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If you are like us, shopping is tops on your to-do list this season. Finding the perfect present can be tricky and so here are a few of our favorites that are perfect for the little reader in your family.

Snowy books for a cold winter’s day

Have you read The Mitten more times than you can count? Tuktuk: Tundra Tale by Robin Currie is a fun take on the familiar story.

As the sun begins to set, arctic animals scurry to prepare for six months of darkness and cold. Tuktuk the collared lemming is almost ready for the long winter night – all he needs is warm fur to line his nest. When one furry kamik (boot) slips off an Inuit driver’s sled, Tuktuk is in luck! But as he drags it home, Putak the polar bear, Aput the arctic fox, and Masak the caribou eye this little lemming’s prize and want it for their own. Can Tuktuk outwit the other animals and convince them that one furry kamik is no good for anyone bigger than a lemming?

When ancient creatures are a favorite, try Wandering Woolly! Andrea Gabriel’s love of woolly mammoths blends a variety of extinct animals with  a tale of getting into trouble and trusting your instincts.

Little Woolly leaves her mother behind as she chases a toad down to the river. When the glacial ice breaks, she is swept away in the rumbling, rolling water. Now alone, the mammoth calf struggles to survive. She must sneak past cave lions, bears, saber-toothed cats and humans. Exhausted and afraid, she must even hide from stormy weather as she fights her way back to her herd. How can she find them? Will she ever get back?

It’s a Mystery!

Whether it is a contest for the most dangerous beast in all the land or a  race to find the thief, these two books will keep kids guessing until the end.

Dangerous animals from all over the world gather for the Most Dangerous Animal of All Contest. Snakes, spiders, sharks . . . who will the winner be? Deadly poison, huge teeth, razor -sharp horns, and fearsome feet are just a few of the ways that animals kill. Predators mean to kill. Prey simply defend themselves. And yet, the unexpected most deadly-animal doesn’t mean to harm at all!

 

Someone stole a cake from the cake contest—who could it be? Twelve animal bakers are potential suspects but Detective Duck uses his deductive reasoning skills to “quack” the case. After all, the thief left hairs behind so the thief wasn’t a bird. Follow along as he subtracts each suspect one at a time to reveal just who the culprit was. This clever story will have children of all ages giggling at the puns and the play on words. Key phrases for educators: subtraction, deductive reasoning, animal adaptations, puns/play on words.

When you can’t get enough rhythm and rhyme

Head to faraway places and meet unique animals as readers sing-song their way through these two books!

Imaginations will soar from the forest floor, up through the canopy and back down again, following the circle of life. The jungle comes alive as children learn about the wide variety of creatures lurking in the lush Amazon rainforest in this clever adaptation of the song “The Green Grass Grew All Around.” Search each page to find unique rainforest bugs and butterflies hiding in the illustrations. Delve even deeper into the jungle using sidebars and the “For Creative Minds” educational section, both filled with fun facts about the plants and animals, how they live in the rainforest and the products we use that come from the rainforest.

From the “crocodile’s dentist,” to the “mongoose spa,” Animal Partners takes a whimsical look at symbiotic relationships of animals large and small. Although many animals live in groups of the same kind, here you will learn how some animals form unique partnerships with different species. After all, don’t we all need a little help from our friends?

We hope this list makes your holiday shopping easier. Visit our online store for great deals on these titles with the code HOLIDAY30.

 

 

 

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When I read Conrad Wesselhoeft's DIRT BIKES, DRONES AND OTHER WAYS TO FLY - if you haven't read it, do it NOW - I had to know how my friend, fellow author, and Seattle dweller was able to pull off a New Mexico setting so spectacular, I felt like I was riding on the back of his bike racing over those dusty trails. So I asked. His answer inspired me and taught me a great lesson on what makes a setting work. It's sure to inspire you. Thank you, Conrad! Got an extra helmet? Let's go for a ride.

In Praise of Place: Why fiction writers should light out for personal territory

By Conrad Wesselhoeft

In my mid-twenties, I fell in love with northeast New Mexico—the high plains, broken mesas, torn shadows, and rich, drifting light. I lived for two years in the town of Raton, working as a journalist for the local newspaper.

Working for a small-town paper meant doing every job in the newsroom: writing and editing stories; laying out the paper on a composing table; and taking and developing photos.

I took thousands of photos, criss-crossing the county with my sturdy Pentax K1000 camera—later moving on to a more nimble Canon AE-1.

The vistas of northeast New Mexico enthralled me. Much of the time, they looked flat and dull, but at certain times of day, under certain light, they exploded with beauty.

I’d reach for my camera, and all would go quiet.

Several years ago, when I started writing my young-adult novel Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly, I wanted to re-capture that special landscape—both the look and feel.

I started by creating a fictional town and calling it Clay Allison, after the 19th Century gunfighter who had lived in that area. I jotted these notes:

“Clay Allison is a town in northeast New Mexico located in the high desert snug up against Colorado’s mountainous ass. ‘Clay’ has a rusty, shoddy, past-its-prime look and feel. In reality, it has never experienced a prime.”

The surrounding landscape, I noted, “is a hundred muted shades. Nearby are Eagle Tail and Burro mesas, and to the north, the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) Mountains. Many small mesas are carved with dirt-bike tracks, an insult to Mother Nature, but a playground for Arlo Santiago and his friends.”

Arlo is the novel’s 17-year-old adrenaline-junkie narrator. He loves to blast across the mesas on his Yamaha 250 dirt bike, hitting the bumps and flying high.

I stretched my vocabulary when I wrote:

“The story unfolds under the cerulean emptiness of New Mexico’s slow-fuse sky.”

My goal was to have Arlo fit organically into this landscape. I wanted him to respond—consciously and otherwise—to the monotonous-one-minute, staggering-the-next horizons, just as I had. If he could do this, then maybe readers could, too. That was my hope anyway.

Whether I pulled it off is not for me to say. What I did learn, however, is how important setting can be to a story—so important, in fact, that it can become a galvanizing character in its own right, one filled with moods and fancies, passions and mysteries.

Writers often overlook setting in favor of more obvious characterization tools— for example, action or dialogue.

The result is that New York City appears no different in the mind’s eye than Portland, Oregon, and the Grand Canyon exudes all the gravitas of a touched-up postcard. Hasty writers like to locate Denver in the Rocky Mountains when, in fact, “the Queen City of the Plains” is located just east of the Rockies.

It’s as if the writer had carelessly stuck a pin on a map and said, “I think I’ll set my story here.”

But when setting works—when a writer taps into emotions associated with a place—it can be glorious, as in Huckleberry Finn (the Mississippi River), The Old Man and the Sea (the Caribbean), or To Kill a Mockingbird (small-town Alabama).

It’s no coincidence that Twain, Hemingway, and Harper Lee lived and worked where they set their stories, or that they acquired far more than an eyeful of land or water. By the time they embarked on writing their novels, they had mingled their souls with those places.

And therein lies the beauty of “place” or “setting” in fiction.

When a writer dips into his or her own life and bares emotions connected with a place the result can exalt a story and illuminate the characters.

Scott O’Dell’s love for California’s coastal islands shimmers on every page of Island of the Blue Dolphins, his 1960 young-adult novel about a girl left on a remote island to fend for herself. You more than hear the gulls cry, waves crash, and wind blow. The island on which Karana lives seems alive. You hear it mourn for all that is missing from her life, just as it rejoices in her victories over storms, hunger, and wild dogs.

Lois Lowry’s ambivalent memories of growing up on military bases darken the stark, regimented world of her 1993 dystopian novel The Giver.

C.S. Lewis based his sweeping Narnia vistas on the Mountains of Mourne in Northern Ireland. About them, he wrote: "I have seen landscapes . . . which, under a particular light, make me feel that at any moment a giant might raise his head over the next ridge.”

In every case the writer traversed a personal geography to inform a fictional one. His or her emotional connection to a real place grounded the reader in an imagined place.

Contemporary young-adult fiction writers traversing this personal geography include Molly Blaisdell, whose Plumb Crazy makes small-town Texas taste like a sweet-potato pie glazed with dust and peppered with grit; Louise Spiegler, whose historical novels capture the damp majesty of Puget Sound country; and Holly Cupala, whose Don’t Breathe a Word gives the midnight alleys of homeless America a heartbeat.

When a writer soaks up the spirit of a place—whether it’s a town, city, mesa, or just about anywhere else—that place can inspire a profound fictional setting.

