Looks like 39 Clues is going to be a huge series from Scholastic.  Over and over again at the ALA exhibits, I saw disappointed children walking away without a copy of the book.  But hey, they did get a really cool 39 Clues backpack! 

Dreamworks has now acquired the movie rights for the series.  And stunningly, Steven Spielberg is looking to direct!  Whoa!

The series launches in September using multiple platforms including 10 books, collectible cards, and an online game.  Each book will be written by a different author, as I blogged here in December.

I’m here at ALA enjoying the exhibits and the programs.  People keep asking me what great children’s lit sessions I have been to, but I have been attending library administration sessions mostly.  Today though, I am heading to see Dr. T Berry Brazelton and Sally Ride in their big programs.  Hurrah!  I am also hoping to score the final two ARCs on my very edited list. 

I briefly attended the Kidlit blogging get-together last night.  Very nice to see familiar faces once again and have time to chat. 

My sons got some rocking loot at the exhibits, including monkey shaped sling shots that scream as they fly through the air, dragon eggs, folding rulers, and all sorts of other strange but delightful things.  We head back for more today!

Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements.

A classic child reaction to vegetables is looked at with great detail and humor in the book.  The young boy at the center of the episode knows that horror lurks every Tuesday night in the form of peas.  And he is expected to eat THREE!  From the very touch of the pea on his tongue, his body goes into a series of rejections of the vegetable’s presence.  All ending with a gulp and a realization that peas aren’t so bad after all.  But still, there is the horror of Wednesday night’s broccoli to despair about.

There is so much to enjoy about this book.  The illustrations are an intriguing and fun mix of photographs, and brown paper.  The text is perfect for reading aloud and the humor is thick and laugh-out-loud funny for both adults and kids.  Adults will particularly enjoy the asides of the two parents who are not at all impressed with the boy’s display but not angry either.  A great tone to set in a picture book!

Recommended for both picky eaters and kids who will eat anything because of the great sense of humor.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move by JoAnn Early Macken, illustrated by Pam Paparone

This poetic book takes a look at the fascinating world of seeds that fly through the air.  I found this an especially appropriate book as my windows are filled with drifting cottonwood fluff, so thick it looks like a heavy snow in the air.  Children will enjoy finding seeds that they know, like dandelions and maple tree seeds.  Some of the seeds will be new, like the basswood or touch-me-nots which have interesting journeys they make. 

The marriage of poetry and science is such a winning one here.  Macken has created a book that doesn’t shy away from making nature whimsical and fascinating.  Paparone’s illustrations add to the whimsical nature of the book too.

Whether you have cottonwood fluff floating by or not, this is the perfect season to enter into a discussion of seeds and to try your hand at spinning maple seed propellers to the ground.  Recommended for ages 4-7.

Savvy by Ingrid Law

In Mibs’ family, turning thirteen is the most special of birthdays.  And Mibs is days away from turning thirteen.  In her family, almost everyone gets their savvy on their thirteenth birthday, a special power that they then need to figure out how to harness and use.  One of her brothers, Fish, has the power to control wind, and on his thirteenth birthday he created a hurricane.  That’s why they now live far far from any water in Kansas.  As Mibs’ birthday approaches, her father is in a terrible accident that leaves him unconscious.  Mibs goes from hoping for a powerful savvy that rivals her brother’s to just hoping that her savvy can help her father recover.  On her birthday, she decides she has to help her father and hides aboard a bible-selling bus.  All is fine until the bus turns the wrong way, heading directly away from the hospital her father is in.

With her delicate touch on the fantasy elements, Law has created a world where anything seems possible, a world that invites readers of all genres to enter and stay awhile.  Her setting is vivid, the characters engaging (both those with powers and without), and her writing dances along with a freshness that is wonderful to experience.  My only complaint is that it had to end.

Readers will also be sad to leave the world of Savvy behind, but will be consoled with hints at the end of following books to come.  Highly recommended as a read-aloud book for classrooms, this book will generate wonderful discussions.  I’d also happily give it to almost any reader ages 9-12.  They will thank you and wait with you for the next one.

