Our beloved bloggers at Good Comics for Kids seem to have taken umbrage with that. But instead of just sitting around and complaining, they’ve gone and created a Best Graphic Novels of 2008 ...and they’ve even thrown in some gift-giving suggestions.
P.S. This is the last issue of Extra Helping for 2008—we’ll be back on January 6. But if you find yourself missing us (or just need to get away from your family), come visit us at www.slj.com. We’ll be posting our regular news, interviews, and other stories there. And besides, our bloggers never take a holiday.
Here's our third annual series presenting holiday memories from some of your favorite children's authors and illustrators. Share your holiday memories with SLJ in the comments section.
My parents divorced when I was two, and I am my mother's only child. On Christmas Eve she and I used to go a friend's house out in Arlington, MA. There was a tree that reached the ceiling decorated with lit candles, and they always served tiny chocolates decorated with white sprinkles like snow. We caroled around the tree and the adults got tipsy, and I played with a three-dimensional tic-tac-toe game when I got bored. There were never any other children there. more » » »
Readers, do you know what “altered” means? That’s precisely the fate of Kate DiCamillo’s Newbery Medal–winning novel, The Tale of Despereaux (Candlewick, 2003). In the computer-animated version of the tale of a nonconformist mouse, the original story has been changed—occasionally for the better and, well, sometimes for the worse. more » » »
Creative teachers are desperately needed to educate today's children. Just watch Sir Ken Robinson's segment, where he asks the question, "Do schools kill creat...
And a big thank you to Jennifer Doerr for forwarding this on: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 16, 2008 MACMILLAN ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF A CHILDREN’S PUBLISHING GROUP ...Read More
Yesterday I Got to Give a Talk -- with Power Point -- on Race in Second Life It was neat, avatars from anywhere in the world could attend -- one set of questions came from a person in Morocco, so i...
Granted, “best of” lists are always subjective, and considering the number of new books released every year, I never expect to see many graphic novels on the various lists that show up thi...
Why are 17,000 kids in at least 42 high-need Bronx schools without libraries despite the fact that New York requires one in every public school in the state? The main reasons are lack of money and overcrowding.
“We don’t have room for one,” Laureta Jones, PTA president of Public School 16, told the New York Daily News. “We have so many kids, we have to use the space for classrooms.” more » » »
Winners will attend an advanced private screening of Universal’s upcoming animated feature, The Tale of Despereaux, featuring Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, and Tracey Ullman in an all-star voice cast of this modern fairy tale about a small mouse born too brave for his little world. more » » »
Educators can thank an ongoing partnership for a series of new lessons that aim to teach 21st-century skills to fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders.
Created by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the free guidelines include sample lessons that are meant to spark problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity in students. more » » »
On January 16, 2009, DreamWorks Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies will release Hotel for Dogs (PG), a live-action family film adapted from Lois Duncan’s book of the same title (Houghton, 1971). The movie tells the story of 16-year-old Andi (Emma Roberts) and her younger brother Bruce (Jake T. Austin), orphaned siblings who are currently living with an unlikable set of foster parents while their social worker (Don Cheadle) continues to seek a permanent home for them. The Scudders (played by Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon) don’t allow dogs, so Andi and Bruce have been hiding the third member of their family, a mischief-making Jack Russsell terrier, in an alley behind the apartment building. more » » »
The Ice Age, known to scientists as the Pleistocene Age, occurred approximately 1.8 million years ago. Many books set during this period deal with an emerging warrior and hunter culture, making the topic attractive for emerging readers and reluctant boy readers.
BAILEY, Linda. Adventures in the Ice Age. illus. by Bill Slavin. (Good Times Travel Agency Series). Kids Can. 2005. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-1-55337-503-6; pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-1-55337-504-3.
Gr 3-6–This title combines a time-travel story line with Ice Age facts as the Binkerton twins and their little sister find themselves in southern France with nothing but a guidebook to get them back to the present day. more » » »
The site this week is simply a fun one, designed for young kids and their caregivers to explore together. It’s full of activities, darling stories (which come in either “read story myself” or “hear story” versions), holiday songs, lots of games, and things to print. Click on the buildings in Santa’s village for some fun surprises: two of them, having to do with toys, have links to Amazon—fun for kids who don’t yet know what they want for Christmas, but also a potentially bad thing for parents who may get a long list as a result. One of the coolest buildings is “Santa’s Mailroom.” Here kids can write a letter to Santa (as well as pick up his response). My personal favorites— watch Santa disco dance (very funny), print out the “Good Deed” calendar, check out the Santa Q & A page, and of course on Christmas Eve, don’t forget to click on NORAD’s Santa Tracker.
Last year’s Christmas Web site was “Elf Yourself,” and if you haven’t seen this year’s new and improved version, don’t miss it—especially the Disco and Country versions. Find it at www.elfyourself.com. —Gail Junion-Metz
University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science
Iowa City, IA
The University of Iowa invites nominations and applications for the position of Director of the School of Library and Information Science. The School offers an ALA-accredited M.A. in Library and Information Science and a state-approved program for certification of teacher librarians. The M.A. program is delivered by an emerging, dynamic, and diverse faculty in a highly collegial and collaborative department.
You are receiving this email because you have requested either a newsletter or a magazine from
Only one graphic novel on our Best Books list?
Forward to a Friend
