August 24th, 2010

INTERVIEW

• Donna Rosenblum: Love at First Bite
  Vampire books are Donna Rosenblum's specialty. So much so, that she's considered SLJ's expert reviewer on the subject. We caught up with the media specialist at Floral Park Memorial High School in Floral Park, NY, to find out what else–besides "Twilight"–is hot and why kids think vampire books are so banging.
  
  What's the appeal of vampire books for kids and teens?
  
  I think there are many reasons that this genre is so appealing. Vampires are young, beautiful, super strong, immortal and virtually indestructible. They are living history, having spanned generations and experienced events that humans could never understand. Most teens love the noble and moral vampire, the one with a soul (eg. the Cullens) who have risen above the evil side of vampirism.
  Does that apply to older teens, too?
  
  Older teens enjoy a more romance story over friendship, gore, and blatant evil. True Blood instead of The Little Vampire.    more » » » 

NEWS

• Teens Use Facebook, Twitter to Spot Back-to-School Deals, Trends
  While next Sunday's paper may offer a blitz of back-to-school specials, teens and even Web-fluent parents will likely be online–using Facebook, email, Twitter, and other new media to spot trends and grab deals from shrewd brands.
  
  "Our research shows that teens tend to be more influenced in their purchase decisions by social media than other demographics," says Nick Ingelbrecht, a research director at Gartner, who recently reported how social networks can help guide consumers in their purchases. "In the U.S., economic pressures have led women to become much more careful with their spending on back-to-school items, especially clothing. Young mothers are also increasingly accustomed to using social media as a tool to network with other mothers, find the best deals and put their kids' buying requests into perspective."    more » » » 
• Study: Working Moms Don't Have a Negative Impact on Kids
  A new study may help ease some of the guilt felt by working moms. Researchers found that when it comes to emotional, social, or cognitive development, kids with mothers who had full-time or part-time jobs during the first 12 months of their lives fared just as well as those with stay-at-home moms.
  
  "The results show conclusively that the overall effect of 1st-year maternal employment for contemporary American children is neutral," wrote researchers, who tracked 1,000 American kids from birth to seven-years-old in this month's study, "First-year Maternal Employment and Child Development In The First 7 Years."   more » » » 

Watch and Read

• Ga'Hoole Goes Big Screen
  Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (not yet rated), an animated film based on Kathryn Lasky's beloved "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" book series (Scholastic), soars into theaters on September 24, 2010.
  
  Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film marks the first foray into animated featuredom for director Zack Snyder (and quite a change from his Watchmen or Dawn of the Dead), with Animal Logic following up on their 2006 hit, Happy Feet, to provide digital visual effects.
  
  Scheduled for release in 2-D, 3-D, and IMAX 3-D, the movie focuses on the first trio of titles in the series: The Capture, The Journey, and The Rescue (all 2003) and has a screenplay written by John Orloff and Emil Stern. As in the books, the action centers around a young barn owl named Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess), who is spellbound by his father's tales about the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, a heroic flock of feathered warriors who bravely fought an epic battle to save all owls from the malevolent Pure Ones.    more » » » 

REMARKABLE READS

• Brothers and Sisters
  The relationships between brothers and sisters have been cited as life's most influential, lasting longer than ties to parents, spouses, or children. These sibling bonds can play essential roles in the development of teens as individuals. The following titles explore the range of emotions and situations experienced by brothers and sisters, from sibling rivalry to abuse at the hands of a parent.
  
  CHALTAS, Thalia. Because I Am Furniture. Viking. 2009. Tr. $16.99. ISBN 978-0-670-06298-0; pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-14-241510-8. PLB. $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4487-3818-2.
  
  Gr 7 up-Rather than feeling lucky that she's the only member of her family spared from her father' s physical and sexual abuse, Anke feels ignored. She knows that her brother and sister need her to stand up for themselves, since their mother can't or won't. As Anke becomes a powerhouse on the school volleyball team, she builds the strength and character necessary to finally stand up to her father and save her family. Written in verse, readers will sense fear, anger, and hope in Anke's poems.    more » » » 

LIBRARIAN'S INTERNET

• Getting Tots Ready for Their First Day of School
  www.sesamestreet.org
  
  One the niftiest ways parents can get their tots ready for their first day of school, or preschool, is to watch some school-related videos together and then discuss them. So where can you find these videos? On the Sesame Street website, that's where. Here you'll find more than 100 short, web-based school videos for adults and tots to choose from-enough to handle just about any concern or topic that tots or parents may have.
  
  Start by checking out the 17-minute video "Elmo's World-School." Elmo answers many of the questions and addresses many of the concerns that youngsters have about going to school. Next, take a look at "Teeny Little Super Guy-School" in which Eugene learns that going to school is fun. In "Abby Starts School" the Muppets sing a welcome song for Abby who's new in class. One of my favorite videos is "Professor Grover-School" in which Grover (my very favorite Muppet) explains what school is.    more » » » 

JOB OF THE WEEK