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TREND DETECTED! Insomniac robots are rolling off the assembly line.

Here they are blinking their way through bedtime in Todd Tarpley’s Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! (Little, Brown, September 2015), illustrated by John Rocco.

And here, one little robot takes its sweet time shutting off in Anna Staniszewski’s Power Down, Little Robot (Macmillan/Holt, March 2015), illustrated by Tim Zeltner.

Anna also recently introduced a BabyBot, so we can bet she can relate to her book’s tired Mom Unit. Here’s hoping, for her sake and the sake of Parental Units everywhere, that these bedtime books do the trick!

The post Go the BEEP to sleep! appeared first on The Horn Book.

It seems that the insect-of-the-moment is… the fly (and I don’t know why; maybe butterflies were too pretty). Here are five recent books starring those pests, plus reviews of a few more favorites below. Could that Old Lady who swallowed one have been on to something?

       

Arnold, Tedd A Pet for Fly Guy
32 pp. Scholastic/Orchard 2014. ISBN 978-0-545-31615-6

(3) K-3 In his first picture book outing, easy-reader star Fly Guy wants his own pet. He and (boy) Buzz are excited, then frustrated, then disappointed when each choice (dog, frog, worm) is unsuitable. The two realize that Fly Guy needs “a pet with a cool name.” Buzz? “YEZZ! BUZZ!” Arnold’s lively illustrations make the most of the characters’ special friendship; the final page is especially satisfying.

Cronin, Doreen Diary of a Fly
40 pp. HarperCollins/Cotler 2007. ISBN 978-0-06-000156-8
Library binding ISBN 978-0-06-000157-5

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Harry Bliss. Like Diary of a Worm and Diary of a Spider, this book relays real-life information through Cronin’s impeccable comedic timing in a way that makes the facts memorable. Bliss’s illustrations, including additional pictures on the endpapers, incorporate many witty details. The short sentences and visual jokes make this a great selection for listeners and new readers alike.

Gravel, Elise The Fly
32 pp. Tundra 2014. ISBN 978-1-77049-636-1
Ebook ISBN 978-1-77049-638-5

(3) K-3 Disgusting Critters series. This humorous, informative volume gives basic facts about the title creature. Cartoon illustrations and speech-bubble text play up the kid-friendly silliness: “The housefly is a member of the Muscidae family. Mom Muscidae, Dad Muscidae…Teenager Muscidae: ‘Yo!'” The familiar subject and friendly presentation give this book broad appeal.

Howitt, Mary The Spider and the Fly
40 pp. Simon 2010. ISBN 978-1-4424-1664-2

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi. New ed., 2002. Inspired by Gorey, Addams, and film noir, DiTerlizzi spins his own stylish version of Howitt’s cautionary 1829 poem. As a debonair spider lures a doe-eyed fly to his lair, ghosts of the spider’s prey flit about. Black-and-white illustrations with a silvery sheen capture the dance with cinematic flair. This paper-over-board edition of the Caldecott Honor Book is notable for its bargain price.

Mack, Jeff Frog and Fly: Six Slurpy Stories
40 pp. Philomel 2012. ISBN 978-0-399-25617-2

(3) PS It’s survival of the cleverest in these six short stories. Laid out in easy-to-read comic-book panels, the simple text focuses on several scenarios between a fly and the hungry frog that wants to slurp him up. Just when you think the fly is doomed every time, the frog gets his comeuppance in the final story and readers get a good laugh. Multi-media cartoons amusingly depict the conflicts.

Reynolds, Aaron Big Hairy Drama
128 pp. Holt 2010. ISBN 978-0-8050-8243-2
Paperback ISBN 978-0-8050-9110-6

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Neil Numberman. Joey Fly, Private Eye series. In his second graphic novel, private investigator Joey Fly looks into another crime in the “bug city.” Butterfly actress Greta Divawing has disappeared on the eve of her opening-night performance of Bugliacci; the suspects are other members of the cast. Varied cartoon-panel illustrations feature details of bug life that add interest and humor to the mystery.

Rosen, Michael Tiny Little Fly
32 pp. Candlewick 2010. ISBN 978-0-7636-4681-3

(2) PS Illustrated by Kevin Waldron. “Tiny Little Fly / sees great big toes… / Tiny Little Fly / sits on Elephant’s nose.” Fly first bugs–then escapes from–Elephant, Hippo, and Tiger, even when they unite. In Waldron’s arresting digitally enhanced gouache and pencil illustrations, bold lines and a vivid palette command attention. With a pesky antihero and catchy repetitive verse, the story will captivate listeners.

The post Shoo, fly appeared first on The Horn Book.

Have you ever seen an American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation of one of your favorite poems? The video embedded above features a YouTuber known as “Crom Saunders” signing Neil Gaiman’s piece, “The Day the Saucers Came.”

This poem can be found in the 2006 collection, Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders. Gaiman himself shared this video on his Facebook page with the comment: “This is rather wonderful…”

An artist named Adamova Marina (also known as Talamaska) created paper-cut art pieces inspired by Lewis Carroll’s famous novel.

