We Met Mo Willems!

We just happened to be visiting family in Irvine, CA when Mo Willems was there doing a book signing there at A Whale of a Tale for his latest picture book, Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. We flew into Burbank and took our time driving down so we missed the beginning of his talk and reading, but we did get to catch him talking about the next pigeon book. It's being released on April 1, 2008 and mo announced that the title will be five words long. He even shared the first four words with us, The Pigeon Wants A ________. He's leaving it to kids to fill in the blank for now and he says that on April 1st children every where will rush to their local bookstore to be greatly disappointed that he didn't choose their title!

He was just as funny and as personable as you would expect. He's my very favorite picture book author so I felt a little like I was meeting a rockstar. While we were waiting in line to get our books signed I mentioned to my husband that I hoped that I didn't have a MotherReader moment (another kidlit blogger who says that she gushed to the point of embarrassment when she met mo). Mo overhead me and asked if I was a blogger and proceeded to tell me that he LOVES the kidlit bloggers! Then he was even more animated and friendly. (ok, and as if that didn't win me over enough, he oohed and awed over my son and commented on how gorgeous his blue eyes are, and what mom wouldn't love that?)

On April 1st, I will be lined up at my local children's book store to pick up the new pigeon book. I can't wait! Want to know more about Mo? You can view his web site here.

And because he says that he's phasing that out, you can see his blog here.

And his pigeon site here.

A few highlights? On his blog Mo has pictures of a teacher with a pigeon costume (and I thought that I was a big fan!)

And under Mo's Stuff he has a link to info on Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus the Musical, which looks fantastic!

It's Cybils Time!

I've been meaning to tell you that nominations for Cybil Awards have started so head on over to www.cybils.com and vote!

Here's the official press-release from co-founder Anne Boles Levy:

Will Harry Potter triumph among critical bloggers? Will novels banned in some school districts find favor online?

With 90 volunteers poised to sift through hundreds of new books, the second annual Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards launches on Oct. 1 at www.cybils.com. Known as the Cybils, it’s the only literary contest that combines both the spontaneity of the Web with the thoughtful debate of a book club.

The public’s invited to nominate books in eight categories, from picture books up to young adult fiction, so long as the book was first published in 2007 in English (bilingual books are okay too). Once nominations close on Nov. 21, the books go through two rounds of judging, first to select the finalists and then the winners, to be announced on Valentine’s Day 2008.

Judges come from the burgeoning ranks of book bloggers in the cozy corner of the Internet called the kidlitosphere. They represent parents, homeschoolers, authors, illustrators, librarians and teens.

The contest began last year after blogger Kelly Herold expressed dismay that while some literary awards were too snooty – rewarding books kids would seldom read – others were too populist and didn’t acknowledge the breadth and depth of what’s being published today.
“It didn’t have to be brussel sprouts versus gummy bears,” said Anne Boles Levy, who started Cybils with Herold. “There are books that fill both needs, to be fun and profound.”

Last year’s awards prompted more than 480 nominations, and this year’s contest will likely dwarf that. As with last year’s awards, visitors to the Cybils blog can leave their nominations as comments. There is no nomination form, only the blog, to keep in the spirit of the blogosphere that started it all.

See you Oct. 1!

For further info:
Anne Boles Levy
anne (at) bookbuds (dot) net

We're Famous

Sam Riddleburger made a wordfind of children's literature bloggers and The Children's Literature Book Club made it in! Check it our here!

Big Changes

Ok, I've had a few people ask questions, and I feel I need to clarify a few things. Yes, this blog belongs to a real book group that meets in person. My name is Stephanie Ford. I have a MA in children's literature, and several years ago, two of my friends who happened to be take time off from teaching to stay at home with their kids told me that they wanted to keep up on the world of children's literature even though they weren't currently teaching. The three of us came up with the idea to start a monthly book group to discuss children's literature because we get so much more out of books after discussing them. Somehow I ended up in charge and here we are a few years later, still going strong.

I want all the members to have a say in what we read so about every six months we vote on potential topics and then a different person hosts each of the topics we've selected and chooses a booklist accordingly.

What does this mean to all of you reading this, who may not be members of the book group? Well, we seems to have lots of outside readers (which I LOVE) and several members have moved away and follow along through the blog, and I want all of you to get something out of this blog too. ANY OF YOU ARE WELCOME TO READ ALONG WITH US. IN FACT I ENCOURAGE YOU TO! This is where the change comes in to play: from now on, I won't just be posting our monthly reading lists, I will be posting at least a few discussion questions so even if you can't be present at our meetings, you can use the questions to prod some deeper thinking or you could even use them to start a discussion with your own children's literature book club. Hopefully the questions will also help the member who do come to our meetings be prepared.