A great story puts you there, so that you see and feel the landscape around you. Writers get there by digging into their personal geography—and listening for the heartbeat.

Conrad Wesselhoeft worked as a tugboat hand in Singapore and Peace Corps Volunteer in Polynesia before embarking on a career in journalism. He has served on the editorial staffs of five newspapers, including The New York Times. He is the author of the young adult novels ADIOS, NIRVANA (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010) and DIRT BIKES, DRONES, AND OTHER WAYS TO FLY (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014). His ancestors were doctors to Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. His three children are in various stages of university study or job searching. He lives in West Seattle with a poodle named Django (the "D" is silent). Druid Circle cookies (from Trader Joe’s) are his weakness.

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Ah! what a GREAT Halloween topic, and y’all know how much I LURVE Halloween:D

Click here to take a peek at the LA Times feature I produced called L.A. RIP which has clips of movies that haunted my YA heart. The classics, yaknow, like Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Even though these stories aren’t YA, they terrified me as a teenager and inspire my writing.

So, what’s at the heart of a great monster? Um, the really scary answer? What we fear about ourselves. Take Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. We all have good and bad inside of us. There’s a wonderful Cherokee tale about an elder Chief telling his grandson about life. He tells his son that every man has two wolves living inside of him. There’s a good wolf–full of gratitude, joy, reverence, respect, truth, happiness, and love. But there’s a bad wolf to–full of betrayal, manipulation, deceit, selfishness, secrecy and calculation. The young grandson went wide-eyed and asked his grandfather which wolf would win. To this his grandfather replied, whichever wolf you feed, my son. The Shadow Series explores this duality. In the series, during the 13th year, a teenager must decide what kind of person they will become. The person they choose to leave behind, their alter ego, populates a shadow world of beings who want nothing more than to become human and invade earth. These shadows are the monsters in the series. Some are good, some are bad and all of them are desperate to become human.

The monsters in YA fiction feed the bad wolf. And they don’t have to have fangs or green or furry or sparkling skin. The truly scary ones are the ones that seem just like you and me. And what makes every great YA monster so intriguing? Most of them are vulnerable to something or someone. They aren’t all bad, some even want to end their battle with the dark side but can’t or are unwilling or don’t know how.

Here’s some of my recent favorite YA Monster titles, what are yours?

Bad Girls Don’t Die

Be careful what you let in…

 

What happens when you’re stalked by death?

Eeep, did I tell you I’m a part of this new super cool group of 11 other writers! I’m really excited to have been asked to join the YA Society of Storytellers. I’ve been honored to know these authors over the years and respect and admire their work so much. Check out these amazing authors here and get in on the book club here! We post every other Friday. And our next topic is Cover Love!

 

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Think about your favorite picture books. Lyrical text. Gorgeous or whimsical art. Endings that make you smile, sigh or shriek with delight. And something else – satisfaction. A satisfaction that makes you want to read them again and again and again. 
 
But a brilliant rhythm won't guarantee satisfaction. Nor will page after page of laugh-out-loud humor. And, as much as I revere illustrators, I doubt that even gallery-worthy, award-winning art alone would generate that "read it again, please" feeling ... without the story and its reader making an emotional connection.

As kidlit agent Ammi-Joan Paquette says:

"It’s not enough to have a wild and wacky premise. There also has to be some deeper core to the story that connects with readers on its most basic level. I’ve heard them described as the “universal child emotions” that need to be represented for the story to fully hit its mark.

Now, please note we’re not talking about morals or lessons or message here. What we are talking about is theme, subtly underlaid, weaving throughout the text and supplementing the story.

The list of universals is endless: love, friendship, overcoming fears, trying new things, getting along with others, sibling rivalry, leaving someone or something you love, sickness, loss. It’s as long as life itself, and honestly? The simpler the better."  -  (From Tara Lazar's "Writing for Kids While Raising Them" Blog at http://taralazar.com/tag/a-j-paquette/)

Simple and "subtly underlaid" – for writers, that's the hard part. Especially if your main characters are a little girl and a squash. Perhaps no one would understand the hard work better than my guest today, Pat Zeitlow Miller. 
 
Pat is the author of the highly acclaimed picture book – just released this week – Sophie's Squash.


This season-spanning turn with high-spirited Sophie offers endearing lessons about nurture and regeneration. – Kirkus

Miller’s easygoing storytelling taps into the familiar scenario of children making fierce attachments to favorite objects. – Publishers Weekly

Countless stories exist about girls’ exploits with their dolls or stuffed animals. Few, if any, feature healthy produce. But the tale of Sophie and Bernice is charming and even suspenseful as the title character reluctantly realizes that her squash will not last forever. – School Library Journal

This is a paean to love and friendship, which can come in all species, shapes, and sizes. -- Booklist
Today Pat stopped by to share with us her journey to creating the emotional connection – that made us love Sophie, love her squash and love their story. Welcome, Pat!

I have three things to say in response to Ammi-Joan Paquette's insightful quote:

1. I think she is absolutely, positively right. As she usually is.

2. The best picture books do have a universal truth. It’s that feeling or memory that tugs at your heart and doesn’t let go. The thing that makes you want to read them again and again and again.

3. And while the best universal truths are simple, incorporating them into your story can be tricky. It’s too easy to be sappy or corny or heavy-handed. Or to forget them altogether.

Here’s how things went down with Sophie’s Squash. I’d like to say that I was very thoughtful and, you know, literary, when I wrote the story. Or that I spent time wisely pondering how best to incorporate a universal childhood truth, but alas, I cannot.

Instead, things proceeded a little haphazardly. After all, it was early in my writing career. I don’t remember exactly, but the process went something like this:

My first draft was funny and sweet, but lacking a certain depth. Sophie met Bernice, became her best friend, and eventually, convinced her parents she needed even more squash as friends. It ended with a trip to the grocery store. Of course, I did not realize I was missing a universal truth at the time. I just knew I was getting rejections with the occasional “Cute, but not right for us” written in the margin.
 
Soon, I realized the story needed emotional weight. At least, that’s what I called it. So Sophie met Bernice and loved her and then was very sad when Bernice began to rot. It ended when Bernice expired and her seeds grew two new squash. The last line was something like, “Wait until the kids at story time see this!”
 
The breakthrough came when I focused more on the love that drove Sophie’s actions and less on the humor, although the story is still funny. I ended up with two universal truths. First, that everything is worthy of love – even something, like a squash, which others might not look at twice. (Think of the prince’s devotion to his rose in The Little Prince.) And, second, that the things we truly love often can return to us in unexpected ways. (Think of The Velveteen Rabbit or Charlotte’s Web.) The line in the book, which I used early on and then returned to again in the final ending, describes Bernice as “just the right size to love” which basically sums up the heart of the story.

My youngest daughter inspired the story by falling in love with a butternut squash of her own. She was also very devoted to a stuffed pig and a tattered blue blanket, and I used her dedication as a model for Sophie’s.

Even though I didn’t start out writing this story with my universal truths in mind, finding them helped the story be all it could be. Now that I’m smarter, I look at my stories in progress and ask:

· What feeling in this story could almost anyone relate to?
· What’s the main emotion this story is trying to convey?

Based on those answers, I sometimes create a list of words I refer to when I’m writing and stuck about where to go next. They help me remember my goal and make choices that support it. And I’m fairly certain they save me a lot of rewriting later on. 

I wouldn’t say I have many secret tactics as a writer, but those lists are probably one. If my list says “warmth, family, tradition, safety and love” I’m going to make different choices than if my list says “fear, anxiety, confusion and decisions.”

In the movie A Few Good Men, Jack Nicholson is famous for snarling, “You can’t handle the truth!” But if you want your picture book to succeed you need to know your truth and be able state it clearly.

Thanks for having me on your blog, Jean!
 
You can find out more about Pat, Sophie's Squash and her other upcoming books on her website at http://patzietlowmiller.com/
 
Here's a preview: 

SHARING THE BREAD – A lyrical celebration of food and family and togetherness as seen during one down-home Thanksgiving dinner. Jill McElmurry illustrates. (Schwartz & Wade, Fall 2015).

WHEREVER YOU GO – A poem about all the different paths you can take in life. Eliza Wheeler will illustrate. (Little Brown, Spring 2015).

THE QUICKEST KID IN CLARKSVILLE – The story of a little girl in 1960s Clarksville, Tennessee, who dreams of being the fastest girl in the world – just like her hero, sprinter Wilma Rudolph, who made history as the first woman from the United States to win three gold medals at one Olympics. (Chronicle Books. Release date TBD).

