The Joy of Children's Literature

You may know that one of my favorite picturebooks is The Man Who Walked Between the Towers written and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein. I wrote an extensive analysis of The Man Who Walked Between the Towers in chapter four of The Joy of Children's Literature . I love sharing this book with children and adults...both audiences are mesmerized by the story of the French aerialist Philippe Petit's walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. And both audiences always want to know if it's really a true story. So, I show them Petit's audiobiography, To Reach the Clouds: My High Wire Walk Between the Twin Towers , which includes stunning photographs of his death defying feat! Now there is a documentary about Petit's walk between the towers, Man On Wire , directed by James Marsh. The film won the 2008 Sundance Audience Award & Grand Jury Prize. It will be in limited release in the US starting July 25 ( theatre locations and release dates ); so limited t...

Even though it's the dog days of summer, there's still a lot going on in the blogosphere! Check out these sites and stories: Lois Lowry talks about her latest book, The Willoughby's on NPR's The Weekend Edition . I posted Lemony Snicket's review of The Willoughby's here. The UK's Booktrust, in association with Children's Laureate Michael Rosen, has established a new "Funny Prize" in Roald Dahl's honor to recognize children's authors who write funny books. A panel of 5 judges will select a short list of six books in each of two age groups: six and under and seven to fourteen. Books will be selected on September 13th, to coincide with Roald Dahl Day, and the winners will be awarded at a ceremony in London in November. Fiction, non-fiction and poetry will be included. Listen to Michael Rosen talk about the award on NPR's Weekend Edition . Love nonfiction? Want to connect with the best children's authors of nonfiction? Then the ...

If you are a fan of Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Series ( Eragon, Eldest , and the forthcoming Brisingr ), this interview on Barnes and Noble's website might will be of interest to you.

I just watched a CNN story about Connie Heermann, a high school teacher for 27 years at Perry Meridian High School in Indiana, who was suspended for a year and a half by the school board for assigning her students to read The Freedom Writer's Diary . The book is based on the true story of Erin Gruwell and made into a movie and contains bad language. Heermann had previously attended the Freedom Writers Institute training, a program for teachers about Gruwell’s three-stage process for student success: Engage, Enlighten and Empower. Heermann felt her students faced many of the same issues as Gruwell's students, almost all of whom went on to college. "The odds are against them to graduate," she explained. "Some have experienced abuse, gangs and juvenile detention centers, and others have emancipated from their parents." (from the Southside Times , 6/29/08 ). Heermann found a sponsor to pay for the 175 books and sent home permission slips, explaining the project,...

I am a BIG fan of The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. I love the beautifully crafted language and the way DiCamillo talks to you, the reader. However, I'm not so sure how these elements will translate into a movie. I've been more disappointed with movie adaptations of my favorite books ( Tuck Everlasting , Ella Enchanted , on an on..) than I have been thrilled. So, I wasn't suprised when my reaction to the new movie trailer for The Tale of Despereaux was less than luke warm. What are your thoughts?

Why are these two people smiling like they've just won an award? Because they did...two very perstigious awards in the UK. Philip Reeve won the Carnegie Medal which is awarded by children's librarians for an outstanding book for children and young people. Emily Gravett won the Kate Greenaway Medal which is awarded by children's librarians for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people. EMILY GRAVETT LITTLE MOUSE’S BIG BOOK OF FEARS Macmillan (Age range: 6+)ISBN: 9781405089487 Little Mouse is afraid of almost everything. We learn about all his phobias, from his fear of creepy crawlies to his fear of clocks, dogs, cats and shadows. The only thing that makes him feel better is that human beings actually seem to be afraid of him! This is a clever, funny and innovative book which is also extremely warm and emotionally engaging for the reader. It’s a book you can explore and spend ages over. The attention to detail is quite astonishing: every ...

The June issue of The Edge of the Forest is out with lots of great reviews and articles. The June Carnival of Children's Literature is up at Susan Writes. This month's carnival is about fathers in children's literature. Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast has a great interview with author/illustrator David Small. Audiobooker has a link to two lists of family audio books that will hook readers of all ages. Even if you don't think you or your family are big fans of audio books, I urge you to give them one more chance. My family always listens to audio books when we are on trips (long or short). In a few weeks, we are driving to Florida for vacation and we have already collected a stack of audio books to take on the trip! A Year of Reading has a great interview with educator extraordinaire Shelly Harwayne about her new book Look Who's Learning to Read . Cynthia Lord, author of the very brilliant book Rules has a wonderful post on her blog about responding to c...