God Got a Dog By Cynthia Rylant By Marla Frazee Beach Lane Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1-4424-6518-3 Ages 9 and up On shelves October 29th I’ve been thinking a lot lately about whom children’s books are really for. Kids, obviously. And parents that will have to (hopefully, potentially) read those [...]
The Complete Listing of All Public Children’s Literature Statues in the United States
By on August 14, 2013
Write a title to your blog post like that you are just SETTING YOURSELF UP for trouble. But I like trouble. I eat it for breakfast. Or, at the very least, gnaw on it idly at lunch. In the past I’ve noted each appearance of a statue pertaining to children’s literature when it crops up, [...]
Press Release Fun: An Evening at the Met with Oliver Jeffers (and it’s free)
By on August 13, 2013
Free Lecture An Evening with Oliver Jeffers Friday, August 16, 6:00–7:30 p.m. Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Join award-winning artist Oliver Jeffers for a presentation about his creative journey, his work in various formats, and exciting upcoming projects. Meet the artist and explore the Museum until [...]
Review of the Day – Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
By on August 12, 2013
Lockwood & Company: The Screaming Staircase By Jonathan Stroud Hyperion Books for Children $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3 Ages 10 and up On shelves September 17th I’m sick of historical fiction. I’m sick of contemporary fiction. I’m sick of realism and science fiction. Fantasy I watch with a wary eye. I don’t always feel this way but [...]
Video Sunday: “You know what? No. I’m not gonna apologize. That cat was delicious.”
By on August 11, 2013
The NYPL Exhibit You Won’t Hear as Much About
By on August 9, 2013
All the talk in the press and the news recently has concentrated on New York Public Library’s current children’s literary exhibit The ABC of It, as curated by Leonard Marcus. It is, justifiably, remarkable. But exit the exhibit and you’ll find that it’s not the only children’s literary piece going on in the library at [...]
Fusenews: “Who is Fishface, and where can I find him?”
By on August 8, 2013
Required Reading of the Day: Roger Sutton already told you to read it, and now I’m backing him up. If you have not cast thine eyes upon Christopher Myers’s piece Young Dreamers in which he talks about the Trayvon Martin decision as well as Christopher’s own role in the world of children’s literature and the [...]
Picture Book Occupational Hazards: Zookeepers
By on August 7, 2013
Bah. Rabble rousing is too much work. Let’s take a break today and talk about occupations as they exist solely in the world of children’s literature. These days my little Bird is a bright and sprightly 2-year-old chock full o’ glee. Reading through her books with her, I recently noticed that certain jobs come up [...]
Review of the Day: The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
By on August 5, 2013
The Day the Crayons Quit By Drew Daywalt Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers Philomel (an imprint of Penguin) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-399-25537-3 Ages 4-8 On shelves now. It is possible to read too much into a picture book. A funny statement since what were talking about is literature for people who haven’t even seen a decade of [...]
Video Sunday: Pondering Book Trailers with Live Actors
By on August 4, 2013
Normally I don’t ascribe much in a way of topics to my Video Sundays. They have a tendency to be a haphazard blending of whatever happens to catch my eye in a given week and saved links from peculiar sources. However, after a conversation with fellow blogger Gregory K about book trailers I realized that [...]
Exclusive Book Trailer Premiere: Chick-o-Saurus Rex
By on August 2, 2013
Giveaways don’t make my heart beat faster and blog tours leave me cold. But offer me an exclusive on a cover release or a book trailer and look how excited I get. I’m positively giddy. Today’s is particularly exciting for me because it’s a chance to highlight a fellow blogger-turned-author. Over the years I’m sure [...]
Fusenews: Gray skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face!
By on August 1, 2013
Fusenews Fusenews Fusey Oozy Fusenews Fusenews Fusenews Eat it up . . . . YUM!* Oh we are high spirits here in New York now that the weather has cooled down a tad. So let’s keep the party going strong. It’s news time! Undoubtedly many of you encountered the recent New York Times article “I’m [...]
Press Release Fun: SCBWI Summer Conference
By on July 31, 2013
July 29, 2013, Los Angeles— This weekend the most prominent names in the field of children’s books will gather for the Society of Children’s Book Writers Summer Conference August 2-5, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City. The conference will boast an array of specialized workshops and intensives given by top agents, [...]
Review of the Day: Locomotive by Brian Floca
By on July 30, 2013
Locomotive By Brian Floca Atheneum (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1-4169-9415-2 Ages 4 and up On shelves September 3rd Many childhood obsessions come down to sheer scale. Whether it’s dinosaurs or trucks (the modern, smog belching dinosaur equivalent) or even princesses (adults are large, no matter how you approach them), size matters. [...]
Video Sunday: Gingerbread houses, red carpets, and virtual toilet paper
By on July 28, 2013
How do, folks. Well, as you might have heard, this past ALA Caldecott/Newbery/Wilder Banquet saw me interviewing hoards of famous people alongside the multi-talented Jim Averbeck and partner-in-crime Kristin Clark. Those videos have now all appeared online at a single solitary location: Kidlit Red Carpet. It is very unfortunate that my interview with Laura Rodgers [...]
Press Release Fun: A New Education Director at The Carle
By on July 27, 2013
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Announces New Director of Education Amherst, MA (July 25, 2013) The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is pleased to announce that Courtney M. Waring will be joining the staff in July as the Director of Education. Waring takes over the helm for Rosemary Agoglia, [...]
Review of the Day: The Center of Everything by Linda Urban
By on July 26, 2013
The Center of Everything By Linda Urban Harcourt Children’s Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-547-76348-4 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. There are only two things I require from life: Donuts and good books. Obviously that statement is false, but it sure sounds good. I like donuts. I like good books. And [...]
Fusenews: Et tu, Mike Inkpen?
By on July 24, 2013
New Blog Alert: There’s a CCBC blog. Did you know that? I didn’t know that. I am, of course, perfectly aware that only a good 15% of my readers instantly can call to mind what CCBC even stands for. It’s the Cooperative Children’s Book Center and for years I’ve followed ccbc-net, their listserv. I must [...]
Review of the Day: Yes, Let’s by Galen Goodwin Longstreth
By on July 23, 2013
Yes, Let’s By Galen Goodwin Longstreth Illustrated by Maris Wicks Tanglewood Publishing $15.95 ISBN: 978-1-933718-87-3 Ages 3-7 On shelves now It’s tempting, when you look at the sheer number of picture books published in a given year, to assume that every topic under the white hot sun has been covered by this point in time. [...]
The Watsons Go to Birmingham: The Movie
By on July 22, 2013
There are videos that go into Video Sunday and then there are videos that deseve their very own posts. This is one such video. In the wake of the Trayvon Martin court decision it seems to me that we need something good for once. And I admit it. I wouldn’t have pegged the Hallmark Channel [...]
