Kids Lit
Books and More for Children and Teens

CBC News: New prizes for kiddie lit, kiddie TV, announced

The Canadian Children's Book Centre and TD Bank have announced a new award for children's book authors that will be awarded next fall for the first time. The $60,000 in prize money makes it the highest prize for children's lit in Canada.

Via places for writers.

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Halloween Online

One of the largest Halloween sites online, this site offers decorating, food, music, and much more to make your Halloween even spookier.

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Compy 386!!

Strong Bad is a phenomenon on the Net. He is featured in a serious of cartoons answering his email. In this one, Strong Bad has written a children's book. A sad, sick children's book, but what other kind would Strong Bad write?

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Speak (2004)

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson has been made into a movie. I have heard good things about it, including that it is faithful to the book.

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Pumpkin Carving; Flash | Metafilter

Metafilter has a pumpkin carving flash site that is great for kids. There are a couple of others listed in the comments, but the one mentioned in the original post is the easiest for kids to play with.

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Guardian Unlimited Books | By genre | Young adult fiction: Oct 24

This article from England takes a look at the new field of crossover novels that are appealing to both children and adults. It has some new items for me to add to my list of future reads.

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NPR : 'Lizard Motel' Weighs Children's Reading Habits

All Things Considered had on Barbara Feinberg speaking about her book, Welcome to Lizard Motel: Children, Stories and the Mystery of Making Things Up. Her book is about the dark reality books being assigned in schools.

Via joannejacobs.com.

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Blogs for Kids

RSS Specifications blog has this post about using blogs with kids and the benefits that they will derive from it.

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Boing Boing: Kids who support Kerry threatened with expulsion

Shame, shame, shame on a Wisconsin public school stopping kids from expressing their political opinion! I wonder how much of it had to do with Bush's requirements for supportive crowds.

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Boston.com / A&E / Books / British fantasy is not just for kids

Something that most of us who love children's and YA books would agree with! This article takes a look at the history of British children's literature, the appeal of authors like Phillip Pullman, and the new appeal of adult fantasy by Susanna Clarke.

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Indigo's Star by Hilary McKay (0-689-86563-5)

A second visit to the wonderful family in Saffy's Angel, Indigo's Star focuses more on the two younger children, Rose and Indigo and their friendship with an American boy who comes to spend the school term with his grandmother in England. The rest of the family is there as well, forgetful Eve, Caddy and her many suitors, Saffy and her best friend Sarah, and even the ever-absent father of the family, Bill.

If you enjoyed the first book, you will love this one. It has the same charm, humor and joy to it. It also has a wonderful cover, unlike the original book, reflecting the modern setting and the top of Indigo's head.

Recommend this to boys and girls alike. It will lead them to the first one and hopefully get them past that cover.

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Tending to Grace by Kimberly Newton Fusco (0-375-82862-1)

This debut novel for teens is a real gem. It is the story of Cornelia, a teen who has been forced to take care of her mother. Cornelia has defined herself by the way she fixes things for her mother. But then when her mother runs off with a boyfriend, she dumps Cornlia off at her Aunt Agatha's house. Agatha does not need the same sort of care that Cornelia's mother did and Cornelia must now find her own way. Added in to the mix is the fact that Cornelia doesn't speak because of a stutter.

Both Agatha and Cornelia are great female characters. Agatha is not the caregiver that readers might be expecting as a foil to Cornelia's mother. Her broken-down truck, tipping-over outhouse, and messy house don't seem like the right place for Cornelia to find peace, but it makes it that much more believable and authentic when she does.

The book goes by much too quickly. I wanted to stay in the messy, vibrant life of Agatha and the book-filled, angry life of Cornelia. Recommend this to girls who will enjoy the language, the spareness and the journey.

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foe romeo: A creative generation has a post about a report on children from the UK and their online activity. The most important piece follows:

"Even more interestingly, the study found that 17% of young people have sent pictures or stories to a website and "online creativity can be encouraged through the very experience of using the internet." That is, the more time kids spend online, the more likely they are to produce their own content. And interaction breeds interaction. Does that mean we can safely assume that as internet usage increases its media timeshare, more and more people will become creative producers as well as consumers?"

This is part of what I always thought the Internet could produce in its users. That if you use it enough, you will be prompted to start contributing yourself. Technologies like blogs and wikis are making it even easier for kids to participate and showcase their creativity.

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The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding (0-439-54656-7)

This amazing teen novel has a setting that is completely captivating and overwhelming: a gas-lit London filled with fog and all sort of monstrous horrors.

This London is filled with wych-kin, monsters that suddenly appeared in London after the bombings during the war and have taken over a section of London. Thaniel is a wych-hunter, who hunts down the wych-kin when they begin to encroach on other sections of London. But there are more horrors in store for Thaniel when he finds Alaizabel Cray who is possessed by another spirit named Thatch. Who is Alaizabel and how did she come to be possessed?

