The Joy of Children's Literature

Another list to add to your best books of the year compilation: NYT Notable children's Books of 2008 and Best Illustrated Children's books . No suprises here.

It's that time of year when "the best books of 2008" lists start appearing. Two such lists are SLJ's Best Books of 2008 and the CCBC's preliminary list of Choices 2009 . From the preface of the SLJ list: Of the more than 5000 books reviewed in SLJ’s pages in 2008, the 67 books listed below stood out as having distinctive voices, singular vision, and/or innovative approaches. They include books for toddlers and preschoolers, terrific picture books and easy readers, and some highly original novels. Fantasy, historical fiction, science fiction, humor, mystery, affecting family stories, and adventure all make an appearance. SLJ also states, "It was an amazingly strong year for YA novels, several with hard-hitting, powerful themes. " I completely agree. As I looked through the list, I found that I had read all of the young-adult books list. I had not, however, done such a good job reading the nonfiction:-( How about you?

NPR.org , November 20, 2008 · Children's author Jon Scieszka has written two dozen children's books, including The Stinky Cheese Man and the Time Warp Trio series, but his most recent work is a memoir. Knucklehead, an autobiography for young readers, details Scieszka's experiences growing up in Flint, Mich., where he was the second-oldest of six brothers. In one chapter, Scieszka writes about his own experience as a young reader encountering the "strange alien family" of Dick and Jane and wondering why the characters repeated each other's names so frequently. "If Jane didn't see the dog, Dick would say, 'Look Jane, look. There is the dog next to Sally, Jane,' " Scieszka says. "I thought they were afraid they might forget each other's names, because they always said each other's names — a lot." 'Oh Man, Here's My Audience' Dick And Jane never made Scieszka want to read, but Dr. Seuss's The Cat In The Hat ...

A survey conducted by Recorded Books found that the biggest concern teachers have about audiobooks is that it isn't really reading. I've written an article with my opinion, but I'd like to know what others think. Do you agree that listening to audiobooks isn't really reading? Leave a comment and let me know!

Students in the $6 billion Reading First program have not made greater progress in understanding what they read than have peers outside the program, according to a congressionally mandated study. The final version of the study, released November 18, 2008, by the U.S. Department of Education, found that students in schools that use Reading First, a program at the core of the No Child Left Behind law, scored no better on comprehension tests than students in similar schools that do not get the funding. "It is a program that needs to be improved," said Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst, director of the Institute of Education Sciences, the department's research arm. "I don't think anyone should be celebrating that the federal government has spent $6 billion on a reading program that has had no impact on reading comprehension." Read the article in The Washington Post online .

YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE WINNER: Judy Blundell , What I Saw and How I Lied (Scholastic) - Interview Finalists: Laurie Halse Anderson , Chains (Simon & Schuster) Kathi Appelt , The Underneath (Atheneum) - Interview E. Lockhart , The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (Hyperion) - Interview Tim Tharp , The Spectacular Now (Alfred A. Knopf) - Interview Young People’s Literature Judges: Daniel Handler (chair), Holly Black , Angela Johnson , Carolyn Mackler , Cynthia Voigt .

A few months ago, I posted a review of the book, The Mysterious Universe , written by Ellen Jackson with photographs and illustrations by Nic Bishop (Houghton Mifflin, 2008), which takes an in depth look at the expanding universe. Of course, our understanding of the universe today is based upon the work of scientists of the past. A new exhibition of science books at the Huntingtion library in California called " Beautiful Science: Ideas That Changed the World " highlights many of the books that influenced or were written by some of the greatest scientist of the past. The exhibition focuses on four areas of science: astronomy, natural history, medicine and light. Some of the books featured are Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica , the book where Newton codified the laws of motion and gravity; Nicolaus Copernicus' De Revolutionibus , the description of a solar system which had the sun, not the Earth, at its center; and Petrus Apianus' Astronomicum Caesarium , a co...

From Reading Today Daily : The countdown is already on for the 2009 Read Across America celebration, which will take place on March 2. Each year, millions of people participate in this National Education Association-sponsored reading promotion event honoring the late Dr. Seuss. One of the resources offered for this year's celebration is a Read Across America calendar, with each month featuring a special book. You can access the calendar and other resources at the Read Across America website. Through a partnership with kidthing, inc., selected books in the Read Across America calendar (or excerpts from the books) will be featured free downloables on a special site. November features Crossing Bok Chitto, an award-winning book by Native American author and storyteller Tim Tingle.

Every autumn since 1952, the New York Times Book Review has invited a panel of judges to survey the year’s output of children’s books and to select the top 10 best illustrated. This year’s trio of judges were: author and illustrator Christopher Myers, whose Jabberwocky (Hyperion) was a Best Illustrated Book of 2007; Caroline Ward, Head of Children’s Services at the Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT, who recently co-curated the exhibition “Children Should be Seen: The Changing Image of the Child in American Picture-Book Art”; and Luann Toth, Managing Editor of School Library Journal’s Book Review , who was a member of the 2002 Randolph Caldecott Award Committee. Top 10 best illustrated books of 2008: A Is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet , written and illustrated by Stephen T. Johnson (S & S/A Paula Wiseman Bk.) The Black Book of Colors , written and illustrated by Menena Cottin and Rosana Faría (Groundwood) Ghosts in the House!, written and illustrated by Kazuno Kohara (Roaring Brook...

From Publishers Weekly , 11/10/2008: With publishers and booksellers nervous about Christmas sales, a little $12.95 book might be the season's savior. The Tales of Beedle the Bard , a Harry Potter offshoot by J.K. Rowling, is being published by Scholastic on Dec. 4. This will be the first Rowling book to be published at the height of the holiday season; all her previous Harry Potters were published in the summer—and the timing, although ideal in the gift-giving sense, may present some logistical distribution challenges. The Tales of Beedle the Bard , a slim collection of five stories, including “The Tale of the Three Brothers,” which appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , will have to ship from wholesalers during the Thanksgiving rush. Ingram Book Group's director of merchandising Mary McCarthy says the logistics will be “challenging.” The company meets weekly to review orders and transportation to ensure that everything will go smoothly. Although she doesn't e...

I recently read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and loved it! The starred review below by Megan Whalen Turner appeared in this week's Publisher Weekly : If there really are only seven original plots in the world, it's odd that “boy meets girl” is always mentioned, and “society goes bad and attacks the good guy” never is. Yet we have Fahrenheit 451 , The Giver , The House of the Scorpion —and now, following a long tradition of Brave New Worlds, The Hunger Games . Collins hasn't tied her future to a specific date, or weighted it down with too much finger wagging. Rather less 1984 and rather more Death Race 2000 , hers is a gripping story set in a postapocalyptic world where a replacement for the United States demands a tribute from each of its territories: two children to be used as gladiators in a televised fight to the death. Katniss, from what was once Appalachia, offers to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, but after this ultimate sacrifice, she is en...