By: Maryann Yin,
on 11/9/2015
What is your favorite literary quote? LeVar Burton, former host of the Reading Rainbow TV show, stars in a BuzzFeed video called “11 Of The Most Beautiful Sentences In Literature.”
In the video embedded above, Burton recites sentences written by William Shakespeare, Maurice Sendak, and Natalie Babbitt. Click here to watch a video where Burton tackles a series of bibliophile-themed dilemmas. (via BuzzFeed)
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 11/3/2015
What issues have you encountered with reading? LeVar Burton, former host of the Reading Rainbow TV show, stars in a BuzzFeed video called “Problems Only Book Lovers Understand.”
The video embedded above features Burton tackling a number of bibliophile-related dilemmas. Thus far, it has drawn more than 400,000 views on YouTube. (via Story of My Life)
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Mary Hoffman is the best-selling author of picture book Amazing Grace, which is currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary, as well as its six picture-book and chapter-book sequels and other acclaimed picture books such as The Colour of Home, An Angel … Continue reading ...
Amazing Grace (25th Anniversary Edition)
By: Maryann Yin,
on 7/28/2015
By: Maryann Yin,
on 4/20/2015
The Los Angeles Times hosted its 35th Annual Book Prizes ceremony over the weekend.
Book critic David L. Ulin hosted the event at at the University of Southern California’s Bovard Auditorium. Some of the presenters throughout the evening included Hope Larson, Aisha Saeed, and Matt Pearce.
World’s End author T.C. Boyle received the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement and Reading Rainbow star LeVar Burton took The Innovator’s Award. We’ve got the entire list of winners after the jump.
The 2015 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winners
By: Michelina Ouellette,
on 2/11/2015
Geordi LaForge was yesterday’s #sketch_dailies! My dad is a big Star Trek fan and recently I’ve been making my way through The Next Generation and really liking it, even though there are a LOT of episodes.
And yes, I know what you’re thinking, my dad sounds like he’s the coolest. And your right, he is!
By: Maryann Yin,
on 11/13/2014
Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston recorded a four-minute audiobook of Adam Mansbach‘s new children’s book for adults, You Have to F***ing Eat. In an interview with The New York Times, Mansbach commented that Cranston “reads with such nuance.”
Audible has made the digital audiobook available for free until December 12th. Follow this link to download it.
Pulp Fiction actor Samuel L. Jackson served as the narrator for the audiobook edition of Mansbach’s previous title, Go the F*** to Sleep. Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton read the story out loud during an appearance on the Rooster Teeth podcast; click here to watch a video that captured Burton’s recitation.
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By: Betsy Bird,
on 11/2/2014
The We Need Diverse Books campaign has kicked it up a notch with an Indiegogo campaign. They’re raising money to support authors, diversify classrooms, develop educational kits, promote diverse programming, you name it. As of my writing this they are $40,000 or so away from their goal. Check it out:
Diverse Campaign w Thanks Card from Undercurrent on Vimeo.
And now for something completely different. Cookie Monster has parodied Harry Potter and Hunger Games (not to mention Star Wars). Dare we hope Twilight is on the horizon? Because I would pay a lot of money to hear him say, “Climb onto me back, little spider monkey.”
It was Travis at 100 Scope Notes who alerted me to the Vine illustrator videos at The Guardian. There are lots there to choose from so I had a hard time figuring out which one to show here. In the end I went with James Mayhew. Lovely stuff.
Thanks to Travis for the link!
Moomins! Rivera Moomins! In Finnish, yes? Beautifully done.
By the way, when I die I’m coming back as one of Aaron Zenz’s kids. A strange ambition but after watching this video can you blame me?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
I don’t think I need to tell you children’s librarians out there what a perfect fall craft this would be. And talk about cheap! Here are some additional photos of their creations. These kids once did some Giant Dance Party fan art that I treasure to this day. And as a side note, how cool is it that they watched Exit Through the Gift Shop as a family?
All I can say about this next Alice in Wonderland inspired video is that I am SO grateful I didn’t watch this while on any kind of drugs. Lordy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Thanks to Marci for the link.
I don’t think I need remind any of you that this past week BookOps (the combined technical services of New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library) engaged in a sort-off with the Kings County Library system. You were all watching the play by play on your phones, right? Right? No? Hm. Well, in any case, I am happy to report that this year we won our trophy back. It was a close race but that’s how we get it DONE, SON! Now you can see this drone video of our freakin’ awesome sorter here, but if you’d like to check out the competition the following video shows a sorter very much like our own (and a Collection Specialist doing my job to a tee).
Granted, we don’t have a machine named “Mustang” in our building, but we’re still pretty cool.
I agree with Jezebel that Samuel Jackson’s reading of Go the F*** to Sleep is as good as it gets, but LeVar Burton reading it fulfills some deep hitherto unknown need in my soul. Do I really have to warn you about the language in this?
