Ok. So these are not really the list of Caldecott and Newbery candidates for 2011 but School Library Journal Blog’s best guess… but I have feeling that they know what they are talking about. We shall see when the awards come out next year, but I’m betting they got quite a few correct.
You know how there are authors that your children always wait impatiently for the next new book? And maybe they do a great series which isn’t that much of a stretch. But then there are other authors that either 1) write in a wide range of genres from picture books to easy chapter books to YA fiction and EVERYTHING they write is amazing? Or 2) maybe it’s just that they never jave a dud even though everyone is allowed a dud when they are a prolific author. Or 3) their work is crazy imaginative! How do they DO that?!
My oldest choose No Cream Puffs by Karen Day for the first book club of the year. They are in 5th grade now and have been meeting for book club since 2nd grade. My daughter played soccer with the author’s daughter this past spring, but she had no idea that the mother is an author, though we (the moms) have all heard of Karen Day and knew of her books here in Newton, MA. What I didn’t know was that KAREN was a really great baseball player and the book is loosely based on her own childhood story! (see interview below)
This is a nice iPhone/iPad/iPod app from Pearson that focuses on correct punctuation using the ever so confusing comma. It’s a quick and easy way to study just this one topic for standardized test.
Have you ever wanted anything more than the forbidden fruit? Yeah, me neither, so let’s not create an artificial lack thinking we’ll change kids’ ideas about games. This is the part of the argument where I think Mr. Spence gets off track.
Thank you to my work Dad Friend, who also has a blog called adverlicio.us, an online ad archive, for this great article from the Wall Street Journal on How to Raise Boys Who Read by Thomas Spence with a note that says “Hint: Not with Gross-Out Books and Video Game Bribes.” Spence is apparently disgusted by the pandering of publishers to reluctant boy readers with Gross-Out books and proposes a simple solution that worked for his 6 (that’s right, folks, SIX!!!!) boys: TURN OFF THE SCREENS! FILL THE HOUSE WITH GOOD BOOKS.
I thought Neil Gaiman gave such a lovely, funny and inspiring speech. Thank you to Beth Schulman for the post. Neil Gaiman is going to be the Boston Public Library Children’s Book Fundraiser tomorrow, Sunday, Sept 26, 2010. It’s a tea party starting at 2:00. It might be too late to jump in, but you never know. You get to meet four Newbery authors and have them sign your books. I’d love to meet Neil Gaiman after reading his speech!