Children’s book classics such as Green Eggs and Ham (1960) and The Cat and the Hat (1957) will be available in ebook format for the first time beginning on September 24, says publisher Random House Children’s. Written and illustrated by the beloved Dr. Seuss (aka Theodor Geisel), 15 titles will make their digital debut on that date, and by November, a total of 41 ebooks will be available for children, parents, and educators. All the Seuss ebook titles will keep the original layouts and iconic illustrations from their print editions.

“The introduction of ebook editions to the Dr. Seuss canon is an exciting milestone that we know will enhance Dr. Seuss’s legacy,” says Susan Brandt, president of licensing & marketing for Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. “When Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat more than fifty years ago, he revolutionized the way children learn to read. Today, we celebrate that his impact on reading will thrive for generations to come with these new ebooks.”

Dr. Seuss’s books have sold more than 600 million print book copies worldwide.
The new digital versions also will be published simultaneously as Read & Listen editions that feature brand-new audio recordings of the full text. Perennial favorites such as Horton Hears a Who! (1954); Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (1990); and The Lorax (1971) continue to top the bestseller lists decades after their original publication. Every year, people across the country celebrate Dr. Seuss Day on the author’s birthday, March 2. This year marked the 75th anniversary of The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938), his second published children’s book, as well as the 50th anniversary of Dr. Seuss’s ABC (1963, all Random).

See also:
E-Seuss: The Cat in the Hat and Other Dr. Seuss Titles Go Digital, Coming Very Soon as Ebooks

They live in Far Rockaway, an isolated neighborhood plagued by gangs but graced by the ocean. AnnMarie’s favorite things are singing in choir and hanging out with her friends.Then she falls for Darius, an older boy with his own recording studio, and ends up pregnant at 14 with a boyfriend who hits her.

One day AnnMarie notices a flyer announcing open auditions for an indie film. She takes the leap and lands a leading role. Subtitled “A Novel, Based on a True Story”, On the Come Up is just that. Recently I interviewed filmmaker Hannah Weyer about writing her first novel.

Can you tell us about the young woman whose life inspired your novel? How did you come to know her?

Almost 15 years ago, my husband, Jim McKay, made his second feature film, Our Song. It is a wonderful story, filmed entirely on location—mostly in Crown Heights, Brooklyn—and mixed actors with non-actors, neighborhood onlookers, and a local marching band. I know for both of us it was one of the most gratifying experiences we’ve had in life because it was what produced our treasured and long-lasting friendship with Anna Simpson, who inspired me to write On the Come Up.

At the time, Anna was a 15-year-old girl living with her mother in Far Rockaway, Queens, a neighborhood often defined by its social isolation, Section 8 housing, and violent crime. Even though Anna had been untrained as an actress and was due to give birth a month before filming began, four call-backs and many discussions later, Jim cast her to play one of the lead roles in the movie.

I had recently completed a documentary and was hanging around the Our Song set with a video camera, documenting little moments with the cast, crew, and neighborhood kids. It was there that Anna and I first became friends, though our upbringing, age difference, and day-to-day preoccupations could have kept us apart.

I was in awe of Anna’s determination, and her ability to juggle the job of acting with caring for her newborn. When I thought back to my own teenage years, my life seemed to dim in comparison. Nonetheless, something clicked between us—maybe it was her charm, sense of humor, and honesty, but we found ourselves in a lasting friendship that has deepened over the last fifteen years.

At what point did you decide to write a novel based on her life? Did you ever consider writing a nonfiction account instead?

It was a few years ago at a family picnic that the first seed was planted. As Anna and I were catching up, I told her I was in between film projects and trying my hand at writing short fiction. She said, well you know I have a story to tell and we laughed because I knew it was true—in her relatively short life, she did have a story, lots of them, in fact. I thought about Anna, her neighborhood and the people she grew up with, how she fought to upend her social isolation, put money in her pocket and raise her child, to defy the downward drag of domestic violence that seemed to be her fate.

I wondered about all the small ways individuals find to level the playing field, turn a volatile home into a stable one, or simply find happiness when a sense of well-being isn’t the status quo.

Over the next several months, Anna and I sat and talked. We collected hours of recorded interviews and it soon became clear that her fearlessness would become the dominant trait of the main character of On the Come Up. I decided to draw from several key events—the birth of her daughter, her role in Our Song, and her eventual departure from Far Rockaway—to structure the novel.  Using these real events as signposts, I began to string together a fictional story about a girl’s rite of passage, an odyssey from one place to another. In a world where dreams of escape are fed by endless stories of overnight success, celebrity, and stardom, sometimes the struggle is as simple as finding your way off the block.

Fictionalizing opened up a personal space for me to bring my own musings to play. My creative interest in examining family structures, the function of boundaries, and the question of escape moved the story away from biography, and toward an imagining of a protagonist and a world in which these themes could be developed and explored.

How did you master the urban language of the novel?