So without further ado, here are some questions prepared by our wonderful host this last month, Amy, for our Linda Sue Park author study:

Something to think about while reading:
Throughout the books, Park seems to dwell a lot on the idea of traditions: the good, the bad, what’s changing, what’s not. Another big theme for her is family.

Kite Fighters (2000)

• Do you think it was honorable to use the cutting line?
• What did you think of the boy king as a character?
• What did you think of the relationship between the brothers? The brothers and their father?

A Single Shard (2001; 2002 Newbery)

• What makes this one worthy of the Newbery?
• Why is it so easy to identify with/care about Tree-ear?
• How does Park bring the time period alive for her readers?
• I learned a lot by reading this book (and by reading When My Name Was Keoko) without feeling like I was reading a history book. How does Park use the history to enhance the story and the story to teach the history?

When My Name Was Keoko (2002)

• Was it easier to identify with Sun-hee or with Tae-yul? Why?
• What did you think about the family relationships in the novel? Between Sun-hee and Tae-yul? Between the children and their father? Between their father and their uncle? The uncle and the children?
• How does Park bring the time period alive for her readers?
• How does this book compare with A Single Shard? Which do you like better and why?

Points of interest on this novel: Park’s father told her about receiving the rubber ball, gathering the pine roots, tasting gum given from soldiers. Her mother was in the same situation as Sun-hee: Father vice-principal, best friend Japanese son of principal. Her Japanese name was Kaneyama Keoko.

Project Mulberry (2005)

• This is Park’s only contemporary setting so far. What did you think?
• What did you think of the breaks in which Park converses with Julia?
  

Ballet Shoes Movie

Many people became familiar with Noel Streatfield's shoe books after they were mentioned in the movie You've Got Mail. Those who missed it then, might become familiar with Ballet Shoes soon because it's being made into a movie starring Emma Watson (Hermione in the Harry Potter movies). Right now it's scheduled for Britsh TV, but let's hope it's released here in the states too!

Robert's Snow 2007

Robert Mercer, the husband of author/illustrator Grace Lin and cofounder of Robert's Snow, died on August 27th after fighting cancer for five years. His good efforts continue as Robert's Snow goes on raising money for cancer research. The snowflakes decorated by illustrators are up for viewing now so you can check out the site and drool of them here.

October - Linda Sue Park

This month we're doing a Linda Sue Park author study. We are reading:

A Single Shard

When My Name Was Keoko

Project Mulberry

The Kite Fighters

If you finish all of our selections and are looking for more to read, pick up some of Linda Sue Park's other books:Archer's Quest, See-Saw Girl, The Firekeeper's Son, Bee-Bim Bop, Yum! Yuck!, Mung-Mung!, What Does Bunny See, Tap Dancing On The Roof, and Click a chapter book with each chapter written by a different author which will be released next month.

Things Hoped For - by Andrew Clements

So we all know that Andrew Clements can right for fifth and sixth graders, and he does it well. Who doesn’t enjoy a little Frindle now and then? I was totally surprised when I picked up a copy of Things Hoped For ( the sequel to Things Not Seen) in the library, and it was aimed at kids a little bit older. I found myself wondering if Clements can write something most ninth graders would enjoy. I had to pick up the book and find out.

Truthfully, the whole book is a conundrum to me. In the beginning it starts out as your average middle grade fiction Gwen lives with her grandfather in New York where she is preparing for a Julliard Audition. Then her grandfather disappears and only leaves her a mysterious phone message telling her not to worry and I find myself thinking, “ok, so it’s a mystery.” After that she meets Robert and the romance part of the novel begins. It’s a lot to fit in a novel, right? So I was totally thrown when Robert confides in Gwen that one morning he woke up and he was invisible. He was invisible for a whole month and now even though he’s visible again, other dangerous invisible people are following him trying to find out the secret of how he became visible again. WHAT? I did not expect the book to go there. Suddenly halfway through the novel Clements got all Sci-fi on us! But wait there’s more! It turns into a bit of a horror novel when Gwen discovers what really happened to her grandfather. Oh, and did I mention that Gwen and Robert manage to solve a major crime that doesn’t involve any of the main characters in the meantime? As you might imagine trying to fit all that into a novel made things seem a little bit disjointed and added up to an ending that wasn’t completely satisfactory. I do have to say that it made things unpredictable at times. Maybe it all would have fit together a bit more if I had read Things not Seen, but then again, maybe not.

I'm still a huge fan of Andrew Clements's books aimed at slightly younger readers. I just picked up his newest, No Talking, and I can't wait to dive into it.

