When I was a children’s librarian with NYPL’s Children’s Center at 42nd Street I conducted a lot of class visits with older kids (ages 9-12, usually). Sometimes these would be groups of kids learning how to do research using the library’s resources. For them I covered the usual databases and image library stuff, but also [...]
S is for Sea Glass By Richard Michelson Illustrated by Doris Ettlinger Sleeping Bear Press ISBN: 978-1585368624 $15.95 Ages 3-8 On shelves now Every small publisher needs a staple. Something to keep them going through hard times. Years ago Sleeping Bear Press hit on the notion of writing books with the [letter] is for [word] [...]
Hi ho. Time to round-up what Jules and I have been up to over at our Wild Things blog (book promotion for bloggers means more blogging, you see). Here’s the long and short of what you may have missed: Wacked out 1970s picture books. Maurice Sendak’s actual first book (and it’s not what you think). [...]
CALL FOR PROPOSALS Call for Proposals Outlawed: The Naked Truth About Censored Literature for Young People Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature Henry Madden Library at California State University, Fresno April 10-12, 2015 While most people are familiar with attempts to censor children’s and young adult literature, the problem of censorship continues [...]
Okay . . . soooooooo this. Look at this, oh ye children’s librarians. Breathe this. LIVE this! Become this. So naturally I had to find out who she is. Go to YouTube and she has numerous videos under the moniker OoeyGooeyLady. Almost all her videos date back two years. Real name? Lisa Murphy. And as [...]
The Madman of Piney Woods By Christopher Paul Curtis Scholastic ISBN: 978-0-545-63376-5 $16.99 Ages 9-12 On shelves September 30th No author hits it out of the park every time. No matter how talented or clever a writer might be, if their heart isn’t in a project it shows. In the case of Christopher Paul Curtis, [...]
Media Alert For Thursday, September 18th 2014 Contact: Alexandra Pearson 212.255.8455/ Alexandra@rosengrouppr.com Ninth Annual Carle Honors Celebrating Early Literacy and the Art of the Picture Book 2014 gala to fête author/illustrator Jerry Pinkney and other luminaries in the field On Thursday, September 18, hundreds of children’s book artists, authors and advocates will come [...]
I was trying to remember the last theater review I wrote for this site. At first I thought it might be the review I did way way back in the day for the staged adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline where the main character was played by a heavyset middle aged woman (it worked quite well, [...]
When I originally read The Riverman by Aaron Starmer this year it blew me away. I couldn’t think of anything to really compare it to. Entirely original, wonderful and strange, it has remained quite clear in my memory ever since. Yet I was shocked when I learned that it was just the first in a [...]
Princess Sparkle-Heart Gets a Makeover By Josh Schneider Clarion (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-544-14228-2 Ages 3-7 On shelves now Sometimes I’ll just sit back and think about how the advent of the internet has affected literary culture. I don’t mean book promotion or reviews or any of that. I’m talking about [...]
I had the pleasure of seeing just the most delightful show the other day. The Snow Queen’s run is ending, but you can at least enjoy this little number from it. It’s been caught in my head all week. I bestow that honor now upon you. New York News And the award for best set [...]
Howdy do. As per usual I’m going to direct you this morning to that lovely little Wild Things website where Jules Danielson and I have been posting the stories that got cut from our upcoming book Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature. If you haven’t already seen them you might like to read [...]
When you grow up with a mother who is a knitter, there are certain facts in life that you simply have to accept. Knitting all the time, everywhere, is the norm. A bookshelf full of different kinds of yarn is not weird. Fiber Fests are de rigeur and knowing the difference between a gossip wheel [...]
Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegretation By Duncan Tonatiuh Harry N. Abrams $18.95 ISBN: 978-1419710544 Ages 7-12 On shelves now If I blame my childhood education for anything I suppose it would be for instilling in me the belief that the history worth learning consisted of a set of [...]
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