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Scholastic has a student contest that caught my attention. From the source:

Mark Teague, illustrator of the How Do Dinosaurs series, uses his imagination to help dinosaurs learn about lots of important things—how to say good night, play with friends, go to school, even to say “I love you”!

Now It’s Your Students’ Turn! Create a book cover by filling in the blank: How Do Dinosaurs __________? Then draw the cover you imagine!

1 Grand-Prize Winner will receive a classroom visit from Mark Teague!

10 Runners-Up will receive a 10-book Mark Teague library!

Click here for more information. I could see students getting into this one. Personally, I’d like to see a How Do Dinosaurs Prevent Their Own Extinction cover. A lot of directions you could go with that one.

The conversation you are about to read actually took place.

The Scene: BookMine, an old and rare book dealer

Customer: Hi, I am looking for an old book.

Book Dealer: What’s the title?

Customer: I don’t remember.

Book Dealer: OK. Who is the author?

Customer: Sorry, can’t remember that either.

Book Dealer: OK, you are making it a little tough here. What was it about?

Customer: I don’t remember. But it was my favorite book when I was little.

Book Dealer: I don’t think I can help you.

Customer: OK, thanks for your help.

At the BookMine website, they have a page devoted to the many, shall we say, unusual phone, email, and face to face interactions with customers that have occurred over the years – including the one above. Hilarity comes early and often. Click here to read.

(Thanks to BoingBoing for the link)

(Top Image: ‘untitled‘ http://www.flickr.com/photos/78011127@N00/2549674296)

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

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

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

(Thanks to BoingBoing for the link)

This has to be the longest setup for a link ever.

Earlier this week, the 2009 National Book Award finalists were announced. In case you haven’t seen the Young People’s Literature finalists, here they are:

The shocker of the group was the inclusion of the seemingly adult graphic novel Stitches by David Small. The debate has been fun to follow:

GalleyCat

Chasing Ray

A Fuse #8 Production

Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog

A Chair, A Fireplace & a Tea Cozy

I read Stitches, loved it, reviewed it, called it a *Best New Book*, and think that it’s certainly a title for older teens and adults. I hope it gets the attention it deserves, but “Young People’s Literature” is pushing it. The hullabaloo reminded me that Small lives just south of Kalamazoo, Michigan – a mere jaunt from where I call home – and was recently featured in my (almost) local newspaper, the Grand Rapids Press. It’s a profile that is absolutely worth your time. Some revealing stuff, to be sure. Click the image below to read.

Do you enjoy prognosticating the winner of the annual Newbery medal? Do you love engaging in some good ol’ thought provoking argumentation? Could you care less about children’s lit, but have an unhealthy obsession with the word “distinguished”? You need to read Heavy Medal, A Mock Newbery Blog at the School Library Journal website. Children’s lit luminaries Nina Lindsay and Johnathan Hunt debate the Newbery potential of some of this year’s best books. It scores very high on the interesting scale. If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to it.

A sample of the books being discussed:

To witness 2009’s best and brightest held under the microscope, click the image below.

The silver screen version of Where the Wild Things Are hits screens on October 16, and the internet action has been heavy. In preparation, here’s a sample of Wild Things related links for your perusal.

Where the Wild Things Are tattoos.

Is there anything more fascinating than a large, full color, permanent  tribute to a kid’s book on someone’s arm? Okay, maybe just to a children’s librarian. Anyway, click the image below to see what I mean.

Stuff White People Like: Where the Wild Things Are.

A satirical (and, uh, kinda accurate) assessment of the appeal of Where the Wild Things Are.

Listen to Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack.

How can you not like the title “Food Is Still Hot”? I’m listening to this soundtrack as I write and I’m digging a large portion of it. Let me know if you feel the same way.

Have a Wild Things Halloween.

Likely reactions to this costume:

(If you’re at a gathering w/ children’s lit fans) “Nice! Max!”

(If you’re at a gathering w/o children’s lit fans) “Nice! Wolf!”

Either way, I think you’re alright.

Normally, I reserve this post for the latest video of a chimp reading a children’s book or some similar bit of nonsense. Today, however, our Sunday Link Du Jour is actually helpful.

