The Joy of Children's Literature

Save the Date for the Second Annual Celebration of Latino Children’s Literature conference to be held in Columbia, SC on April 24th and 25th, 2009. This exciting, two day conference includes performances and appearances by several Latina authors/illustrators including Maya Christina Gonzalez, Lulu Delacre, Lucia Gonzalez, and Irania Patterson. The keynote address will be delivered by nationally-recognized, Puerto Rican Children's Literature and Multicultural Education scholar Dr. Sonia Nieto. Conference participants will have a choice of over a dozen breakout sessions on topics related to Latino children's literature and literacy. As part of the theme "Connecting Cultures and Celebrating Cuentos," the conference will host an El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day) family and community event on the evening of April 24th at one of the local public libraries. Festivities will include storytelling and intergenerational art exploration. Regi...

From the NCTE inbox: National American Indian Heritage Month is recognized each November as a time to learn more about the history and heritage of Native American peoples. These resources provide strategies to explore Native American literature and heritage in your own classroom. The Language Arts article " Proceed with Caution: Using Native American Folktales in the Classroom " (E) explains the importance of selecting texts that include realistic and accurate presentations of Native American peoples. The article includes guidelines for evaluating and selecting Native American literature. Examine two speeches by Shawnee Chief Tecumseh with the ReadWriteThink lesson Battling for Liberty: Tecumseh's and Patrick Henry's Language of Resistance (M) and ask students to consider Tecumseh's politically effective and poetic use of language. See the ReadWriteThink calendar entry for National American Indian Heritage Month for links to additional lesson plans and resources...

Children's book publishers and school librarians are trying a new strategy to build the buzz about forthcoming titles: sharing Advance Readers' Copies (ARCs) or book galleys. "The kids' enthusiasm for a title then creates in-school, pre-pub buzz about the book that can, in some cases, have a positive effect on sales," writes Sally Lodge in Publishers Weekly. "It's a chain reaction that is beneficial to all concerned--and one that appears to be happening with increasing frequency." At Coppell Middle School West in Coppell, Texas, library media specialist Rose Brock runs five separate student book clubs using ARCs. Suzanne Fox, library media teacher at two middle schools in Napa, California, brings ARCs into classrooms and asks students to read and review the books. "Kids love reading a book that no one else knows about, and it's even better if it's a sequel to a book that other kids do know about," Fox says. For further information, ...

Article by Sue Corbett in Publishers Weekly (10/27/08)... The Baudelaire orphans' sad story may be over but, like a post-apocalyptic cockroach, Lemony Snicket persists—to the great delight of booksellers, children, HarperCollins and Daniel Handler himself. “I miss them,” Handler admits of Violet, Klaus and Sunny, whose adventures concluded in 2006 with The End—60 million copies from his Unfortunate Events series have sold worldwide. “Every so often I instinctively jot down notes about more bad things happening to them before I remember, 'Oh, that series is over.' It's disorienting.” Never fear, readers. This fall Snicket returns with A Lump of Coal (HarperCollins), a companion title to last year's Hanukkah-themed picture book, The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming . In his trademark glass-almost-completely-empty fashion, Handler writes about Christmas by anthropomorphizing the traditional gift left by Santa for very bad children. He'll visit eight cities, ...

NPR, October 17, 2008 · The night a mystical killer murders his family, a child toddles off into a graveyard, where he's adopted by a loving, even-keeled ghost couple. The premise for The Graveyard Book is macabre, but author Neil Gaiman has a strange ability to make otherworldly characters quaint — loveable, even — and the story is anything but grave. Children as young as 9 will enjoy this sweet, funny and gentle tale; adults will appreciate its deeper undertones. Gaiman is the author of the ground-breaking (rocked-my-world) comic Sandman and the best-sellers Anansi Boys and Coraline. (The latter is being made into a stop-action animated motion picture, with Dakota Fanning voicing the lead.) In the past, he's personified Death as a punk-rock chick and the Dream King as her brooding, self-conscious brother. Among Gaiman's fans are Tori Amos, who sang the line, "…me and Neil'll be hanging out with the Dream King" on her breakout album, Little Earthquakes. Th...