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A good friend who's studying at Cambridge visited us over the Christmas holidays for a little skiing and relaxation. Then, a couple weeks later, we received this with his thank you note.

I didn't know that Milne was a student at Cambridge.

As you can see, this was ONLY the 68th printing of the book. And only 3 years after its original publication.  Wow!

I wonder how many printings it's undergone since.

What an incredibly thoughtful gift ... worthy of a thank you ... and perhaps a thank you gift! Hmmm, what shall I send?

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Hooray! Today the TOO PRINCESSY! Board Book makes its royal debut. And to celebrate, I have 3 ways for you to win some super-cool prizes.

1. Tweet or retweet the following message exactly as it appears below:

TOO PRINCESSY! board #bookbday RT anytime on 2/19 for a chance to win a board book, bag and t-shirt. http://ow.ly/hQrh5 #tiarafail

2. Enter my Goodreads giveaway anytime between now and 3/1/13 for a chance to win one of two autographed TOO PRINCESSY! board books.

3. Come on over to my TOO PRINCESSY! Boredom Buster Blog where you can conquer cabin fever one idea at a time. Submit an idea of your own to be entered to win a $100 gift card and other prizes.

Thanks for stopping by!

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A while back, you may remember my participation in the Bridget Zinn auction. It actually took the place of my Thanksgiving Picture Book Peek in 2010. Now I'm asking your help in an opportunity to contribute to Bridget's beautiful legacy through her upcoming book release.

Today, Bridget's dear friend, writer and editor,  Holly Westlund,  is my guest, explaining how you can help.

Hello, friends.

Some of you (maybe even many of you) may have known Bridget Zinn. She was very active in the kid lit world, and especially well-known in Madison and Portland. She was a very dear part of the children's book community, and sadly died of cancer not too long after she sold her book, Poison, to Disney/Hyperion. She was only 33, but she lived a vibrant life full of laughter and love (for books, cats, friends, and so many other things). Those of us who knew her even a little bit still miss her. And we'd really like to help Poison be a success.

Poison releases on March 12, just a short month from now. If you would like to help Bridget's family and friends promote Poison, take a look at her website, here: http://www.bridgetzinn.com/help/index.php. We are also accepting any and all ideas you might have for getting the word out there.

There will be a book release party in Portland, OR, on March 16 at A Children's Place Bookstore, 6pm, with several local authors signing special copies of Poison in Bridget's honor. (If you will be in town and would like to sign, please RSVP to event(at)bridgetzinn.com by February 17, so we can be sure to have a few copies of your books on the shelf, as well.) If you'll be in town, we'd love to have you come. If you're interested in ordering signed copies, please contact A Children's Place before or after the event. (http://www.achildrensplacebookstore.com/) If you'd like to host a similar signing in your town, we'd be very honored. I know there's one in the planning works in Texas, at the moment.

I've read the ARC, and I can guarantee that it's a ton of fun. It sounds just like Bridget, and is a clever mix of subterfuge, romance, and action that might happen if you crossed The Thief with The Princess Bride. It'll have a pretty broad readership appeal, with the action/adventure/cleverness that middle school readers love, and the sweet/clever romance that teens enjoy. I can't wait until I get to start handing this book to kids.

Thank you so much for your help!

Holly

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My friend and agency mate, Anna Staniszewski's publishing success sounds a little like a fairy tale -- hugely popular novels, sequels, prequels. WOW! Then, just like Jenny, the main character in her latest novel My Epic Fairy Tale Fail, Anna took on what seemed an impossible task ... she wrote a picture book.

So how did she make the transition? Brilliantly ... with a few lessons she learned from novel writing ... that all picture book writers need to know.

Now, take it away, Anna!

How a Novelist Learned to Write Picture Books
by Anna Staniszewsk

For years, I considered myself to be strictly a novel writer. I thought I was far too wordy to write picture books, and besides, I never had any good picture book ideas. I mean I had ideas, but they were TERRIBLE.

But over the years, something strange happened. In writing novels, I learned to:

-Focus focus focus and cut cut cut!
-Choose active verbs and interesting nouns. (My thesaurus and I are now best friends.)
-Make each scene active and give the story forward momentum.
-Make the ending tie into the beginning.



Why look at that. In my efforts to improve my novels, I’d trained myself to do many of the things that are required when writing picture books.

Okay, so now I knew how to write a picture book, but I still didn’t have any good ideas. Then one day, as I was getting ready to walk the dog and she was squeaking her furry head off to try to hurry me along, I said: “Calm down, dogosaurus. We’re going.” And there it was. An idea.

Of course, an idea is not a story. It took me about a year and many revisions (with help from my agent and my critique partners) to get the manuscript to where it needed to be. And amazingly, Dogosaurus Rex found a home at Henry Holt and is scheduled to be published in 2014. Finally, my years of inadvertently training myself as a picture book writer had paid off!

These days, while I still think myself primarily as a novelist, I’m getting more comfortable with my picture book identity. And I have to say, I love working on picture books. They’re a challenge that I really enjoy. Who knew there was hope for a former rambling writer with terrible ideas?

About Anna:
Born in Poland and raised in the United States, Anna Staniszewski grew up loving stories in both Polish and English. She was named the 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. Currently, Anna lives outside of Boston with her husband and their adopted black Labrador, Emma.
 
When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and challenging unicorns to games of hopscotch. Her first novel, My Very UnFairy Tale Life, was released by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in November 2011. The sequel, My Epic Fairy Tale Fail, is coming on March 1, 2013. Visit her at www.annastan.com.

About her latest book:  
Jenny has finally accepted her life of magic and mayhem as savior of fairy tale kingdoms, but that doesn't mean the job's any easier. Her new mission is to travel to the Land of Tales to defeat an evil witch and complete three Impossible Tasks. Throw in some school friends, a bumbling knight, a rhyming troll, and a giant bird, and happily ever after starts looking far far away. But with her parents' fate on the line, this is one happy ending Jenny is determined to deliver.

Watch the book trailer for more FAIL fun! 

Now it's your turn to chime in. What lessons have you learned from one genre of your writing that inform or inspire your others?

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It's so fun watching the live stream of the Youth Media Awards and listening to the hoopla from the crowd for these brilliant authors, illustrators and books. I feel lucky to have read so many already and excited to add so many distinguished titles to my to-read list.

Here's the press release:

SEATTLE — The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top books, video and audiobooks for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery and Printz awards – at its Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.
A list of all the 2013 award winners follows:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:
“The One and Only Ivan,” written by Katherine Applegate, is the 2013 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.
Three Newbery Honor Books also were named: “Splendors and Glooms” by Laura Amy Schlitz and published by Candlewick Press; “Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon” by Steve Sheinkin and published by Flash Point, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press; and “Three Times Lucky” by Sheila Turnage and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
“This Is Not My Hat,” illustrated and written by Jon Klassen, is the 2013 Caldecott Medal winner. The book is published by Candlewick Press.
Five Caldecott Honor Books also were named: “Creepy Carrots!” illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division; “Extra Yarn,” illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett and published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of
HarperCollins Publishers; “Green,” illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger and published by Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press; “One Cool Friend,” illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group; “Sleep Like a Tiger,” illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue and published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:
“Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America,” written by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Disney/Jump at the Sun Books, an imprint of Disney Book Group.
Two King Author Honor Books were selected: “Each Kindness” by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis and published by Nancy Paulsen Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group; and “No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller” by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and published by Carolrhoda Lab, an imprint of Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:
“I, Too, Am America,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book is written by Langston Hughes and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.
Three King Illustrator Honor Books were selected: “H. O. R. S. E.,” illustrated and written by Christopher Myers, and published by Egmont USA; “Ellen’s Broom,” illustrated by Daniel Minter, written by Kelly Starling Lyons and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group; and “I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr.” illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Martin Luther King, Jr. and published by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:
“In Darkness,” written by Nick Lake, is the 2013 Printz Award winner. The book is published by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers.
Four Printz Honor Books also were named: “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division; “Code Name Verity” by Elizabeth Wein, published by Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group; “Dodger” by Terry Pratchett, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers; “The White Bicycle” by Beverley Brenna, published by Red Deer Press.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:
“Back to Front and Upside Down!” written and illustrated by Claire Alexander and published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., wins the award for children ages 0 to 10.
“A Dog Called Homeless” written by Sarah Lean and published by Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, is the winner of the middle-school (ages 11-13) award.
The teen (ages 13-18) award winner is “Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am,” written by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:
“Caring is Creepy,” by David Zimmerman, published by Soho Press, Inc.
“Girlchild,” by Tupelo Hassman, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
“Juvenile in Justice,” by Richard Ross, published by Richard Ross
“Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore,” by Robin Sloan, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
“My Friend Dahmer,” by Derf Backderf, published by Abrams ComicArts, an imprint of Abrams
“One Shot at Forever,” by Chris Ballard, published by Hyperion
“Pure,” by Julianna Baggott, published by Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
“The Round House,” by Louise Erdrich, published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
“Tell the Wolves I’m Home,” by Carol Rifka Brunt, published by Dial Press, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
“Where’d You Go, Bernadette?,” by Maria Semple, published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video:
Katja Torneman, producer of “Anna, Emma and the Condors,” is the Carnegie Medal winner.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. The 2013 winner is Katherine Paterson. Paterson was born in China in 1932 to missionary parents and grew up in the American South, moving eighteen times before she was 18. After graduating from King College in Bristol, Tennessee, she herself became a missionary in Japan. She returned to the U.S. to attend the Union Theological Seminary in New York, where she met and married John Paterson, a Presbyterian minister. Her first book, “The Sign of the Chrysanthemum,” was published in 1973. Katherine Paterson currently lives in Barre, Vermont.

Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: Demetria Tucker is the 2013 recipient. Tucker has served as youth services coordinator within the Roanoke (Va.) Public Library System and library media specialist at the Forest Park Elementary School, where she was selected 2007 Teacher of the Year. As family and youth services librarian for the Pearl Bailey Library, a branch of the Newport News (Va.) Public Library System, Tucker now coordinates a youth leadership program, a teen urban literature club and many other programs that support the youth of her community.

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults:
Tamora Pierce is the 2013 Edwards Award winner. Pierce was born in rural Western Pennsylvania in 1954. She knew from a young age she liked stories and writing, and in 1983, she published her first book, Song of the Lioness. She continues to write and even record her own audiobooks. She currently lives with her husband (spouse-creature) and a myriad of animals in Syracuse, New York.
May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site.
Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children's book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States:
“My Family for the War” is the 2013 Batchelder Award winner. Originally published in Germany in 2007 as “Liverpool Street,” the book was written by Anne C. Voorhoeve, translated by Tammi Reichel and published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Two Batchelder Honor Books also were selected: “A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return,” written and illustrated by Zeina Abirached, translated by Edward Gauvin and published by Graphic Universe, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.; and “Son of a Gun,” written and translated by Anne de Graaf, and published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States:
“The Fault in Our Stars,” produced by Brilliance Audio, is the 2013 Odyssey Award winner. The book is written by John Green and narrated by Kate Rudd.
Three Odyssey Honor Audiobooks also were selected: “Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian,” produced by Listening Library, written by Eoin Colfer and narrated by Nathaniel Parker; “Ghost Knight,” produced by Listening Library, written by Cornelia Funke and narrated by Elliot Hill; and “Monstrous Beauty,” produced by Macmillian Audio, written by Elizabeth Fama and narrated by Katherine Kellgren.

Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:
“Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert,” illustrated by David Diaz, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner. The book was written by Gary D. Schmidt and published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Pura Belpré (Author) Award:
“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, is the Belpré Author Award winner. The book is published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.
One Belpré Author Honor Book was named: “The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano” by Sonia Manzano, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:
“Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon,” written by Steve Sheinkin, is the Sibert Award winner. The book is published by Flash Point, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press.
Three Sibert Honor Books were named: “Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin,” written and illustrated by Robert Byrd and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group; “Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95,” written by Phillip M. Hoose and published by Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers; and “Titanic: Voices from the Disaster,” written by Deborah Hopkinson and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience:
“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, is the Stonewall Award winner.
Four Stonewall Honor Books were selected: “Drama,” written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier and published by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.; “Gone, Gone, Gone,” written by Hannah Moskowitz and published by Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division; “October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard,” written by Lesléa Newman and published by Candlewick Press; and “Sparks: The Epic, Completely True Blue, (Almost) Holy Quest of Debbie,” written by S. J. Adams and published by Flux, an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:
“Up, Tall and High!” written and illustrated by Ethan Long is the Seuss Award winner. The book is published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.
Three Geisel Honor Books were named: “Let’s Go for a Drive!” written and illustrated by Mo Willems, and published by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group; “Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons” by Eric Litwin, created and illustrated by James Dean and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers; and “Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover,” written and illustrated by Cece Bell and published by Candlewick Press.

William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:
“Seraphina,” written by Rachel Hartman, is the 2013 Morris Award winner. The book is published by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults:
Four other books were finalists for the award: “Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different,” written by Karen Blumenthal, published by Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of (Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group; “Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95,” written by Phillip Hoose, published by Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group; “Titanic: Voices from the Disaster,” written by Deborah Hopkinson, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic; and “We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March,” written by Cynthia Levinson, published by Peachtree Publishers.
Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, ALA awards guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by judging committees of librarians and other children’s literature experts, the awards encourage original and creative work.  For more information on the ALA youth media awards and notables, please visit www.ala.org/yma .

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NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALISTS

Fiction
This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz (Riverhead)
A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers (McSweeney's)
The Round House by Louise Erdrich (Harper)
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain (Ecco)
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers (Little, Brown)

Nonfiction
Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1945-1956 by Anne Applebaum (Doubleday)
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo (Random House)
The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 4 by Robert A. Caro (Knopf)
The Boy Kings of Texas by Domingo Martinez (Lyons Press)
House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East by Anthony Shadid (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Poetry
Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations by David Ferry (University of Chicago Press)
Heavenly Bodies by Cynthia Huntington (Southern Illinois University Press)
Fast Animal by Tim Seibles (Etruscan Press)
Night of the Republic by Alan Shapiro (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Meme by Susan Wheeler (University of Iowa Press)

Young People's Literature
Goblin Secrets by William Alexander (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos (Simon Pulse)
Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick (Balzer + Bray)
Endangered by Eliot Schrefer (Scholastic)
Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin (Flash Point/Roaring Brook)

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TIME OUT FOR MONSTERS! is on the list of ABC Best Books for Children and in such fabulous company. WHEEEEEE! Here 'tis!