As a school librarian, I’m frequently deciding where to shelve new books we add to the collection. Most of the time these judgments are pretty clear, but gray areas certainly exist. Sometimes a book crosses my desk that I could use a second opinion on. OCLC Classify is perfect for this. I found out about this one at Neverendingsearch, who describes the service as such:

Search by ISBN, ISSN, UPC, OCLC number, or author/title. The service offers access to more than 36 million WorldCat records containing Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Library of Congress Classification (LCC), or National Library of Medicine (NLM) Classification numbers.  It shares the most frequent and most recent class numbers, and it links to DeweyBrowser for further cataloging information.

Keep this site handy. Click here to head over to Neverendingsearch and take a look.

Oh, and uh, here’s a video of a chimp reading a book:

There comes a moment when you realize that a song/book/movie has really crossed over. When I saw that music magazine Filter was coming out with a Where the Wild Things Are issue next week, that moment occurred. Click here to head over to Pop Candy and read more.

When I stumble upon old children’s book covers, my eyes have a tendency to glaze over and there is a nearly reflexive loss of interest. I am uncontrollably new-school in this way. It’s embarrassing.

However, there is something about this Flickr set of children’s books from 1860-1920 that did the opposite. Some of these titles and covers I could see coming out today (Chicken World), and others which are showing their age (uh, see above).

Click the image below to view the entire set of 20.

Man, books are great and everything, but don’t you ever wish they could do more? Page after page of words – it’s a bit repetitive, don’t you think? You ever wish you could just, you know, grow things in them? You’re not alone:

Book planters.

(Thanks to BoingBoing for the link)

In celebration of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! taking the #5 slot in the Fuse #8 Production Top 100 Picture Books Poll, today’s links are Mo Willems related.

It is a humble dream of mine to have a children’s book illustrator create a mural in my school library. I occasionally see this sort of thing happening at other locations and I’m usually jealous as all get out. Wondering how it would go down if Lane Smith and Mo Willems went nuts on one of your walls? Click here to see for yourself.

Moving along to the second portion of this 30 second share (show and tell for the new millenium y’all!), is it just me, or has Mr. Willems sort of become the go-to personality and all around bon vivant of NPR? They feature his books, he’s got that radio cartoon gig, and now he’s promoting drawing as a life-long activity. So says Mo:

One of the interesting things about cartooning and doodling and drawing, is that people stop when they decide they’re not good at it. Nobody stops playing basketball when they realize they’re not going to become a professional. The same thing should apply to cartooning.

Right on. Click the play button below to head over to the NPR website and listen.

(Thanks to Mo Willems Doodles for the links)

Artist M.S. Corley, he who likes giving the retro Penguin Classic treatment to popular children’s book covers (as evidenced by his recent Harry Potter reworkings), is at it again. This time Mr. Corley sets his sights on Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. While these covers will not be on shelves (which is probably a good thing - they have way more retro adult appeal than kid allure), they’re fun to look at nonetheless. Click here to view all the covers.

I’ve been waiting for this day all my life, and I didn’t even know it. One Albert Clifford Slater (Mario Lopez) will soon be releasing his first children’s picture book. Click here to head over to Publishers Weekly and read all about it.

One more thing. It has been my dream to one day post this video on 100 Scope Notes for a legitimate reason. You better believe I’m taking advantage of this opportunity. Let’s take a look at the author in action:

Saying that librarians like NPR is like saying Canadians enjoy Tim Horton’s - it’s just too obvious to warrant much mention. Also, please consider me an honorary Canadian – besides the fact that half my extended family lives there, the maple glaze they’ve got going on north of the boarder is the best kept secret of that wonderful nation.

Anyway, this general librarian enjoyment of all things national and public and broadcast through radio waves extends to Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me, a news quiz show produced by NPR and recorded in Chicago. It’s funny, it’s informative, and I listen to the podcast edition every week on my way to work.

Living on the banks of Lake Michigan, with Chicago just a couple hours away, I’ve been looking for a time to go and watch a live taping of the show. I figured the ALA Annual Conference coming up this summer (July 9-15) might make a perfect time.

