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)