Check out the finalists for the National Book Award in the Young People's Literature section: Laurie Halse Anderson , Chains (Simon & Schuster) Kathi Appelt , The Underneath (Atheneum) Judy Blundell , What I Saw and How I Lied (Scholastic) E. Lockhart , The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (Hyperion) Tim Tharp , The Spectacular Now (Alfred A. Knopf) Now, check out the judges! Young People’s Literature Judges: Daniel Handler (chair), Holly Black , Angela Johnson , Carolyn Mackler , Cynthia Voigt .

Neil Gaiman is on a 9-city video tour for his new book The Graveyard Book. At each stop on the tour, he will read one chapter from The Graveyard Book beginning on October 1st. By the end of the tour, on October 9th, you will be able to watch the master storyteller himself read The Graveyard Book in its entirety. Chapter one is available right now!

Mary Ann Hoberman Named Children's Poet Laureate Below is an excerpt from the article on the Poetry Foundation's website : The best children’s poets look at the subjects most parents are terrified of introducing to their little children—death, for instance—and invite them, gracefully, to dance. A rather Williamseque lyric on mortality, Mary Ann Hoberman ’s “Mayfly” couldn’t be simpler, because eloquent simplicity is the key to writing poetry for children: Think how fast a year flies by A month flies by A week flies by Think how fast a day flies by A Mayfly’s life lasts but a day A single day To live and die A single day How fast it goes The day The Mayfly Both of those. A Mayfly flies a single day The daylight dies and darkness grows A single day How fast it flies A Mayfly’s life How fast it goes. But of course the poem could be simpler—it could unfurl without all of those unpredictable rhymes, tumbling us along with inevitable momentum, like life’s arrow itself, ending only w...

What a fantastic way to celebrate my 100th post with this video. Amazing!

From NPR's All Things Considered , October 6, 2008 · Illustrator David Macaulay, who has used drawings to teach himself — and then the rest of the world — how things work, has taken on another daunting task: the human body. In The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body, Macaulay illustrates such complexities as cellular chemistry, how peoples' limbs move when they walk and how blood flows through the body. "I knew actually nothing about myself, which was one of the reasons for doing the book," Macaulay tells NPR's Robert Siegel. "I had a complete ignorance of basic information. I don't know how that happened. My kids, who are 9 and 11, know much more than I do, and I thought I'd better catch up." For six intense years, the best-selling author of Castle, Cathedral and, more recently, The Way Things Work read, talked to people, watched videotapes, sat in on a few operations and took a couple of anatomy courses. And then he let the cre...

Each morning I anxiously click through all of the new blog posts on children's literature brought to my attention by my blog reader. I really enjoy the insight, perspective, news and events on children books and related topics the various book bloggers provide. However, since the presidential election has swung into high gear, I have started approaching my blog reader a little more tentatively each day since more and more bloggers are posting about their political views in addition to children's literature. I understand. Blogs are web logs--online journals--and no one takes an oath prior to starting a blog stating that they will stick to a particular topic. So, yesterday, when I read Lois Lowery's blog on which she discussed who she thinks should win the election and why, I cringed. Not Lois, too. You see, I am a huge Lois Lowry admirer. In addition to reading her books, I have heard her speak at least a dozen times. Most of the time, I cry before she reaches the end of her...

The Children's Choices Project conducted annually by the International Reading Association and the Children's Book Council since 1974 provides childrenwith an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books written for them. Children from across the country vote on books that were published the previous year and the winning books are developed into an annual annotated reading list of new books that young readers enjoy reading. These lists can assist teachers, librarians, booksellers, parents, and others with finding books that will encourage young readers to read more. An annotated list is published annually in the October issue of The Reading Teacher and provided free of charge on the IRA website. Additionally, a bookmark listing the winning choices is available.

Would you like your class to meet an award-winning author? The MYVisit Virtual Author Series is a fantastic opportunity for your class to interact with some of today's best children's book creators LIVE! Each visit brings the creator into your classroom via interactive video, discussion forums, and downloadable learning activities to create a unique learning experience that truly expand some of today's most popular children's titles. DOREEN CRONIN & BETSY LEWIN : Broadcast date: October 7, 2008 Go to the MYVisit website to sign-up now! Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin are the award-winning team behind the Caldecott Honor book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type . Ms. Cronin is the successful author of many bestselling picture books, including Wiggle ; Duck for President ; Giggle, Giggle, Quack ; Dooby Dooby Moo ; and the upcoming Thump, Quack, Moo . Ms. Lewin is the Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type and its sequels, Giggle, Giggle, ...