Besides working on films and screenplays, each year for the past dozen years, I spend part of my time as a guest teaching artist or one-on-one mentor in high schools, after school programs, or for media arts youth organizations. Being around teenagers, I find it especially engaging to listen to how they joke and tease, to their particular phrasings or colloquialisms, how they disguise their feelings or fears, how they jostle to express themselves.

I was also very much influenced by the interviews Anna and I made together, and it became clear, early on in the writing process, that it would be Anna’s voice, and not my own, that would become my muse.

What is it about AnnMarie that made her aspire beyond expectations—to go beyond the norm for those growing up in her isolated neighborhood?

I really don’t know where strength of character comes from. Are people born with backbone, with higher aspirations, or yearnings and curiosity? Or is strength of character something that can be nurtured, brought to play in a young person’s life and made meaningful?

I do know that I gave this quality to AnnMarie because I saw it in Anna Simpson, just as I’ve seen it in other teenagers I’ve spent time with over the years, young people who apply themselves, defy expectation, and prove beyond a doubt the usefulness of simple, daily conversation and contact between grown-ups and children at the cusp of adulthood.

AnnMarie’s story has fairytale elements—some might say that if it wasn’t based on truth it would be too far-fetched. Yet, AnnMarie’s struggles are realistic, even mundane. And her successes do not make over her life. How did you balance engaging storytelling and reality?

Interesting thought. I might disagree though that AnnMarie’s story is far-fetched. If you think about it, every day thousands of kids go on auditions for movies, for singing or dance competitions, or for reality TV contests, like American Idol or The X Factor. But we only hear about the success stories that make the news. AnnMarie’s story is really about what happens before and after the audition, the movie premiere. She goes on with her life, enriched by the experience, but still faced with the challenges most people are up against: how do I find work, how do I make a stable home, how do I find happiness and love?

Despite the fact that this novel is published for adults, do you have hopes or expectations for its success with teenagers?

Yes! I think AnnMarie is a character that teenagers can relate to and will want to spend time with.  What becomes clear as you sink into the story is that AnnMarie is just a regular kid. She likes music, wants love and friendship. She dreams. She has beefs with other kids, sometimes physical, sometimes verbal, and won’t back down from a fight. She is at times naive, pig-headed, brash, single-minded, and yet she has this remarkable ability to be optimistic about life, a quality that helps her face down conflict and climb over spatial barriers, and keeps her asking questions about her place in the world.

It’s true she might have more drama than the average teenager but not by much—most kids have dealt with bullies at school or on the block, have encountered a domineering grownup who exacts control. Some have been pregnant or have friends who have become pregnant. Some have had boyfriends who have cheated and who have felt betrayed.

I think On the Come Up is the kind of story teachers can bring into the classroom to share with their students. AnnMarie’s story lends itself to discussions about class, identity, family histories, generational patterns, domestic abuse and/or the relationship between social isolation and violence in contemporary urban America.

It’s been my experience that young people can and will rise to the intellectual occasion when the material feels emotional and relevant, when characters appeal to them on some visceral or personal level.

See the SLJ review of On the Come Up, published on the Adult Books 4 Teens blog.

Lee Wade and Anne Schwartz were up first, beginning with a new Daisy book from Caldecott winner Chris Raschka, Daisy Gets Lost (October). The whole room seemed to sigh as slides of the book’s lively illustrations took center stage. Rocket’s Mighty Words (July) by Tad Hills is meant to teach early language, and Dream Dog (September), written by Lou Berger and illustrated by David J. Catrow, will add to what will turn out to be a season full of cute canine offerings.

Brush of the Gods (June) by Leonore Look and illustrated by Meilo So, is an introduction to artist Wu Daozi; it’s already garnered four starred reviews. A completely different style of dazzling art can be seen in The Beginner’s Guide to Running Away from Home by Jennifer LaRue Huget, illustrated using wire and cloth by Red Nose Studio. Kids will want to figure out just how the illustrations were created.

Random House editor Maria Modugno got a bit teary introducing what she called her most important book yet, Snowflakes Fall (October), written by Patricia McLachlan and illustrated by Steven Kellogg. The tag line? “No two the same, all beautiful.”

The Random House imprint has also “gone to the dogs.” Readers will enjoy a dog’s-eye view of a day at school through poetry and photographs in Dog-Gone School (July), written by Amy Schmidt with photographs by Ron Schmidt. And in Bad Astrid, written by Eileen Brennan and illustrated by Regan Dunnick, the protagonist confronts the school bully; both characters are playfully represented as pups.

The Alfred A. Knopf imprint’s pitch began with—yes, you guessed it, a dog book! Dog Loves Counting (September) by Louise Yates follows Dog Loves Books and Dog Loves Drawing. Legend Anita Lobel is also back with Lena’s Sleep Sheep (August); the title says it all. And picture book offerings were rounded out by bullying expert Trudy Ludwig with The Invisible Boy (October).

Moving on to early literacy, Step into Reading is starting a new line of comic readers, incorporating speech balloons. Step into Reading is also introducing a new level 3 reader about Anne Frank. And Ruth Chew’s “witch” titles are coming back into print as Stepping Stone books.