The Phoenix Award has to be one of the most inventive children’s book awards out there.  It is an award for the author of a book published originally in English that did not win a major award at the time of its original publication twenty years earlier.  So this year is the 1989/2009 award.

And the winner is Francesca Lia Block, author of Weetzie Bat.  Golly, I remember reading Weetzie Bat when it first came out.  The amazing freedom of Block’s vision and language.  Her ability to take the mundane and make it mystical.  It was the most eye-opening book I had ever read. 

One honor book was also selected:  Sylvia Cassedy, for her book Lucie Babbidge’s House.

Sadly, the LA Times has announced that author and illustrator Tasha Tudor has died at age 92.  Her first book was Pumpkin Moonshine, published in 1938.  Illustrator of nearly 40 books, Tudor was runner up for the Caldecott medal twice, once in 1945 for her Mother Goose and again in 1957 for 1 is One.

I personally consider her illustrations of The Secret Garden and A Little Princess to be the best ever.  They are the ones that come easily into my mind whenever I think of those beloved stories.  I must have read her version of both books dozens of times as a child.  They were favorites I returned to again and again.

Professor Bumble and the Monster of the Deep by Daniel Napp.

Every Monday Professor Bumble headed to the lake to go swimming with his friend Beluga, a goldfish.  But one day, a grumpy Otter is already at the lake fishing and tells them that they can’t swim because they will scare away the fish.  When they insist on swimming anyway, the Otter tells them that they will be attacked by the Monster of the Deep!  Thinking of their safety, Professor Bumble stays on shore to watch for the monster while Beluga swims.  But when Beluga sinks below the surface, Bumble must rescue him despite the danger.

This book is pure fun.  Readers will recognize what is about to happen, but it is all the more delightful for that.  There are so many really nice touches throughout the book.  One of my favorites is that Beluga swims in the lake IN his bowl.  This book reads so well aloud, it will be perfect for ending a day at school, but I wouldn’t use it to quite down a class.  It’s just too much silly fun for that.

Recommended as a read aloud for preschoolers through second graders. 

What a treat to sit down to a list of children’s book award winners and see four of your favorite books of the year as the winners!  Very good work awards panel!

Here are the winners:

Nonfiction: The Wall by Peter Sis

Fiction & Poetry: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Picture Book: At Night by Jonathan Bean

Special Citation: The Arrival by Shaun Tan

The honor books are equally great, though there are a few still on my list to read. 

Nonfiction Honor Books

Frogs by Nic Bishop

What to Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley

Fiction & Poetry Honor Books

Shooting the Moon by Frances O’Roark Dowell (placed a hold on this one right away!)

Savvy by Ingrid Law (moving to the top of my pile)

Picture Book Honor Books

Fred Stays with Me by Nancy Coffelt

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Society has decided that while abortion is not moral, deciding to unwind a teen before their 18th birthday is.  Teens get nominated for a program in a variety of ways but the same thing happens to all of them, their body parts are taken and used as donor organs for other people.  This way they are not truly dead, but still in some way live on.  Connor discovers that his parents have decided to unwind him because of his rebellious nature.  Risa is a ward of the state and her piano playing is just not quite good enough to save her from being unwound.  Lev has known his entire life he is going to be unwound because of his family’s religion.  All three of their lives come crashing together on an interstate highway as they head off to their unwinding.

In this novel, Shusterman has created a science fiction world that examines the abortion debate in our own society, taking it to an extreme that sheds light on our own moral questioning and convictions.  His world is horrific in its logic, haunting in its simplicity, and amazingly gripping and terrifying. 

The writing is taut with tension most of the novel, making it almost impossible to put down.  Shusterman’s three main characters are as different as people can be, but all three are human and interesting.  Many of the characters in the novel are surprising and none of them are stereotypes.

Highly recommended for science fiction fans, particularly those who enjoy a good dystopian setting.  I would also recommend this to teens who enjoy books that ask ethical questions, it will open their eyes to the fact that science fiction can read this way without aliens or laser guns.  Appropriate for ages 13-16.