Authors & Illustrators

As you read this I am winging my way to Chicago, IL.  Land of Great Lakes, windy winds, and hot dogs that carry unconscionable stigmas for logical edible combinations (ketchup ONLY works on hot dogs, people).  Blogging, if my schedule is to be believed, is due to be a bit spotty for the next few [...]

You know what’s hot these days, topic-wise?  Diversity!  Or maybe just the lack thereof.  Seems its all anyone can talk about this week.  First the First Book blog reported that “at the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) meeting, hosted by President Bill Clinton, [they] announced First Book’s commitment to create a sustainable solution [...]

Later this week, kid lit fans in New York will finally be able to view “The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter,” a fascinating new exhibit at the New York Public Library curated by children’s book historian Leonard S. Marcus. Marcus was given access to the library’s vast collection of artifacts, from which he culled 250 items—including the copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that belonged to Alice Liddell, the girl for whom Lewis Carroll wrote the book.

Angela Carstensen, Adult Books for Teens blogger, had a hard time putting The Sea of Tranquility down, even after reading it all the way through. Debut author Katja Millay put the book together by gathering scribbles, random lines, and characters in her head, calling her attempt to create an outline "laughable."

Teacher librarian Matthew C. Winner, media specialist at Longfellow Elementary School in Columbia, MD, is having the year of his life. Thanks to his boundless enthusiasm for student learning and engagement, Maryland’s 2012 Outstanding User of Technology Educator can also claim a few more distinctions: Mover & Shaker, White House “Champion of Change,” and published author. Ahead of ISTE’s annual conference, Winner shared his thoughts on school libraries and his exciting plans for the future.

Attendees of SLJ’s annual Day of Dialog received an information boost from the pre-BEA event’s first panel of authors and illustrators. Moderated by Kathleen T. Isaacs, author of Picturing the World: Informational Picture Books for Children, the lively discussion offered Jim Arnosky, Jennifer Berne, Elisha Cooper, Thomas Gonzalez, and Jonah Winter the chance to share with librarians more about their creative processes, who they write for, and why they choose to create nonfiction for young readers.

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 [...]