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Tip off is here and we are ready to choose teams. On one side we find out which fictional character reins supreme, and on the other side great beasts go head-to-head. Prizes are on the line so choose wisely.

You guessed it, It is time for March Madness! We are mad about books at Arbordale and this year we have our own March Madness contest for you. Choose your favorites on the bracket downloaded from our website and submit your choices by March 25^th. This tournament isn’t winner take all; the top four scorers will win a prize.

Visit our March Madness page for all the dates, details and to download your bracket!

And don’t forget, one of the newest members of the Arbordale team, Midnight Madness at the Zoo is a great March read!

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. A fresh, clean bracket has names neatly penciled into open slots, representing optimism and promise for excitement. Meanwhile, the sweetness of the beginning is quickly thrown into tumult, as surprises abound and unpredicted losses become the talk of Twitter. The competition is fierce, and the stakes are high. Naturally, I’m talking about March Picture Book Madness!

I was scouring through my daily dose of teacher blogs (a heavily addicting recreational activity, though I highly recommend it) when I came across an article in one of my absolute favorites. The Nerdy Book Club (yes, that’s its real name) was advocating for countrywide participation in a March Madness book battle. Over 700 schools across the US were putting in their picks for top-seeded picture books, middle grade novels, or young adult fiction. The website would then generate a bracket, with classrooms everywhere participating in the “madness!” My class just had to get in on all the fun — what an exciting excuse to indulge into picture books, and providing a fun incentive for read-aloud time!

Worried that your school may not have the funds to take on this challenge? Have no fear! Our grade level team didn’t enter the actual pool. We decided to use the list of books selected on the website as guide, and see which ones we could find in our school library. For ones that we could not find, we simply supplemented with other incredible picture books that we found! I put on my artistic hat and created my own bracket out of a large piece of card stock.

Just as the March Madness basketball brackets stem from different regions, the picture book bracket had two distinct categories: books written prior to 2014, and books written throughout the 2014-2015 season. This created a wonderful opportunity for all of us to explore the latest in children’s literature, as well as revisiting some old favorites. Check out the picture below for our classroom picks (click to see it larger). I know we’re past March now, but the fervor is still in the air as we come to our top pick. I hope you’ll consider an activity like this next year as it really isn’t that maddening to organize!

The post Best book bracketology appeared first on The Horn Book.

Here is my entry to Susanna Leonard Hill’s marvelous March Madness story contest. My story comes in at 398 and is a mashup fractured fairy tale. The rules are, “Write a children’s story, in poetry or prose, maximum 400 words, … Continue reading →

• We’ve got an amazing selection of books about basketballSTAT Basketball Game
.
• Play the Game Changers Basketball Game
.
• Take the March Madness Trivia Quiz
.
• Take the Personality Quiz
to see which athlete you’re most like.

Which team are you rooting for this year? What are you doing for March Madness? Share in the Comments below!

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What happens in your brain when you watch sports? Why do so many people return to something that so often leaves them heartbroken, angry, and even violent? The Secret Lives of Sports Fans by Eric Simons, out this month from Overlook, turns to neuroscience, psychology, endocrinology, evolutionary biology — and one sensitive man in an Oakland Raiders gorilla suit — in a search for the roots of a

Kids’ books: This ‘March Madness’ is literally playing by the book
“School Library Journal is sponsoring a “Battle of the Kids’ Books.” Patterned after the wildly popular NCAA March Madness, the “Battle of the Kids’ Books” pits 16 topnotch children’s books against each other and asks popular children’s-book authors to choose a winner.”

10 of the best: heroes from children’s fiction
Don’t miss this photo essay featuring 10 heroes and heroines from children’s fiction including Huckleberry Finn, Anne Shirley and Petrova Fossil.

All-New Shel Silverstein Poetry Collection Due in 2011
This week HarperCollins Children’s Books announced the fall 2011 release of a collection of never-before published Shel Silverstein poems and illustrations.

Alabama youth reading Mark Twain to promote literacy
Throughout Alabama, children, big kids and families are reading or re-reading Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ event The Big Read.

Author Name Pronunciation Guide
Ever wondered how you pronounce tricky authors’ names? This site offers a collection of brief recordings of authors & illustrators saying their names. Check out the recording from Adam Rex, a favorite of First Book staff member and author Erica Perl.

