Authors & Illustrators

Neil Gaiman's dark urban fantasy novel Neverwhere has been removed from both the school library and the required reading list at Alamogordo (NM) High School this week following the complaint of one parent, who objected to its sexual innuendos and "harsh" language, according to a report by New Mexico's local KRQE news station.

Author Lee Bennett Hopkins has pledged to give the Penn State University Libraries his 18,000-volume book collection and correspondence papers from his lifelong career in children’s literature. The children’s poetry and literature collection, valued at approximately $3.25 million, includes volumes from such authors as Nikki Grimes, Madeline L’Engle, and Maurice Sendak, many of whom have autographed their works.

The brown bear’s hat is missing, and he almost gives up all hope of ever finding it in the DVD version of I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen.

October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, when organizations nationwide unite to raise awareness on how, with education and support, bullying can be obliterated from schools and communities. SLJ has compiled a list of tools for educators and parents, which includes advice on collection development, plus news and feature articles highlighting authors’ efforts against bullying.

Mary Pope Osborne, children’s literacy advocate and bestselling author of the "Magic Tree House" series, will kick of the first annual Magic Tree House Reading Buddies Week in New York City on Friday, October 11, at the 92nd Street Y, Random House announced today. The week (October 12–19) will be a celebration of reading that pairs younger readers with older, more experienced ones.

The Puyallup Public Library in Washington State celebrated its first annual Festival of Books from September 27-28. In partnership with Fantasium Comics and Valley Arts United, the library hosted a mini-comic convention, the Fandom Dance, an art-inspired poetry contest, and a guest lecture by the acclaimed author Susan Cooper—known for her "Dark is Rising" series and recent Ghost Hawk.

In 'Boxers' and 'Saints,' two new graphic novels from the Gene Luen Yang, the author examines the Boxer Rebellion from both sides of the conflict. In this interview, the author comments, "the more I learned, the more ambivalent I felt....I could sympathize with both sides."

Librarians, publishing professionals, writers, and children’s literature scholars gathered on Friday, October 4, at Simmons College in Boston to celebrate the three winners and eight honorees of the 47th annual Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards.

Teachers in search of an entertaining nonfiction author study need look no further than Meghan McCarthy. Not only does this author/illustrator have a knack for choosing compelling events and subjects to write about, but her accessible books, injected with humor and wit, cover a wide range of curricular areas.