Librarian Preview: Event at which librarians are allowed to see the upcoming books of a given season as presented by a publisher's agents. These events slot into two distinct categories:
1. Librarians sit and watch a PowerPoint while gnawing on bagels.
2. Librarians sit at tables and speak to editors in a more intimate setting. Depending on the publisher, either the librarians or the editors move about.
SLJ kept me informed when the letters objecting vehemently to the November issue of the magazine started rolling in. By "rolling in" I of course mean "there were six". Still. At least six people found SLJ's image of children's literary bloggers in a bar holding fake pink cocktails (a dishwater-esque concoction of lime juice and pink food coloring) the most objectionable bit of professional development this side of...Read More
I have to wait a whole MONTH to know this???? Library of Congress, thy name is cruelty.
New National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
to Be Announced on January 5, 2010, at the Library of Congress
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington will announce the next National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature on January 5, 2010, at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Appointed for a two-year term, the post was created in conjunction with the Children’s Book Council (CBC) and Every Child a Reader to raise national awareness of the importance of young people's li...Read More
It's remarkably easy for a small publisher to fail to show up on the average American children's librarian's radar. Here in New York the big boys flex their muscles, puff out their chests, and engage in fisticuffs over who has the most film adaptations/the most titles on the New York Times bestseller lists/the most Twitter followers, etc. Peek around a little and you begin to notice the smaller pubs that spend most of their time making the best possible children's books out there, particularly if they are of a foreign pe...Read More
Here's an event this Saturday you will not want to miss.
The Children's Literary Café at the new Children's Center at 42 nd Street is pleased to announce our event on Saturday, December 5th at 2:00 p.m.:
Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book
When you think of the great children’s and young adult book experts out there, one name consistently comes to mind. The author of 100 Best Books for Children and 500 Great Books for Teens, Anita Silvey has devoted 35 years to promoting books that will turn the you
Changes are afoot! Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, the premier children's illustration blog, has a brand new, bright n' shiny, top of the line, never before seen contributor! Each month Steve Withrow will be contributing one industry-related interview to this fantabulous site, and the man has talent. But who IS Steve Withrow? All is revealed in this post.
You may not believe me, but I've been searching for this video for a very long time. Big time That Mitchell & Webb Look fan over here. And this is just a great skit. Misanthropic? Oh yeah. But I'm amused by evil librarians, and this one takes the cake. Thanks to ...Read More
It ain't all shiny vampires and shirtless werewolves.
Recently Jean Reagan brought to my attention the fact that the tween girl magazine New Moon (no relation to the book of the same name) is having a hard time of it. From the Children's Writers & Illustrators Message Board:
New Moon offers girls an alternative to the many toxic messages directed at girls in our society--that they're only as good as their looks. Unfortunately, the economy has hit New Moon very, very hard, and they may not survive.
Empowering girls with healthy, positive media is my lifelong passion, and one I know you share. New Moon Girls online comm
Poetry Friday is upon us! For starters I would direct your attention to my mother. She is a poet. Not just any poet, mind, but a poet included in The Best American Poetry 2009. Friends with Bonnie Jo Campbell who was recently nominated for a National Book Award. Yeah. That's my mom.
While you are either anticipating your upcoming feast, devouring it as you read this (which is kind of strange), or regretting the sheer amounts of food currently making their way through your digestive tract, I have a mystery for you. In my family it is traditional to accompany Thanksgiving with a mystery.
That is a lie. But it is an interesting lie so it stays.
What isn't a lie is the fact that I've a mystery for you. I will set the stage:
Time was when National Geographic meant only one thing to kids: Big piles of yellowing magazines in your grandmother's basement. Good magazines. Interesting magazines. Maybe you were one of those kids who actually had a subscription. But the idea that they would parlay their natural non-fiction tendencies into the children's book publishing world was unknown to me as a young sprout. Kids today are lucky. They've a wide array of fantastic, fantabulous, downright cool titles to...Read More
