An article titled It’s no wonder boys aren’t reading – the children’s book market is run by women is, as you might expect, causing quite a stir. Publishing Perspectives wrote a piece on the article. Bloggers have responded as well, including Waking Brain Cells with a post titled Boys, Reading, and Mysogynistic Crap.

Just so you know, it’s right around the corner – May 12-18. Click here for all the details.

Original artwork auctions are great for children’s literature folks. Those with the funds can buy, those without the funds can still enjoy the scenery. And there’s some incredible scenery, created by the likes of Mo Willems, Marla Frazee, Jon Klassen, Carin Berger and more. The best part is that the whole thing is for a good cause.  Get the scoop over at A Fuse #8 Production.

You may have missed the Eisner Award Nominations:

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)
Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas, by Philippe Coudray (TOON Books)
The Big Wet Balloon, by Liniers (TOON Books)
Itsy Bitsy Hellboy, by Art Baltazar and Franco (Dark Horse)
Odd Duck, by Cecil Castellucci and Sara Varon (First Second)
Otto’s Backwards Day, by Frank Cammuso (with Jay Lynch) (TOON Books)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)
The Adventures of Superhero Girl, by Faith Erin Hicks (Dark Horse)
Hilda and the Bird Parade, by Luke Pearson (Nobrow)
Jane, the Fox, and Me, by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault (Groundwood)
The Lost Boy, by Greg Ruth (Graphix/Scholastic)
Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, vol. 2, edited by David Petersen, Paul Morrissey, and Rebecca Taylor (Archaia/BOOM!)
Star Wars: Jedi Academy, by Jeffrey Brown (Scholastic)

My picks? Go Odd Duck! Go Hilda and the Bird Parade!

And in case you missed the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards:

E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD AWARD – MIDDLE READER
Flora and Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo, K.G. Campbell (Illus.) (Candlewick)

E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD AWARD – PICTURE BOOK
The Day the Crayons Quit, by Drew Daywalt, Oliver Jeffers (Illus.) (Philomel)

Some good choices here.

Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus by Tom Angleberger (August 12, 2014)

The wonderful (and insanely popular) Origami Yoda series comes to an end (for now at least) with this book. It’s been a good run. Click here to read Tom Angleberger to Fold Origami Yoda Series at Publishers Weekly.

Have you read the blog Pen & Oink? Fans of picture books and illustration should add it to their list. They recently visited the studio of none other than Caldecott Medalist Paul O. Zelinsky. It’s wonderful. Also, there’s something called a Zelinskograph.

We’re entering the last throes of National Poetry Month, and it’s been fun checking out all the book spine poetry that students have been doing. I especially like this one, tweeted by Stacy Dillon (@mytweendom)

Double Feature Time!

I like Easter. A good day. I like it even more now that it’s become tradition for the first family to host a read aloud during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. First up, we have the President reading Where the Wild Things Are:

For our second video, the First Lady reads My Garden by Kevin Henkes. This is a good choice. The Henk!

(Thanks to Phil Nel for the links)