The list of middle grade titles kicked off with the dystopian novel that started it all. Jeanne DuPrau’s The City of Ember is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a handsome new edition featuring a poster and a new short story. And for readers who love Wonder, check out Twerp by Mark Goldblatt, in which the bullying of a special-needs sixth-grade boy is recounted in short chapters with an accessible voice.

For pure fun, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library (June), Chris Grabenstein’s book-based puzzles and scavenger hunt, make this into an ode to libraries. Action lovers should try the new post-apocalyptic thriller by Peggy Eddleman, Sky Jumpers (September).

Delacorte has a new middle-grade novel that its editors call “an exciting find.” Set in the 1959 segregated south, it follows an 11-year-old boy who is a great pitcher, but who stutters. Paperboy by Vince Vawter is being compared to The Help and To Kill a Mockingbird.

New Knopf middle-grade will include a trilogy of historical mysteries by Cynthia Voigt, starting with Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things (September). Equally intriguing are two other historically inspired books debuting in October, Will in Scarlet (October) by Matthew Cody, a Robin Hood origins story, and The Great Trouble by Deborah Hopkinson, based on the London cholera epidemic of 1854.  Although fiction, Hopkinson has included extensive back matter and primary source excerpts.

Wendy Lamb Books began its preview pitch with the movie tie-in version of The Watsons go to Birmingham, showing off photos from the movie set, and then shared a few novels, including Odessa Again by Dana Reinhardt, a YA author making her middle-grade debut, and a new Kevin Spencer novel, Vote, by Gary Paulsen. Both titles were released in May.

Random has several YA sequels debuting soon, including Untold (September), Sarah Rees Brennan’s sequel to Unspoken; Brian Falkner’s second Recon Team Angel novel, Task Force (September), and Sarah Zettel’s Golden Girl (June), a follow-up to the BFYA listed novel, Dust Girl.

Delacorte also made a big impression with its teen line-up. In the new Mistborn Trilogy by fantasy master Brandon Sanderson, Steelheart (September), the Epics took over earth 10 years before; now humans are ready to fight back and get revenge for the family members they lost. Lauren Kate is also introducing a new series, beginning with Teardrop (October) in which a 17-year-old Louisiana native’s tears have the power to raise Atlantis. James Dashner also begins a new trilogy about gamers and cyberterrorists with The Eye of Minds (October). And those are only the tip of the iceberg!

Nonfiction readers will enjoy the YA edition of Sonia Nazario’s immigrant story, Enrique’s Journey (August), which includes an update on Enrique’s attempts to be reunited with his mother.

Highlights in YA from Knopf includes Chasing Shadows (August) by Cybil Award winner Swati Avasthi incorporates graphic novel chapters to represent one character’s thoughts while in a coma, and David Levithan celebrates the 10th anniversary of Boys Meets Boy with Two Boys Kissing (August), based on a true incident of two boys trying to break the record for the longest kiss. Adele Griffin and Margo Lanagan both have new books coming from Knopf as well.

Listening Library, the Random House audiobook division, boasts a stellar line-up of new productions, including H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine (June) read by Derek Jacobi, an upcoming Kate DiCamillo middle-grade novel Flora & Ulysses: the Illuminated Adventures (with the print edition coming from Candlewick in September), and the much-loved novels of Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl (September), joining the already released and acclaimed Eleanor & Park.

The morning finished with a talk from guest author Robin Wasserman about her upcoming horror novel, The Waking Dark (Knopf, September). Robin shared how difficult she finds it to talk about her own writing, and especially about where her ideas might originate.

She also said that, as a teen, she babysat a great deal and lived in terror that something bad would happen on her watch. (Hint, hint: this ties in significantly with one of her characters in Waking Dark.) She also talked about how much reading horror helped her get through bad times at school. She believes that enjoying horror fiction is not about being scared, but about being brave.

Since the publication of his very first Lunch Lady title, Lunch Lady and the Vyborg Substitute, in 2009, Krosoczka has heard countless stories of how his books have inspired kids to look at their school cafeteria workers with a newfound sense of awe and wonderment, he tells School Library Journal. “Through all of this, I’ve gotten to know the women and men who work tirelessly in our school cafeterias. They are such a fun and selfless bunch and don’t often get the recognition they deserve.”

Now he wants to use the popularity of his books to recognize the profession in a bigger way. “I didn’t set out to write the Lunch Lady books to shift perceptions, but it’s a gift that they have and I wanted to use that to create a day that would celebrate these folks,” Krosoczka tells SLJ.

Krosoczka will be gearing up for the first School Lunch Superhero Day with a visit to his own elementary school, Gates Lane Elementary in Worcester, MA, where “Lunch Lady” books, courtesy of Random House and the First Book organization, will be donated to every child.

Elsewhere, he hopes the day will inspire kids to make cards or even their own comics for their lunch staff, and the school library would make a perfect epicenter for this creative activity, he tells SLJ. He also suggests inviting local lunch ladies to the library or classroom to read from the “Lunch Lady” series, and asking them to share their own “secrets” with students. Students can surprise their lunch staff with snacks that they make, together with aprons that they have signed.

