How to use this Page

Tiger Woods, athlete
Dec. 30, 1975-

Tiger Woods by David R. Collins, illustrated by Larry Nolte (Pelican, 1999)

Tiger Woods, the gifted young African American golfer, faced prejudice with positive character and determination as a child and as an adult. He won his first U.S. Amateur Championship at the age of 19.

Visit the Tiger Woods Official Website to learn more about this great golfer.

Today was a good day, but what day at NCTE isn’t?  Since we just finished our last session and have dinner plans in a few minutes, you’re getting a list of swirling thoughts.  Expect more blog posts about NCTE  in the future. Choice matters.  Today I’ve been inspired to stand up and defend student choice in [...]

Finally, finally, finally! This has been sitting on my desk for weeks, and I just got it uploaded. After Linda's invitation to join WaWe (back in October - oy!) I'm "finally" jumping in!

I had in my mind the thought of the wonderful imagination of a child, and how fun it would be if those wild things were fun furry things that came in at night to play hide-and-seek with!

Hippness is not a state of mind, It’s a fact of life!

-Cannonball Adderley

In his National Book Awards acceptance speech this week, biographer T. J. Stiles thanked everyone in a book's traditional production chain, from the agent to the bookstore clerk. Stiles concluded with an note of apprehension: "The advent of the eBook is fooling some into thinking that these people are not necessary anymore."

As the digital publishing industry grows over the next few years, publishers, authors, and readers need to reconcile these fears about the future. Earlier this week, GalleyCat writers and readers mingled at the eBook Summit preview party, trying to start a more productive conversation about the future of eBooks.

In this special video feature, eBook Summit speakers like Movable Type Literary Group agent Jason Allen Ashlock and Electric Literature co-founder Andy Hunter shared advice for reaching new digital audiences. Visit the Summit Facebook page to continue the conversation. (Special thanks to AgencySpy Matt Van Hoven for that excellent headline.)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Well, the ARCs definitely exist. I was sent a package with five of them (and a good thing I kept two). That's the front and the back up above. One of the ones I kept is my very own copy.

In fact, when they arrived Tuesday night (my UPS guy comes after 6 PM, which makes every day suspensefilled), I read it from beginning to end. Have I mentioned how fabulous the ending is? I would relay to you my emotional response, but I don't want to spoiler anything.

The other three copies went (in case you were curious) to my friends Janet (to whom The Dead And The Gone is dedicated) and Christy (who was the first person to hear the fabulous ending) and my cousin Ellen. Copy number five I'll give to my mother, who seems to be insistent on getting one.

I've been promised a lot more than five copies, and my guess is the package was sent to me because I've been whining and kvetching about these ARCs for more than a month now. At some point, I'll either get the box(es) with more ARCs, which I will then send to the people whose names get pulled out of the Bolivian hat, or I'll really whine and kvetch. I would do so now, but everybody I'd be whining/kvetching to is at NCTE right now, handing out ARCs of This World We Live In to anyone who is interested (which could be no one, for all I know). I may do some whining/kvetching on Monday, but with Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, no one may be around to ignore me. Or maybe the UPS guy will bring the box(es) this evening. I live in constant hope.

Two other pieces of sort of news. I bought a printer today that can actually scan. The last one couldn't, even though it claimed it could, and then it stopped feeding paper, and it really got upset when I pounded it with my fists. The new one is black and chic and at least it scans. I'll find out if it prints some other time.

And Amazon has changed the date on when TW will be published. No more April 1. Now it's March 31. I see this as good news/bad news. The good news is I won't have to listen to any more April Fool's Day jokes. The bad news is the counter on the right side of the blog, which took me a long time to set up, is now officially wrong.

Hmm...Maybe I should pound on it. Worse comes to worst, it would just ignore me!

REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services, is pleased to announce that the San Francisco Public Library, Topeka & Shawnee County (Kan.) Public Library, have been selected to be the recipients of the 2009 Estela and Raúl Mora Award for their commendable efforts in promoting El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros.

The Estela and Raúl Mora Award was established by author and poet Pat Mora and her family in honor of their parents to promote El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), also known as “Día.  This family literacy initiative is now housed at the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Día is a daily commitment to link children and books that culminates in celebrations around the country on April 30th.  The Mora award is presented annually, in partnership with REFORMA, to the most exemplary celebration(s).  The San Francisco Public Library and Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library will each receive $1,000 and a plaque commemorating their efforts.

