Kids Lit
Books and More for Children and Teens

Spank! Youth and Teen Culture Online is a site that offers teens online forums, articles, website directories, and more. Teens contribute to the site via comments and forum postings.

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The Kids' Pages at the Enoch Pratt Free Library is an amazing website that opens with a silly video of a purple cat. The site offers e-stories, lists of great books, library programming, and cool links. it has a completely kid-focused feel to it that I haven't seen before in children's library sites. Wonderful!

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Multnomah County Library's Readers' Choice! is a great collection of booklists for kids. From infants through eighth graders, the lists cover specific ages, themes, and award winners.

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Bloomsbury USA has a children's section where you can see their new releases and search their catalog by age.

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Amelia Rules is a great graphic novel series for children. But don't take my word for it! Visit their dynamic site where you can read a sample, examine reviews, and of course buy the books.

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StopTextBully is a site that focuses on bullying done by phone, chat, and email. They have specific sections that cover the different types of text bullying that happen. Then the site offers tips on getting the bully to stop, what to do if it doesn't stop, who to talk to, and prevention techniques.

Text bullying is becoming more and more common for kids. From rude flaming on blogs to threats by email, adults in their lives need to know how to respond to this issue.

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CBC Kids Games offers fun online games for kids like snowboarding, BMX biking, handball, surfing, and trampoline. They are all safe for children, so this is a great site to send kids to when they want to play games online.

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Rowling may keep writing for children

I was thrilled to see Rowling's vehement response to being told that she was going to become a writer of adult books:

"Absolute garbage! I have said many times that if I remain a children's author forever - which I may well do - I will never see this as being a lesser, easier or less 'serious' career than writing for adults," she wrote on her personal website.

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The Christian Science Monitor has an article on When the very young write that first big book. The article features the latest teen author sensation, Helen Oyeyemi, author of The Icarus Girl.

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Books to Sing: Song-Based Picture Books is an article by Sue McCleaf Nespeca from the last Book Links. The article offers reasons to incorporate singing into story time as well as a list of recommended titles.

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Childsake -- Nature and the Environment is a lovely website dedicated to children's books on nature and the environment. The site lists over 300 books for children by topic. You can also browse new entries as well as the featured topic of the month.

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If you are doing storytimes for preschool children, either as a parent or as a professional, you need to know about the recent research and how to incorporate it. A good place to start is Storytimes for Preschool Children Can Incorporate Curren Research by Ellen Fader.

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I have finished the latest Harry Potter book and completely loved it! If you are looking for a place to discuss the new book head to the Leaky Lounge. Click on Flourish and Blotts and then The Princely Nook to discuss the latest book.

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STUFF: The lion, the witch and the tattoo offers a warm and personal glimpse into Margaret Mahy, author of many many books for children from wild and wonderful picture books to magical and creepy books for older readers.

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London Free Press: Gritty books appeal to teens is a look at Canadian Annick Press which publishes amazing books like Secrets in the Fire. Their focus is on getting teens to read books that are more reflective and well-written but also speak to today's serious issues. Knowing how great Secrets in the Fire is, I am happy to say that they are achieving their mission.

I must add that I do not agree with their premise that graphic novels are not literature and that we need to start fussing about WHAT kids are reading. I think that time and time again we have seen that the act of reading is what is important, especially for boys who will only read comics. Just let them read, but let us as children's professionals make sure that when they are ready to try something deeper, it is right there waiting for them.

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Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson, author of some wonderful psychological fiction for teens, including A Fast and Brutal Wing and Target, has a new website.

Via cynsations

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Kenneth Oppel, author of Airborn, has now added the sequel, Skybreaker, to his amazing website. Visit the Skybreaker section to get a glimpse into what will happen in the sequel.

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Wrecked by E. R. Frank will be published in October. Frank, author of Friction and America, has once again tapped into the teen psyche and created a real page-turner.

