INTERVIEW

• Jeff Kinney on 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days'
  Greg Heffley’s back again—and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (Abrams/Amulet, 2009), the fourth book in Jeff Kinney’s hugely popular series, is already dominating national bestseller lists.
  
  SLJ just caught up with Kinney to talk about his book tour, why he’s keeping his day job—and yes, the fact that a fifth book is in the works.
  
  OK, you’ve just replaced Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol at the top of the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists—and you’ve overtaken Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series in the number one spot on the New York Times Best Sellers: Children's Series list. How does it feel?
  It feels great to be at the top of the bestseller lists, and I feel proud I was able to steal one during a fall packed with big book releases. I’m trying to keep it in perspective and appreciate the moment, because Stephen King is coming, and so is Sarah Palin. more » » » 

Blogs

• A Fuse #8 Production
  Elizabeth Bird, Children's Librarian, Children's Center at 42nd Street
  Children's Literary Cafe: Cybils Kick-Off
  We've a simply magnificent gathering here at the library in November, and it's all about The Cybils. Join if you can! The Children’s Literary Café at the new Children’s...
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• ShelfTalker: A Children's Bookseller's Blog
  Elizabeth Bluemle, Co-owner, Flying Pig Bookstore, Shelburne, Vt.
  Fat, But
  Fat issues loom large in our culture, as it were, and kids pick up messages about how they should look that batter their confidence at every turn. Literature for young people should be one place where...
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• Nonfiction Matters
  Marc Aronson, AUTHOR, EDITOR, PACKAGER, SPEAKER,
  Historical Fiction III
  How Can I Use This With My Students? Every kind of book for K-12 readers lives an odd double life. It is a book like any adult book, but it can, or is built to be, or it can be turned into, a tool ...
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• A Fuse #8 Production
  Elizabeth Bird, Children's Librarian, Children's Center at 42nd Street
  Time Travel and Other Useful Activities
  Well! Yesterday was exciting. Any more excitement and I think I'll drop dead of exhaustion. Today, let's switch gears and be comparatively boring. Now a couple months ago Molly O'Neill did a post that...
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NEWS

• Scholastic to Sell 'Love Ya Bunches' at Middle School Book Fairs
  Scholastic has reversed its decision to censor Lauren Myracle’s controversial Luv Ya Bunches (Abrams/Amulet, 2009) from school book fairs and will make a slightly sanitized version of the title available at middle schools in spring 2010. The novel, however, still won’t be for sale at elementary fairs—even though it specifically targets that age group.
  
  Scholastic announced the news on its corporate blog Tuesday, but failed to explain why the book was blocked in the first place. The company did, however, say that it was “committed to a review process that considers all books equally regardless of their inclusion of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) characters and same-sex parents.” more » » » 
• Librarians: Forget Baby Einstein; Try Reading
  Librarians and media specialists are secretly saying "I told you so" about the Walt Disney Company’s decision to issue a full refund on the Baby Einstein videos that parents have bought by the millions over the last five years.
  
  While stopping short of admitting that the 30-minute videos, which often feature classical music or introductory sign language lessons, didn’t turn babies into geniuses, the extensive refund offer from Baby Einstein does acknowledge a growing dissatisfaction and skepticism among researchers, educators, and certainly parents, that the DVDs are unlikely to speed up developmental pathways among infants. In fact—they may not do anything—and it’s actually more beneficial to sit on mom or dad’s lap turning the pages of a board book. more » » » 

REMARKABLE READS

• Flower Power
  Leaves are falling and days are getting shorter—and in many parts of the country, there won't be any more flowers until spring arrives. Pull out these titles to remind young ones that the flowers will return, tying in a discussion on seasonal changes. Plant an indoor garden and challenge aspiring botanists to identify the seedlings. No room for one? Check out these fun and easy flower crafts. more » » » 

LIBRARIAN'S INTERNET

• We Shall Remain
  www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/ The PBS miniseries “We Shall Remain” premiered in April 2009. If you didn’t catch the five 50-minute episodes then, this November, which is Native American Heritage Month, may be the perfect time to watch them online with your students. “We Shall Remain” chronicles how Native peoples valiantly resisted the destruction of their cultures and the expulsion from their lands. more » » » 

JOB OF THE WEEK