The San Francisco Public Library hosted its 10th El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros event celebrating 10 years of bringing children, families and books together in San Francisco.  A series of special programs were held in neighborhood libraries throughout the month of April.  These programs included bilingual storytimes and crafts, Native American stories, and dance performances.  The library also hosted a Día exhibit in which original artwork, posters, and memorabilia from the past 10 years were displayed.  A 10-year anniversary reception was also held to recognize volunteers, community supporters, funders, activity sponsors, and the event organizers for all the work they had done over the past 10 years.  The grand finale for El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros was held at Dolores Park with approximately 1,000 participants and included multicultural performances by Asian storytellers, Spanish bilingual puppeteers, an Afro-Brazilian dance, drumming and stilting ensemble, and a kid-centered hip-hop group.  The event also included many activities such as interactive art, 3-D animation, book making, lotería, and a free book distribution where approximately 825 multilingual books were given to children and their families. 

Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library celebrated its 4th El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros celebration on April 30, with more than 550 participants attending the event.  The library partnered with 18 community agencies, and targeted 35 pre-schools and 20 elementary schools.  The library in its effort to reach the Hispanic community targeted agencies that worked with the Hispanic community to help them promote the event through community meetings, bulletin boards and flyers.  These agencies also encouraged their clientele to participate in the event.  The celebration included a bilingual puppet show, bilingual reader’s theater, traditional dancers from Bolivia, a high school mariachi band, and bilingual storytelling and book displays.  Participants also had the opportunity to receive a free book and to participate in book-making activities, arts and crafts, lotería, and other activities.

Details about the Mora Award application and guidelines for 2010 will be announced and posted by February 2010 at http://www.reforma.org. Additional award information, photos, and links can also be found on Pat Mora’s website www.patmora.com/dia.htm. The ALSC page lists planning resources and celebrations across the country at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/initiatives/diadelosninos/index.cfm.

Questions can be directed to Lucia M. Gonzalez at Luciagonzalez@bellsouth.net or further information can be found on the REFORMA website at www.reforma.org

We've got two cats. One is sleek and gray and quick. The other is white and tan and dumb.

James, as the white and tan cat is called, likes to sit in any little box he can find. No matter where one is, he'll find it and sit in it. For hours.

I figure he must get something out of it. That, or he's just white and tan and dumb.

'New Moon' at midnight (doesn't disappoint fans. Shocker. Also see YAB member Chelsea's review for more. Plus Sweden rethinks its original restricted rating. And the livestream of the 'New Moon' premiere on MySpace draws more than 2 million unique visitors, and nearly 3 million total viewers) (Los Angeles Times) (Variety) (MarketingVox)

- Disney considers the 'Possibility' (announcing its first foray into branded-entertainment with the debut of "The Possibility Shop," a web show sponsored by Clorox. Plus Sesame Street targets "iPhone moms" launching a Grover-branded app) (Ad Age, reg. required) (Virtual Worlds News)

- The Woodies (the MTV awards show you didn't know existed — celebrating college music. Also MTV and Real Networks look to restructure the ownership of Rhapsody, a digital music service) (USA Today) (Reuters)

- Xbox rocks (so says the Jonas Brothers in a new campaign promoting family time with the gaming system. Meanwhile some don't quite get that message — a 15-year-old in Illinois dials 911 after his parents take away his Xbox) (New York Times, reg. required) (CNET)

- The truth about 'Gossip Girl' (a real NYU student sorts out the facts from the fiction in the latest season of "Gossip Girl") (Yahoo via Derek Baird::Barking Robot)

- Cruise blues (for unaccompanied young adults in Australia where a national cruise line insists 18 to 21-year-old passengers must be accompanied by parents or guardians, despite accusations that the policy is discriminatory. Also "virtual portholes" and teen/tween-targeted details on the new Disney cruise ship) (MSNBC) (Los Angeles Times)

- Layaway makes a comeback (for Gen Y. Mediapost on the revival of incremental payments among young consumers. Also seasonal jobs still prove hard to come by for teens) (Charlotte Observer)

- 'Cycler' comes to the big screen (should be interesting to see how Hollywood translates the sci-fi YA series with a transgendered protagonist. Look for our author spotlight with Lauren McLaughlin next week! Also Dimension Films holds a sneak preview of "Youth in Revolt" in January) (SlashFilm) (Variety)