American Born Chinese - by Gene Yang

Normally Printz Award winners tend to be a bit too ronchy and edgy for my taste, but my curiosity was peaked when American Born Chinese, a graphic novel by Gene Yang, won the award. A graphic novel winning a major children’s literature award is unheard of. As the genre grows, so does the variety and quality. I’m a huge fan of the Babymouse graphic novels for younger kids so I had to check out American Born Chinese, and I was well rewarded for my curiosity.

I heart American Born Chinese! It begins by alternating chapters between three different storylines (they are probably not called chapters, but I’m not up on my graphic novel lingo). There’s the story of the Monkey King who wishes to be accepted and respected by the other Gods, the story of Jin Wang the only Chinese American in his class who is soon joined by another Chinese American student who is unashamed of his strong accent and black hair, and the story of All American Danny who is embarrassed by visits from his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee, a portrayal of the racist stereotypes of Chinese Americans.

At first I didn’t see the parallel between the three stories, but they come together in such a beautiful intricate way in the end unified in telling the story of the struggle to overcome the want to fit in, in order to become comfortable with who you are. The perfect graphic novel to share with those who think graphic novels have no literary value.

Picture book Spotlight

I haven't highlighted any pictures books here in a long time (ok, I haven't highlighted anything here lately, but my goal of the month is to get back on track). This month I'm highlighting a few new picture books that are guaranteed to make parents chuckle.

First comes Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt. If you didn't have a chance to read this one during Reba's picture book month you must pick it up because it's hilarious. Ok, technically this one is not new, it came out last year, but I had to mention this title before I highlight it's sequel, Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend. Scaredy Squirrel's plans continue to go awry in this sequel that's even more hilarious than the first book.

I discovered Antoinette Portis's Not a Box awhile ago, but just got around to picking up my copy. This book is delightfully simple in design and text. The book begins with a black and white line drawing of a rabbit playing with a box. Every time the rabbit is asked about its box, it proclaims that its NOT a box, and we're presented with a black and white line drawing of the rabbit and the box with a red sketch over it illustrating all the things the rabbit imagines the box to be. So simple and yet entertaining. A great illustration of what an imagination can do.

I also fell in love with The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers this month. This book is clever and quirky. It's about Henry who loves to devour books (literally, not figuratively live). As he digests them, he absorbs all of their information and become incredibly intelligent, until he eats too many and they get jumbled up inside him and he feels sick. When doctors tell him he must stop eating books he is stricken until he picks up a book and leafs through its pages longingly and starts to read it. He discovers he loves to read books! As a book lover myself, you know I couldn't resist this picture book, but it's Oliver Jeffers illustrations that really make is great. School Library Journal's review says that, "The simple cartoon illustrations twinkle with humor and feeling." I wholeheartedly agree that this book will charm its audience.

And how could I post about picture books this month without mentioning the release of Diary Of a Fly, Harry Bliss and Doreen Cronin's followup to the Diary of a Worm and Diary of a Spider? This book looks into the life of a fly who dreams of being a superhero. Bugs and superheros, what kid wouldn't like this one?

And now if your little one loves these books, you can buy the finger puppets to they can act out the stories on their own.

September - Sharon Creech

Since we've had so many new members over the years, we've decided to do a few throw backs and redo a couple of our favorite previous topics. The first repeat will be a Sharon Creech author study, because if you haven't read her books, you must! And if you have read them, you know you can't wait to read them again. Since we're all having a busy summer, we only picked a few:

Walk Two Moons

Love That Dog

Chasing Redbird

If you finish those and want to read more there's quite a long list, Absolutley Normal Chaos, Bloomability, Heartbeat, The Wanderer, Ruby Holler, Replay, Granny Torelli Makes Soup, Pleasing the Ghost, and The Castle Corna is scheduled to be released October 1st!

Sharon Creech also has a few picture books: Fine, Fine School; Who's That Baby, and Fishing in the Air

August - New books by Authors We've Previously Enjoyed

Here's the August Reading List:

Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

The Newest American Girl

So I know a lot of people hate the marketing giant that is the American Girl Company, but I have to admit that I devoured the books when I was little, and I think my parents still have my Kirsten doll stored at their house. There's still a little part of me that gets excited when I hear there's a new American girl.

According to Children's Bookshelf American Girl will be introducing Julie Albright this fall. The books will be set in San Fransisco in the 70's. The coolest part is that the author of the series will be Megan McDonald, the author of the Judy Moody series! But wait, it gets even better; Julie's best friend is a Chinese-American girl named Ivy and the one and only Lisa Yee will be writing a book about her! You can read more about it here.