It is one of the most terrifying novels for teens that I have ever read and also one of the best written and most fascinating. What a combination to be able to offer horror fans! They will be unable to put it down.

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The New York Times > Technology > Circuits > At a Click, a Clique of the Uncool

An interesting piece on the world of websites created to promote squips, the device central to Be More Cool, a novel for teens by Ned Vizzini. The best part is that kids who are interested are given a chance to contribute material to the sites.

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LISNews.com | The Very Hungry Caterpillar turns 35

LISNews links to an article about the 35th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

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New York Post Online Edition: entertainment has a very nice interview with Walter Dean Myers who has just released his 80th book, Here in Harlem.

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Charlotte Observer | 10/22/2004 | Filmmakers take approving look at the political Seuss

Independent Lens, a PBS program, will be showing "The Political Dr. Seuss" on October 26th. It is a look at the politics within Seuss' picture books and how his politics progressed through his life.

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TownOnline.com - Wayland Town Crier - Opinion & Letters

Gary Burton, the Superintendent of Wayland Public Schools, has written an opinion piece stating that reading is the number one skill children learn in school. In his argument, he has several wonderful things to say about what reading brings to children's lives.

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LeGuin returns to young adult fiction with 'Gifts'

One of the greatest fantasy writers for young adults returns with Gifts. The new novel has gotten good reviews and serves as the first book in a new series.

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Runny Babbit; A Billy Sook; Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein

"HarperCollins Children's Books announced today the March 2005 publication of Runny Babbit, an exciting new book by the incomparable Shel Silverstein. Completed before his death in 1999, this collection of poems and drawings was a work in progress for over 20 years and is as ground-breaking, insightful, witty, and wondrous as Shel Silverstein's imagination. Runny Babbit is destined to be a classic for readers of all ages."

Woo hoo!

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DesMoinesRegister.com has a nice article on Tamora Pierce, author of the new Trickster's Queen. Pierce speaks about why she writes for young adults and why she primarily writes female heroes.

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Getting teens to read

A nice glimpse into programs being offered during Teen Read Week at libraries, including raffles, candy, and movies.

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Maud Newton: Blog has a piece about Bill O'Reilly's new children's book and the many awful reviews it has received so far that include excerpts from the book that are strange and frightening.

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No Child Left - Committed to Repeal of NCLB/Helter-Skelter

This site is committed to repealing or overturning No Child Left Behind. It offers news, articles, and cartoons supporting its cause.

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Scholastic Unveils Study on Effective School Libraries

Scholastic Library Publishing has released studies that prove that school libraries have a positive effect on student achievement levels. No duh!

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BostonHerald.com - the Edge: Tricky treats: Celebrate Halloween with spook-tacular stories and crafts

A short list of Halloween books plus some crafts to do with kids.

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Corante > Copyfight > Disney Caught Pirating from Public Domain -- and Children!

Copyfight has this article on the fact that Disney is not honoring royalties owed to Great Ormond Street, a children's hospital in London that receives the royalties from Peter Pan. Disney published the new book Peter and the Starcatchers by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry. Disney denies that there is a valid copyright on Peter Pan in the U.S.

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The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan (0-375-82845-1)

David Levithan wrote a utopian fantasy in Boy Meets Boy. Now he has written an achingly real novel in verse that is the linked stories of twenty teens who all attend the same high school. It is about love, life, beliefs, and being. It features girls, boys, gay and straight.

I believe that this is one of the best verse novels yet. The poetry itself sings, adding additional meaning in word play and creatively broken lines. It is true poetry rather than a novel broken into stanzas.

Share this with older teens who appreciate words and books. Both gay and straight kids will find people in the book who are just like them and others who are very different from them but somehow feel the same way. It is a celebration of diversity and humanity in one.

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'Hamlet' too hard? Try a comic book

The Christian Science Monitor offers this look at both sides of the graphic novel debate: do they hurt academics or help reach certain students?

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The National Book Foundation has announced the finalists for the 2004 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti
Godless by Pete Hautman
Harlem Stomp! by Laban Carrick Hill
The Legend of Buddy Bush by Shelia P. Moses
Luna by Julie Anne Peters

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Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini (0786809957)

Jeremy is a teen who is definitely not cool. He has friends, but he doesn't have any luck with girls. But then Jeremy hears about a new pill that contains a nanocomputer that will interface with his brain and make him more cool. Stealing from his aunt, he get the money together for the pill and buys his "squip". Now he has a voice in his mind that leads him through liaisons with girls, dresses him in cool clothes, and helps him remember his lines in the play.