Chuck Close: Face Book, Chuck Close, $18.95, (HC), 978-1419701634, Abrams
Hippopposites, Janik Coat, $14.95, (HC), 978-1419701511, Abrams
Kel Gilligan’s Daredevil Stunt Show, Michael Buckley, Dan Santat (Illus.), $16.95, (HC), 978-1419703799, Abrams
Shadow on the Mountain, Margi Preus, $16.95, (HC), 978-1419704246, Abrams
The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Chandler Warner, Tim Jessell (Illus.), $5.99, (TP), 978-0807508527, Albert Whitman & Company
The Boxcar Children Beginning: The Aldens of Fair Meadow Farm, Patricia Maclachlan, Tim Jessell (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-0807566169, Albert Whitman & Company
Celebrating Chinese Festivals: A Collection of Holiday Tales, Poems and Activities, Sanmu Tang, $16.95, (HC), 978-1602209619, Better Link Press/dist. Tuttle
Butter, Erin Jade Lange, $16.99, (HC), 978-1599907802, Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Because Amelia Smiled, David Ezra Stein, $16.99, (HC), 978-0763641696, Candlewick Press
The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate, Scott Nash, $17.99, (HC), 978-0763632649, Candlewick Press
I Want My Hat Back, Jon Klassen, $15.99, (HC), 978-0763655983, Candlewick Press
Randy Riley’s Really Big Hit, Chris Van Dusen, $15.99, (HC), 978-0763649463, Candlewick Press
Same Sun Here, Silas House and Neela Vaswani, $16.99, (HC), 978-0763656843, Candlewick Press
Sky Color, Peter H. Reynolds, $14, (HC), 978-0763623456, Candlewick Press
Splendors and Glooms, Laura Amy Schlitz, $17.99, (HC), 978-0763653804, Candlewick Press
Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Rogers (Illus.), $15.99, (HC), 978-0763639914, Candlewick Press
This Is Not My Hat, Jon Klassen, $15.99, (HC), 978-0763655990, Candlewick Press
No Crystal Stair, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, R. Gregory Christie (Illus.), $17.95, (LB), 978-0761361695, Carolrhoda Books/dist. Lerner
Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman, Marc Tyler Nobleman, Ty Templeton (Illus.), $17.95, (HC), 978-1580892896, Charlesbridge
Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs, J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen, Jefferey Stewart Timmins (Illus.), $16.95, (HC), 978-1580892605, Charlesbridge
Darth Vader and Son, Jeffrey Brown, $14.95, (HC), 978-1452106557, Chronicle Books
It’s a Tiger!, David LaRochelle, Jeremy Tankard (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-0811869256, Chronicle Books
Ivy and Bean Make the Rules, Book #9, Annie Barrows, Jeremy Holmes (Illus.), $14.99, (HC), 978-1452102955, Chronicle Books
The Templeton Twins Have an Idea: Book One, Ellis Weiner, Jeremy Holmes (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-0811866798, Chronicle Books
Wumbers, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Tom Lichtenheld (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-1452110226, Chronicle Books
Alien on a Rampage, Clete Barrett Smith, $16.99, (HC), 978-1423134480, Disney Publishing Worldwide
Chloe and the Lion, Mac Barnett, Adam Rex (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-1423113348, Disney Publishing Worldwide
Chopsticks, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Scott Magoon (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-1423107965, Disney Publishing Worldwide
Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein, $16.99, (HC), 978-1423152194, Disney Publishing Worldwide
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?, Mo Willems, $15.99, (HC), 978-1423151289, Disney Publishing Worldwide
False Memory, Dan Krokos, $17.99, (HC), 978-1423149767, Disney Publishing Worldwide
Helen’s Big World: The Life of Helen Keller, Doreen Rappaport, Matt Tavares, $17.99, (HC), 978-0786808908, Disney Publishing Worldwide
Jepp, Who Defied the Stars, Katherine Marsh, $16.99, (HC), 978-1423135005, Disney Publishing Worldwide
Oh No! Not Again!: (Or How I Built a Time Machine to save History) (Or at Least My History Grade), Mac Barnett, Dan Santat (Illus.), $17.99, (HC), 978-1423149125, Disney Publishing Worldwide
Otto the Book Bear, Katie Cleminson, $16.99, (HC), 978-1423145622, Disney Publishing Worldwide
Time Out for Monsters!, Jean Reidy, Robert Neubecker (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-1423131274, Disney Publishing Worldwide
All by Myself!, Emile Jadoul, $14, (HC), 978-0802854117, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Bow-Wow Wiggle-Waggle, Mary Newell DePalma, $14, (HC), 978-0802854087, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Little Bird, Germano Zullo, Albertine (Illus.), $16.95, (HC), 978-1592701186, Enchanted Lion Books/dist. Consortium
Victricia Malicia: Book-Loving Buccaneer, Carrie Clickard, Mark Meyers (Illus.), $16.95, (HC), 978-1936261123, Flashlight Press/dist. IPG
A Civil War Scrapbook: I Was There Too!, History Colorado, $14.95, (TP), 978-1555916688, Fulcrum Publishing
My Name Is Parvana, Deborah Ellis, $16.95, (HC), 978-1554982974, Groundwood Books/dist. PGW
The Immortal Rules, Julie Kagawa, $18.99, (HC), 978-0373210510, Harlequin Teen
The Iron Legends, Julie Kagawa, $9.99, (TP), 978-0373210749, Harlequin Teen
Pushing the Limits, Katie McGarry, $17.99, (HC), 978-0373210497, Harlequin Teen
An Awesome Book!, Dallas Clayton, $16.99, (HC), 978-0062114686, HarperCollins Children’s Books
The Crown of Embers, Rae Carson, $17.99, (HC), 978-0062026514, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Extra Yarn, Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-0061953385, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs, Mo Willems, $17.99, (HC), 978-0062104182, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans, Kadir Nelson, $19.99, (HC), 978-0061730740, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or, There Must Be More to Life, Maurice Sendak, $8.95, (TP), 978-0064430210, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhha Lai, $16.99, (HC), 978-0061962783, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Insurgent, Veronica Roth, $17.99, (HC), 978-0062024046, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Julie of the Wolves, Jean Craighead George, $5.99, (TP), 978-0060540951, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Little Bear, Else Holmelund Minarik, Maurice Sendak (Illus.), $3.95, (TP), 978-0064440042, HarperCollins Children’s Books
The Peculiar, Stefan Bachmann, $16.99, (HC), 978-0062195180, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Penny and Her Doll, Kevin Henkes, $12.99, (HC), 978-0062081995, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Penny and Her Song, Kevin Henkes, $12.99, (HC), 978-0062081957, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, Eric Litwin, James Dean (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-0062110589, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Tiger Lily, Jodi Lynn Anderson, $17.99, (HC), 978-0062003256, HarperCollins Children’s Books
The Voyage of Lucy P. Simmons, Barbara Mariconda, $16.99, (HC), 978-0062119797, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Wildwood, Colin Meloy, Carson Ellis (Illus.), $8.99, (TP), 978-0062024701, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Hunter Moran Saves the Universe, Patricia Reilly Giff, $16.95, (HC), 978-0823419494, Holiday House
See Me Run, Paul Meisel, $6.99, (TP), 978-0823426386, Holiday House
The Christmas Quiet Book, Deborah Underwood, Renata Liwska (Illus.), $12.99, (HC), 978-0547558639, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Grave Mercy: His Fair Assassin, Book I, Robin LaFevers, $16.99, (HC), 978-0547628349, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Immortal Lycanthropes, Hal Johnson, $16.99, (HC), 978-0547751962, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Last Dragonslayer (The Chronicles of Kazam), Jasper Fforde, $16.99, (HC), 978-0547738475, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Malcolm at Midnight, W.H. Beck, Brian Lies (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-0547681009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls, Mary Downing Hahn, $16.99, (HC), 978-0547760629, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
More, I.C. Springman, Brian Lies (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-0547610832, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
A Smidgen of Sky, Dianna Doirsi Winget, $16.99, (HC), 978-0547807980, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Son, Lois Lowry, $17.99, (HC), 978-0547887203, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
What Came From the Stars, Gary D. Schmidt, $16.99, (HC), 978-0547612133, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Happy, Mies Van Hout, $17.95, (HC), 978-1935954149, Ingram Publisher Services
Monkey’s Friends, Ruth Brown, $14.99, (HC), 978-1610670456, Kane/Miller
Things That Go, Deborah Murrell, Anthony Lewis (Illus.), $9.99, (BB), 978-0753467879, Kingfisher
Travels With Louis, Mick Carlon, $9.95, (TP), 978-1935248354, Leapfrog Press/dist. Consortium
“Who Could That Be at This Hour?” Lemony Snicket, Seth (Illus.), $15.99, (HC), 978-0316123082, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Laini Taylor, $9.99, (TP), 978-0316133999, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Days of Blood & Starlight, Laini Taylor, $18.99, (HC), 978-0316133975, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
The Diviners, Libba Bray, $19.99, (HC), 978-0316126113, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
The Drowned Cities, Paolo Bacigalupi, $17.99, (HC), 978-0316056243, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, Chris Colfer, $17.99, (HC), 978-0316201575, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
The Monsters’ Monster, Patrick McDonnell, $16.99, (HC), 978-0316045476, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Red Knit Cap Girl, Naoko Stoop, $15.99, (HC), 978-0316129466, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Not for Parents: Extreme Planet, Lonely Planet, $19.99, (TP), 978-1743214244, Lonely Planet
Not for Parents: How to Be a World Explorer, Lonely Planet, $17.99, (TP), 978-1743214251, Lonely Planet
Not for Parents: The Travel Book, Lonely Planet, $19.99, (TP), 978-1742208145, Lonely Planet
Bear Has a Story to Tell, Philip Stead, Erin Stead (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-1596437456, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Because It Is My Blood, Gabrielle Zevin, $17.99, (HC), 978-0374380748, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Extra Credit, Tommy Greenwald, J.P. Coovert (Illus.), $14.99, (HC), 978-1596436923, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Crewel, Gennifer Albin, $17.99, (HC), 978-0374316419, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Dead End in Norvelt, Jack Gantos, $15.99, (HC), 978-0374379933, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Emily’s Dress and Other Missing Things, Kathryn Burak, $17.99, (HC), 978-1596437364, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Eve and Adam, Katherine Applegate & Michael Grant, $17.99, (HC), 978-0312583514, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Catherynne M. Valente, Ana Juan (Illus.), $6.99, (TP), 978-1250010193, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, Catherynne M. Valente, Ana Juan (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-0312649623, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