July - The latest Newbery and Caldecott winners

Since the first Tuesday in July is July 3rd, we've decided to meet on the second Tuesday, July 10th. We'll be discussing the latest Newbery and Caldecott winners/honors:

Newbery medal winner: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

Newbery honor: Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

Newbery honor: Rules by Cynthia Lord

Caldecott Winner: Flotsam by David Wiesner

Caldecott honor: Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David Mclimans

Caldecott honor: Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford (Illustrated by Kadir Nelson)

And if you finish reading all of those there's one more Newbery honor: Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm. We won't be including it in our discussion, but if you're looking for more to read you can pick this title up.

June - Picture Books

Reba is hosting June's meeting and here's what she had to say:

I thought it would be fun to discuss how picture books have changed within our lifetimes. I'd love it if everyone brought a favorite picture book (or two or five) from their childhood and one (or multiple ones) that they enjoy reading now.

And here's a quick wikipedia overview of the history of picture books http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picture_book

Suggested reading:

Old:
Noisy Nora (Rosemary Wells)
Hand Hand Fingers Thumb (Al Perkins)
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub (Don and Audrey Woods)
Where the Wild Things Are (Marcus Sendak)

New:
Tanka Tanka Skunk (Steve Webb)
Scaredy Squirrel (Melanie Watt)
Bee Bim Bop (Linda Sue Park)
Knuffle Bunny (Mo Willems)

List your favorite picture books here and we'll compile a list to hand out at book club.

Book Expo

It's Book Expo time, and that means that Publishers Weekly has posted a list of the hottest Galley copies for kids available there. Check it out here.

A few highlights, Sharon Creech is coming out with a new book called The Castle Corona, Christopher Paul Curtis is coming out with Elijah of Buxton, E L Konigsburg has a new one too, The Mysterious Edge of the Herioc World. I know I already mentioned that Jerry Spinelli is coming out with a sequel to Stargirl, but I had no idea that Scott Westerfeld was coming out with a new book in the Uglies series called Extras. I can't wait!

Sheesh, I'm drooling just looking at the list!

Sequels I can't wait to get my hands on!

The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians book 3) by Rick Riordan

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Kiki Strike: the Empress's Tomb by Kirsten Miller

Charlie Bone and the Beast by Jenny Nimmo

Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer

Knuffle Bunny: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems

And two other books that aren't part of a series that I'm really looking forward to are Shannon Hale's new novels, Book of a Thousand Days and Austenland.

Second Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge

MotherReader is hosting her Second Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge. She set the date for June 8 - 10. It's a great way to catch up on your reading! Here are the rules from MotherReader:

1. The weekend is June 8–10, 2007. Read and blog for any 48-hour period within the Friday-to-Monday-morning window. Start no sooner than 7:00 a.m. on Friday the eighth and end no later than 7:00 a.m. Monday. So, go from 7:00 p.m. Friday to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday... or maybe 7:00 a.m. Saturday to 7:00 a.m. Monday works better for you. But the 48 hours do need to be in a row.
2. The books should be about fifth-grade level and up. Adult books are fine, especially if any adult book bloggers want to play. If you are generally a picture book blogger, consider this a good time to get caught up on all those wonderful books you’ve been hearing about. No graphic novels. I’m not trying to discriminate, I’m just trying to make sure that the number of books and page counts mean the same thing to everyone.
3. It’s your call as to how much you want to put into it. If you want to skip sleep and showers to do this, go for it (but don’t stand next to me). If you want to be a bit more laid back, fine. But you have to put something into it or it’s not a challenge.
4. The length of the reviews are not an issue. You can write a sentence, paragraph, or a full-length review.
5. For promotion/solidarity purposes, let your readers know when you are starting the challenge with a specific entry on that day. When you write your final summary on Monday, let that be the last thing you write that day, so for one day, we’ll all be on the same page, so to speak.
6. Your final summary needs to clearly include the number of books read, the approximate hours you spent reading/reviewing, and any other comments you want to make on the experience. It needs to be posted no later than noon on Monday, June 11.
7. Sign up in today’s comments. You’re welcome to post the challenge on your site to catch the bloggers that come your way but don’t come mine. Point them to today’s post to sign up. On Friday, June 8, I’ll have a starting-line post where you can sign in to say you’re officially starting the challenge.

Where have I been?

I apologize for the lack of posts lately! I've been busy adding a new addition to the family.


I am finally getting back on track so look forward to lots of new posts!

May - Historical Fiction

We'll be meeting at Emily's in May to discuss historical fiction set during WWII. Here's what we're reading:

The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages

The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman

And if you finish both of those and want to keep reading, check out Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.