To help librarians and teachers develop these types of activities, Krosoczka has created a website where resources—including thank-you cards and other materials that can be downloaded, printed, and shared—will be made available. The site will also collect students’ own School Lunch Superhero tales recognizing the hard work and care that cafeteria staff put into their craft.

She reached out to the School Nutrition Association (SNA) with the idea, who then invited the author to speak at its national convention this summer. “It is the great marriage of food, fun, and books,” says Walker. “SNA members feed our children so they’ll be ready to learn. It reminds us that everyone in the school building needs to work together to nourish growing bodies and minds.”

School Lunch Superhero Day is also sponsored by Random House Children’s Books.

All things Dr. Seuss were in the air Monday at the 42nd branch of the New York Public Library, including a sea of students sporting Cat in the Hat  hats in an attempt to set a Guinness Book World Record, a read-aloud of Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, and even a visit from the Cat in the Hat himself. These festivities marked Random House Children’s Books and Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ launch of the “Hats Off to Dr. Seuss!” campaign, a yearlong celebration of the famed children’s book author that coincides with the 75th anniversary of The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

This first stop for the campaign also included an announcement of a new partnership between Random House Children’s Books, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, and the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for pediatric cancer.

Financial literacy and entrepreneurship: Are any of your students ages 7 to 16 budding entrepreneurs? Well, it’s time to encourage them to create a new business idea for the Second Annual Secret Millionaires Club “Grow Your Own Business Challenge.” There are ten questions and two optional questions that participants must answer such as: How did you come up with your business idea? Who will your customers be? What goods or services will your business sell? How much money do you need to set up your business and how will you raise it? How will you sell and market your goods and services? What makes your new business product or service different from other businesses out there? How can your business have a positive effect on a community? The competition is opened to individuals or teams of two to four students. Make sure to check out the contest’s rules and access the entry form. Entries must be submitted by February 15, 2013.

Four individual finalists and two team finalists will present their winning ideas to Warren Buffett and a panel of judges in Omaha, NE, in May 2013. A teacher who inspired the finalists in creating their business idea can join them and win up to $1,000. A grand prize of $5,000 will be awarded to one individual and one team.

The Secret Millionaires Club is an animated series featuring the voice of financial guru Warren Buffet mentoring a group of kids who encounter and solve financial and business problems. The series currently features 20 short online webisodes and two TV specials. The Secret Millionaires Learn & Earn Learn & Earn Program teaches financial literacy and entrepreneurship. The program offers materials for educators and parents to extend the financial lessons into classrooms.  In March 2013, there will be a new 22-epsode TV series launching on the HUB cable network.   

Minigrant Program

Programs that inspire: The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, established by the late Caldecott award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, is offering 70 minigrants of $500 each to teachers and librarians in public schools and libraries who submit proposals for a program that fosters “creativity, cooperation and interaction with a diverse community.” There’s a video tutorial and a gallery of past recipients that you can check out. Once you design and plan the program, there’s a short application form to complete and submit by March 15, 2013. Recipients of the grants will be notified beginning May 15th.

The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation supports arts and literacy programs in public schools and libraries across the country. This is the 25th year that the Foundation is offering the minigrant program.

Publishing News

Randomhousekids.com: Random House Children’s Books has redesigned and re-launched their website to help kids and their parents learn about dozens of Random House favorite brands and series (Dr. Seuss, “Magic Tree House,” “Junie B. Jones,” “A to Z Mysteries,” “Dragon Keepers,” “Five Ancestors,” etc.) as well as new books. The site also features author interviews, and kids can have fun with book-related games and activities.

The redesign incorporates two new features: “Book Finder” and “For Parents.” Parents and kids can search for books based on a variety of criteria—age, genre, subject, etc.—using “Book Finder, while the “For Parents” section includes blog posts on topics ranging from how to be a good storyteller to the use of audiobooks with reluctant readers. “It’s a fantastic resource for parents and a destination for their children to have fun interacting with our authors and books in a safe environment,” noted Linda Leonard, Random House Children’s Books’ executive director of digital marketing.

Children’s book publishing: The Book: The Essential Guide to Publishing for Children, published by The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is an updated edition of the SCBWI Publications Guide. The 300-page revamped book, an essential tool for children’s book writers and illustrators, features current articles about the children’s book publishing industry on topics such as maximizing social media, creating book trailers, independent publishing, and promotion. The “Market Survey” lists editors, art directors, and key personnel at all the publishing houses. There’s also “The International Market Survey,” “The Book Reviewers Directory,” “The Agents Directory,” and “Edited By,” a new feature that offers a history of editors’ recent acquisitions. The Book is available online and in hard copy to SCBWI members.

