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Hokey dokey.  Too much stuff here to cover very well, but try we shall.  Hold on to your hats, folks!  It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

First off, you know how I was talking the other day about constructing the ideal educator website of children’s literature resources?  Well, this might have to be one of said resources I’d include.  Called Uncover the Past, the site is dedicated to “helping library and education professionals teach history through children’s literature!”  The booklists are particularly interesting.
Thanks to Rebecca Redinger for the link.

Next up, one for the “how cute is this?” files.  I don’t know why the idea of Mary Blair tableware isn’t commonplace, but so far this is the first place I’ve seen it done properly.  Blair, as you may recall, worked as a Disney animator for years before becoming a children’s book illustrator.Take the survey and you might win a set of your very own.

Mmm.  Process.  Sweet, delicious process.  What’s better than watching an Art Director explain how they came up with a YA cover?  Watching an Art Director explain how they came up with a YA cover after considering LOADS of alternatives.  Chad Beckerman shows us how The Haters came to be.  I don’t usually do YA, but in this special case I am making an exception.  You bet I am.

Oo.  Auction. Now normally one wouldn’t have the money for such a thing, but this one’s special.  What we’re talking about here is a Refugee Benefit Auction, created by authors Shannon Hale and Mette Ivie Harrison.  100% of the proceeds go to Lifting Hands International, a charity that gets life-saving supplies directly to refugee camps.  As for the things you could get, they’re pretty fantastic.  My personal favorite?  A pole dance (or fan dance, they’re easy) performed by Shannon Hale and Daniel Handler.  “Negligible nudity assured”.  Oddly, this item has yet to secure an initial bid.  Would someone like to lend me $10,000?

The Fictional Book Characters Who Sparked Our Sexual Awakenings. Meh. None of these ranked in my book, but it’s interesting to see the fellers other gals were into.  And, happily, it reminded me of one of my favorite Toast pieces of all time: Things I’ve Learned About Heterosexual Female Desire From Decades Of Reading.

I think I’m the last one to link to the Alexander London piece Our Stories Are As Unlimited As Our Selves or Why I Came Out as a Gay Children’s Book Author.  A great piece and one that ties in nicely with the GLBTQ chapter of Wild Things.  Should we ever update that book, this is going in.

Oo!  Eisner Award nominees.  Love that stuff, I do.  And check it out!  Not only is Nathan Hale nominated in the Best Publication for Kids category (for The Underground Abductor, naturally) but he’s also in the Best Writer / Artist category as well.  He is the ONLY children’s book creator in that category, by the way.  Regardless of whether or not he wins, that is significant.

Travis Jonker. He comes up with so many good ideas.  Have you seen his Endangered Series, uh, series?  Well, it’s a great idea.  Series that once were strong but now are waning are given a close examination.  Cam Jansen was the latest to fall under scrutiny.  I suspect The Kids of the Polk Street School already hit the dust, but if not then this would be an ideal candidate for a future post.

Wow.  Two thumbs up to the ALSC board for voting to cancel the National Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina.  American Libraries Magazine has the scoop.  Thanks to Jules Danielson for the link.

How on this good green earth did I miss Rick Riordan’s letter to kids who are faced with the dire prospect of being shown one of the Percy Jackson movies in school?  I’ve seen authors dislike their books’ adaptations before, but nothing quite matches this.  Thanks to Monica Edinger for the link.

“With such a huge international variety of books and illustrators on display in Bologna, are there differences in illustration styles among individual countries?” Yep. Moving on.  Oh, wait . . . no, let’s dwell on this idea a bit longer.  Four German children’s book publishers were asked this question and they gave their responses.  The thing is, here in the States we’re seeing some remarkably high quality German children’s book fare on a regular basis and it’s GREAT!  I’d love this question to be regularly posed with folks from other countries as well.

The site Brightly has had a couple good articles up lately.  I liked 8 Surprising Facts About Your Local Librarian not the least because I knew the librarians quoted.  NYC pride!

Daily Image:

I almost never do images of books here for the Daily Image since it’s sort of a case of bringing coals to Newcastle.  But then I saw that one of my greatest picture readalouds, one of my core books, a title I’ve loved for years, is getting a sequel.  At long long last I have an answer for those kids who have been asking me, “Is there a sequel with the tractor?”

Yes, children.  Yes there is.  And life is good.

• When two people sent me this link I assumed that everyone must have already seen it. But when it didn’t show up on PW Children’s Bookshelf I decided that perhaps I might have a scoop. At the very least, it appears that when people think Nick Cave meets Dr. Seuss, I’m the logical person to send that link to. And they’re right. I’ve been hoping for years that some karaoke bar I wander into might have “Red Right Hand” on the roster. So far it hasn’t worked out but I live in hope. Thanks to Stephanie Whelan and Marci for the link.

• Good old Kelly Gallucci at Bookish was kind enough to write a piece called 5 Reasons Why the Children’s Choice Book Awards Are Better Than the Oscars and All Other Awards Shows. She’s right about many things, particularly the food. It’s rather superb.

