. This time it’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid creator Jeff Kinney. I’m planning to show this to my 4th grade students next week.

Filed under: Morning Notes, News