Talamaska’s artwork showcases the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts. What’s your favorite character from the Wonderland cast?

According to boredpanda.com, five of Talamaska’s pieces were showcased at a personal exhibition in Moscow. Follow these links to download free digital copies of both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

For many, writing is a solitary activity. For the Stanford Law School class of 2015, it has become a group effort.

85 graduates have volunteered to collaborate on a speech. Marta Belcher, the student who initially suggested this crowdsourcing idea, will join together with several other students to share the finished address at a graduation ceremony set to take place on June 13th.

Here’s more from the Standford Law website: “In the first phase, students were given access to the wiki and added their ideas for overarching themes of the speech to a running list. Stage two focused on submitting content ideas, which resulted in the creation of more than 3,000 words of raw content in rough, bullet-point form. The third stage was the editing process, which began with an edit-a-thon on April 30, where students pulled from the content contributed during stage two to create a detailed outline of the speech that they filled in with proposed language.” (via Fusion.net)

The Poetry Society of New York, the producers behind the 5th annual New York City Poetry Festival, have raised more than $12,000 on Kickstarter.

The funds will be used to cover the costs of hosting this year’s event. We’ve embedded a video about the project above.

Here’s more from the Kickstarter page: “This year we will welcome back more than 75 New York City poetry groups, including venerable institutions, upstarts, small presses, local reading series, literary journals, high school poetry teams, and more to The Festival’s three stages. If year’s past are any indication, over 250 poets will present, and we’ve already booked some incredible headliners: Nick Flynn, Patricia Spears Jones, David Matlin, and Fran Quinn!”

Welcome to our Kickstarter Publishing Project of the Week, a feature exploring how authors and publishers are using the fundraising site to raise money for book projects. If you want to start your own project, check out How To Use Kickstarter to Fund Your Publishing Project.

When Hervé Tullet‘s Press Here came out in 2011, reviewer Lolly Robinson wrote that its ingenious interactivity “gives the iPad a licking.” Following a similar no-screen-needed interactive model is this lovely pair of books:

   

Here are a few brand-new arrivals with Press Here–like directions to tap, shake, rub, and blow on the pages:

The post Everybody wants to be Press Here appeared first on The Horn Book.

The Amazon editorial team has launched a young adult book club. To kick things off, I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson was chosen as the May/June 2015 read.

Participants can submit questions for Nelson from now until May 30th; her responses will be posted on June 15th. Discussions are being held at the club’s Goodreads group page.

The editors have also compiled a list of “100 Young Adult Books to Read in a Lifetime.” Some of the titles that made the cut include American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

For A Song of Ice & Fire series author George R.R. Martin, history is a constant muse. The TED-Ed team has created a six-minute lesson that focuses on “the wars that inspire Game of Thrones.”

The video embedded above explores the similarities shared between the events and players of the Wars of the Roses and Martin’s beloved epic fantasy story. Over at the TED-Ed website, viewers can access a quiz, a discussion board, and more resources.

Cole Bowden, the blogger behind Bob’s Burger Experiment, crafts recipes inspired by the “Burger of the Day” chalkboard featured on the Bob’s Burger’s animated series. According to BuzzFeed, he plans to create a cookbook.

Rizzoli has acquired the manuscript; no publication date has been announced. Bowden revealed in a post that he is teaming up with Bento Box Entertainment, Fox, and the show creator Loren Bouchard for this project.

Bouchard will create the illustrations. At this point in time, Bowden hasn’t shared any of those exclusive recipes yet, but he promises that “they’ve been delicious.” (via Eater.com)

Chipotle Mexican Grill has launched the Cultivating Creativity Student Essay Contest.

According to the press release, the winning entries will be published on the restaurant’s cups and bags some time in 2016. Each of the winners will receive $20,000 in prize money which will be “deposited into a 529 savings account, to support their continuing education.”

Jonathan Safran Foer, an author and the curator of this series, and Laura Esquive, a novelist and screenwriter, will serve as the judges. The submission deadline has been set for May 31st. Follow this link to submit a story.

I know this is not news, but, boy, there are a lot of New Yorker covers lately that were done by people (men) who are also illustrators. (Because my husband never throws them away, we’ve got a lot lying around.) Here’s an array.

(Top) Kadir Nelson and Harry Bliss; (Bottom) Christoph Niemann and Liniers.

Three covers by Barry Blitt.

The post Not-so-new New Yorkers appeared first on The Horn Book.

Warner Bros. has picked up the film rights to Kiera Cass’ young adult book, The Selection.

Katie Lovejoy has been hired to serve as the screenwriter. Denise DiNovi, Alison Greenspan, and Pouya Shahbazian have signed on to serve as producers.

Here’s more from Deadline: “Described as The Hunger Games without the bloodshed, it follows 35 underprivileged girls who are chosen to compete to live in a life of luxury. The protagonist, America Singer, is sweet on a young man from her district, but when she’s exposed to the opulence of a royal life, she’s conflicted, even though a rebel uprising threatens the pampered.”

In the past, the CW had held the TV rights to The Selection and even shot two pilots for it. Ultimately, the studio decided not to move forward with a full season.