April - Books being turned into movies

I know this is late, but to keep the record here, for April we read books being turned into movies. Here's the list:

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz (the novel or graphic novel version)

Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Paterson

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

A Day With Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce

Looking for other upcoming titles? Check out Coraline by Neil Gaiman, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (July 13th), Nancy Drew (June 15th), The Dark is Rising (September 28), The Spiderwick Chronicles (February 29th 2008), Horton Hears A Who (March 14th 2008), The Chronicles of narnia: Prince Caspian (May 16th 2008)

Uglies - by Scott Westerfeld

I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I often do, which is why I glanced at a copy of Uglies when it came out a few years ago, and I wasn’t even tempted to pick it up. As the adult Chick-Lit genre has blossomed so has the young adult version. I have no problem with the popularity of the genre, I’m just not particularly interested in it myself. I mistook Uglies to be one of those books with a female main characters obsessing over romantic possibilities and clothing, and while it contained both of those elements, it turned out to be much more.

Uglies is set in a futuristic society where everyone receives plastic surgery at the age of 16 to make them beautiful. The idea behind the transformations is that if everyone was beautiful, no one should feel better than anyone else, no wars would be fought over the color of people’s skin if everyone looks similar.

Tally, the main character, begins the book eagerly awaiting her 16th birthday so she can join the other “pretties” in their carefree lives. The thought that someone might not want to be changed never occurs to her until she meets Shay, another girl in her class about to turn sixteen. At first she doesn’t believe Shay’s stories of a place that people escape to if they don’t want the surgery, but after Shay disappears the authorities show up to question Tally and they confirm Shay’s story. They tell Tally she must help them find Shay and the other runaways or they will never do her surgery and she must remain ugly in a world of beauties forever. Tally is torn between her promise to her friend, her curiosity to know the truth, and her desire to become beautiful.

I found myself thoroughly caught up in Tally’s predicament and my reading became progressively slower as I neared the end of the book because I didn’t want it to be over. Luckily for me, it’s part of a trilogy and I just picked up the next book, Pretties at the library.

Now that I look at the cover, it’s more appropriate than I originally thought. I hesitate to classify this book as science fiction simply because it might discourage chic-lit readers from picking it up too, and I think they would enjoy it. Stephenie Meyer says that Twilight is a vampire novel that she wrote for people who do not like vampire novels and her next project is a science fiction book for people who don’t like science fiction. In the meantime, that’s what I’m calling this novel. Besides, who can resist picking up a book that begins with the line, “The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit”?

Olivia & Eloise Dolls

I'm not the biggest fan of Madame Alexander dolls, but I love their version of Olivia. I could only find the complete bedroom set on the Madame Alexander site (which is a bit pricey to say the least), but on this site you can buy just the doll or extra outfits for your doll.

Now Madame Alexander is making a doll version of Eloise too.

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

I received a review copy of Jeremy Fink in a flood of books for consideration for the Middle Grade Fiction Cybil Award, and it took me awhile to get to it. I couldn’t help thinking, “What kid wants to read about the meaning of life? I’m an adult and I don’t even want to read about it.” I could eat those words now because this book was wonderful from start to finish. Wendy Mass is a genious. How does she draw her readers into a quest for the meaning of life? She makes it a mystery even the most skeptic of readers can’t help but be curious about.

12 year-old Jeremy Fink and his best friend Lizzy are hanging out in his New York City apartment when the mailman delivers a package addressed to Jeremy’s mom. Jeremy lives by the rules, but Lizzy can’t overcome her impulsive nature and convinces him to open the package. Inside they discover a wooden box with a keyhole on four of it’s sides and the words, “THE MEANING OF LIFE: FOR JEREMY FINK TO OPEN ON HIS 13TH BIRTHDAY.” Jeremy immediately recognizes the box as the work of his father, who passed away several years earlier. This makes the note explaining that the friend taking care of the box lost all of the keys, even more disappointing. Jeremy and Lizzy are determined to find a way to open the box. A locksmith tells them that he can’t pick the locks or break it open without destroying the box and possibly the contents so they set a goal to find the keys by the end of the summer so Jeremy can still open the box on his 13th birthday.

Lizzy’s impulsiveness gets them into trouble and they wind up having to spend a good part of their summer performing community service. Luckily they are assigned to work for Mr. Oswald, an antique dealer preparing to retire to Florida. He assigns them to run errands for him delivering some special antiques. They have no idea until they reach the first home that they are returning valuable items to their original owners who pawned the items dearest to them when they were only teenagers. Each item is being returned with the original letter stating why they chose to pawn the item.