A Is for Musk Ox, Erin Cabatingan, Matthew Myers (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-1596436763, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Little Tug, Stephen Savage, $12.99, (HC), 978-1596436480, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Safekeeping, Karen Hesse, $17.99, (HC), 978-1250011343, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Shadow and Bone, Leigh Bardugo, $17.99, (HC), 978-0805094596, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Montefiore’s Goddaughter, Elizabeth Brooks, $15.95, (HC), 978-1849820998, MP Publishing
5,000 Cool Facts About Everything, National Geographic, $19.95, (HC), 978-1426310492, National Geographic
National Geographic Animal Encylopedia, National Geographic, $24.95, (HC), 978-1426310225, National Geographic
National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry, National Geographic, $24.95, (HC), 978-1426310096, National Geographic
National Geogrpahic Kids Quiz Whiz, National Geographic Kids, $9.99, (TP), 978-1426310188, National Geographic
Privateer’s Apprentice, Susan Verrico, $15.95, (HC), 978-1561456338, Peachtree Publishers
The Theory of Everything, JJ Johnson, $16.95, (HC), 978-1561456239, Peachtree Publishers
The Apothecary, Maile Meloy, Ian Schoenherr (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-0399256271, Penguin Young Readers Group
Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys, $8.99, (TP), 978-0142420591, Penguin Young Readers Group
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, Donald J. Sobol, $4.99, (TP), 978-0142408889, Penguin Young Readers Group
In a Glass Grimmly, Adam Gidwitz, $16.99, (HC), 978-0525425816, Penguin Young Readers Group
One for the Murphys, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, $16.99, (HC), 978-0399256158, Penguin Young Readers Group
Summer and Bird, Katherine Catmull, $16.99, (HC), 978-0525953463, Penguin Young Readers Group
Too Tall Houses, Gianna Marino, $16.99, (HC), 978-0670013142, Penguin Young Readers Group
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale, Verna Aardema, Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon (Illus.), $7.99, (TP), 978-0140549058, Penguin Young Readers Group
Tales From Lovecraft Middle School #1: Professor Gargoyle, Charles Gilman, $13.99, (HC), 978-1594745911, Quirk Books
A Ball for Daisy, Chris Raschka, $16.99, (HC), 978-0375858611, Random House Children’s Books
Because of Mr. Terupt, Rob Buyea, $6.99, (TP), 978-0375858246, Random House Children’s Books
The Brides of Rollrock Island, Margo Lanagan, $17.99, (HC), 978-0375869198, Random House Children’s Books
Chomp, Carl Hiaasen, $16.99, (HC), 978-0375868429, Random House Children’s Books
The City of Ember Graphic Novel, Jeanne DuPrau and Dallas Middaugh, Niklas Asker (Illus.), $18.99, (HC), 978-0375868214, Random House Children’s Books
Discovering Wes Moore, Wes Moore, $15.99, (HC), 978-0385741675, Random House Children’s Books
Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book, Dr. Seuss, $14.99, (HC), 978-0394800912, Random House Children’s Books
The Drowned Vault, N.D. Wilson, $16.99, (HC), 978-0375864407, Random House Children’s Books
The Enchantress, Michael Scott, $18.99, (HC), 978-0385735353, Random House Children’s Books
Every Day, David Levithan, $16.99, (HC), 978-0307931887, Random House Children’s Books
The Face on the Milk Carton, Caroline B. Cooney, $7.99, (TP), 978-0385742382, Random House Children’s Books
The Fire Chronicle, John Stephens, $17.99, (HC), 978-0375868719, Random House Children’s Books
I Have a Dream, Martin Luther King, Jr., Kadir Nelson (Illus.), $18.99, (HC), 978-0375858871, Random House Children’s Books
Inheritance, Christopher Paolini, $15.99, (TP), 978-0375846311, Random House Children’s Books
Joshua Dread, Lee Bacon, $16.99, (HC), 978-0385741859, Random House Children’s Books
Junie B., First Grader: Turkeys We Have Loved and Eaten (and Other Thankful Stuff) (Junie B. Jones, No. 28), Barbara Park, Denise Brunkus (Illus.), $11.99, (HC), 978-0375870637, Random House Children’s Books
The Kill Order, James Dashner, $17.99, (HC), 978-0385742887, Random House Children’s Books
Liar & Spy, Rebecca Stead, $15.99, (HC), 978-0385737432, Random House Children’s Books
A Mary Blair Treasury of Golden Books, Various, $19.99, (HC), 978-0375870446, Random House Children’s Books
Mr. Terupt Falls Again, Rob Buyea, $16.99, (HC), 978-0385742054, Random House Children’s Books
Mystic City, Theo Lawrence, $17.99, (HC), 978-0385741606, Random House Children’s Books
Oh, No!, Candace Fleming, Eric Rohmann (Illus.), $17.99, (HC), 978-0375842719, Random House Children’s Books
The Paladin Prophecy, Mark Frost, $17.99, (HC), 978-0375870453, Random House Children’s Books
Pie in the Sky, Jane Smiley, $16.99, (HC), 978-0375869686, Random House Children’s Books
Rapture, Lauren Kate, $17.99, (HC), 978-0385739184, Random House Children’s Books
Rocket Writes a Story, Tad Hills, $17.99, (HC), 978-0375870866, Random House Children’s Books
Seraphina, Rachel Hartman, $17.99, (HC), 978-0375866562, Random House Children’s Books
Summer at Forsaken Lake, Michael D. Beil, Maggie Kneen, $16.99, (HC), 978-0375867422, Random House Children’s Books
Under the Bridge, Michael Harmon, $16.99, (HC), 978-0375866463, Random House Children’s Books
Wild About You, Judy Sierra, Illustrated by Marc Brown, $17.99, (HC), 978-0307931788, Random House Children’s Books
Wonder, R.J. Palacio, $15.99, (HC), 978-0375869020, Random House Children’s Books
The Big Something, Patricia Reilly Giff, Diane Palmisciano (Illus.), $6.99, (POB), 978-0545244596, Scholastic
Bird & Squirrel on the Run, James Burks, $8.99, (TP), 978-0545312837, Scholastic
Capture the Flag, Kate Messner, $16.99, (HC), 978-0545395397, Scholastic
Cardboard, Doug Tennapel, $12.99, (TP), 978-0545418737, Scholastic
The Dark Unwinding, Sharon Cameron, $17.99, (HC), 978-0545327862, Scholastic
The Dogs of Winter, Bobbie Pyron, $16.99, (HC), 978-0545399302, Scholastic
Drama, Raina Telgemeier, $10.99, (TP), 978-0545326995, Scholastic
The False Prince, Jennifer A. Nielsen, $16.99, (HC), 978-0545284134, Scholastic
Floors #2: 3 Below, Patrick Carman, $16.99, (HC), 978-0545255202, Scholastic
Fly Guy vs. the Flyswatter!, Tedd Arnold, $6.99, (HC), 978-0545312868, Scholastic
Glory Be, Augusta Scattergood, $16.99, (HC), 978-0545331807, Scholastic
Henry’s Freedom Box, Ellen Levine, Kadir Nelson , $17.99, (HC), 978-0439777339, Scholastic
The Letter Q: Queer Writers’ Notes to Their Younger Selves, Sarah Moon (Ed.), $17.99, (HC), 978-0545399326, Scholastic
Magisterium, Jeff Hirsch, $17.99, (HC), 978-0545290180, Scholastic
Pluto Visits Earth!, Steve Metzger, Jared D. Lee, $16.99, (HC), 978-0545249348, Scholastic
The Raven Boys, Maggie Stiefvater, $18.99, (HC), 978-0545424929, Scholastic
Ride, Fly Guy, Ride!, Tedd Arnold, $6.99, (HC), 978-0545222761, Scholastic
Stay: The True Story of Ten Dogs, Michaela Muntean, K.C. Bailey, Steve Kazmierski (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-0545234979, Scholastic
There’s a Fly Guy in My Soup, Tedd Arnold, $6.99, (TP), 978-0545312844, Scholastic
Third Grade Angels, Jerry Spinelli, $15.99, (HC), 978-0545387729, Scholastic
Are You a Cow?, Sandra Boynton, $5.99, (BB), 978-1442417335, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Between the Lines, Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer, $19.99, (HC), 978-1451635751, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Boot & Shoe, Marla Frazee, $16.99, (HC), 978-1442422476, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Creepy Carrots!, Aaron Reynolds, Peter Brown (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-1442402973, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
E. Aster Bnnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth’s Core!, William Joyce, $14.99, (HC), 978-1442430501, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, $11.99, (TP), 978-1451673319, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, William Joyce, Joe Bluhm (Illus.), $17.99, (HC), 978-1442457027, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
The Forsaken, Lisa M. Stasse, $16.99, (HC), 978-1442432659, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Lovely, Dark and Deep, Amy McNamara, $16.99, (HC), 978-1442434356, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
The Man in the Moon, William Joyce, $17.99, (HC), 978-1442430419, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury, $7.99, (MM), 978-1451678192, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Merits of Mischief: The Bad Apple, T. R. Burns, $16.99, (HC), 978-1442440296, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Mousetronaut: Based on a (Partially) True Story, Mark Kelly, C. F. Payne (Illus.) (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-1442458246, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, William Joyce, $14.99, (HC), 978-1442430488, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Nightsong, Ari Berk, Loren Long (Illus.) (Illus.), $17.99, (HC), 978-1416978862, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Ruins, Orson Scott Card, $18.99, (HC), 978-1416991779, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
The Sandman, William Joyce, $17.99, (HC), 978-1442430426, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Stars, Mary Lyn Ray, Marla Frazee (Illus.), $16.99, (HC), 978-1442422490, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Tell Me About Your Day Today, Mem Fox, Lauren Stringer, $17.99, (HC), 978-1416990062, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Toothiana, Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies, William Joyce, $14.99, (HC), 978-1442430525, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
The Unwanteds: Island of Silence, Lisa McMann, $16.99, (HC), 978-1442407718, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
When You Were Mine, Rebecca Serle, $16.99, (HC), 978-1442433137, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Where Things Come Back, John Corey Whaley, $8.99, (TP), 978-1442413344, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ZooBorns!, Andrew Bleiman, Chris Eastland (Illus.), $7.99, (BB), 978-1442443297, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Stella Batts: A Case of the Meanies, Courtney Sheinmel, $5.99, (TP), 978-1585361991, Sleeping Bear Press
Stella Batts: Hair Today Gone Tomorrow, Courtney Sheinmel, Jennifer A. Bell (Illus.), $5.99, (TP), 978-1585361915, Sleeping Bear Press
Stella Batts: Needs a New Name, Courtney Sheinmel, Jennifer A. Bell (Illus.), $5.99, (TP), 978-1585361830, Sleeping Bear Press
Stella Batts: Pardon Me, Courtney Sheinmel, Jennifer A. Bell (Illus.), $5.99, (TP), 978-1585361946, Sleeping Bear Press
Embrace, Jessica Shirvington, $16.99, (HC), 978-1402268403, Sourcebooks
Entice, Jessica Shirvington, $16.99, (HC), 978-1402268434, Sourcebooks
Greatest Moments in Sports: Upsets and Underdogs, Len Berman, $19.99, (HC), 978-1402272264, Sourcebooks
Girl of Nightmares (Anna Dressed in Blood), Kendare Blake, $17.99, (HC), 978-0765328663, Tor
Arlo Needs Glasses, Barney Saltzberg, $15.95, (POB), 978-0761168799, Workman
Mirabelle and the Bouncy Ball, Michael Muller, $6.95, (BB), 978-0761171652, Workman
Mirabelle and the Butterfly, Michael Muller, $6.95, (BB), 978-0761171669, Workman
Mirabelle Goes for a Walk, Michael Muller, $6.95, (BB), 978-0761171645, Workman
Perfectly Perilous Math, Sean Connolly, $12.95, (POB), 978-0761163749, Workman
Recycled Robots, Robert Malone, $26.95, (KIT), 978-0761154662, Workman
Star Wars Origami, Chris Alexander, $16.95, (TP), 978-0761169437, Workman
Unlikely Friendships for Kids: The Dog & The Piglet, Jennifer S. Holland, $7.95, (POB), 978-0761170129, Workman
Unlikely Friendships for Kids: The Leopard & the Cow, Jennifer S. Holland, $7.95, (POB), 978-0761170136, Workman
Unlikely Friendships for Kids: The Monkey & the Dove, Jennifer S. Holland, $7.95, (POB), 978-0761170112, Workman