• There was a nice obituary in SLJ about Marcia Brown, the woman who currently holds the title of Most Caldecotts Ever Won By a Single Person (though David Wiesner looks to be catching up). She’s a former co-worker of mine, if by “co-worker” you give or take 50 years (we both worked in the Central Children’s Room, now called The Children’s Center at 42nd Street). Jeanne Lamb of NYPL gave some great background in this piece. I did speak to someone recently who was surprised that the Shadow controversy hasn’t come up in any obituaries discussing Ms. Brown’s life. I suspect that has more to do with our shortened memories than anything else, but it may be an indication of folks wishing to remember her in the best light.

• You know, just when you think Travis Jonker has come up with all the brilliant posts he’s going to, something like this comes along and blows it all out of the water. You, sir, are a certified genius. You, and your little Aaron Zenz too.

• Work on Funny Girl, my anthology, continues unabated. In that light, Shannon Hale’s magnificent post Stop Shushing the Funny Girls is particularly pertinent. Consider it your required reading of the day.

• “Social fluency will be the new currency of success.” The Shelftalker blog said that Jewell Parker Rhodes’s closing keynote, “Diversity and Character-Driven Stories,” at this year’s ABC Children’s Institute was worth reading and seems they’re absolutely right. Downright inspiring too.  Maybe this should be your required reading.

• Nope. I was wrong.  Those two posts are your required reading, on top of this one from Art Director Chad Beckerman.  His Evolution of a Cover post on Me and Earl and the Dying Girl makes you wish he wrote such things daily.  It also clarifies for many of us the sheer amount of work a single book jacket takes.

• This is coming to America next year. As such, I must respectfully ask the universe to please make next year come tomorrow. I am willing to wait 24 hours. See how patient I am?  I think I deserve a treat.

• Let’s say you work in a library system where, for whatever reason, you need to justify a massive summer reading program. And let us say that what you need, what you really and truly want, are some cold, hard facts to back up the claim that there is such a thing as a “summer slide” (summer slide = the phenomenon of children sliding back a grade or two over the summer if they don’t read during that time) and that summer reading prevents it. Well, thanks to the efforts of RIF, we now have research to back us up. So for those of you fond of cold, hard facts, tip your hat to RIF.

• Celebrity selfies photoshopped to make them look like they’re reading? Oh. You know you want it. Minh Le, bravo.

There’s just something about that Alligator Pie. When twenty-five graphic novelists were asked to name their favorite children’s books, not one but TWO of them mentioned Alligator Pie by Dennis Lee, illustrated by Frank Newfeld. Canadian to its core, it’s one of those classics that most Americans, heck most U.S. children’s librarians, just don’t know. Next time I’m in Stratford, Ontario I’m picking up a copy. After all, any book that influenced both Mariko Tamaki and John Martz has got to be doing something right.

Did you hear about the diversity survey Lee & Low has spearheaded? Did you read the comments on the article? And do you know whether or not any of the big five have agreed to participate yet? Inquiring minds want to know.

• Sure, this news already ran in PW Children’s Bookshelf, but hearing it more than once never hurt anybody. We all have our pet favorites. Mine just happen to be German sometimes:

NorthSouth Books’ Associate Publisher, Andrew Rushton, has acquired a second book by German author/illustrator Sebastian Meschenmoser. Gordon & Tapir, which tells the comical story of odd-couple housemates (a particular penguin and an untidy tapir), received a Special Mention at the Bologna Ragazzi awards (category Fiction) and is short-listed for the German Children’s Book of the Year Award. The author will be on tour in the US this June ending at ALA in San Francisco.

• I miss Peter Sieruta. I miss him a lot. Nobody else had his wit and timing and sheer, crazy historical knowledge in strange obscure areas. So it was with great interest that I recently discovered Second Look Books. Librarian Carol Matic highlights older gems each week, giving a bit of context and history along the way. Good for those still going through Collecting Children’s Books withdrawal.

• Hooray! A new Children’s Books Made Horrific is always cause for celebration. Ever wanted Goodnight Moon to give you nightmares? Well consider your prayers answered . . .

• Daily Image:

Need I say more?

Jules, I thought of you. Thanks to Stephanie Whelan for the image.

Let’s start off with the me stuff since it’s quick.  First and foremost, if you’ve thought to yourself, “Boy, I’d really like to watch Betsy talk about the Core Curriculum and then mention all the 2012 nonfiction books for kids she really likes and why they stand out,” you are in SUCH luck.  The Highlights Foundation is hosting the Books That Rise Above workshop.  Attend and you’ll hear folks like Patti Lee Gauch, Linda Sue Park, Leonard Marcus, Deborah Heiligman, and an alliterative librarian/blogger.  And yes, I do know all that Core Curriculum stuff now.  And boy, it’s a doozy.