It’s Magic: Ruth Chew’s 29 tales of magic and fantasy, written in the 1970s for elementary graders, will be reissued by Random House Books for Young Readers beginning in the fall of 2013. According to the press release, Chew “made magic available to younger readers before any other author.” New cover art will be created, but the original artwork will be retained for the interior illustrations. Each season, two titles will be released in collectible hardcover and paperback editions as well as ebook versions. In time for Halloween 2013, No Such Thing as a Witch and What the Witch Left will be published. Each season, a collection of three stories will also be released. The first one, in fall 2013, will include The Witch’s Buttons, The Witch’s Garden, and Witch’s Cat. Looking ahead to spring 2014, The Trouble with Magic and Magic in the Park will be reissued.

In the tablet market, the push to unseat the iPad had competitors slapping an HD tag on every supersize device they produced, while Apple went small, releasing its seven-inch iPad Mini in October.

Nothing small about ebook prices for libraries, with Random House tripling prices for that market, with $28 titles ratcheted to $84, and Hachette doubling prices on their backlisted titles. Amazon finally devised a school model—but using it as intended violates their terms of service.

So what’s in store for 2013? I see three key areas: changing ebook business models, access to more content, and affordable new hardware. The first two points are strongly linked. By exploring new business models, we could access collections of resources, which have been previously unavailable to schools. To make this work, we have to find ways to overcome the roadblocks to ebook lending experienced by public libraries.

School libraries, I believe, will be the coming focal point for ebook licensing. We have strong relationships with our K–12 publishing partners, but now we must reach out to the trade houses. As the print market weakens, the time is right for schools to present a new business proposal.

The fact is, the big trade houses aren’t very keen on “selling” ebooks to libraries. To justify its $84 ebooks, Random House implied that libraries owned the titles, but applied so many restrictions that ownership was effectively obviated by all the fine print.

So let’s give them another option. Rather than seeking to own ebooks, school libraries should instead seek more favorable deals in a short-term lease market. Support classroom instruction with two-month book rentals, or license titles for three-year terms to avoid locking the school into endless recycling of the same novels.

If publishers are concerned about the impact on consumer sales, we can point out that these ebooks are for instructional use and not pleasure reading. By writing licenses that restrict ebook use in classroom settings, we’re giving up some access but opening up a huge new world of content. Besides, we can always buy print books for independent reading.

Finally, 2013 should be an exciting year for hardware. By year’s end, I expect we’ll see sub-$100 tablets, not knock-off brands, but fully supported devices akin to the Kindle and Nook. We might also see color digital ink readers with better support for illustrated books. But the main hardware issue will be accessibility. Two high-profile lawsuits in 2012 established that schools and libraries purchasing ebook readers must buy accessible devices. Currently, none of the E-Ink based devices (Kindle Paperwhite or Nook Simple Touch, for example) are accessible, according to ADA definitions. Make sure your district considers accessibility if it’s planning to buy mobile computing and reading devices this year.

 Christopher Harris (infomancy@gmail.com) is coordinator of the school library system of the Genesee Valley (NY) Educational Partnership.

Hurricane Sandy benefit:

Literacy Campaign

Books for kids in need: Scholastic, The UPS Store, and Marine Toys for Tots are launching a holiday literacy drive that’s part of Scholastic’s literacy campaign, Read Every Day, Lead a Better Life. The aim of the campaign is to “help all children experience the love of reading and owning a book,” including those who lost books due to Hurricane Sandy that devastated the East Coast. There are a number of ways that families can help.

When you download Storia, Scholastic’s teacher-recommended children’s ereading app, you will receive five free ebooks. For every additional ebook you purchase on Storia through December 31, Scholastic will donate a children’s book to a child in need through Toys for Tots Literacy Program (they’ve committed to donating a minimum of 50,000 books).

You can also donate to the Toys for Tots Literacy Program by purchasing a donation card or donating online at The UPS Store Facebook page. Furthermore, the UPS Store that raises the most money during the holidays will get 500 books for families in their community.

Awards

Life changer: The chances are that you know a K–12 school district educator or employee who exemplifies excellence, positive influence, and leadership. Well, it’s time to nominate them for the Life Changer of the Year Award sponsored by National Life Group (National Life Insurance Co.). School employees and administrators can nominate full-time educators, teachers, principals, or any member of the school’s staff.

Winners will be selected on the basis of their ability to make a difference in the lives of students and their ability to positively add to the development of the school’s atmospheres. They must also be a leader in their activities at the school and/or district level, have a proven record of excellence at the professional level, and be committed to producing a nurturing atmosphere. Be sure to check out the official rules and complete the nomination form. Nominations can be made through January 25.

The grand prize winner will receive $5,000 with a matching award going to their school. The first runner-up will receive $3,500 with an equal amount awarded to their school. The second runner-up and their school will each get $2,500. There will also be seven LifeChanger awards—the employee and the school will each receive $1,500.

And the Winner Is…

Service to the community: Five libraries and five museums were presented with the 2012 National Medal for Museum and Library Service by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) at a ceremony at the White House on November 14. The Medal winners are selected from nominations of institutions nationwide that “demonstrate innovative approaches to public service, exceeding the expected levels of community outreach” and make a difference for individuals, families, and the communities. Anyone can nominate a library or museum for the National Medal, including the institutions employees, board members, community members, and elected officials.