This modern story offers up some real issues cloaked in sex and humor. What happens when society creates something that fundamentally changes you? What is the squip and what is you? Who or what is making the decisions in your life? This book is for teens only, not younger kids. It has a lot of sexuality and swearing as well as some drug use. But for older teens, this is a great look into a future that may be here before we know it.

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Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce (0-06-073330-6)

What would you do if you found a bag full of money, but only had seventeen days to spend it? A bag filled with over 200,000 pounds falls at Damian's feet. Damian believes that it was sent by God in answer to a prayer, but discovers that the money causes more problems than it does help.

This is a charming tale about morals, sudden wealth and ethical dilemmas. It is a story that easily leads to discussions about what kids would do if this happened to them. The story has humor and a wonderful main character in Damian. Damian is made even more vivid due to his obsession with saints after his mother's death and his visions. Share this one.

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Arthur's Buddy Buster Getting Spinoff Show

Starting this week, Buster the rabbit gets his own spinoff show, Postcards. The goal of the show is to show different cultures around the world through Buster's travels.

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Investor's Business Daily: Breaking News

Cheerios and First Book made a pledge to donate books to low-income children in Kansas City. The number of books was based on how many laps Jeff Green and the Cheerios team completed in Sunday's NASCAR race. It would be 11,266 books if Green finished the race and then they would double that if he finished in the top ten. Green didn't finish in the top ten, but Cheerios will be donating the full 22,962 books anyway.

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Children's Corner: 'Frog and Toad' still leaps off the page

A nice piece on the 25th Anniversary of Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel.

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Bismarck Tribune Online - Bismarck, ND

The North Dakota State Historical Society is republishing classic children's books from their collections. This year, they are releasing a 1943 version of 3 Little Kittens. In the last two years they have released an 1888 version of Red Riding Hood and an 1896 version of The Night Before Christmas.

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Ypulse: Media for the next generation

This blog is subtitled, "Daily news and commentary about Generation Y for media and marketing professionals." It certainly has information and links to sites of interest to librarians working with teens.

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NEWSARAMA

This site offers graphic novel and comic book news and even better, it has a feed!

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Guardian Unlimited Books | Special Reports | Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2004

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff has won the 2004 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.

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The Reluctance to Read | Culture & Lifestyle | Deutsche Welle |

"Three years ago, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Pisa Study found that German students scored below average in reading when compared to their peers in other OECD countries. According to the findings, almost half of 15-year-olds said they never read for their own pleasure."

Looks like Germany is facing similar problems with the youth of their country not reading. They are taking it enough to heart to reform their school system though. No such approach here in the U.S.

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The New York Times -- 'Life As We Know It': What (Sex) Boys (Sex) Think (Sex) About

The New York Times reviews Life as We Know It, the new series based on the teen novel Doing It by Burgess.

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Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis (0-385-32307-7)

This book has quite a buzz around it with words like Printz and Coretta Scott King flying about. It certainly deserves it!

Luther's mother, the Sarge, owns not only group homes but also slum housing, doing a lot of the business under the table and on the wrong side of the law. Luther runs one of her group homes and finds himself caught in her web. As Luther discovers just how trapped he is, the reader meets a cast of wonderful characters like Sparky, Luther's best friend, and Dontay Gaddy, the sleazy lawyer. The book builds as the reader realizes how much trouble Luther is in long before he does.

This book is pure fun to read, speaking to serious issues with a broad sense of humor. Luther is an incredible character, a real teenage boy who lusts, loves, whines, sighs, and eventually learns to really live.

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Samantha Comes to Life

American Girl presents their first full-length, live-action movie based on their popular dolls. Samantha, their most popular doll and book series, is featured in this film that will be shown on the WB network during Thanksgiving week and then released on DVD and video.

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MSNBC - Teen surfer gets back on board after losing arm in shark attack

The Today Show featured 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton who was attacked by a shark while surfing in Hawaii. She has written a book about her story, Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family and Fighting to Get Back on the Board.

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Wanda Gag remains the cat's meow

A renaissance is occurring for Wanda Gag, with her home being open to the public and her out of print books being reissued by the University of Minnesota Press.

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deseretnews.com | An eye for detail — Children's author/illustrator Jan Brett says life is about the possibilities

A very nice piece on Jan Brett, which offer insight into her creative process. She encourages children to both read and draw, a winning combo.

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Your Child Nutrition eSource

This is the official site for the American School Food Service Association. It offers links to interesting articles about nutrition. National School Lunch Week is coming up this month, so it is a great time to show people this online resource.

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A curious future without wizards

Australian children's book author, Odo Hirsch takes on Harry Potter head on with his new book Will Buster and the Gelmet Helmet.

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Children's Book Week

Children's Book Week runs November 15-21. The theme this year is Let's Book.

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Books By Brown

Official site for the author of Mack Made Movies and the new Kid Blink Beats the World.

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