• Speaking of Patti Lee Gauch and myself, the great editor visited NYPL the other day and spoke at my Children’s Literary Salon.  SLJ covered the event as well.  And the woman, if I do say so myself, was an undeniable hit.

• Finally, there’s a lovely Joan Aiken event coming up celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.  I’m going to be a part of it (you can see me mentioned here as the “& more”.  Very very exciting stuff.

• “So, to introduce 3- to 6-year-olds to the notion that there’s an inevitability to death . . . “  Is there anything better than a good Marjorie Ingalls Tablet piece?  With Yom Kippur present and accounted for I’m grateful for Ms. Ingalls article on introducing kids to death with books, as mentioned in her piece Don’t Fear the Reaper.  As for Rosh Hashanah and atonement, check out her Teaching Kids to Apologize.  You can tell she doesn’t write her own titles for her written pieces, can’t you?

• The Caldecott blog Calling Caldecott is up and running yet again, which is fantastic.  I couldn’t be more pleased to see them discussing works of photography as well.  Does my creaky old photography loving heart good, it does.  Plus Robin Smith gets extra points for ending her post with, “I hope the committee will step gently out of the box and consider this one.”  BOOM!  That’s how you do it, folks!

• Photography is no stranger to designer Chad Beckerman.  It was through his site Mishaps and Adventures that I learned about Abrams cool new abecedarian fun.  To quote: “We over here at ABRAMS KIDS have started a campaign on Instagram and Twitter called A for ABRAMS ( #aforabrams ) We are collecting A’s that are artful, well designed, or just plain cool from anywhere that you might find them. The idea is whenever you happen to see one of these artful A’s out and about you can join us by hash tagging your A #aforabrams as well as including our Instagram or twitter handle @abramskids or @abramsbooks.  Have some fun and we hope you all get to see the world around you a little better.”  Head on over to Chad’s blog to see a whole smattering of fine and fancy A’s.

• Now let’s see what those crazy Antiquarians are up to. I admit that I don’t make it out to Antiquarian events as often as I’d like. That’s why it pleases me to see the following: “The bicentennial exhibition, ‘In Pursuit of a Vision,’ consisting of 150 items from the collections of the American Antiquarian Society (including some 35 children’s books) is now on display at the Grolier Club, 47 E. 60th St., New York.  The exhibition is free and open to the public Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. until November 17, with the exception of Columbus Day, Oct. 8.” The exhibition was reviewed in the Sept. 12 edition of the New York Times and the American children’s books on display range from James Janeway’s Token for Children (1700) to the McLoughlin Bros. picture books and artwork produced in the late nineteenth century.

• Who are Britain’s Top Ten Children’s Literature Superstars?  No, this isn’t a reality show competition (images of Philip Pullman balancing a pie plate on his chin suddenly pop uninvited into my head).  The Independent has presented such a list and we are free to act very American and say, “Who is that?”  Many is the Yank who would say those words when confronted with Jacqueline Wilson, Alan Garner, and Enid Blyton (Famous Five, famous schmive).  Tolkien, Pratchett, and Gaiman need not apply apparently.  Zoe Toft wondered who the American Top Ten Children’s Literature Superstars would be.  I’m sure we all have our own lists, but I guess I’d have to go with Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, E.B. White, Madeleine L’Engle . . . um . . . help me out here, people.  Thanks to Playing By the Book for the link.

• Daily Image:

Until Alison Morris introduced them to me, I was unaware of the delight that was the Little Free Library system.  You can read the New York Times article about them here.  Basically they’re these adorable little boxes that you can fill with free books for folks to take.  So for those of you with too many galleys in a given year, voila!  Your solution.  Here are some particularly cute ones (I like the prominent Going Bovine in the first):

Thanks to Alison Morris for the links!

USA TODAY, the #1 paper in the country with a 1.8 million circulation,

broke the news this morning that

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: CABIN FEVER

the sixth book in the game-changing series by Jeff Kinney,

will go on sale November 15, 2011, with a 6-million copy first printing—the largest to date!

They are also the first to run the cover, which will be “ice blue.”

Please see the full press release attached and below. We expect all major daily trades to follow today and tomorrow.

Is it really REALLY TRULY Spring? Here in the Northeast, it's hard to let your heart be convinced lest it be quickly broken (by April snow), but I'm believing in Spring today. It's gorgeous and sunny and the perfect time to wear your favorite dress. Speaking of dresses...I heard from a bird (named Chad Beckerman) that the advances of my next book are IN:

with accompanying tune: Glenn Miller's String of Pearls
More soon!

"Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, has just released the title and cover art for Jeff Kinney’s much anticipated new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book—Dog Days. The fourth book, which will have a one-day laydown, arrives on Monday, October 12 with a massive three-million-copy first printing.

“I didn’t want my fans to have to wait a year for a new book,” said Kinney in a statement. “I’m very excited about Dog Days, because it takes Greg out of the school setting for the first time. It’s been a lot of fun to write about the Heffley summer vacation.”—Publishers Weekly