This year’s honorees include Bootheel Youth Museum, Malden, MO; Contra Costa County Library, Pleasant Hill, CA; Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, NC; Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago, IL; Long Island Children’s Museum, Garden City, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art, N. Miami, FL; Naturita Community Library, CO; Pacific Science Center, Seattle, WA; Park View High School Library Media Center, Sterling, VA; and Shaler North Hills Library, Glenshaw, PA. Make sure to check out just how these institutions have reached out to the communities they serve. “By pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and embracing new ideas and approaches, these award winners have challenged the conventional notions of what a library or museum can and should be,” said First Lady Michelle Obama.

Industry News

Infobase Learning has acquired Learn 360, an interactive media-on-demand service from AIM Education. The Learn360 platform is a subscription service used by more than 25,00 schools that offers digital video titles, video clips, speeches, images, songs, research articles, and more from over 60 educational producers. Infobase provides digital reference content to schools and libraries under brands such as Facts On File, The World Almanac, Chelsea House, and Films Media Group. “This acquisition greatly expands our existing reach within the elementary, middle, and high school markets,” noted Mark McDonnell, president and CEO of Infobase Learning. “Learn360’s extensive multimedia assets and virtual classroom platform complement Infobase’s award-winning digital reference products.”

On the move: Maria Modugno joined Random House as editorial director, picture books for the Random House and Golden Books for Young Readers Group on November 26. Modugo’s career includes numerous positions at Little, Brown Children’s Books where she published such classics as I Love You Like Crazy Cakes (2000 by Rose Lewis and Jane Dyers and oversaw Marc Brown’s “Arthur” series. She also was editorial director of children’s books at Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. She is leaving her position as vice president/editorial director at HarperCollins Children’s Books where she acquired and edited books such as Victoria Kann’s Pinkalicious (2006) and Rob Scotton’s Splat the Cat (2008).

Random House’s Melanie Fallon-Houska (right) and first-place winner Mary Andrews.

This morning, Random House Foundation, Inc., announced the winners of its inaugural Random House Teacher Awards for Literacy given to part-time and full-time public school teachers in the US.

The annual awards recognize “several of the nation’s most dynamic and resourceful teachers” who “use their creativity and experience to inspire and successfully instill a love of reading in students,” according to a press release.

The award recipients will put their award money toward innovative reading programs at their schools and will also receive book donations from Random House, Inc.

The three winning teachers were announced this morning by Sandy Hayes, president-elect and annual convention program chair of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) at the convention’s “Mentoring Matters” breakfast in Las Vegas, attended by some 400 educators.

Mary Andrews, an early literacy specialist at the Estes Hill Elementary School in Chapel Hill, NC, received the first place prize and a grant of $10,000. Andrews is a long-time literacy specialist who has worked with low-income and disadvantaged students.

The second-place award of $5,000 went to Margo Nauert, a sixth grade teacher at the Jay Stream Middle School in Carol Stream, IL.

Lisa Muller, an English teacher at the Castle High School in Newburgh, IN, won third place and a $2,500 grant.

Rebecca Stead
Photo: Joanne Dugan

Where did the idea for Liar & Spy come from?

I began with just a glimmer of the main character, Georges. And then the story grew, fueled mostly by my memory of school and childhood.

I heard that you initially wrote the book for younger kids. Why’d you change your mind?

I didn’t actually write it for younger kids, though that was my initial approach. But there was just too much material. I needed more space to unpack it.

Liar & Spy is a much quieter book than your Newbery-winning When You Reach Me (Random, 2009). Was that intentional?

Yes and no. I never thought to myself, “And now, I will write a quiet book!” But as soon as I began to recognize the characters in Liar & Spy, I knew it would be different from When You Reach Me.

Many people read a book with the expectation that the emotional impact will line up with the story’s “big events.” But Liar & Spy isn’t written that way—for me, the book’s loudest moments are in the aftershocks, places where the characters drop their guards and allow themselves to be vulnerable.

Safer and Georges have a complicated relationship. What message were you trying to send about friendships?

I’m rarely trying to send a message, but I think if there is a message to be taken from their relationship, it’s that friendship is messy sometimes.  Forgiveness may be necessary.

What inspires the quirky characters in your books?

I’m big on specificity when it comes to characters, because they usually reveal themselves in small details. But I feel the same way about actual people. Maybe it’s just how I see the world.

How do you write so convincingly in a kid’s voice and make your characters so real?

None of it is easy for me, because the discovery of the story is such an agonizing process. And finding the characters is part of finding the story—it’s all intertwined.The story is written on the characters, I think—you have to be able to read their experience in their actions and their words. And that’s why writing, all of it, is hard.

Both Liar & Spy and When You Reach Me are set in New York. Tell us about your connection to the Big Apple and why your books tend to take place here?