Well, I looked into the matter and I should have figured that more than a few of the cardiganed and bifocaled masses out there were thinking the same thing. Turns out ALTAFF (a division of the American Library Association) is reserving EVERY SEAT IN THE HOUSE and making tickets available through their website. If you’ve ever wanted to be good-naturedly mocked about your profession, you’ve just struck gold. My tickets will be en route shortly. From the source:

PHILADELPHIA - The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), in partnership with ALA Conference Services, presents an evening with Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, National Public Radio’s weekly hour-long quiz program on Thursday, July 9. ALTAFF has purchased all 500 seats in Chicago’s Chase Auditorium and will pack the house with librarians and library supporters as a fundraiser for the newly established division during the ALA Annual Conference, held July 9-15 in Chicago.

Tickets are $30 each or $40 for the VIP section and may be purchased through ALA Conference Services. Those who have previously registered for the conference may add tickets by calling Experient at (800) 974-3084. New conference registrants may purchase tickets online or by phone during the registration process. Tickets are also available for purchase without conference registration by calling Experient at 800-974-3084.

Click here to read the entire press release.

Herpes Trout. Best unused name in children’s lit history? Turns out that was the original name for Mike Teavee in early drafts of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Amazing what you can learn when you enter Roald Dahl’s writing hut, the dank, ramshackle space Dahl occupied while writing some of the world’s most enduring works of children’s literature. The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre website gives visitors a three-dimensional experience, complete with clickable furniture and objects that provide a behind-the-scenes look at the author’s writing process. Click here to have a look around. (Note: For some reason, this site is best viewed using Internet Explorer).

(Thanks to Boing Boing for the link)

Every now and again, I wonder which books are being purchased by the book-loving population. When I check the New York Times bestsellers, I usually post this information. That sharing could come to a screeching halt due to the website Reading Radar. Pulling information from the NYT bestseller list and Amazon.com, Reading Radar does its job well. It displays books by category, just as they appear in the Times. When you click on a title, it provides bestseller history, Amazon customer reviews, and purchasing info. Bold, clear, easy to use - the site is bound to put bloggers like me out of work.

(Thinking)

(Thinking)

Unless I show the top three here, and link to the rest. I’m still in business baby! Click on the images below to view the full lists. (Thanks to EarlyWord for the link)

Picture Books:

Listen to the Wind has been residing at the top for a couple weeks now, with Gallop! continuing to say “I’m never leaving this list” from the number two spot. The House in the Night is #3, enjoying a nice post-Caldecott boost in sales.

Chapter Books:

The Graveyard Book, already no stranger to ranks of the bestsellers, is now sporting a Newbery seal at the top of the list. Scat lands at #2, continuing Carl Hiaasen’s string of popular eco-themed titles. The Hunger Games, loved by everyone who touches it, fills out the top three.

(Top Image: ‘Cat and Cannon Bookstore, Lake City, Seattle‘
www.flickr.com/photos/93452909@N00/179550407)

If there was ever anything you want to know about children’s lit on the internet, head to KidLitosphere Central. Organized by a formidable crew of children’s lit minds, the site covers news, reviews, awards, and has a authoritative list of kidlit blogs. Many thanks to the creators:

Pam W. Coughlan (MotherReader), Elizabeth Burns (A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy), Kelly Herold (Big A, little a), Anne Boles Levy (Cybils), Jen Robinson (Jen Robinson’s Book Page).

Click the image below to take a look.

Construction Worker 1: Okay, we’ve got the plywood up. What’s next?

Construction Worker 2: Your crew can get started putting up the Tyvek. It’s pretty much indestructible, so we’ve gotta make sure it’s up before we start siding.

Construction Worker 1: Indestructible you say? Boss, they should make books for babies out if that stuff!

Construction Worker 2: Son, you can take the afternoon off.

Undestroyable material + books for babies = not a bad idea. BoingBoing recently posted about how Tybook makes this equation a reality.  Take a look at the video below to see the results:

(Top Image: ‘Tyvek‘
www.flickr.com/photos/17275830@N00/1801669451)

It’s time to take a trip back and look at the year that was in children’s lit miscellanea.

