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The holidays are nearly upon us!  Time to buy things!  To chop down trees.  To find books for the small fry!  I can’t help you with the first or second of these necessities but #3?  Here’s a bit of an aid for you.  As you may know, Rocco Staino and KidLit TV have together been interviewing all the heavyweights in the children’s literary field.  Now he has a kind of holiday special (cool, right?) with three of my favorite folks: Jenny Brown (Children’s Editor for Shelf Awareness, director of the Center for Children’s Literature at Bank Street College), Susannah Richards (Associate Professor of Education at Eastern Connecticut State University), and Luann Toth (Managing Editor School Library Journal Reviews).

You can see the full roster of their recommendations here.

Not to be outdone, Candlewick sent their holiday greetings as well.

I sort of wish the guy in the bear suit had turned out to be Jack Gantos or Tobin Anderson or something.

Now can you keep a little secret?  This is a good one.  Here it is: If you would ever like to watch me grapple with my own personal hell, make me do a TED Talk.  This is nothing I fear more.  I like public speaking.  I like people looking at me.  But for whatever reason the prospect of doing a talk, like the one presented here by expert speaker and children’s librarian Shannon Ozirny of Vancouver, reduces me to a quivering mass of goo.  Fortunately, Shannon’s a pro.  Watch this:

Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the link.

And now, this series. It appears to be a sort of Dr. Who meets Buffy concoction.  I’m just amused that it’s supposed a group of adults with MLIS degrees and yet not a single one of them is wearing glasses.  Ah, Hollywood.  How you hate frames so.

Thanks to Marci for the link.

And finally, for our off-topic video, I never post cute cat videos.  Life is too short.  I’m not that kind of gal.  Certainly there are enough fabulous videos out there that I’d never have to rely on . . . OH!  Whack-a-Mole!

I am grateful to Robin Adelson, Executive Director,  Children’s Book Council and Every Child A Reader, for inviting me to a wonderful evening in Celebration of Children’s Book Week. It was a night to remember!  Once my videos are finished downloading, I will share some clips from the awards presentation but in the meantime, guess who?

Amy and Betsy Bird (Blogger Fuse8 who is lovely)

Amy and Author Jon Scieszka (HE makes me laugh so much!)

Amy and Rachel Rene'e Russell (Author of Dork Diaries)

SLJ's Rocco Staino and Amy

“If you’re dreaming of becoming the next J. K. Rowling, we’ve got the perfect place for you—the Southampton Children’s Literature Conference!” So said School Library Journal last year after Rocco Staino paid a visit to the Stony Brook Southampton campus to observe the Conference in action.

As Director of the Conference, I am delighted to announce that applications are now being accepted for our July 2012 workshops. We have a truly stellar line-up of faculty members this year, every one of whom is an esteemed, award-winning author in his (or her) own right, including:

• #1 New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds
• New York Times bestselling/Horn Book Award-winning author Kate McMullan
• New YorkTimes bestselling authors Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith
• National Book Award finalist and ALA Best Book of the Year Award-winning YA author Patricia McCormick

Every workshop is capped at 12 students, which makes for a uniquely individualized experience and an incredible opportunity for specific and direct feedback and support. It also means they fill up quickly – so don’t delay if you’re thinking of applying!

A bit more information about the Conference… this year there will be two sessions, a five day one (July 11-15) featuring workshops in picture book, middle grade and YA with Peter H. Reynolds, Kate McMullan and Cynthia and Greg Leitich-Smith, respectively, and a 12-day session (July 18-29) in YA with Patricia McCormick.  Mornings are spent in workshop, and in the afternoons a series of electives are offered such as craft lectures, panel discussions and mini-workshops. You can also choose to spend time writing at one of the beautiful Hamptons beaches or on the gorgeous campus grounds.

Because the Childrens Literature Conference is part of the Southampton Arts Summer, it runs concurrently with workshops in playwriting and screenwriting, as well as with adult workshops in poetry, memoir, novel, creative non-fiction, and even acting and visual arts. Evening events feature well-known authors, playwrights, and filmmakers. The schedule of formal and informal social gatherings is rich—from author receptions to an open-mic night—with a few surprises, too. And because Southampton Arts sponsors an esteemed and long-standing MFA in Creative Writing and Literature at Stony Brook Southampton, as well as new MFA’s in Theatre, Film and Visual Arts, the workshops may be taken for credit. There are even a few partial scholarships available.

To find out more, or to download an application, visit http://www.southamptonchildrenslit.com