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Today I'm hosting my talented friend and agency mate, Jeannie Mobley-Tanaka, who's debut middle grade novel KATERINA'S WISH has not one, not two but THREE starred reviews. 

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I'm so honored to be among so many talented writers!

Book-length Mainstream Fiction
Safe Haven by Susan Dugan (Karat Publishing)
The New Sons of Liberty by Tom Stohlgren (CreateSpace)
River Stone by JB Winsor (BoulderDigital Publishing)

Book-length Genre Fiction
A Way in the Wilderness by Paula L. Silici (Moonlight Mesa Associates)
Buried by the Roan by Mark Stevens (People’s Press)
Fox & Geese by Sandy Whelchel (National Writers Press)

Book-length Children’s Fiction (Picture Books and Early Readers)
The Mutt & the Mustang by Judy Archibald (Pet Pals Publishing)
Raj, the Bookstore Tiger by Kathleen T. Pelley (Charlesbridge)
Light Up the Night by Jean Reidy (Disney Hyperion)

Book-length General Nonfiction
Tea Leaf Reading for Beginners: Your Fortune in a Teacup by Caroline Dow (Llewellyn Publications Worldwide)
Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Colorado by Phyllis J. Perry (Globe-Pequat Press)
Walking Denver by Mindy Sink (Wilderness Press)

Book-length Creative Nonfiction
The Long Road to Oklahoma: Images and Impressions of Our Trip Across America by Kathy and Ron Hendricks (Self-published)
Michener's South Pacific by Stephen J. May (University Press of Florida)
Delirious Delhi by Dave Prager (Harper Collins India)

Adult Feature Article
Who Do They Call? byJoy Overbeck (Vail Valley Magazine)
On the Edge: How a Handful of People Have Preserved Some Rare, Valuable sheep and their Wools by Deborah Robson (PieceWork Magazine)
Rays that Pay by Susan J. Tweit (Audubon Magazine)

Adult Essay
Journey of Discovery by Dan Guenther (An Elevated View:ColoradoWriters on Writing, Seven Oaks Publishing)
A Shape-Shifting Land by Page Lambert (West of 98, University of Texas Press)
The King's Speech Speaks for 3 Million Who Can’t by Jeff Miller (DenverPost)

Poetry
The Mysteries by Kathryn T.S. Bass (Turkey Buzzard Press)
dance 101 by Constance E. Boyle (La Forza di Vita: Caffeinated Poems)
What answer forthcoming by Constance E. Boyle (The Human Touch)

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 This charming bedtime book plays off of the “This Is the House That Jack Built” cumulative classic. A little boy tells of his universe, starting from the farthest point he can imagine and ending up in his bed, just in time for sleep and dreaming. Reidy’s rhymes are so lively and appealing, however, that the child being read to may feel rejuvenated rather than lulled (“This is my continent, far and wide. / It kisses an ocean on either side, / on half the Earth, / which circles the sun, / which hides its face when the day is done”). Likewise, Chodos-Irvine’s illustrations reveal a boy who, after being kissed good night, gets up from his bed and wraps himself in his red-and-white quilt in order to narrate this grand tour. The quilt becomes a jet, a rocket, a flying saucer, and other red-and-white forms of transportation. From the swirling galaxies and the woodcut-style sun to the color-coded map of the U.S. and the retro feel of the boy’s bedroom, it does seem like a wonderful world. Booklist

Simply outstanding. In a cumulative,"house that Jack built" narrative, a young boy folds his blanket around himself and sails out over the Earth, into the stars and then all the way back till finally snuggling down in his own bed, ending each verse with "in my own little piece of the universe".
The concept is lovely and comforting, the rhymes are PERFECT and the art colorful, child friendly and has just the right amount of details. Wonderful at bedtime or any time of the day. The Library Lady

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As of the date and time of this post, the highest bids on the following items were still under $15. Stop on by to put in YOUR bids on these screamin' deals.

Signed Copy of PUNXSUTAWNEY PHYLLIS!

Signed Copy of NOT YET, ROSE!

Autographed copy of Close Encounters of a Third-World Kind by Jennifer J. Stewart

In-Depth Critique of College Application Essay!