It’s the second week of the March Madness writing challenge. My goals were to write 25k and check in with the challenge blogs at least 3x a week. So, how did I do for the first week? (FYI, I’m counting the first week + 3 days, since March ends on a Wednesday.)

Week One Stats: I wrote a ton of words, well over 5000 … then cut and revised, rinsed and repeated. After that, I started over with *chapter one again. My final word counts: 3284 on the old ms + 1948 on the new beginning = 5232 My check in totals: more than 3x the first week, then forgot to check in since this weekend. I’ll be checking in again today.

Technically I’m on target to make my goals at the end of the month, but I want to change them slightly. (it’s a writer’s purgative to change her mind, right?)

My new goals are:

1. To write at least one chapter a week, more if I have time. My goal is to write and revise revise each chapter so that it moves the story forward and is semi-polished, instead of focusing on word count (which always gets me in trouble).

2. Continue to check in with the March Madness blogs 3x a week, more if I remember/have time.

March Madness and my original goals are posted here. For more info on the writing challenge or how you can join, head over to Denise Jaden’s blog and read this post.

* I started over because I needed to introduce things in the first chapter so that later pages would make sense. This approach wouldn’t work for everyone, but it does for me, for this manuscript.

March Madness has started, and this time it’s about writing, not basketball! Denise Jaden started a writing challenge for the month of March. It’s a good way to reach your goals for the month and there will be prizes!

My goals are:

1. Write at least 25k on my zombie WIP (and finish it if possible, though that’s not an official goal).

2. Remember to check in for March Madness at least 3x a week (daily if I can manage it).

There are check-in stations at the following blogs for each week day through the month of March:

Mondays – http://denisejaden.livejournal.com
Tuesdays – http://shanasilver.livejournal.com
Wednesdays – http://jenhayley.com/blog/
Thursdays – http://www.denisejaden.com/Blog.html
Fridays - http://shanasilver.livejournal.com
Saturdays – http://ellestraussbooks.blogspot.com
Sundays – http://jenhayley.com/blog/

For more info on prizes and how to participate, hop on over to this post on Denise Jaden’s blog. It’s not too late to join in!

What are your goals?

'Hunger Games' movie (It's happening. Lionsgate has picked up the rights to Collins' futuristic fantasy. Questions about how the book's graphic violence will be handled on screen are sure to follow. Plus, SyFy experiments with the youth market. The... Read the rest of this post

We have winners!!!!

Last night Queen Louise ordered her squires to participate in the Official Drawing of the Names. They dutifully complied.

drum roll........

The winners of custom WINTERGIRLS laptop (or phone) skins are:
Jennifer Forgotten!
Mindi Scott!
Tressa Korson!
Kara Huck!

You'll be receiving an email from Queen Louise with the details about what happens next so we can get the skin to you. Thanks to everyone for participating!!

Bob the Builder showed up to the cottage project yesterday.

He brought a very large machine.

He plucked out the tree stumps from the site, then added a couple tons of dirt and tamped it down. (Notice the last, lingering snowbank.) Next up: a mason comes next week to form up the forms (I think that's the right way to describe it) so the concrete slab can be poured.

I've been receiving early sightings of copies of WINTERGIRLS on sale already. Since I'm not J.K. Rowling, booksellers are not compelled to hold the book to the release date. If you see it, buy it!

If you see it, you could also take a picture of you standing in the store with the book. Send it to laurie AT writerlady DOT com.

March Madness News!!! Since my Georgetown Hoyas are not in the NCAA tournament this year, ::weeps::, I am supporting Syracuse University. For the third year running, Sarah Dessen and I have our bet going; if her team (North Carolina) goes farther than mine, I will send a signed copy of my new book to her public library. If my team goes farther, Sarah sends her book up here.

Haven't had time to do my brackets yet. I think I'll do that on the plane Thursday.

Today we have a sponsored post from Jason Bakker (featured in the photo below). Jason is the Director of Marketing at Campus Media Group, the exclusive sponsor of the Ypulse Campus Channel. This is the second in a monthly series of posts that's part... Read the rest of this post