The New York Times Bestseller lists – to my eyes, they never cease to make for an interesting read. Let’s take a look at the titles at the top of the picture book and middle grade lists this week, shall we? Click the links below to see the rest of the top 10s. Picture Books [...]

Got an extra 100K laying around? Good! Here’s how you should spend it. (Click the links to see the full AbeBooks listing for each title) Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak The Story of Ferdinand by [...]

Here’s how I approach these previews. I look at all the K-6 books coming out in the next three months, then pick 10 titles that jump out to me the most. Could be because I’ve read them and loved them, could be because they’re getting a lot of advance praise, could be because I can [...]

It’s a free book kind of Monday. Up for grabs we have a trio of some of the more talked about books of 2013. Fill out the form below to enter, but be snappy about it! You must enter by 11:59 p.m. EST tonight (that’s August 12) to be eligible. Best of luck. And the [...]

Energetic go-getters of the world: lend me your ears! My school district (Wayland (Mich.) Union Schools) is hiring for two school librarian positions. Becoming my BFF is also included. In an era with far too many cuts, it’s great to see some adds. Interested? Check out the posting, or pass it along. Applications will be [...]

NPR just released their list of 100 Must-Reads for kids 9-14. By a stroke of luck, I found myself on the committee to curate the list with with some serious children’s literature heavy hitters – Rita Williams-Garcia, Margi Preus, Linda Sue Park, Gussie Lewis, and Soman Chainani. As for how the list came together, our [...]

In July… …we said “huh?” in the best possible way. The Wildest Children’s Books of 2013 have a way of making you do that. …I fake rode a horse. The American Library Association Annual Conference got the Instagram recap treatment in three parts: Part I Part II Part III …I went away to Nerdcamp. I [...]

SHARPEN YOUR SCHUS Have I talked about Sharp-Schu Book Club here yet? (The 100 Scope Notes Research Department says “nope”) If you’ve never checked out this monthly Twitter gathering hosted by teacher Colby Sharp and school librarian John Schumacher, here’s your chance. It’s part book talk, part chat, part author/illustrator Q&A session, and is meeting TWO-NITE. [...]

Everyone, hold up your coffees. I’d like to propose a toast. Here’s to good ideas! Now go ahead and drink all the rest of your coffee in one gulp (Warning: 100 Scope Notes is not responsible for any resulting scalding). This year all the finalists for the Kate Greenaway and Carnegie medals (the prestigious English [...]

‘THE VEGETABLES OF MOTHERHOOD’ I’d say the first thing you should read today (in case you haven’t already) is I’m Tired of Reading Out Loud to My Son, O.K.? from the Motherlode blog at the New York Times. Gal has had it up to here with Richard Scary. Trust me, I can relate. But I [...]

Why has the ol’ blog been quiet the last couple days? Because I’ve been getting all prepped up for some moderating duties at tomorrow’s SLJ SummerTeen event. I’ll be manning the wheel of the Humor Me! panel with authors Don Calame (Swim the Fly), Louise Rozett (Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend), and Paul Rudnick (Gorgeous). That, [...]