They are countless mysteries in this book: what is the meaning of life, where are the keys to the box, did the people who pawned their items get what they wanted, why is Mr. Oswald returning the items now? Interwoven between the answers is the story of an admirable friendship between Lizzy and Jeremy as they try to grow and transition into the teenage years. As with any book by Wendy Mass, there are also millions of delightful details, only she could invent.

Pick up a copy! Even if you don’t discover the meaning of life, you’ll have an enjoyable time trying to figure it out, and even if the plot sounds a bit too ridiculous too you, you’ll find the ending satisfying.

Bridge to Terebithia the movie

I know many of you have seen the previews for Bridge to Terebithia and thought the same thing I did, "WHAT? This movie is supposed to be based on the book right? I mean, it has the same title, but I don't remember it being a fantasy adventure!"

Well, a while ago Fuse #8 posted that she heard from friends that the movie actually sticks fairly close to the book and a group of librarians who caught a preview of the movie were happy with it. Add to that this article about the movie by School Library Journal, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing the movie.

The advertising seems fairly misleading and I wonder how many kids will be disappointed when the major plot of the movie takes place in the "real" world.

The Cybils Awards have been announced!

Did you catch the Cybils Award announcements yesterday? If you missed it, you can check out the winners here.

I have to say that I'm a little surprised that A Drowned Maiden's Hair won the middle grade fiction category; it was the last book our nomination committee selected and we had a bit of a hard time agreeing on a fifth book, but I think those who pick it up will really enjoy it.

Congratulations to all of the winners. There are a few that I haven't read and I can't wait to pick them up!

Olivia Fabrics

Continuing my theme of Children's book related products, if you sew or know someone who sews, you must check out this new fabric featuring Olivia by Ian Falconer! They even provide a link to a pattern to make your very own Olivia quilt.

If I ever have a little girl I think I just discovered what her bedding will look like!

And did all of you Olivia fans know that a new Olivia book is coming out in October? It's called Olivia Helps With Christmas.

2007 Schedule

Here's the schedule of our topics for the beginning of 2007:

March
Topic: Fantasy
Host: Jessica
Treats: Emily

April
Topic: Books being made into movies
Host: Brooke
Treats: Kim

May
Topic: Historical Fiction (Cold War Era)
Host: Emily
Treats:

June
Topic: Picture books (classics vs. new favorites)
Host: Rebekah
Treats:

July
Topic: 2007 Newbery and Caldecott winners
Host: Kim
Treats:

August
Topic: New works by past favorites
Host: Tara
Treats:

I'm updating the list of all our past reads and if you'd like a copy just send me an email or post a comment.

Chronicle Books kids contests

So pretend you're a children's publisher running a contest, how do you let people know about it? Spread the word to the Children's Lit bloggers of course! Here's the info:

We thought you may want to share news of this "Best Books of 2006" Chronicle Kids contest with your readers:

http://www.chroniclebooks.com/kidscontests/

In fact, we strive to always have an active contest at this address, with a different children's books-related theme (and prizes!) changing about every 6 weeks to two months.

Thank you for all of your support of Chronicle children's books!

The prizes include some great books, but be aware that if you enter you'll be on their mailing list (but who doesn't want hear more about some of the great books out there?)

A Pigeon Doll!

I love to surround myself with all things children's literature related so I've decided to start posting about some of the fun children's literature related products that I come across. I know some of you are groaning about the marketing ploys of some big publishers, but I love the idea of t-shirts and toys that tie into books. They inspire all sort of conversations with people you might have never known were fans of the same literature, and the toys help kids expand their imaginations as they come up with new adventures for their favorite characters (and search studies prove that when kids can step into a story and pretend to be the characters their reading comprehension gows way up).

That said, here's the find that I'm most excited about today:

Mo Willems' character are becoming stuffed animals! Check them out on his blog! I just bought fabric to attempt to make my nephew a stuffed Leonardo because that's his favorite book character, but it looks like I can spare myself the work. And who doesn't need Pigeon? Mo says the dolls will be available to the public in late March/early April.

March - Fantasy

We will be meeting at Jessica's house in March to discuss fantasy books. If any of you on the membership list have been wanting to join the group, but have been intimidated by the number of books that we read, this might be a great month for you to start because we are going to scale back a little and we will only be reading two books this month. You can find time to read two chapter books, right? Even if you can only find time to read one, we’d be happy to have you at our discussion. Both books should be widely available at the library so hurry and check them out!

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (which also happens to be one of the books being turned into a movie this year)

If you finish those and are looking for another suggestion, try Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge. It won’t be a big part of our discussion, but you might enjoy it anyway.