Anna is a teen who gets into a car accident where her best friend is hurt badly and another girl is killed. Anna believes that it is her fault, even though there is evidence that the girl who died was drunk and had swerved into Anna's lane. The book compellingly reveals Anna's past through her recovery from her accident and her post traumatic stress disorder. I enjoyed the fact that Anna and the other teens in the book were not perfect. They drink, lie and are really alive. Additionally, the adults in the book are complex and vivid. Both of Anna's parents are wonderfully drawn.

All of this adds up to a book that kids will really enjoy. The book would work for reluctant readers, because the pace is fast and the story is riveting. Recommend this one to teens who enjoy reality-based fiction and they will find great writing too.

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Science Fiction and Fantasy Bibliography is an online bibliography of books for children. Head directly to the advanced search section where you can search by title, author, or series. Even nicer, you can specify specific genre type, nationality, age level, grade level, and how highly recommended the books are. Only after you have done one of these searches will you realize how large the bibliography is! It has been compiled by Linda Day from the University of Guelph Library who has done an incredibly detailed job.

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ALA | School & Public Library Cooperative Activities is an ALSC site that demonstrates best practices in school and public library cooperation. The site offers information on existing cooperative programs, a bibliography and a collection of exemplary web sites.

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Read Aloud Virginia has a great website filled with information and inspiration for parents to read aloud to their children. "It's the most important 20 minutes of your child's day." Hurrah!

The site offers links to read aloud information, tips on reading aloud, and several lists of great books to read aloud.

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Kidscape offers some great classic logic games online. Games include hangman, tetris, car jam, tic-tac-toe, and tile games.

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Scholar's Blog is a new blog that focuses on fantasy fiction from Tolkien to Rowling.

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Alfred Martino: Author, Entrepreneur is the author of the nwe Pinned, a young adult novel about wrestling. The book has been nominated for YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults and the Quills Award.

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A little wild about a supersized teen

Let the attacks on Rowling's writing officially commence! I am always amazed at how badly some people take this woman's success. While I agree that it would have been nice to have a protagonist who was not a white male, it is too late to bemoan that fact now. The article ends with:

"It isn't mindless knocking of someone extraordinarily successful. If anything, it would probably help Rowling to be seen as a normal person like the rest of us who can make mistakes. If we make her more human, perhaps she'll feel able to come out of the prison we have put her in by having been so ridiculous and phony in our envy-tinged, blindly accepting reception of everything she does. Let's ease the person who wrote three of the best children's books ever down off her pedestal, so she can breathe."

Yeah, right, it's for her own good that she needs to be knocked down a few pegs.

Hope everyone enjoys their new copies of Harry Potter on Saturday!

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The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce is due out in November. I was lucky enough to snag an ARC at ALA.

This novel returns us to the beloved characters of Briar, Daja, Sandry and Tris who have already been featured in two cycles of books by Pierce. The four of them are reunited after their separate travels but they no longer have the same connection, magical and personal, than they did before. They worry that all of the experiences they have had in their travels will change the way that the other three view them, so they shut themselves off from one another.

Sandry, a wealthy noble, needs to visit some land holdings she inherited from her mother in a neighboring land and the other three are sent along as her escort. When they arrive in Namorn, they find a royal court seething with intrigue where the Empress wishes only for Sandry and her friends to remain there forever.

This novel is wonderful filled with great adventure, magic, complex villains, and favorite characters. The settings are vivid and the situations are complicated. Recommend this to teens who have read the first two series and make sure to purchase it where Tamora Pierce's books are popular. It is sure to be a well-received addition.

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Game On: Games in Libraries is a blog that focuses on offering video games and programming involving video games in public libraries. Our library will begin offering programming for teens using consoles in the fall. We already circ PC games and will consider doing console games in the future after we determine which consoles are popular in our community.

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Bookshelf Comics offers information on graphic novels, including news, reviews, feature articles, and new and forthcoming titles.

