INTERVIEW

• Bill Cosby: Librarians Are Key
  Leave it to the Father of Fat Albert to champion libraries. Bill Cosby, the legendary comedian, actor, author, and supporter of public schools, recently flew to Detroit to tape two public services announcements (PSAs) meant to remind students in failing school districts about the treasures they can unlock inside libraries. We caught up Cosby, who also has a PhD in education, to ask why we need libraries now more than ever—and how parents can benefit, too.
  
  What prompted you to shoot the PSAs about libraries?
  I volunteered to do two PSAs because I was standing in the middle of a circle of kids when I was last in Detroit—four or five of them—and they were talking about not being able to get the discipline, the major, they wanted in the high school they were attending. And they could not transfer to the high school that offered these particular disciplines, [which were] politics and acting. more » » » 

Blogs

• ShelfTalker: A Children's Bookseller's Blog
  Elizabeth Bluemle, Co-owner, Flying Pig Bookstore, Shelburne, Vt.
  A Holiday Gift You Can Start Selling Now
  I have been waiting to write this blog post since May, when we first saw the book, and now that it's here, I finally can. Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies has finally hit the s...
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• A Fuse #8 Production
  Elizabeth Bird, Children's Librarian, Children's Center at 42nd Street
  Reporting: Eric Carle Honors 2009
  Today, if I am not too much mistaken, Eric Carle will be stopping by my library to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This is happening in conjunction with the Jumpstart: Read for the Record campaign....
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• Good Comics for Kids
  Snow Wildsmith, ,
  Review: The Dreamer
  Beatrice "Bea" Whaley might be losing her mind. Each night she dreams that she has journeyed back to Massachusetts in 1776, where a Revolutionary War soldier named Alan Warren is in love wit...
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• Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  Jonathan Hunt, Librarian and teacher, Modesto City Schools
  These Are the Times That Try Men's Souls
  Style is one of the Newbery criteria. Defining it can be a challenging thing, but we often know it when we see it. See if you can spot which sentence--all very similar in meaning...
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NEWS

• Author Alan Gibbons: ‘A Library Without a Librarian Is Just a Room’
  U.K. author Alan Gibbons is taking his fight for school libraries on the road.
  
  After launching a petition to Prime Minister Gordon Brown to make libraries mandatory in U.K. schools, the children’s book author knows he still needs to expand the message of his pro-library group, Campaign for the Book. more » » » 
• Anderson University Inherits Peter Rabbit, Wild Things, Winne-the-Pooh, and More
  The trove of rare children’s books almost didn’t seem real until Janet Brewer caught sight of Beatrix Potter’s self-published storybook, which the English author had carried to publishers herself.
  
  “That means she’d had it in her own hands,” says the library director for the Nicholson Library at Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana. “And that was when the real magnitude of the donation sunk in.” more » » » 

REMARKABLE READS

• Mormon Fiction
  An article in the Boston Globe earlier this year highlighted a recent uptick of Mormon authors writing young adult literature. It suggested that one reason could be “because Mormonism is a very child-centered culture and many Mormon families are large, Mormons are particularly attuned to young audiences.” The raids on polygamist compounds in Texas in late 2008 and HBO’s introduction of the drama Big Love in early 2006 have undoubtedly fueled interest in Mormonism as well. These titles introduce readers to both the positive and negative aspects of this often misunderstood religion. more » » » 

LIBRARIAN'S INTERNET

• Hispanic Heritage Resources for Teens
  www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/chh
  
  Most of the sites related to Hispanic Heritage Month are for preteens. The most popular ones include “Celebrate Hispanic Heritage” from Scholastic and “Maya & Miguel” from PBS Kids. The folks at Gale and Cengage Learning, however, have created this excellent Web site specifically for teens. more » » » 

JOB OF THE WEEK