Media News

Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak's classic picture book, will debut as a full-length feature film in October 2009. The Warner Brothers film, directed by Spike Jonze, has gone through re-shooting and re-editing since it was screened last year to make it more child and family friendly. A trailer is available on YouTube.

The Audie Awards, sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association (APA), honor spoken word recordings in 29 categories. Finalists for the 2009 Audies have been selected and winners will be announced on May 29, 2009 at a gala to be held at The New York Historical Society in New York City.

Three categories are specifically devoted to audiobooks for children and teens. The finalists in "Children's Titles for Ages Up to 8" are: Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller (Weston Woods), Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat by Nikki Giovanni (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot (Macmillan Audio), The Shoe Bird by Samuel Jones (Brilliance Audio), and What Do You Do with a Kangaroo? by Mercer Mayer (Scholastic Audio). "Children's Titles for Ages 8–12" are: The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden (Macmillan Audio), Fairest by Gail Carson Levine (Full Cast Audio), The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperAudio), One-Handed Catch by M.J. Auch (Full Cast Audio), and Nation by Terry Pratchett (HarperAudio). Audiobooks nominated in the "Teen" category are: Burn Journal by Brent Runyon (Recorded Books), The Compound by S. A. Bodeen (Brilliance Audio), Curse of the Blue Tattoo by L. A. Meyer (Listen & Live Audio), Fairest by Gail Carson Levine (Full Cast Audio), and Paper Towns by John Green (Brilliance Audio).