Potter Mania

Ok, so this news is everywhere, but what kind of children's literature blogger would I be if I didn't mention it here?

J.K. Rowling announced the release date for the next Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released on Saturday, July 21st! As you big fans know, this is the seventh, and final book in the series. Books are usually released on Tuesdays, but we can be sure there will be lots of celebrations at midnight on Friday, July 20th, which explains the unusual release date.

The results are in!

This is all straight from the American Library Association site

2007 ALSC Literary and Related Award Winners:
In order to post the winning information as expeditiously as possible, we are providing a straight list of 2007 ALSC award winners, including book title, author, and publisher. Additional information, including annotations and book cover images for each award-winning title, will be posted to the individual award pages as soon as possible.

Newbery Medal
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illustrated by Matt Phelan (Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson)

Newbery Honor Books
Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm (Random House)
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (Delacorte Press)
Rules by Cynthia Lord (Scholastic)

Caldecott Medal
Flotsam by David Wiesner (Clarion)

Caldecott Honor Books
Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans (Walker)
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun)

2008 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecturer
David Macaulay

Batchelder Award
Delacorte Press, publisher of The Pull of the Ocean, by Jean-Claude Mourlevat, translated from the French by Y. Maudet

Batchelder Honor Books
Delacorte Press, publisher of The Killer's Tears, by Anne-Laure Bondoux, translated from the French by Y. Maudet
Hyperion/Miramax, publisher of The Last Dragon, by Silvana De Mari, translated from the Italian by Shaun Whiteside

Carnegie Medal
Mo Willems, author/illustrator, and Weston Woods Studios, producers of Knuffle Bunny

Geisel Medal
Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways, by Laura McGee Kvasnosky (Candlewick)

Geisel Honor Books
Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride, written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick)
Move Over, Rover!, written by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by Jane Dyer (Harcourt)
Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis (HarperCollins)

Sibert Medal
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh (Houghton)

Sibert Honor Book
Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement by Ann Bausum (National Geographic)
Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea, written by Sy Montgomery, photos by Nic Bishop (Houghton)
To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel, written by Siena Cherson Siegel, illustrated by Mark Siegel (Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson and Simon & Schuster/Aladdin)

Wilder Medal
James Marshall


So how did I do with my predictions? Well, I named all three of the Newbery Honor books, but I missed the winner (which I have sitting on my bookshelf and I haven't even picked up because it was impossible for me to read all of the MGF Cybil Award nominees and several of the other committe members read it so I tried to focus on some of the books not many of us had a chance to read). I haven't seen The Higher Power of Lucky on anyone's predictions and it's fairly unusual for a book aimed at younger kids to win the Newbery, but I'm glad for the attention it's getting because there really hasn't been much out there for 8 - 10 year-olds that isn't a series and we could use better literature for that age group. Hopefully the Newbery Medal this year will encourage more publishers and writers to try their hand at something new for this often ignored age group.

Today's the day!

The American Library Association announces their award winners today and in case you've missed this info elsewhere, you can listen to the announcement live! Just click here around 7:45 PST/ 10:45 EST and you can hear all take place live! They tried this last year and it was such a success that they're letting us listen in live again this year. I'm so glad! I can't wait!

I think you will also be able to listen to the announcements later through an archive at teh same link.

The votes are in

As the bookclubbers know, I will be hosting February's meeting and we are reading the five finalist for the middle grade fiction Cybil award. I finally finished the tally from our meeting and here are the topics that we chose for the next few months:

• Fantasy
• New works by past favorites
• Historical fiction (we'll probably focus on the Cold War Era)
• 2007 Newbery and Caldecott winners
• Books being made into movies (Bridge to Terebithia- 2/16, The Golden Compass 11/16, Stormbreaker – a couple months ago, Arthur & the Invisibles – 1/12, the Invisible 1/26, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, etc.)
• Picture books (I'm not sure if we're doing new favorites or classic picture books)

Are there any books being made into movies THIS YEAR that you've heard about? That was all that I could come up with so far, but I didn't have time for much research.

Stephenie Meyer News

Did you know that Stephenie Meyer is going to be speaking at Brigham Young University's Midwinter Symposium on books for Young along with Joan Bauer and Rosemary Wells on February 3rd? The registration is open to anyone older than 13. I would plan to head to my good old hometown of Provo, Utah to visit my parents and here Stephenie speak if baby Ford wasn't due so soon!

All you dedicated Stephenie Meyer fans might also be interested to know that Stephenie is hosting an Eclipse Prom in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, May 5th. What an interesting way to market a new book. I have to admit that I'm curious about what will take place. So far all I know is that Stephenie will be revealing the Eclipse cover and reading the first chapter aloud. Her website says more details will be coming soon.