Originally, Cass had intended her Selection novels to be a trilogy. Last year, she announced her plans to expand it into a five-part series with two additional installments and a collection of novellas.

Reading through the fiction reviews section of the May/June Horn Book Magazine: Special Issue: Transformations, I’m struck by the sudden urge for tea. One lump or two, protagonists?

Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff: “I didn’t do it on purpose, obviously,” says twelve-year-old Trent Zimmerman. “Kill Jared Richards, I mean.”

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge: “Eleven-year-old Triss Crescent wakes up confused after a terrifying accident.”

Nightbird by Alice Hoffman: “Twig Fowler and her mother keep to themselves so that their neighbors in Sidwell, Massachusetts, won’t discover their secret.”

Dear Hank Williams by Kimberly Willis Holt: “On the first day of school, September 1, 1948, eleven-year-old Tate P. Ellerbee learns that her class will be writing to pen pals.”

Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr: “Young narrator Trille’s best friend is his next-door neighbor, Lena, almost nine, perhaps best described as a more-realistic Pippi Longstocking.”

The Boy Who Lost Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente: “He lives an unhappy, bewildered life as ‘Thomas’ until Tamburlaine, a fellow Changeling, reveals her magical abilities and encourages him to find his own.”

The post T for two appeared first on The Horn Book.

What would have happened in a battle between Adam West and Christopher Reeve? A YouTuber who calls himself Bobby Burns created a retro-themed parody the recently released Batman v Superman teaser.

The video embedded above features clips from the 1966 Batman TV series and the old-school Superman movies; it has drawn more than 142,000 views. Click here to watch the original Dawn of Justice trailer. (via TheWrap.com)

In honor of National Poetry Month, we’ve dug up a video of YouTube star Hank Green reciting his original poem, “Grab It By The Testicle.” The video embedded above has drawn over 400,000 views.

Green wrote this piece “for the college and high school graduates of the year 2011 (and future years as well…I believe it all applies).” Recently, Green received a request for a new poem during a Reddit A.M.A. session—what do you think?

People throughout human history have invented a great number of deities from Zeus to Odin to Allah. One creative has decided to put a new spin on the book of Genesis by replacing every reference to the name God with that of controversial hip hop star Kanye West.

The Etsy shop owner behind “the Book of Yeezus” calls his “novelty coffee-table book” a “Bible for the New Age.” Each unit sells for $20.00.

Here’s more about the item: “In a sense, Kanye’s awesome and orchestrated spectacle is truly a religious experience. In a foreword, we explore our consumerist, quick-fix, and information-culture, and celebrate Kanye and the outsized significance he plays in our lives. All of this, bound in a black, hard-cover gold-leaf imprinted book.” (via The Hollywood Reporter)

…at least, everywhere in the March/April Magazine! These four new dragon-themed books are all reviewed in that issue, offering something for dragon fans of several different age groups. Consider them additions to our dragon-centric fantasy booklist.

For preschool- and primary-aged kids, there’s author/illustrator Douglas Florian’s How to Draw a Dragon (Simon/Beach Lane, April 2015). Less a how-to guide than a celebration of creativity — and dragons, of course — it gives both practical drawing advice (“Draw your dragon’s pointed spines / using lots of jagged lines”) and Florian’s patented poetic silliness (“Dragon fire has reds and yellows, / and it’s good to toast marshmallows”). Mixed-media collage art with a childlike sensibility rounds out this appealing book.

Author Laurence Yep knows his dragons. He hilariously revisits the topic in his latest book for intermediate readers, A Dragon’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans (Crown, March 2015), cowritten with Joanne Ryder and illustrated by Mary GrandPré. Refined Miss Drake and her scrappy new pet Winnie are having a power struggle over Winnie’s training: Winnie (a human) seems to think she is the owner and Miss Drake (a dragon) is the pet. They continue to butt heads, but there are more important things at stake — a magical creature called a pemburu could destroy San Francisco unless the pair can stop it.

Two dragon-themed YA sequels appear in this issue:

Shadow Scale (Random House, March 2015) is the sequel to Rachel Hartman’s 2013 BGHB Fiction Honor Book Seraphina. Seraphina and a fellow half-dragon (or ityasaari) named Abdo search for others like them. They hope that, together, the psychically talented ityasaari will be able to establish a dragon-proof psychic defense. In their travels, Seraphina and Abdo learn to their horror that malevolent half-dragon Jannoula is manipulating the minds of many ityasaari. Plenty of suspense and a thoughtfully developed dragon-centered world make this a captivating read.

E. K. Johnston’s gripping Prairie Fire (Carolrhoda Lab, March 2015) picks up where The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim left off: Owen and his friend Siobhan have graduated from high school and enlisted in the Oil Watch, helping to defend carbon resources from dragons. However, life in the Oil Watch is not exactly what they anticipated: they are stationed at a remote and dangerous location, and burns Siobhan sustained in the first book compromise her abilities.

For even more dragon-themed YA, see this list.

The post Everywhere dragons appeared first on The Horn Book.