Middle Grade Novel Manuscript Critique from Author Mary Bartek

TOO PRINCESSY! Pink Hat and Scarf

Cozy, Cuddly Teddy Bear Quilt

 

 

 

 

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My guest blogger today is Melissa Conroy (Yes! She has a famous author dad!) whose sweet new book Grandma is an Author releases today. It's an interactive story and journal about creativity and writers' block. But after visiting her amazing website and browsing her many creative endeavors, I have a hard time believing Melissa is ever blocked. And I got a chance to ask her about just that.

JR: How do all your creative endeavors inspire each other - your books, your dolls, your sculpture, your prints, your knits? How do they compete for your time? In other words when you wake in the morning, how do you decide what to do? I'm not necessarily talking about a routine here, but more about discerning which muse is calling to you.

MC: When I made my portfolio website, it was an opportunity to catalog what I had been working on for many years. I know it looks like a huge variety of pursuits, but in real time it has been a slow evolution from one thing to the next. When I had a studio in Brooklyn I could make large sculptures. Now, my life is more suited to making picture books. Ideas come in moments when I am not expecting them. Years ago, the image of a fort of translucent sandbags appeared in my head. It was there to greet me every time I daydreamed. That fort became a mini obsession. I worked on it for six months, piling and securing stiff translucent pillows until it was taller than me. It was a glowing oasis in my studio for about a month before slowly collapsing. If the vision of translucent sandbags came to me today, I would have the inclination to weave it into a story.

The mediums I use go back to when I was a child. I taught myself to sew in second grade to repair stuffed animals. I see a direct connection between my soft sculpture and more recently, my dolls to those early stitches. Drawing was another childhood discovery. The moment I realized I could draw was thrilling. The world began to reveal itself to me through drawing. I began to see details, shapes, colors, relationships and even personality in things that I had never noticed before. When I am feeling stuck I go outside and draw something. Drawing is the medium that is always at my disposal, while other mediums will tap me on the shoulder now and then.

JR: I hear you when you say ideas come when you least expect them. But translucent sandbags? Wow! I would love to see that in a gallery OR a picture book someday. I also love that you sew. And the fact that you repaired stuffed animals is so tender.  I think we could have been 2nd grade friends.

With all you do, you can't possibly EVER be without creative inspiration. So what led you to write a kid's book about writer's block? Tell us more about Gus. And tell us more about the journal that comes with the book.

MC: Perhaps doing so many different things can be a symptom of writer’s block. Reach a roadblock with a painting? Take out some needles and knit for a while. Having two options at my disposal helps. I can return to each with fresh eyes. That’s why I enjoy picture books so much. I love shifting from text to drawings and back to text until they are dependent upon each other.

I like to think I have plenty of ideas to work from. But, ideas don’t always equal functioning stories. When I sat down to write Grandma is an Author, every story I started hit a wall after the first page. I felt like there was a writers block ghost floating around in my head, turning my words into mush. At the same time, I found myself helping my daughter c

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Swooning!

LIGHT UP THE NIGHT [KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW!]
By Jean Reidy; illus. by Margaret Chodos-Irvine

The coziest of quilts becomes a rocket ship in this gorgeous, mesmerizingly rhythmic read-aloud that explores a boy’s small place in a vast world. Sporting star-spangled pajamas, the not-too-sleepy astronaut wraps his red-and-white quilt around his shoulders and zooms off into outer space. The slow-building rhyme echoes the cumulative structure of “The House That Jack Built”: “These are the planets that circle the sun, / which hides its face when the day is done, / while stars glow bright / and light up the night, / in my own little piece of the universe.” The soothing rhythms and comforting refrain are just right for very young ears, and the geographical terms will stretch young minds. During the boy’s fanciful flight, his aerial view of Earth includes hemispheres, continents and countries—eventually zeroing in on his own town, house, street and bed. Caldecott Honor–winner Chodos-Irvine’s colorful illustrations are fun and friendly, from the retro linocut spot art of the boy in his bedroom (“This is me”)—to dramatic full-bleed spreads that capture the expansive galaxies, complete with a smiling moon, animal constellations, planets and four-eyed aliens. The richly textured mixed-media artwork—incorporating various printmaking techniques and what looks like cut-paper collage—offers many clever self-referential moments and something new to discover with each reading. A dreamy-yet-instructive ode to the universe. (Picture book. 2-6)

LIGHT UP THE NIGHT [HORN BOOK REVIEW]

by Jean Reidy; illus. by Margaret Chodos-Irvine

Before bedtime, a young boy plays with his toys—vehicles of all kinds, from a truck to a spaceship. He quietly identifies himself by saying, “This is me,” captioning a small spot art illustration surrounded by white space. Why so small? Because, as listeners soon discover, he’s part of something big. His mother tucks him in, but he doesn’t go straight to sleep. Instead, he takes his blanket, transforms it into a rocket ship, and soars off into the vastness of the heavens. Thus begins a cumulative tale that takes him out of this world (“These are my galaxy stars so bright— / they light up the heavens late at night”) and back again to his “own little piece of the universe”: “This is my room, with my name on the door, and my dinosaur lamp, and my rug on the floor.” Soft assonant sounds soothe the cumulative rhyme that parallels nighttime routines through its repetition and structure. Visually, the most important object in the book is the boy’s best bedtime companion: his blanket. Reproduced on the endpapers, the blanket first swaddles the book and then the boy as pieces of it morph into the vehicles that transport him. Double-page spreads of bright but not overpowering collages depict his journey, while the opening and closing actions (of going to bed and going to sleep) are shown in smaller wordless panels, bringing the story full circle. Betty Carter

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To celebrate the release of the TOO PURPLEY! Board Book, I'm giving away a free autographed copy on Goodreads. Check it out!

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Last summer when I traveled to Uganda I was quite picky about my traveling companions. They had to be fun, hardy and have a LOT of heart. That's why Audrey Vernick's buffalo made the cut.

After all, if he could handle kindergarten, he could handle most anything. Sure enough, I found that this treasure of a picture book, Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? delights kids everywhere.

Now, in Audrey's latest book, in bookstores June 28th, our favorite buffalo has got the beat. He's learning to play the drums! YES! And he's sure to leave his mark, not only on the music world but on the children's literary world as well. WOOHOO! Check it out!

Of course, this news begs the question "What will he do next?"

Well that's precisely what I asked my friend, fellow picture book author, and buffalo lover, Audrey Vernick. So I'm bubbling over with pride at presenting Audrey's thoughts on brainstorming and her hilarious Buffalo Bucket List. Go, Audrey!

Brainstorming for buffalo ideas has everything to do with Daniel Jennewein, the illustrator of IS YOUR BUFFALO READY FOR KINDERGARTEN? and TEACH YOUR BUFFALO TO PLAY DRUMS. The buffalo I first wrote about was just this idea of a buffalo until Daniel brought him to life. The ideas I envision now are very closely tied to the images he created; there's no way to separate them.

I cannot resist the impulse to put my buffalo in costumes and give him props, which is why both the Winter and Summer Olympics really call me. I would love to see the buffalo go for gold. The publishing reality of that, of course, is a pretty tiny sales/marketing window, and so I'm sure it won't happen, but just envision: Speedo/goggle-clad Buffalo in the 400-meter medley, competitive trampoline, fencing, canoe. For the winter sports--bobsled, ski jump, curling, figure skating (pairs).

All I have to do is think it and I can see what Daniel would come up with, and well, that's a party in my head. When I think about brainstorming in general, as requested by my lovely host, I stumbled upon a surprising reality: I don't really brainstorm. (How's that for an engaging guest blog post?) An idea comes to me--via something I say or think--and I weigh it for story potential.

I am at my least creative when actively seeking ideas, a true brainstormer's worst nightmare. But because my buffalo already exists, he's an exception. I stink at brainstorming from scratch, but I had one h

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The Young Adult Library Services Association(YALSA), along with the American Library Association (ALA) is looking for the top ten teen reads of 2009. Voting is open to teens from August 24th to September 18th. Teens can access the ballot at www.ala.org/teenstopten. Among the nominated entries selected are


THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins,


FLYGIRL by Sherri L. Smith,


BREAKING DAWN by Stephanie Meyers,






ETERNAL by Cythia Leitich-Smith and many more.















Teens who take the time to vote will be entered to win Sherman Alexie's THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN. So check it out, and vote for your favorites!

-Niki Masse Schoenfeldt

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PN Direct reports that Chicken House is seeking talent. Click here for the full blurb and scroll down.

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