Most Unexpected Find Underneath a Book Jacket: The Calder Game by Blue Balliett. Most jackets cover boring old plain-looking books. The Calder Game jacket was really hiding something:

Biggest Material Trend: Matte finish with glossy elements (a la The Last Invisible Boy, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Geek Chic: The Zoey Zone, and just about every book that has a title). It’s almost so ubiquitous that it isn’t a trend anymore, but the standard. It looks sharp too. Sure to continue in ‘09.

Biggest Children’s Lit Controversy: Has the Newbery Lost Its Way? Anita Silvey’s article in School Library Journal opens a can of worms. Judging by some of the reaction (including this post by Nina Lindsay on Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog), it was a big can of worms.

Trend that Was Full Steam Ahead in 2008: Penguins (a la Sergio Make a Splash, Patrick the Somnambulist, A Penguin Story, etc.). Although these flightless birds are found only in the southern hemisphere, they were featured in what seemed like a full 25% of picture books released in ‘08.

Possible Trend for 2009: Tiny characters (a la the upcoming Toby Alone (Candlewick), Clarence Cochran, A Human Boy (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux), and Itty Bitty (Candlewick). Building off of Who Made This Cake?, will tiny characters become commonplace in ‘09? A couple spring releases point to “yes”.

Chapter Book I Thought Was a Picture Book for an Embarrassingly Long Amount of Time (A.K.A. the See It to Believe It Award): Antsy Does Time. Look, just don’t give me a hard time about this one. If you didn’t know much about this title and saw the cover, wouldn’t you be in my oblivious boat?

Picture book that’s more for the chapter book crowd: Wabi Sabi (100 Scope Notes Review). A beautiful, detailed, deep book best digested by the upper elementary/middle school reader.

Best Old School Illustration Technique Making a Comeback: Limited color palates (a la Jellaby, Ghosts in the House, Sergio Makes a Splash, Not a Stick, South, etc.). Limiting the variety of color used in illustrations is impressive and all, but I’m waiting for the day when authors limit the number of words they use. Wait, they already do that, you say? They’ve even come out with wordless books? It’s a genre unto itself? (Nervous laugh) Moving on, it appears that using fewer colors actually stands out more than using thousands. A nice throwback.

Best Confirmation That a Character is Indeed Awesome: Lee Scoresby in Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman. I apologize to the non Dark Materials readers out there, but when Lee passed in that series, there wasn’t a dry eye in my house (full disclosure: I was the only one home). Getting to find out about Lee’s first encounter with Iorek Byrnison was possibly the most entertaining  read of the year for me.

Worst Trend for Kids Who Check Out Books in a School Library: Cards, games, and puzzles included. Great fun for the bookstore purchaser, not much fun for the school library patron (the added items don’t get circulated with the book) .

Best Shout Aloud: Big Plans by Bob Shea and Lane Smith (100 Scope Notes Review). Read aloud just doesn’t produce the decibels needed for this hilarious story.

Book Word of the Year: “Distinguished”. A sharp increase in use beginning around Fall, when book award discussions began. Not to be confused with “popularity”.

Best Use of the Internet for Book-Related Purposes: ALA book Awards webcast last January

Worst Interview That I Was Hoping Would be Good: Ann Curry’s over-caffeinated speed-dating-inspired interview with Laura Amy Schlitz and Brian Selznik on the Today Show in January. Click here to watch.

Biggest Cover Art Trend: Photographs, not illustrations. Not only are new books coming out with non-illustrated covers, but old books are being reissued with the photo treatment.

Best Excitement Builder For a Picture Book: “The Pigeon Wants a…” contest for the new Mo Willems Pigeon book. Who didn’t have a guess for this? I think mine was “The Pigeon Wants String Cheese”. Chalk that up to wishful thinking (I love that stuff).

Best Book-Related Unnatural Placement of Nature: A tree inside the Canton Public Library in Canton, MI.

Librarian #1: You know what would look good in here?

Librarian #2: What?

Librarian #1: A tree.

Librarian #2: Indubitably.

My Weirdest Review: Baby Brains and Robomom by Simon James.

