UNRELATED STORIES: SLJ SETS A BAD EXAMPLE, NAMES BEST BOOKS

After upsetting some over last month’s bars ‘n bloggers cover (see the Tweet o’ the Week below for more on that), School Library Journal reminds us all what they do best by posting their best of ‘09 picks. A list not to be missed.

NEW CHILDREN’S LIT AMBASSADOR TO BE NAMED ON JAN. 5; SCIESZKA TO HAND OVER KEYS TO ARMORED LIMO

Jon Scieszka announced via FaceBook that the time for a new National Abassador of Young People’s Literature will soon be upon us. It’ll be sad to see Jon go.

EBOOKS COMING TO NINTENDO DS; AUTHORS RACING TO WRITE MARIOKART: THE BOOK

In the UK, Electronic Arts is bringing ebooks by the likes of Enid Blyton and Eoin Colfer to the handheld Nintendo DS. With all the talk about ebooks lately, it will be interesting to see how this goes over.

Lego Star Wars: the visual dictionary by Simon Beecroft. Currently #3 on the New York Times Picture Book Bestseller list.

Every October, two of the schools where I work host book fairs. This year there was one clear winner in terms of popularity: Lego Star Wars. Both schools promptly sold out of the book – which is something considering the costs: 22 bones. Soon thereafter it popped up on the NYT bestseller list. I’m thinking it will be calling the list home for a while. If you’re looking for high interest titles to add to your collection, you can’t do much higher than this.

New school, familiar story. Teacher wants to use certain books for teaching, higher-ups don’t like said books and try to remove them. It’s too bad. Click the image above to read about the craziness in a Kentucky high school at A Chair, a Fireplace & a Tea Cozy.

A legitimate cover controversy? I was honestly surprised to learn that a number of School Library Journal subscribers were not pleased with the bar setting for November’s “This Blog’s for You” cover. Call me oblivious, but I didn’t think twice when I saw it. @FuseEight links to their letters to the editor.

Apparently, children’s books also make good ping pong paddles. The UK staff of HarperCollins Children’s Books is at it again. Last time it was the world’s longest children’s book domino rally, this time it’s Tollins table tennis. I need to work here someday.

When it looks like someone’s about to hand you something, you tend to pay attention. Unless it’s a roll of Necco Wafers or a copy of the recent Peyton Manning picture book, both of which are so offensive they’re easy to ignore.

Two recent covers use this attention-grabbing device, and in doing so appear to be cut from the same cloth. Let’s take a look at the first cover:

Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer by Carol Brendler.

The twin:

The Zippy Fix (Calvin Coconut #2) by Graham Salisbury.

Side by side:

A match?

It isn’t often that the book being given is one of the year’s best, but that’s what we’ve got on our hands here folks. If you’re interested in snagging the book below, contact me on Twitter, or send an email to 100scope@gmail.com A.S.A.P. If I receive your entry before 11:59 pm on Tuesday night, your name gets tossed into my Abe Lincoln-style stovepipe hat. The winner will be drawn soon thereafter. And the book is…

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan. ARC.

Best of luck!

(Top Image: ‘Alicia Martin: Biografias – Cascade of books‘
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33262235@N00/525385509)

Under the Snow
By Melissa Stewart
Illustrated by Constance R. Bergum
Peachtree Publishers
ISBN: 9781561454938
$16.95
Grades 1-4
In Stores

*Recommended*

It’s a question that crosses everyone’s mind at some point – where do animals go in the winter? Sure, we know that mammals like bears and squirrels hibernate and some birds fly south, but what about everyone else? Butterflies? Fish? Snakes? Under the Snow answers these questions for young readers.

The story is simple, yet informative at every turn. The narrator begins by describing the coming of winter, and the changes the season brings. The focus quickly turns to the animal world.

You spend your days sledding and skating and having snowball fights. But under the snow lies a hidden world.

Using cutaways and zoom-ins, the watercolor illustrations show a variety of animals in their winter homes. Ladybugs cluster in a gap in the stone wall. A bumblebee queen hides inside a rotted log. A turtle buries itself in the mud at the bottom of a pond. Each turn of the page shows a new animal adapting to the winter months.

Not a shelf-appeal stunner, but sporting a usefulness that can’t be denied. Under the Snow should be a part of your nonfiction collection.

Review copy borrowed from school library.

Check out the Nonfiction Monday roundup at The BookNosher.

Also reviewed by Kiss the Book, Kiwi Magazine.

Find this book at your local library with WorldCat.

The Kindle. The Nook. EBooks – where do you stand? For? Against? Or do you reside in the “wait and see” camp? That is where I have planted my tent stakes for the time being.

But as time passes, we’ll only be moving toward ebooks, not away.

Illustrator/author Lucy Knisley offers her take on the ebook debate in comic form, a method always appreciated by this children’s lit blogger. Click the image below to read.