As for our off-topic videos, this one got me to thinking about how these goofy little internet videos often strip down a famous song to its most essential elements, and make it clear how strong the original melody really was. I think it was Weird Al who pointed out that he could only parody songs that had a distinctive melody. Case in point:
By: Maryann Yin,
on 10/27/2014
Reading Rainbow host and children’s book author LeVar Burton appeared on the Rooster Teeth podcast for a charity drive. BuzzFeed reports that during his visit, he read from his new picture book and Go The F*ck to Sleep. The video embedded above features his NSFW reading Adam Mansbach’s hit title out loud.
Follow this link to hear Burton recite the story from the newly released The Rhino Who Swallowed A Storm. The actual audiobook for Go The F*ck to Sleep was narrated by Academy Award-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson. (via kotaku.com)
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 9/3/2014
Actor and literacy advocate LeVar Burton has collaborated with writer Susan Schaefer Bernardo and artist Courtenay Fletcher on his first picture book. Burton (pictured, via) has been recently named “Geek of the Year” at the 2nd annual Geekie Awards.
Reading Rainbow will publish The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm on October 7th. The Independent Publishers Group has been brought on as the distributor for this title.
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 9/2/2014
LeVar Burton has won in the “Geek of the Year” category at the 2nd annual Geekie Awards. He received a special limited edition Gibson guitar as his prize.
The video embedded above features Burton singing the Reading Rainbow theme song and delivering his acceptance speech. What do you think? (via Tech Times)
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 8/11/2014
Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show and created a hilarious video called “Tweeting Rainbow.” The video embedded features Burton singing a parody version of the beloved TV show’s theme song and reading from celebrity Twitter feeds. What do you think? (via The Huffington Post)
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 7/2/2014
LeVar Burton (pictured, via) and his collaborators have raised $5 million in 35 days.
In addition to crowdfunded money, actor Seth MacFarlane has agreed to donate $1 million which brings the total to more than $6 million. Now that the campaign has ended, the Reading Rainbow team plans to establish a Reading Rainbow digital library (for the web, mobile devices, game consoles, and Over the Top boxes) and allow 7,500 classrooms to access this library free of charge.
24 hours after the Kickstarter venture launched, supporters had pledged more than $1 million. Follow this link to watch Burton’s reaction video towards the first million. What do you think?
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By: Betsy Bird,
on 6/1/2014
Well, had this post just about wrapped up when the whole computer crashed on me. Viva la internet! Let’s see if I can recover what I lost.
First off, the best thing in the world. Best. The world. Ever.
He is, for the record, on Twitter now. I’m a bit reluctant to tell you this since I like being one of his few followers. Ah well. It was there that I discovered this video as well. Oh, Huffington Post. You knew not what you wrought.
Bet Angelina Jolie looks positively easy in comparison now, eh? Geez, he’s good.
Meanwhile, also at BEA, we had other authors singing. Michael Buckley brings us Lionel Ritchie while Gareth Hinds, Phil Bildner, and Tom Angleberger juggle behind him at the BEA silent auction. Not so silent now!!
Thanks to Alvina Ling for the link.
Switching gear away from singing (but focusing just as much on white men standing in front of crowds doing things) this was taken in Australia. It’s at a bus depot where a lot of preachers have a tendency to stand on milk crates. Or, in this case, read from the true word of caterpillars.s
Five Hail Marys and four ripe red strawberries. Thanks to Marci for the link.
Well good one, America. I hope you’re happy now. You just made LeVar Burton cry.
By the way – the folks getting upset about this? Do we truly have nothing else to be upset about? Let the blooming Rainbow have its day.
Now, of course, that every Kickstarter gets this kind of support. Case in point, Literary Lots. The idea? “Literary Lots will transform 2 vacant lots near inner-city libraries into four-week literary spaces for children in Cleveland. Working together with local artists around themes from specific children’s books, we will re-create places, concepts, and images from these books…” Nicely done. The video is a bit off on its year (it says 2013 by accident) but the idea is still a nice one.
Thanks to Pink Me for the link.
In other news, ALA recently released a controversial movie it produced (?!) back in 1977 called The Speaker. They’ll be showing it at the upcoming ALA Conference in Vegas as well. Why the controversy? Well, as their press release put it:
The film depicts a high school Current Events club that decides to invite a white supremacist professor from a local college to address the student body and the controversy that ensues. It was intended for schools, libraries and other organizations to encourage them to discuss the true meaning of the freedom of expression, particularly regarding “tolerance for ideas we detest.” Many ALA members objected to the film’s subject matter and the process by which the film was produced. After contentious debate at the 1977 Annual Conference, multiple ALA bodies voted down proposals to remove the organization’s name from the film.
So in case you’ve 42 minutes to spare . . .