My Weirdest Review Runner-Up: Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel by Ruth McNally Barshaw.

Best Film Adaptation of a Children’s Book: The City of Ember. While it had its brief moments of “what were they thinking?” (I’m looking squarely at you, giant mole), overall it was a pretty well realized vision of the outstanding story.

Childrens Lit Entertainment Industry Hype of the Year: The slow in coming “Where the Wild Things Are” film. Picture book adaptations are not easy to do and are rarely successful, but with Spike Jonze at the helm, I’m going to keep hope alive for this one.

Award for the Most Holds at the Public Library: Twilight series. Seriously, it’s like every other book.

Thanks for taking a look back. In the coming days you can expect Reader Poll results, Newbery and Caldecott predictions, and some book reviews that I want to sneak in before aught eight is done.

In other ‘08 Year in Review news…

“Lists are antidemocratic, discriminatory, élitist, and sometimes the print is too small.”

-David Ives, playwright

Prove this quote wrong. Make your voice heard by voting for the year’s best books in the 2008 Scope Notes Reader Poll.

Click here to take part in the 2008 Scope Notes Reader Poll.

Mo Willems, author of countless outstanding books for children has also been trying his hand at radio cartooning. This is akin to me trying to blog by smell. Not an easy task. Here’s how it works: Mo draws a picture, posts it on the NPR website, and listeners submit captions. They read the best submissions on air before Mo provides his punchline. Entertaining stuff. Click the play buttons below to have a listen to some of the results.

Mo Willems Puts Santa On the Couch

Mo Willems: Walking In On the Jester

Mo Willems: The Symmetric Pirate

In other news:

“Lists are antidemocratic, discriminatory, élitist, and sometimes the print is too small.”

-David Ives, playwright

Prove this quote wrong. Make your voice heard by voting for the year’s best books in the 2008 Scope Notes Reader Poll.

Click here to take part in the 2008 Scope Notes Reader Poll.

From the author who brought you the kinda weird “Why Mommy is a Democrat” and “Why Daddy is a Democrat” books, which I posted about last summer, comes a new not-so-subtle title, “Mama Voted for Obama“. I don’t see this one getting much play in school libraries - the promotional blurb doesn’t help matters:

This colorful book of rhythm and rhyme is a fun and easy way to make sure your kids know you made the right choice in 2008!

Regardless of your political leanings, that’s odd. Although I have to admit that the illustrations are easy on the eyes in a colorform-tastic sort of way. Click the image below to view more sample pages.

(Thanks to Gawker for the link)

Who knew Seuss was a fan of southern hip hop? Okay, rap hadn’t been invented when he was the first to use the word “crunk” (in “Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!”), but I think he would be happy to know the word lives on. The blog mental _floss recently posted the stories behind 10 Dr. Seuss books. Filled with all kinds of interesting tidbits, click the image below to read more.

I’m a soccer fan. That’s the first time I’ve mentioned this fact after a whole slew of posts. I am also highly skeptical of celebrity children’s authors. So it is with mixed emotions that I present to you this bit of news:

In case you missed it…

Children’s book blog Pixie Stix Kids Picks first brought it to my attention.

Big A little a reiterated it’s insanity.

Boing Boing weighed in on the matter.

Now Gawker has discovered it.

If you haven’t yet seen it, be sure to take a look at “LATAWNYA, the Naughty Horse, Learns to Say “NO” to Drugs“

Be sure to click the links above to view sample pages and witness the craziness firsthand.

Wary of books that come with CDs? You’re not alone. NPR’s Daniel Pinkwater feels the same way, yet there is a recent exception: “Jim Copp, Will You Tell Me A Story?“. Mr. Copp skipped the whole bound paper thing and committed his children’s stories straight to vinyl in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Now they’ve been collected in a new book, with illustrations and an accompanying CD of the original audio tales.

Being a youngster in the children’s lit world, I was unaware of Mr. Copp before listening to this piece, but the excerpts that they play had me running to add a copy to the school libraries where I work. Click the play button below to learn more about a man once called ”a musical Dr. Seuss”.

[8 min. 11 sec.]