The Joy of Children's Literature

I love listening to audiobooks, so I am excited about today's announcement of the Audio Publishers Association's finalists for the 2012  Audies or "Oscars" of audiobooks. I am especially thrilled to see Libba Bray's reading of Beauty Queens on the teen list. I've listed the children's and teens finalists below. The winners will be announced on June 5th. CHILDREN’S TITLES FOR AGES UP TO 8 Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson , by Charles R. Smith, Jr., Narrated by Dion Graham, Live Oak Media Django: World’s Greatest Jazz Guitarist , by Bonnie Christensen, Narrated by George Guidall, Live Oak Media Looking Like Me , by Walter Dean Myers, Narrated by Dion Graham and Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Live Oak Media Stone Soup , by John J. Muth, Narrated by BD Wong, Weston Woods When I Grow Up , by Al Yankovic, Narrated by Al Yankovic, HarperAudio Wolf Pie , by Brenda Seabrooke, Narrated by Andrew Watts, Recorded Books, LLC CHILDREN’S TITLES FOR A...

I got home late last night and caught the tail end of Rock Center, hosted by Brian Williams on NBC. The information about the show indicated that there had been a segment on an innovative reading program between a charter school and a public school in Rhode Island. Today, I checked NBC's website and found the segment. The innovative aspect is the collaboration between the charter and public schools, not the reading instructional approach, which is being implemented in schools around the country. It is always great to see teachers working together for the benefit of their students! The 6th Annual CYBILS (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards) were announced on Valentine's Day. Winners included: Book Apps: The Monster at the End of This Book Fiction Picture Book: Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell Nonfiction Picture Book: I Feel Better with a Frog  in My Throat by Carlyn Beccia Easy Reader: I Brok...

A few things that might be of interest... The SLJ Battle of the Kids Books is gearing up for a 4th year starting March 13. If your favorite book didn't win (or even get recognized!) in the ALA awards, maybe this year's BOB contest will correct that oversight! Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has announced a new four-book series from author Lemony Snicket (a pseudonym for Daniel Handler), set to launch this fall. On October 23, the publisher will release “Who Could That Be at This Hour?” , first in the “autobiographical” All the Wrong Questions series, which will explore Snicket’s youth “in a fading town, far from anyone he knew or trusted.” “Who Could That Be at This Hour?” will be published simultaneously in hardcover, audio, and e-book formats, and has a one-million copy announced first printing. Maggie Stiefvater's writes about her new series with Scholastic, The Raven Boys , on her blog . The first book in the series comes out September 18. Each yea...

Recently, I read Brenda Power's introduction to the most recent The Big Fresh Newsletter . I always enjoy Brenda's insights and love the resources the newsletter provides for readers.    The title of this particular newsletter was Acronymia and in it Brenda shares her dislike and frustration with the myriad of acronyms used in education that can be intimidating to everyone, including teachers.  However, at a writing retreat, she learned of a few new acronyms that she felt helped her to monitor her own behavior. For this post, I would like to talk about one of these acronyms, SHAME: My favorite new acronym for teachers and literacy leaders is SHAME, which represents Should Have Already Mastered Everything. Isn't this exactly the trap so many of us find ourselves in, embarrassed that we haven't mastered everything there is to know about teaching and learning, including that massive number of acronyms so many folks sling around in conversations?  Like Brenda...