The Joy of Children's Literature

100 Best Book Blogs for Kids, Tweens, and Teens selected by Online School It’s been said that anyone can write a children’s book, but only the most talented can be successful. Don’t waste your time wading through poorly-written books; instead, take a look at these blogs that feature the best of children’s literature. Whether you are interested in literature for the very young, teen and young adult literature, or specialized genres such as multicultural literature, poetry, or comics and graphic novels, these blogs will help you find the best books available–leaving you more time for reading and enjoying this literature. Click here to see the list . Which blogs do you read that they didn't select? Quite a few for me, but they also included many that I do follow. All in all, a pretty good selection and a very nice resource.

Publisher's Weekly starred reviews for the week of Oct. 26: Picturebooks Alphabeasties and Other Amazing Types by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss. Blue Apple (Chronicle, dist.), $19.99 (56p) ISBN 978-1-934706-78-7 No ordinary abecedarian, this typographical trip will wow design fans and suggest creative projects with letterforms. The book's introduction speaks affectionately of typefaces—“just like people, they look different and have different personalities”—before embarking on a thrilling spin through the alphabet. The first spread presents an alligator's silhouette, made up of capital and lowercase As, as the repeated word “algae” forms green strands around it. A bat shaped from gothic Bs holds vampire connotations; tall, skinny Gs evoke the height of a giraffe that hides behind leafy, vertical folds; and breathless italic Rs make a rabbit seem poised to leap. Werner and Forss, a debuting team of graphic designers, devote page borders to extra wordplay: a C becomes the c...

From NPR Oct. 25, 2009.. 'Daily Show' Writer's 'Genius Of Unspeakable Evil' Host Liane Hansen talks to Daily Show Executive Producer Josh Lieb about his new book, I Am A Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want To Be Your Class President .

Another story from NPR on Where the Wild Things Are... Looking Back On 'Wild Things' With Maurice Sendak Author and illustrator Maurice Sendak's classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are is a perennial favorite. It won the Caldecott Medal as the "most distinguished picture book of the year" in 1964, and was adapted into an opera two decades later. (Sendak earned his stripes as a designer on the opera production, working on the sets and costumes for the premiere production.) Now, Where The Wild Things Are comes to the big screen, directed by Spike Jonze. Sendak's other children's books include In The Night Kitchen and Inside Over There. Goosebumps Horrorland webcast Date: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 Time: 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT Host with the most: Brian Stelter, reporter at The New York Times Where: scholastic.com/goosebumpswebcast

NPR has three stories on Wimpy Kid today: Wimpy Kid Author Answers Kids' Questions All Things Considered enlisted help from kids around the country for an interview with children's book author Jeff Kinney. Kinney writes the incredibly successful series Diary of a Wimpy Kid , about smart-mouthed middle-schooler Greg Heffley, who has only one real friend because he's, well, kind of a sad sack — think modern-day Charlie Brown. Warning to those who have never read Diary of a Wimpy Kid : These questions come straight from our youngest listeners and Kinney's biggest fans. We received hundreds of e-mails from kids who wanted to have their questions answered for once! Kinney answers some of those questions below...read the rest of the article here . Cheese, Wimpy Kids And The Perils Of Middle School The Bible suggests that the meek might one day inherit the earth. For now, one particularly meek kid named Greg Heffley is burning up children's book best-seller lists. Greg ...

Today when I was finishing my morning run in the neighborhood, I passed four boys waiting at the bus stop. Usually, these boys are quite rambunctious, talking and pushing each other around. But, this morning all four were sitting on the pavement reading. What were they reading you ask? Yep, Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days! Wow, I said to myself. That's just about all I could say, Wow! Scholastic will host a free Webcast for readers of the 39 Clues series: When: Monday, November 2, 2009 at 1:30pm ET / 10:30am PT What: The 39 Clues: Advanced Agent Training Live Webcast Who: Featuring the first five authors of The 39 Clues : Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, and Patrick Carman. Hosted by The 39 Clues super-fan Whoopi Goldberg. Where: scholastic.com/the39clueswebcast Registration is required.

Reminder: Don't forget to enter the Testing the Ice book giveaway ( see post ). The Childrenslitproject blog which I posted about previously (the production blog of The Library of the Early Mind , a feature-length documentary film about children’s literature) has two new video clips up! The first is with Mary Ann Hoberman, the US Children's Poet Laureate: Mary Ann Hoberman was named Children’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. Author of 45 books, all but one of which are in verse, Hoberman collaborated with her husband, artist Norman Hoberman, on her first four books, including her first book of poems, All My Shoes Come in Twos (1957). Some of Hoberman’s best-known titles are A House is a House for Me , illustrated by Betty Fraser; The Seven Silly Eaters , illustrated by Marla Frazee; and The Llama Who Had No Pajama , a collection of 100 of her favorite poems. Her verses have been widely anthologized and her books have been translated into several languages. She is the...