- Deprogramming helicopter parents (a backlash against overparenting inspires a movement by some to start scaling back. Maybe it would help to teach them some handy skills like CPR. Check out this "Be the Beat" campaign to encourage 12-15 year olds to learn first aid) (Time) (GTR Newspapers)

-University of California fee hikes (spark angry, anxious students to protest, occupy buildings and call for reconsideration of the 32 percent increase. Also economic concerns lead to a sharp decrease in the number of students planning to study abroad) (CNN) (AP)

Here is the fourth sculpted illustration for the on-going “My Woodland, My Nightmare” series. It is titled “When Giants Meet”

Check out the sculpture.
Enjoy!
www.jessicaforter.com

Riddell, Chris. Ottoline Goes to School. Harper, c2008.

Poor Mr. Munroe. His status in Ottoline's life is rather unique - and rather unclear to outsiders. In fact, most folks can't quite tell what manner of creature he is, and so when he accompanies Ottoline to boarding school (the Alice B. Smith School for the Differently Gifted), he is labeled a dog and sent to stay in the east wing with the other assorted pets and companions (all of whom are at least as eccentric as Mr. Munroe).

This isn't Mr. Munroe's only dilemma. He is also suffering pangs of jealousy and sadness brought about by Ottoline's new friendship with Cecily Forbes-Lawrence III, a girl with rich but often absent parents (not unlike Ottoline herself, but they react to their similar situations rather differently). It is Cecily's attendance at the Alice B. Smith School that prompts Ottoline to enroll as well - and it's a good thing Mr. Munroe goes along, because he helps solve the mystery of a marauding ghost at the school.

I do love Mr. Munroe. He's not supposed to be the star of this book (it's not called Mr. Munroe Goes to School, after all), but his appearance is so odd (he's pretty much all long hair and feet, with a couple of large eyeballs peering through the mop that Ottoline loves to brush for him), his origins so mysterious ("Norway"), and his personality such a lovely blend of moroseness, optimism, and loyalty that he altogether steals the show as far as I'm concerned. Oh, Ottoline is a trooper, with her penchant for wearing different shoes on the same feet and absolutely making the best of her strange life living alone (well, except for Mr. Munroe and a bunch of helpers) in an apartment while her parents travel the world collecting stuff. But that Mr. Munroe...

Light on text and and liberally sprinkled with Riddell's intricate and piquant drawings, this airy, funny book will work well with readers ready for their first chapter books and as a one-on-one read-aloud. And here's a secret - my 15-year-old daughter is simply mad about the Ottoline books, so I know this one spans a great many grade levels. Cheerful, weird, and sweet. Recommended for ages 7 to, er, 15.

Here's a video of Chris Riddell drawing Mr. Munroe...

Kids books: A conversation with ‘Strega Nona’ author Tomie dePaola
Tomie dePaola, author of “Strega Nona’s Harvest,” talks about the grandmotherly Italian witch/folk healer and her magic pasta pot.

What to Give & What to Get
More than 40 Penguin authors are sharing book recommendations for holiday gift-giving as part of Penguin’s What to Give & What to Get campaign. Check out videos of authors Nick Hornby, Kate Jacobs, Robert B. Parker and Frank Bruni who share favorite books on camera.

Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend
The New Oxford American Dictionary chose Facebook’s  “unfriend” as its 2009 Word of the Year, according to the OUP blog.

Bark for Books
A fun-filled, literary, family event with author readings, illustration workshops, and opportunities to buy books signed by the authors and illustrators (or “pawed” by protagonists) — just in time for the holidays! The books make thoughtful gifts for the animal-loving children in your life, and extras can be donated to the League’s Read-2-Me program, which provides humane-themed books to classrooms, school libraries and students.

Word Play: Going global
Interested in more than what the U.S. children’s market has to offer? The LA Times shares new imports from British, Dutch and French authors.

Overdue library books returned half century later
A high school librarian in Phoenix says a former student at the school returned two overdue books checked out 51 years ago along with a $1,000 money order to cover the fines.

"My book is free? Lock it up at once!"
—Lemony Snicket, regarding the new free online edition of THE BAD BEGINNING

For a limited time, you can read 100% of A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning for free online with Browse Inside!