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Time Warp Trio is now an animated TV show for kids. From Discovery Kids and NBC, the show features the trio traveling through time. The first episode is Pirates, 1718. Part of the appeal of the show will be the tie in with the website and its games.

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A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson (0-8050-7667-0) is glowing, haunting novel about Zoe, the daughter of an alcoholic mother who decides to escape her home by renting a room on Lorelei Street. The room is owned by Opal, a warm eccentric elderly woman who understands Zoe. The book is filled with glorious language that lets the reader sink right into Zoe's thoughts. The characterizations are vivid and complex, including the alcoholic mother who was once a much more caring woman.

This book was a delicious read that should be recommended to teen girls who enjoy problem novels. But it is more than the average problem novel and will hopefully be awarded something by the Printz committee. It is one of my favorites of the year.

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Learn to Read at Starfall is a website that offers colorful movies and clickable games to teach kids to read using phonics. It also has printable materials and an online message board.

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Loop is a game where you draw loops around butterflies to capture them. I could say that it teaches fine mouse skills, but really it is just a lot of fun to play!

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Guardian Unlimited -- Chris Riddell on being a children's illustrator

Chris Riddell just won the Kate Greenaway Medal for his illustrations of Gulliver's Travels, a picture book for older readers. This article speaks about his dual life as children's book illustrator and newspaper cartoonist.

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When I saw the title of the article: Picture books can help youngsters learn, I thought, Hoorah! Someone actually gets it, books in general help kids learn. Wrong. The article is about a handful of books that the author of the article have decided are among the new releases that promote learning.

I am firmly of the opinion that every reading experience for a child helps them learn, that every book is of value at the picture book level. Whether it is a simple Dora or Blues Clues board book, or a more challenging picture book by an amazing author who truly creates art. All of these books can only help a preschooler or early elementary child connect with books and understand the joy that is there.

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Finding what teen girls want, and producing it is an article about Alloy Entertainment, the company responsible for Gossip Girl, A-List and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The process at Alloy is a little different than authors approaching a publisher. In Alloy's case, they approach authors (often authors without any experience) to produce an idea that Alloy has developed.

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‘Million To One’ outsider scoops CILIP Carnegie Medal with First Novel

Frank Cottrell Boyce has won the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2004 for ‘Millions’. Cottrell Boyce’s debut novel beat off strong competition from former winners Philip Pullman and Sharon Creech, and well-established writers Eva Ibbotson and Anne Cassidy, as well as one other first novel from American, Gennifer Choldenko.

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Invisible by Pete Hautman is a taut wire of a book that offers a study of Doug Hanson, a loner seventeen year old obsessed with bridge building. Doug's best friend Andy lives right next door so that they can chat through the window. Unlike Doug, Andy is a popular football star at school. They are a strange pair but remain best friends.

As the book continues, the reader will see clues that all is not what it seems. A lot of the power of the book comes from slowly realizing what is really going on, so I will not spoil it for you. The reader will see what is coming and feel the powerlessness of being unable to stop it.

Recommend this slim book to kids who enjoy psychological thrillers. This is the sort of teen novel that adults will enjoy as well, demonstrating the power of writing for teens. This book is fast enough moving for reluctant readers, especially boys.

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The New Yorker: The Critics: A Critic At Large offers an article on Roald Dahl and the magic that children seem to find in his writing while many adults find things to be worried or even insulted by.

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Naughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman is book that is a head-spinning thriller filled with twists and turns. Picture a world where instead of white people being the dominant race, they were the ones with a history of slavery. In this world, white people are treated just as our society treats black people. They are immediately suspect, looked down upon, not credited with achievements, and not allowed in black schools. In this world live Callum and Sephy. Callum is a Naught or white and lives in a shack with his family. Sephy is a Cross or black and lives a priveledged life with her prominent father and family. But the two are drawn together from childhood and soon begin a fledgling relationship.