Ha! Well, it’s the most obvious connection:I grew up in New York City and have lived here my whole life. Observation and memory are 90 percent of my writing, and most of my observations and memories were made in New York…if I thought I could write convincingly about life in a suburb or in the country, I might do it. But so far, I can’t. The truth is that I’m always driven by what I believe I can do pretty well. Writing is terrifying enough without adding a high wire act.

What impact, if any, did winning the Newbery have on your writing?

It made me shy about writing for a while, but it also gave me confidence. Neither the shyness nor the confidence lasted long, though.

I remember running into you and your son on the upper west side a while back. I think you said you were touring middle schools. Do your kids give you inspiration—whether dialogue or stories—for your books?

I don’t draw directly from my kids’ lives, but I’m sure that living with them informs my dialogue. I also know that watching my sons navigate life sometimes taps my own memory of childhood in ways that are helpful to me as a writer. (And I’m happy to report that we found a great middle school. Five weeks in, and he’s loving it.)

Glad your son is happy with his new school. Did you have a difficult time in middle school?

Yes, in the sense that there was unrelenting name-calling by a small group of kids. I felt that I was never really safe from them. I walked around in a state of high alert. But I had one close friend (to whom Liar & Spy is dedicated), and a handful of less-close friends with whom I killed time, and some perfectly kind teachers. When I think about it carefully, I realize that the put-downs were a tiny part of my school experience. And yet they completely colored my life at the time.

Do you think you’d still be a lawyer if your then four-year-old son hadn’t dropped your laptop?

Good question. I have no idea. I wonder about things like that all the time.

What advice do you have for kids who aspire to become writers or someone who wants to write but is either scared or has no time?

Time is an interesting issue. There are many days when I don’t write at all. Sometimes I’m grocery shopping or running down the steps to the subway and something will hit me—a line of dialogue or description, or an idea about a place where my storylines might touch. Whatever it is, I stop and write it down. Often it’s the only real writing I get done that day. Other days I’m able to do much more. But there isn’t a clear relationship between how much time I have and how much I actually write. My advice is, begin.

As for fear: Almost everyone is afraid, because when you write you expose yourself to 1) the risk that you will be disappointed by your own work, and 2) the risk that others will not understand your work as you yearn for it to be understood.

In fact, these risks are more than possibilities—they’re almost certainties. But if you think about it, these things aren’t so terrifying. Disappointment is where the work begins, for every writer. So come, join us.

What are you working on now?

A middle-grade novel. I’m at that part right before the beginning.

Bloom, a seemingly regular teenager, discovers her true identity as a fairy and travels to the dimension of Magix to attend Alfea College, a much-respected fairy school, and hone her magical powers. Here, she forms friendships with five other students: carefree and charismatic Stella, Fairy of the Shining Sun; Flora, group peacemaker and Fairy of Nature; Musa, Fairy of Music and resident mystery-solver; science-savvy Tecna, Fairy of Technology; and audacious and athletic Aisha, Fairy of Waves (voiced by Keke Palmer). Calling themselves the Winx Club, the girls work hard at their studies and have fun spending time together. When threatened by evil forces, including a trio of mischief-making witches from Cloudtower Academy known as the Trix, Bloom and her cohorts transform from trendily dressed teens into winged fairies and band together to use their unique abilities to vanquish their foes. The girls often team up—and hang out—with the Specialists, a group of wizards/warriors-in-training from nearby Red Fountain School. Themes of identity, exploring one’s strengths (magical and otherwise), and friendships and romances are mixed with humor and good-versus-evil adventures.

Kids can visit Nickelodeon’s Winx website to find out more about the characters, watch videos and full episodes, take quizzes (“Which Winx are you?”), and sample a variety of online games. For newcomers to the series, a “Winx 101” option provides background on the personalities and plotlines with a click-on timeline of images and clips.

Book Tie-ins: Novels and Graphic Novels

Followers of these fashion-forward fairy friends will enjoy reading about their heroines’ adventures in two new book series that emphasize teamwork, camaraderie, and self-discovery. Random House has launched a series of fast-reading chapter books based on the show’s plot, each featuring an inviting cover image of a bright-eyed Bloom. Welcome to Alfea reveals how the ordinary sixteen-year-old protagonist discovers her hidden talents when she stumbles upon Stella, a blonde-haired girl with wings, being bullied by a bunch of gruesome creatures at the park. Wanting to help, Bloom somehow taps into her magical powers, thus discovering her true identity as a fairy. Heading off to the Magic Dimension with Stella, she settles in and makes new friends, has her first run in with the wicked witch triumvirate, and starts to truly believe in her newfound abilities. In the second volume, Bloom begins to uncover the secrets of her past, while encountering Trouble with Trix (both Random, 2012; Gr 2-5), who are determined to steal Bloom’s greatest strength, the power of the Dragon Flame. Both tales are clearly written with accessible vocabulary, concisely described action, and entertaining dialogue. Magical adventures and battles with monsters alternate with friendship issues and personal dilemmas. Each volume includes eight pages of full-color photos from the show. Series viewers will appreciate learning about or revisiting Bloom’s beginnings.