And finally, for our off-topic video, the bloody thing that crashed my computer in the first place. And you know what? Worth it. Check out what happens when you sing an 800-year-old Icelandic hymn in a German train station.
By: Carter Higgins,
on 10/8/2013
written by Jesse Klausmeier, illustrated by Suzy Lee
{published 2013, by Chronicle Books}
Did you see that teensy update on my bio over there? I took out the former, cause I’m back to the library, y’all. It’s such a dream. My natural habitat. I see students for the first time next week, and have been anxious to share this with the littlest. I want it to be our signature story, the one that represents what we do together – opening book after book after book.
I’m also trying to figure out how to recreate this thing as a bulletin board. The engineering and the math and the genius and whoa. Stay tuned.
Check it out in action:
Jesse Klausmeier dedicated this to Levar Burton, which is especially sweet given that this little book is a real love letter to books everywhere. 
Color distinguishes each character’s little book. Distinct and vibrant, belonging to each reader.
Shape and scale do, too, and not in the most obvious way. The first character we meet is Ladybug. She’s in a red book, reading a green book. And inside the green book is Frog, who opens an orange book.
So, the bigger the character, the smaller the book!
And that’s what causes a bit of sticky situation when it’s time for a Giant to join the fun.
Oh, and the texture! There’s a vintage and well-loved appearance to the pages. It feels like a book that’s already been well-loved and flipped through so many times. Such a small choice, such big heart behind it.
This book’s design is a frame that allows the connectedness of story and readers to shine. I bet you won’t be able to stop opening and closing this little book. It’s addicting.
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By: Jason Boog,
on 9/24/2013
Kids have read more than three million books using the Reading Rainbow app.
AppNewser has more about the app’s success:
[Burton] teamed up with business partner Mark Wolfe, obtained the rights to the brand and launched the Reading Rainbow app. The free app, published by RRKidz, features more than 300 books, and 50 video field trips as well as classic clips from the TV show aimed at kids aged 3-9. According to iTunes, users have accessed more than 3 million books and video field trips in less than a year since launch.
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By: Jason Boog,
on 3/28/2013
My dream job…! The new host of #Jeapardy #bydhttmwfi #notevenkidding
— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) March 27, 2013
Reading Rainbow host, actor and book app creator LeVar Burton recently tweeted that hosting the quiz show Jeopardy would be “my dream job.” His tweet inspired an online petition that is already nearing 1,000 signatures.
This GalleyCat editor agrees that Burton would make a “intelligent and kind host” for the show (he already starred as a celebrity contestant).
What do you think? Sign the petition at this link.
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By: Betsy Bird,
on 12/9/2012
Oh, why not. Let’s just start with what is undoubtedly the best thing ever. Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the 90-Second Newbery and James Kennedy, the author and organizer, was clever enough to know how to start things off. It seems that Aaron Zenz and his Boogie Woogie kids have made another video. And darned if it isn’t even better than their previous (genius) efforts. I liked it so much I’m including the Making Of film as well.
Those of you already familiar with the PBS Digital Studio’s remixes of Mr. Rogers, Julia Child, and Bob Ross (boy is that catchy) know that no one is safe when it comes to classic public television. They did a nice job with LeVar here too. It’s fun to watch based on his shifting facial hair alone.
Seems to me that LeVar Burton had his way of recommending books. Iron Guy Carl of Boys Rock, Boys Read has a different method: Scare them away with a PSA. Works for me!
Now here we have a movie coming out based on a YA novel I never read. I did listen to the Read It and Weep podcast episode about it, but now I suppose that was insufficient. I dunno. The creepy kiddo looks interesting but I may just hold out for The Last Apprentice film that’s coming out soon anyway.
Thanks to bookshelves of doom for the link.
Oksey-doksey. New publishing model time. It happens. Seems Rebecca Emberley and Deidre Randall are creating a new “hybrid children’s book imprint” called two little birds (something about that name just speaks to me). They’re pairing a picture book in print form with an app of the same title and publishing them simultaneously. The first book is the sure-fire winner The Itsy-Bitsy Spider, catchy song in tow.
You can learn more about their Kickstarter campaign here and read the article about it here.
Author Alan Silberberg has a different method of bringing videos and books together. He animates his thoughts on writerly advice. Like so:
Sweet screams never sounded so right.
Finally, the off-topic video (I did well this week, didn’t I? – she said like an eager puppy). Normally I’d eschew something as tawdry as a Gangnam Style parody, but . . . but . . . there are literary references! And for once the idea of looking like you’re riding a tiny pony makes odd sense.
Thanks to Jeanne Birdsall for the link.
By: Jason Boog,
on 8/31/2012
For your weekend reading pleasure, here are our top stories of the week, including David Foster Wallace on your Mac’s thesaurus, the best bookstores on Tumblr and LeVar Burton talking about Reading Rainbow (video embedded above).