This book is one that you will not be able to put down after a certain point. It is engrossing, amazing and gripping. The characters of Callum and Sephy are complex and vivid, while the society they live in becomes a character in the book as well. This book is eye opening, offering a unique perspective on racism in the world. Give this to kids who enjoy fast-moving thrillers, but also to those who read science fiction and those who enjoy deep books that will make them think.

This is the first in a series. They are released in England first where the third book has just arrived. So we have a lot to look forward to!

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NJ Summer Reading offers a nice selection of studies In Support of Summer Reading. If you are ever asked again why public libraries spend money getting kids to read during the summer, this is a nice site to have bookmarked.

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NPR : Getting Kids to Read was on Talk of the Nation yesterday. The featured guests were Paul Kropp, author of How to Make Your Child a Reader for Life, Esme Raji Codell, author of How to Get Your Child to Love Reading, Steven Johns, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You, and Jon Scieszka, author of many amazing children's books.

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Journal Gazette -- Youth titles graduate from ‘Sweet Valley High’

Yikes! I hope they have progressed beyond Sweet Valley High and Fear Street too! The point of the article is that teen novels are becoming more risque and edgy. But also that teen publishing is one of the healthiest segments of the publishing industry, which is wonderful news for those of us who enjoy YA reading.

There is a passing reference to labeling teen fiction with a rating system, but no further comment is made about it. I would be livid if they started labeling teen books. Then we can all stand around wringing our hands and wondering why teens won't read again. Shouldn't we be thrilled that teens are reading?

The article concludes with a list of some new titles, including the controversial Rainbow Party and other important new releases.

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Too Much TV May Hurt Kids' Learning is an article about a new study that shows a correlation between the amount of TV children watch and lower test scores. The strongest recommendation from the study is that children not be allowed to have televisions in their bedrooms.

I do think that not all television is created equal and that there is a place in children's lives for educational programming, but as always, all things in moderation. The study did not examine the content of the shows being watched, so it does not speak to whether there is a difference between educational programming and more commercial shows.

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The Seattle Times: Faith & values: Christian comics growing on youth

Yet another trend in graphic novels and comics that libraries will want to keep an eye on. I would expect that more than a few of us will have clergy in the library suggesting that we purchase these to balance our graphic novel collections.

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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers a listing of New books recommended for babies and toddlers. The list was selected by Beginning with Books, a Pittsburgh early literacy group. Each year they pick the ten best books for children up to 18 months old.

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Early Literacy Project is a program by PLA. Research has shown that public libraries are perfectly positioned to positively impact children's readiness to read. Librarians can slightly alter their story times, incorporating information for parents and caregivers. The improvement in literacy skills covers all income levels, so all public libraries should be doing this. The site offers information on the research, brochures, background, and more.

I will be posting more on this subject in the future as I look for library sites that recommend materials to use in the new storytime formats.

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Author Susan Taylor Brown offers a Survey - What Does Reading Mean to You? on her website. She is looking for thoughts to include in a book. You can contribute your answers to her five questions. I found the experience to be very worthwhile, since I got to really think about why I read and what it means in my life.

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See YA Around offers programming ideas for teens. From craft programs to lock-ins to food and poetry slams, this site offers it all. There are additional sections on Teen Read Week and Teen Summer Reading, forms and handouts for teens, and resources. This is the place to go if you are a librarian who works with teens and you need some new ideas.

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The Children's Literature Network offers all sorts of information "for adults who are passionate about encouraging kids to read." Sections include authors/illustrators, new books, reading lists, and a collection of related websites. The organization and website are focused on serving the Upper Midwest, but much of the information is universal.

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Barefoot Books offers a wonderful site for their books. You can look through sections with names like Family Hearth, Teachers' Tent, Artists' Cafe and Storytellers' Caravan. The site also offers activities for many of their books in pdf format.

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Charles de Lint Home Page has a basic style but offers lots of quality information on this fantasy author. It has information on De Lint's newest works, a mailing list, contact information, forthcoming publications, appearances, FAQ, biography, awards, reviews, and much more!

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