Readers with a taste for storytelling that blends succinct narrative with vibrant visuals will be drawn to Viz Media’s graphic novel series. Adorned with sherbet-hued images of the fairies and title logos that sparkle, each volume includes two stand-alone stories. Bloom’s Discovery of her identity as a fairy is recapped in the first book, along with a tale about her “First Day in Magix” and first skirmish with the Trix. In Secrets of Alfea, the fairies are getting ready to host a party for the Red Fountain boys, and it’s up to Bloom to stop the Trix from making mischief.

The Red Fountain Boys return in the second adventure, when their decision to detour from a troll-transporting mission and pay a visit to the girls ends up in disaster and they must all work together to set things right. The Magic of Friendship (all Viz Media, 2012; Gr 3-6) describes how hard-working Bloom beats out two other girls for a part-time waitressing job, and then takes on a terrifying swamp monster (and the evil Trix) with the help of her friends. The show’s mix of humor, action, and fantasy translates well into the graphic novel format. The artwork emphasizes exaggerated facial expressions for comic beats, dynamically delineates rampaging monsters and magical-forces wielding fairies, and colorfully depicts the other-worldly settings and dazzling transformations. With lithe lines and sharp angles, the illustrations have a sophisticated look, and dabs of personal drama—friendship issues and crushes—will also reel in tween readers.

Expand their Horizons

Encourage Winx Club viewers as well fans of the Disney Fairies to stretch their wings and dip into other fairy fare. Starring a feisty protagonist, The Night Fairy (Candlewick, 2010; Gr 1-5) details the adventures of Flora, a young fairy with injured wings who must learn to fend for herself in the wilds of a giantess’s (aka human woman’s) garden. Laura Amy Schlitz’s vivacious storytelling and Angela Barrett’s elegant and atmospheric artwork present an evocatively imagined fairy’s-eye view of the world, while providing a suspenseful tale that percolates with exciting danger, fortitude-testing challenges, and newfound friendships.

Beginning with Silence and Stone (2010; Gr 2-5), Kathleen Duey’s easy chapter book series, “The Faeries’ Promise,” serves as a companion to her popular “Unicorn’s Secret” series (both S & S). Alida, a young faerie princess, has been locked away in a castle for years by Lord Dunraven, a man determined to stop any contact between people and magical creatures. With the help of a daring human boy named Gavin, she makes her escape and embarks on a quest to find the rest of her family. Though she finally has the opportunity to tap into her fairy powers, danger lurks everywhere, and the two friends are continually threatened by capture. Sandara Tang’s fine-lined drawings depict the dramatic high points and add to the magical mood.

Gail Carson Levine and David Christiana’s Fairies and the Quest for Never Land (Disney, 2010; Gr 2-5) stars Gwendolyn Carlisle, a descendant of the famed Wendy Darling and latest recipient of the “kiss” necklace (actually an old button made from an acorn), given by Peter Pan to Wendy long ago and passed down for years from mother to daughter. She breathlessly awaits a magical nighttime visit, but when Peter Pan finally comes to fetch her to Never Land, things do not go as expected: not only is the evil dragon Kyto on the loose, but Gwendolyn must work hard to earn the trust of  the fairies who are determined to recapture the flame-spewing beast. A resourceful heroine, short and suspenseful chapters, and whimsical full-color artwork add up to a fun-filled, sprinkled-with-shimmer adventure. Readers may also want to check out the other well-written and handsomely illustrated entries in the duo’s “Disney Fairies” series.

Looking for more offerings to tempt fairy devotees? Check out “Gossamer Wings and Magical Charms: Tales of the Fairy Realm.”

Publication Information

REISFELD, Randi, adapt. Winx Club: Welcome to Alfea. Vol. 1. ISBN 978-0-307-97994-0.

_____. Winx Club: Trouble with Trix. Vol. 2. ISBN 978-0-307-97995-7.

ea vol: Random. 2012. pap. $4.99.

Winx Club: Volume 1: Bloom’s Discovery. ISBN 978-1-4215-4159-4.

Winx Club: Volume 2: Secrets of Alfea. ISBN 978-1-4215-4160-0.

Winx Club: Volume 3: The Magic of Friendship. ISBN 978-1-4215-4161-7.

ea vol: Viz Media. 2012. pap. $6.99.

SCHLITZ, Amy. The Night Fairy. illus. by Angela Barrett. Candlewick. 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780763636746; pap. $6.99. ISBN 9780763652951; ebook $6.99. ISBN 9780763654399.

DUEY, Kathleen. Silence and Stone. illus. by Sandara Tang. (The Faeries’ Promise Series). S & S. 2010. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9781416984566; pap. $4.99. ISBN 9781416984573; ebook $5.99. ISBN 9781442413016.

LEVINE, Gail Carson. Fairies and the Quest for Never Land. illus. by David Christiana. Disney. 2010. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-1423109358; pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-1423160120.