The Joy of Children's Literature

10 most influential books of 2000-2009 (according to Julia Keller of the Chicago Tribune ) "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2000) by J.K. Rowling. The fourth installment in Rowling's cataclysmically popular and utterly enchanting series was the first to be published in this decade. The chronicles of a boy wizard and his world are built to last. "White Teeth" (2000) by Zadie Smith. Linguistically splendiferous, this engaging novel shatters ethnic categories and narrow prejudices -- and ushered in a global lit. "Twilight" (2005) by Stephenie Meyer. Along with its evil spawn -- er, I mean sequels -- this dully written series smashed records at the bookstore and at the box office. Vampires may live forever, but these books won't. "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation" (2003) by Lynne Truss. Grumpy grammarians had their day in the sun with this book and its many imitators. "The Tipping Point" (...

I am an big advocate of public education and have dedicated many years of my life to teacher preparation and school improvement. But, sometimes schools can be places that define a child in purely academic terms--you're either a good reader or not, good at math or not, a good test taker or not...especially in this time of state mandated testing. The pressure on schools, teachers, parents and ultimately children, can be overwhelming. When my son was in elementary and middle school, he would come home so worried about the state test. Weeks and months leading up to the test would be spent on test taking skills and drills. I remember sitting down and talking with him about the fact that he is so much more than someone who does or doesn't do well on a test. He is a violinist, a runner, a soccer player, a best friend, a writer of poetry, a son, a grandson, a volunteer, a dog lover and on and on. Yes, school is important and many decisions are made based on tests, but we are so much m...

As we anxiously await for the announcement of the next National Ambassador of Young People's Literature on January 5, 2010, here are two articles from our inaugural ambassador, Jon Scieszka: L.A. Times: Children's books 2009: It's all good! says Jon Scieszka The Huffington Post: National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Must Go!

The International Reading Association announced today its new IRA Reading Radio , a collaboration between IRA and Body and Mind (BAM!) Radio Network , a radio website for the education community. The first installment is an interview between IRA Executive Director Bill Harvey and Peter Johnston, chair of the IRA/NCTE task force that prepared the recently revised Standards for the Assessment of Reading and Writing. Together, they explore what literacy means in today's digital age and the need for new standards to measure literacy. Peter Johnston’s interview is just the first of many thought-provoking programs that will be posted monthly on the IRA website and address topics that range from reading assessment to the role of parents in literacy development. In January, watch for an interview with IRA President Kathryn H. Au on Culturally Responsive Instruction. You can play the program directly from your computer or download it onto an I-Pod or other mp3 player.

-- Publishers Weekly , 12/14/2009 Picture Books Bunny Days by Tao Nyeu. Dial, $16.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3330-5 As in Wonder Bear , a large white bear looms large in Nyeu’s latest, but this sophomore effort is a world apart. In three short and endearingly silly stories, six adorable bunnies prove to be the very definition of “victims of circumstance,” thanks to their industrious but clueless neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Goat. The good news is that the Zen-like Bear puts things right; the comically ambivalent news is that the cure often seems as bad as the disease. Thus, when Mrs. Goat unknowingly extracts the napping bunnies out of their hole with her vacuum cleaner, Bear decides the best way to rid them of grime is to hang them from a flagpole and blast them with “the big fan.” Nyeu’s winkingly demure writing, fluidly schematic line drawings, and limited palette (each chapter is keyed to a single dominant color) make knowingly naïf foils for the outrageous acts and outlandish solutions t...

Every good book begins with good words. Ounce, Dice, Trice is a book for children that is full of words — magnificent, wonderful words like "frangipani," "dimity," "gloaming" and "nunnery." And don't forget "murdo," "drumjargon" and "chumly." Host Scott Simon speaks with Weekend Edition's ambassador to the world of kiddie literature, Daniel Pinkwater, about this new release of an old book.

Lots of "best of" lists for children's and young adult literature... Best of Young Adult Fiction 2009 by NPR Notable Children's Books of 2009 by The New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2009 by the New York Times Best Books 2009 by School Library Journal Best Children's Books of 2009 by Publisher's Weekly Best Children's Books of 2009 by Kirkus Reviews [PDF] Top of the List by Booklist

Is this the future of magazines, books, newspapers...print media???

-- Publishers Weekly , 12/7/2009 Picture Books Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya by Donna Jo Napoli, illus. by Kadir Nelson. S&S/Wiseman, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4169-3505-6 While Nobel Medalist Wangari Maathai has been the subject of two earlier picture biographies (Jeanette Winter's Wangari's Trees of Peace and Claire Nivola's Planting the Trees of Kenya ), this story is structured more like a folktale, portraying Maathai as healer and botanist. “These are strong hands,” she tells a woman who does not have enough food to feed her family. “Here are seedlings of the mubiru muiru tree.... Plant as many as you can. Eat the berries.” Nelson's ( We Are the Ship ) breathtaking portraits of Maathai often have a beatific quality; bright African textiles represent fields, mountains, and Maathai's beloved trees. Maathai knows that some trees make good firewood, others form hedges to keep livestock safe, while the roots of others clean dirty water. After...