Newbery predictions?

The Newbery Awards for 2007 will be announced in about a week and I love seeing the predictions of the winners. Fanki and Mary Lee have a great round-up of the predictions so far.

I can't resist adding my two cents. The official criteria for the award states it's to be given to the, "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children published in English in the United States." The immediately eliminates one of my favorite books of the year, Framed by Frank Cotrell Boyce. I could really create two lists here: a list of the books that I would like to see win the Newbery, and a list of the books that I think have a more realistic chance of winning the Newbery. For instance, I would be shocked to find Kiki Strike, one of the finalists for the middle grade fiction Cybil Award, on the Newbery list because it isn't exactly a great literary novel, but kids will love it (and I have to mention that I do not always think that the majority of kids will LOVE some of the Newbery winners).

So, without giving it too much thought (I am on my lunchbreak so time is limited) here's a list of book that I would like to win that I think might actually have a chance:

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

And a few others that I would not be surprised to see on the list:
Gossamer by Lois Lowry
The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman
Penny From Heaven by Jennifer Holm
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (although I have to admit I haven't read this one)
The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages

I'd mention the Mirculous Journey of Edward Tulane, but Fuse #8 is on the committee and I have faith that she will not allow that to happen.

I have to be honest and tell you that I haven't spent anytime thinking about who will win the other awards. I could see Flotsam or Hippo! No, Rhino! as winners of the Caldecott and Moses by Carole Boston Weatherford as a Coretta Scott King winner and it seems like An Egg is Quiet should win something, maybe the Seibert award?

So what are your predictions?

We've been experiencing techincal difficulties

So I finally converted to the new version of Blogger today only to find 41 unmoderated comments just waiting to be posted on this blog! How did that happen? Why didn't they show up in my old account and why are some comments coming through while others aren't? I feel awful that so many of you went ignored! I hate it when I get up the nerve to post a comment somewhere only to have the author ignore it. I apologize to all of you and promise it won't happen again (I just changed all of my setting so it shouldn't happen again anyway).

I've been neglecting this blog a bit because I felt like barely anyone read it so the comments were a happy surprise. If I'd known authors like Grace Lin and other child lit bloggers that I admire were actually reading this blog, I would have been a little more diligent with my posts! I'm turning over a new leaf so you can expect new reviews and other fun info soon!

-Steph

Raskin Redux

This just in from Publisher's Weekly:

Stephanie Owens Lurie and Mark McVeigh at Dutton have acquired five books by Newbery Award–winner and The Westing Game author Ellen Raskin in a major six-figure deal negotiated by Alex Glass and John Silbersack at Trident on behalf of the Raskin estate. The books include two new puzzle mystery novels: The Westing Quest, a sequel to The Westing Game, and A Murder for Macaroni and Cheese, a never-before-seen manuscript nearly completed at the author's death in 1984. The deal also includes the reissue of three backlist novels, Figgs & Phantoms, The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel) and The Tattooed Potato.

I would love to get my hands on a sequel to the Westing Game. I can't wait!

The Traveling Pants Take One Last Trip

Since so many of the book clubbers liked the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I thought you might be interested in this article about the final book in the series (which comes out on January 9th!)

Mo's blog

How did I miss that my favorite children's author/illustrator has a blog?

Check out Mo Willem's blog here!

The Cybils Nominees

The finalists have been announced for the Cybil Awards! If you haven't seen them already, you must go check them out.

Here are the finalists my committee settled on for the Middle GRade Fiction category:
Drowned Maiden's Hair, A
Laura Amy Schlitz
Candlewick
This gothic page-turner features a feisty orphan, a houseful of secrets, and a villain preying on unsuspecting victims.

Framed
Frank Cottrell Boyce
Harper Collins
Take a small grey Welsh town. Add great works of art. Stir.

Heat
Mike Lupica
Philomel
A heartwarming tale of immigration, baseball and familial love. It's a reminder of what the U.S.A. and Americans can be.

Kiki Strike
Kirsten Miller
Bloomsbury
What's better than Girl Scouts, books, and an underground world under New York City? Absolutely nothing! That's why Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City one of the most entertaining books of the year.

Weedflower
Cynthia Kadohata
Atheneum
WWII serves as the backdrop to this tale of internment, friendship, and growing flowers in the dry desert dust of Arizona.

More about these titles and a few of my other favorites coming up!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

ok, this isn't actually a children's book, but I wanted to let you all know that Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, had a Christmas story/article in the December issue of the Ensign. It's called "Hero at the Grocery Store" and you can find it online here.