View Lemony Snicket’s video response to this latest unfortunate event.
http://www.lemonysnicket.com/

I just won't have time to get this past the sketch stage in time for the Jumble. Maybe I'll get back to it for the blog. Great topic, even if it is a repeat!

www.money-shotz.blogspot.com

People often tell me that I’m very productive, so it was a shock recently to take a procrastination test and come out in the top 10% of pracrastinators!

It said I scored 80 out of 100 possible points and “when it comes to putting things off, you often do so even though you know you shouldn’t… Though you are likely incredibly productive just before a deadline, you might not get all your work done and there is a lot of unwanted stress.”

Hmmm…

I wanted to mutter “stupid test,” but I was aware that certain bad writing habits (dare I call it procrastination?) were affecting the quality of my work. Oh, I got the writing done, but too often lately the quality was less than it could be because I delayed starting. I was submitting writing that was less than my best because it was hurried.

I think I had deluded myself into thinking there was no problem because I was busy all the time. I am never late with student lessons, and usually early. I am never late for my M-W-F blogs or paid critiques. I don’t even procrastinate on writing nonfiction books. Just fiction. Just the “pulling words out of thin air and making up people and whole worlds” kind of writing.

Check Yourself Out

Why is getting started so hard? In a recent magazine article on procrastination  in Children’s Writer, the following quote struck me as true–of me, anyway:

“In many cases, we procrastinate because we are anxious about the work at hand. It seems too difficult or onerous. ‘The hardest part of any task is the first five minutes. It’s like cold water. It’s just getting in that’s the hard part. Once you’re in, the water feels great,’ says Steel [a university professor who studies procrastination]. ‘Usually after procrastinating, once people finally get around to the task, they say, ‘I don’t know why I thought this would be so much worse than it was.’”

That struck me as true, so this week I’ve been starting my NaNoWriMo writing by setting a timer for just five minutes. Then I write furiously for five minutes, with permission to quit if I hate it at the end of five minutes. Have I stopped yet when the timer went off? No. I’m on a roll by then, and it wasn’t nearly as hard as I’d made it in my mind.

Why do we do this to ourselves over and over? It feels silly to have to “trick” my muse with a kitchen timer. But hey, it works, so I’ll probably keep doing it until I find something that works better!

What about you? What tricks do YOU use to get started?

Today's Hits: oprah calls it quits. new moon rises. lost in february. and more. Au Revoir, Oprah: In news that's guaranteed to send publishers into convulsions of horror, Oprah Winfrey is announcing on today's episode that she is folding up her talk show. Wipe away those tears, Oprah fans: she's turning her attention toward an entire [...]

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published by an American publisher in the United States in English during the preceding year. There are no limitations as to the character of the picture book except that the illustrations must be original work. The award is restricted to artists who are citizens or residents of the United States. For additional information on the terms and criteria for the award, you can find the Caldecott Manual on the ALSC Web site.

Please send your Caldecott suggestions to Rita Auerbach at rita.auerbach@alum.barnard.edu.

The new challenge is:

Feast!

Illustrate a feast! Up in the northern hemisphere, we have a lot of eating holidays this time of year. The U.S. has Thanksgiving on November 26 this year, Canada had Thanksgiving on October 12, Hanukkah begins at sundown on Friday December 11, Christmas is December 25, and many other religions celebrate the harvest of fall, the shortest day (Winter Solstice, December 21), and Yule celebrations. Of course, Christmas is also celebrated in the southern hemisphere on December 25 - must be really odd to sing about snow in Summer. Hindus celebrated Diwali (festival of lights) on October 17th. For Islam, the New Year is December 18 (not a feast day but a time for religious reflection). So let's celebrate!

A PRIZE!

For this challenge, the winner will receive an actual prize! I will mail a prize to the chosen winner (the winner will need to supply an address). The prize will be announced next week. You have 2 weeks so get busy, artists!

The "Chicken" and the "Werewolf" challenge is over. The new challenge is "Feast" and ends on December 7, 2009. Another new challenge, "Gratitude," ends on November 30, 2009.

 Subscribe in a reader

The winner for the "Chicken" challenge is:

Lisa Graves!

Congratulations to Lisa Graves. I chose Lisa's "Major" as the winner for the Chicken challenge. Lisa's incredible character design, smartly balanced composition, and clean coloring, makes this one super rooster! I love the epaulets.

Amazing work everyone! I am blown away at how you all stepped up to a "chicken" challenge and aced it! From realistic to silly, you are all awesome artists.

 Subscribe in a reader