TECH TRENDS
- One Laptop per Child Falters
Once the trailblazer for tackling the digital divide among the world’s most disenfranchised children, One Laptop per Child’s (OLPC) mission is now hobbled—primarily by the current economic downturn.
OLPC is cutting roughly 50 percent of staff and contractors from all facets of the project, with salary reductions in store for the remaining 32 people, said founder and chairman Nicholas Negroponte. In an announcement last week, he said the move was due to "fewer financial resources." more » » »
Blogs
- A Fuse #8 Production
Elizabeth Bird, Children's Librarian, Children's Center at 42nd Street
Review of the Day: The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket
The Composer Is Dead By Lemony Snicket Illustrated by Carson Ellis Music by Nathaniel Stookey Harper Collins $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-123627-3 Ages 5-10 On shelves March 3rd Remember the day...
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- Bowllan's Blog
Amy Bowllan, The Hewitt School, New York
2009 Inauguration Lesson Plans: Video Blog#2
Yes. I am prepared to go to Washington, DC., for the 2009 inauguration. Where I am staying and what I will have access to, at this point, is up-in-the-air. All I know is, today my Amtra...
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- Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
Sharon McKellar, ,
The Results are In!
Yesterday, thirteen people gathered to discuss the eight books on our short list and to crown an Oakland "Heavy Medal" Mock Newbery award to the most distinct of them. We talked, we de...
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- A Fuse #8 Production
Elizabeth Bird, Children's Librarian, Children's Center at 42nd Street
Fusenews: Quick and Dirty
The other day we had some folks checking out the small glass room behind my reference desk thinking about possibly moving Mr. Pooh there someday. I wonder if they know about this little developm...
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WATCH AND READ
 Watch and Read: Spotlight on Media Tie-ins
Another highly acclaimed children’s book makes it way to the big screen as Coraline (PG), based on Neil Gaiman’s novel (HarperCollins, 2002), premieres in theaters on February 6, 2009. Presented by Focus Features and LAIKA animation studio, this animated stop-motion production is directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas), who also wrote the screenplay. Though the book was set in the United Kingdom, the film takes place outside Ashland, OR. Eleven-year-old Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) has just moved to a rambling Victorian house and misses her old life in Michigan. Bored and ignored by her busy parents, she stumbles upon a mysterious hidden door in her new home. When unlocked, the small door reveals only a brick wall, but Coraline later
finds her way through it, crossing into an alternate reality that seems much more extraordinary—and alluring—than her own tedious existence. more » » »
NEWS
 Christopher Robin Reunites with Pooh and the Gang
It’s been eight decades since Christopher Robin left the Hundred Acre Wood to attend boarding school. But this year he returns to his friends Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, and the rest of the gang in a sequel that was authorized by the trustees of A. A. Milne’s estate.
Written by David Benedictus and illustrated by Mark Burgess, Return to the Hundred Acre Wood (Dutton) is due out in the United Kingdom and the United States on October 5, where it will join the first two books written by Milne: Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and House in Pooh Corner (1928). The U. K. publisher is Egmont Publishing. more » » »
 Industry Scrambling to Comply with Child Safety Act
Publishers Weekly Story: The children’s book industry is currently dealing with a new and pressing challenge that is threatening publishers, bookstores, libraries, and schools. It’s not the economy or school spending or reading rates—it is a recent act of Congress, which has blindsided the industry with the implementation of stiff safety standards on all children’s products, and whose application to books is vague.
It has left many publishers, retailers and industry groups scrambling to interpret the law and determine what kinds of compliance will be required, and at what cost. more » » »
HOT PICKS
 Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
 Gr 8 Up–The intensity of emotion and vivid language here are more reminiscent of Anderson’s Speak (Farrar, 1999) than any of her other works. more » » »
 Monarch and Milkweed
K-Gr 4–This title by Helen Frost (Atheneum, 2008) provides information about the lifecycle of the monarch butterfly and its relationship with its host plant, the milkweed. more » » »
 Little Brother
Gr 9 Up–Cory Doctorow’s frightening, believable novel (Tor, 2008) is set in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on San Francisco. more » » »
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JOB OF THE WEEK
Deputy County Librarian
County of Santa Clara, CA
San Jose, CA
The County of Santa Clara is seeking a dynamic leader who is decisive, well organized and possesses considerable management experience to fill this critical position. This is an exciting and challenging career opportunity for a highly qualified individual capable of providing effective leadership to a diverse staff and who has strong team building abilities. |
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