Authors & Illustrators

More than 30 years after it was published, Judy Blume's YA novel Tiger Eyes has been adapted for the big screen. Directed by Lawrence Blume, the author's son, the quiet film stars Willa Holland as Davey and Amy Jo Johnson as her mother, both reeling from the results of a tragic shooting. The gorgeous landscape of northern New Mexico serves as a perfect backdrop to the long-awaited adaptation, also available via video on demand. Kent Turner reviews it for SLJ.

A story of familial bonds in which a 12-year-old girl spends the summer with her grandparents who are harvesting wheat in the Midwest.

Oh, like I was going to start off with anything else this week.  Dahl was robbed! During BEA, one of the women of the hour was our own Monica Edinger (who blogged about the experience here).  Her upcoming book Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad is so remarkable that it is physically [...]

Katherine Applegate’s Newbery winner, The One and Only Ivan,, is a heart-wrenching tale that reminds us that every animal has the right to a safe place called home. Be sure to read the starred review of the audiobook from Recorded Books.

On June 7, Tiger Eyes premiered in select theaters nationwide and was released simultaneously on Video On Demand and iTunes. Co-written by Judy and Lawrence, who also directed, this film is the first adaptation of one of the iconic author's novels. Actress Amy Jo Johnson joined the Blumes in a Q & A session with the audience at the movie's premiere at the AMC Theaters in Times Square, New York City.

Simply put, "The pictures tell the story," says David Wiesner. The three-time Caldecott Medal winner Wiesner shared his thoughts on visual storytelling,—along with fellow panelists, Lizi Boyd, Oliver Jeffers, Matt Phelan, and Chris Raschka—at SLJ's 2013 Day of Dialog held May 29 at Columbia University.

Michelle Perera, assistant director of the Rancho Cucamonga Library (CA) and 2013 Mover & Shaker, has broken amazing new ground. Her efforts to expand programming, infrastructure, and professional development have garnered grant funding and awards, and her plan to build interactive exhibits for children—now trademarked as the Play and Learn Islands—is being expanded to other libraries. In this interview, Perera shares with us her inspirations and passions, and some of the secrets behind Rancho Cucamonga’s success.

Capstone Publishing has created different ways that the library community can help the children and school libraries affected by the recent tornado in Moore, OK. The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation’s Minigrant Program has awarded 59 grants to teachers and librarians in 29 states. The World Almanac for Kids Online has been relaunched by Infobase Learning to include a new streamlined interface and new content. Benjamin Alire Sáenz won a Lambda Award for his acclaimed Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe in the LGBT Children’s/Young Adult category.

Morning, fellow plebes!  And isn’t the weather just fine and dandy these last few days?  It has been in New York anyway.  Which is to say, it feels like we briefly stole San Francisco’s temperatures for our own use this week.  Giving it back is going to be awful.  To take my mind off that, [...]