(Thanks to BoingBoing for the link)

BEST OF ‘09 LISTS CONTINUE

Kirkus released their choices for aught nine’s best this week. Many wonderful titles to add to your wishlist.

NOOK SOLD OUT; BABIES, UNDERSTANDABLY, NONPLUSSED

The Nook, Barnes & Noble’s recent entry into the ebook scrum, is already sold out.

FORMER CINCINNATI BENGALS PUNTER TO AUCTION OFF INCREDIBLE CHILDREN’S LIT COLLECTION

It’s a bad day for fans of stereotypes. Former NFL player Pat McInally is putting his impressive chilren’s lit collection on the block. On a related note, I didn’t know that referring to traditional mail as “old-school” was acceptable journalistic practice.

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems; Illustrated by Jon J. Muth.

Does it strike you as odd to see a Mo Willems book without his distinctive artwork gracing the pages? Strikes me that way. In a blog post, Mr. Willems describes this Summer ‘10 teamup with Jon J. Muth a departure. In this interview with School Library Journal, Mo has this to say:

This summer will see City Dog, Country Frog, a more serious picture book that I wrote with pictures by the great Jon J. Muth. I’m very excited about the collaboration and hope that both of our audiences will be surprised by the book; pleasantly if possible.

Looking forward to it.

(Thanks to BoingBoing for the link)

While I don’t endorse not being a fan of Harry Potter, I do enjoy this literary take on time management by @BorowitzReport. If you’re unfamiliar with Andy Borowitz, he writes a daily satirical news blog called The Borowitz Report. He also hosted the recent National Book Awards.

Speaking of those NBAs, video of the whole event is up on the C-SPAN 2 site. Click below to watch the festivities.

It’s been pretty quiet around here the past few days for a great reason – as of Friday, my wife and I have a beautiful baby daughter! Lina is happy and healthy. We are well smitten.

What is your first reaction to this?

The Antarctic Express by Kenneth Hite.

Confusion, perhaps? I’m with you. Yes, it appears to be a “parody” of Van Allsburg’s classic The Polar Express, but it looks more like a “tryin’ to be a sequel” to me. Would it help if I said this is a retelling of At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft? That’s not helping me. Man, this still isn’t getting any clearer. How about a summary?

Late one evening after the city has gone to sleep, young Danforth boards the mysterious airplane that waits for him: the Antarctic Express bound for the South Pole. When he arrives, Professor Dyer offers the boy the chance to learn any thing he desires. The boy modestly asks to probe the depths of the eldritch city of the Old Ones. The request is granted. On the way his memory is lost while fleeing from the piping shrieks of the shoggoths. On Christmas Eve, the boy finds his memory of that whistling cry returns. For you see, all who visit the Old Ones’ city forever hear the sound of the shoggoths.

Hmm. Still not making sense. Alright – I think I’ll just call this the anti-stocking stuffer of ‘09 and leave it at that.

Otto Grows Down
By Michael Sussman
Illustrated by Scott Magoon
Sterling Children’s Books
ISBN: 9781402747038
$14.95
Grades K-2
In Stores

*Recommended*

A Review in Reverse

Engaging and entertaining, Otto Grows Down is hard to deny.

The artwork doesn’t take itself too seriously, and is a worthy match for a story that does the same. Similar to the recent The Very Hungry Dinosaur, Scott Magoon’s (Rabbit & Squirrel: A Tale of War & Peas) illustrations exude a deceptively simple, childlike quality.

Plot-driven and genuinely funny (there is a bathroom scene that had me absolutely disgusted, yet laughing out loud just the same), youngsters will be drawn in from page one. This title’s usefulness in a read-aloud setting is clear.

Will Otto be able to set things straight before he ceases to exist? But it doesn’t work. His birthday wish is for things to go back to normal. When his 5^th birthday arrives, Otto has had enough. But time keeps going backward. Immediately, time and events start moving in reverse – un-blowing out the candles, walking backwards – and it isn’t long before Anna is out of the picture. Amazingly, he gets his way. Upstaged at his own b-day bash, Otto blows out his candles wishing that little sis were never born. One week before Otto’s 6^th birthday, his little sister Anna steals his thunder by being born. The story begins with an easily relatable set-up.

A solidly above average release that is sure to be a read-aloud success. Funny, clever, and sporting a subtle moral that doesn’t thwack young readers on the head. Otto Grows Down takes this theme, adds a bit of time-in-reverse craziness, and comes out a winner. Excitement, anticipation, and the ever-so-familiar resentment are a few of the mixed feelings that spring from such an event. Plenty of kids have a hard time adjusting to a new sibling.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Also reviewed by Literate Lives, Books Upon a Wee One’s Shelf.

Find this book at your local library with WorldCat.

Of the finalists in the Young People’s Literature category…

We have a winner…

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose.

Click here to see all of the National Book Award winners.

Watch the ceremony on C-SPAN2 on Sat (11/21) at 8pm & Sun (11/22) at 10am ET.