Click here to sign up for GalleyCat’s daily email newsletter, getting all our publishing stories, book deal news, videos, podcasts, interviews, and writing advice in one place.
1. Major Bestsellers with More Than 150 One-Star Reviews
2. Audition For ‘Sex & The Single Girl’ Audiobook
4. How To Read Amazon Review Graphs
5. Free Sites to Promote Your eBook
6. The Lost History of Fifty Shades of Grey
7. David Foster Wallace on Your Mac Thesaurus
8. Chicken Soup for the Soul Publisher to Sell Chicken Soup
9. C.S. Lewis: ‘Your book bill ought to be your biggest extravagance’
10. LeVar Burton: ‘We’re sacrificing our kids’
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By: Betsy Bird,
on 9/19/2011
Ruh-roh. I’ve been having too much fun earning a living to leave enough time for blogging. Time yet again for a super quickie point-by-point-without-the-details Fusenews! Hold onto your hats . . .
Who are the artists overlooked by the Caldecott? Elizabeth Bluemle has the scoop.
An East Harlem bookstore needs your help! Thanks to Heather Scott for the link.
Kseniya Yarosh, I tip my hat to thee.
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 9/15/2011
LeVar Burton takes Reading Rainbow into the 21st Century (by launching RRKidz. Just like its previous iteration, RRKidz is all about reading, but the twist is that it’s an app for iPad and Android featuring a curated collection of... Read the rest of this post
By: Jason Boog,
on 9/14/2011
Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton has raised funds for a follow-up to his beloved public television show, a series of smartphone and tablet enhanced eBooks for kids. His new company is called RRKidz.
The new website includes Burton’s trademark slogan from the show: “Coming Soon … but you don’t have to take my word for it.” Burton summarized the show with a twitter hashtag: “Reading Rainbow for today’s connected kids.”
Here’s more from FishbowlLA: “Fifteen months after indicating to New York Times columnist David Pogue at a Macworld event that he was raising money for a start-up, actor LeVar Burton is fully focused on the twain of education and enhanced children’s e-books. He tells Venture Beat that his company RRKidz has got $3 million in seed funding and is compiling a library of 300 iPad and Smartphone titles, with roughly 50 of those to be voiced by Burton himself. The actor is partnered on the project with Buffalo’s WNED-TV, rights-holder to the 1983-2006 PBS series Reading Rainbow.”
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By: Betsy Bird,
on 6/29/2011
Things that I love: Blogging. My baby girl. Seattle. Two of those three things will be coming together on September 16th and 17th. That’s when the 5th (five already?) annual Kidlitcon will occur! It’s looking like a remarkable line-up as well with special keynote speaker YA author Scott Westerfeld and great presentations, as per usual. Baby girl is keeping me from attending, which is awful. I think I’ll have missed three out of five by this point. That just means you’ll have to go in my stead. For conference information, Kidlitosphere Central has the details.
By: Betsy Bird,
on 3/8/2011
After posting a video from the episode of Community where Troy meets his hero LeVar Burton I got a penchant for a little Reading Rainbow. The universe, it appears, was happy to oblige. First off you have a woman that I would love to meet one day. If the name Twila Liggett fails to ring any bells, know only that amongst her many accomplishments she was the founder and executive producer of Reading Rainbow back in the day. In the article Just Read Anything! she writes a message to parents and teachers that’s pretty self-explanatory. If you can’t think of Reading Rainbow without the aforementioned LeVar, however, the same website Happy Reading has a lovely interview with the man. I’d love to meet LeVar myself, but I think my reaction would be a shade too similar to Troy’s.
I see in your Gatekeeper’s post you mention Jon Klassen’s book… he’s on my blog today talking about his bookish inspiration. I was quite surprised by his choices, I wonder what you’ll make of them. I love these round ups – like a magpie’s nest full of lovely sparkly bits I want to pick up and have a look at.
Thank for posting the Lord of the Flies link- I sent it on to my neighbor’s son (who is quite a talented young artist).
Doesn’t the Sid Fleischman humor award count?
It does but I like the shortlist aspect. The Fleischman Award only goes to one book a year, yes?
Did you see that Emma Thompson is writing a new Peter Rabbit story?
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/48708-new-peter-rabbit-tale-to-be-written-by-emma-thompson.html
Oh yes. Hard not to be torn on that one. On the one hand, we all like Emma Thompson. On the other hand, is this the first time where a public domain children’s literary character had their story appropriated by a celebrity author?
I wish she would write her own story. She’s a talented and witty writer (the screenplay for Sense and Sensibility is a treat to read); it’s not like she just decided to start writing out of the blue.
Actually she did write a Nanny McPhee sequel. But again that was taking an existing character and expanding on it rather than thinking up her own work. She could potentially be the next Julie Andrews Edwards of children’s literature if she let herself.