From Sydney Morning Herald, reprint

Children's author Jan Berenstain dead at 88
February 28, 2012


Jan Berenstain, who with her husband, Stan, wrote and illustrated the Berenstain Bears books that have charmed children and their parents for 50 years, has died. She was 88.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/childrens-author-jan-berenstain-dead-at-88-20120228-1tzrd.html#ixzz1ngsPAhEa

Interview excerpt with Candlewick Press' Art Director

from childrensillustrators.com


Kristen Nobles is the Art Director, Candlewick Press


How did you arrive at your current position of Art Director at one of the world's largest independent publishing companies, Candlewick Press, and what was your career path before that?

Stalking. No, really! I had traveled to New England from California for a wedding and knew that Candlewick was in Cambridge, MA (we are now just a few blocks away in Somerville, MA) from admiring their books at industry shows. I showed up on the doorstep and was granted an informational interview with the Human Resources Director. Knowing I wanted to eventually return to the east coast to be nearer to family and friends, I kept a pretty close eye on the positions available after that first visit. About a year later, in 2004, I applied to and then accepted a position to manage the art department and develop the look of their early reader books (what we call 6x9s internally or Candlewick Sparks in paperback). Previously I was a Senior Designer at Chronicle Books, a Designer at Workman publishing, and a Junior (Adult Jackets) Designer at St. Martin’s Press. I briefly worked in magazine design and in art museums including a fellowship at the Peppy Guggenheim Museum in Venice. All experiences eventually led me to focus on working with illustrators – which makes perfect sense for a communications design / art history major.


.... How would you describe Candlewick's 'personality' in terms of the type of children's books the company publishes?

Schizophrenic? Even the list you mention above ranges from simple edgy humor to classically sweet to a fantastical tale of humanity to nonfiction with clarity. I don’t think we have a personality so much as we strive for very high quality on each and every individual book. Our decision making is driven by appropriateness to each unique story – from the illustrator choice to the font and paper stock. As far as fictional picture books I would generally say that we look for unique characters with strong voices and narratives – both in the text and the art. However, for every generalization there is an exception.


How many books does Candlewick publish per year?

Approximately 225-250 (not counting paperbacks and reuse!)

The List, Scotland, excerpt

Aye write
Scottish Children's Books Awards 2011 winners announced

Source: The List (Issue 694)
23 February 2012 (updated 27 February 2012)
by: Varvara Bashkirova


Scottish Children's Books Awards 2011 winners announced
Ross Collins, Ross MacKenzie and Nicola Morgan win award judged by 24,000 children

Ross Collins, Ross MacKenzie and Nicola Morgan have been announced the winners of the Scottish Children's Books Awards 2011. The contestants of the awards were judged and voted for exclusively by young readers from all over Scotland, 600 of whom attended the awards ceremony earlier today.

In 2011, a record number of children participated in reviewing the shortlisted books and voting for their favourites. Almost 24,000 registered to take part, compared to 16,000 in 2010. Prizes were awarded in three categories: Bookbug Readers (0-7 years), Younger Readers (8-11 years) and Older Readers (12-16 years), which meant that children of all the ages got the opportunity to participate in voting - and get engaged with literature at an early stage.

Children’s Minister Aileen Campbell believes that the competition is very important in promoting reading among young children: "Reading is one of the most important life skills we can have. It helps us learn and improves our communication skills... As such, awards like these deserve every praise and recognition for encouraging the next generation of Scottish readers."

Reading Program in Pakistan, International Herald Tribune excerpt

The joy of reading and storytelling
By News Desk
Published: February 27, 2012


ISLAMABAD: With the ever-increasing pace of technology, schoolchildren have more distractions and seem to be missing out on the reading habit. “The sight of a child reading while curled up on a coach or under the sun on a winter afternoon is becoming rarer by the day” stated British Council English Project Programme Manager Talha Shahzad at a storytelling event, said a press release issued by the council here on Sunday.

This is why the British Council and HSBC have joined forces for Kids Read, an initiative to encourage and promote the reading habit among schoolchildren....

From BBC News, excerpt

26 February 2012

Boys now reading as well as girls, study suggests
By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter

Boys appear to have caught up with girls on reading ability, research into what children are reading for pleasure suggests.

A study of which books more than 210,000 UK children are reading suggests boys no longer read at a lower level of difficulty than girls.

Concerns that boys lag behind girls has been frequently expressed.

Roald Dahl remains the most popular children's author.

He is closely followed by Roderick Hunt, author of the popular Magic Key series, which is part of the Oxford Reading Scheme.

From Asia One, excerpt

Fantasy novels rank as most-borrowed books at libraries in Taiwan


The China Post/Asia News Network
Feb 27, 2012

TAIPEI - Fantasy and adventure novels were the most popular genre for book borrowers in Taiwan's public libraries last year, accounting for 16 of the 20 most-borrowed titles, according to the results of a recent survey.

The survey, released by the National Central Library (NCL) last week, shows that book borrowers especially favored fantasy and adventure novels with a historical backdrop.

The "Fate Hunter" fantasy series by Taiwanese novelist Giddens Ko topped the list of the 20 most-borrowed books compiled by the NCL, with more than 21,000 borrowings.

Also on the list are three books by Chinese writer Yue Guan, about modern men who are reincarnated and return to China's past dynasties and ancient periods, where they undergo a string of adventures.

British author J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series also made it to the list, ranking fifth and sixth, respectively.

Huang Wen-ling, director of the National Taiwan Library, which participated in the survey, said the results show that "the public enjoy books that are recreational and entertaining."

In addition, close to 30 per cent of the authors on the list started their writing on the Internet, including Ko, who has written around 60 books since he published his first online in 2000.

His autobiographical film "You Are the Apple of My Eye," released last year, grossed over NT$410 million (S$17.42 million) at the box office in Taiwan and became the highest-grossing Chinese-language movie in Hong Kong's history.

from StarNews Online, Wilmington NC, excerpt

Guest readers bring black literature to kids

Daffinette Dudley reads 'Picking Peas for a Penny' to kindergarten students at Sunset Park Elementary in Wilmington on Friday.

By Si Cantwell

Saturday, February 25, 2012

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi ... – Langston Hughes

As Chrystal Fray read Langston Hughes' poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” to second-graders at Sunset Park Elementary on Friday afternoon, the kids were rapt with attention.

Fray was among the guest readers participating in the annual African-American Read-In Chain, part of the school's Black History Month activities.

Full article: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20120225/ARTICLES/120229784

Enid Blyton's Books to be Re-Illustrated, The Guardian, excerpt

Famous Five 70th anniversary marked by star illustrators

Quentin Blake and Helen Oxenbury among artists to reinterpret Enid Blyton's classic children's characters for a new generation

• Alison Flood
• guardian.co.uk, Friday 24 February 2012
  

Famous Five at 70: Detail from Emma Chichester Clark's take on Five Run Away Together. Photograph: Hodder Children's Books

Much-loved illustrators including Quentin Blake and Helen Oxenbury have reimagined the Famous Five to mark the 70th anniversary of the adventurous quintet's first appearance, bringing new looks to Enid Blyton's classic characters.

CFP deadline extended for Taiwan Children's Literature Research Assoc. Conference

IRSCL

NOTE: The deadline has been extended to March 16.

CFP - THE CHILD IN THE BOOK

November 16-17, 2012

Soochow University

Taipei, Taiwan

Children’s literature as a field of academic study has grown steadily in Taiwan over the past several years. Many other Asian nations have also seen a concerted interest in both the production and criticism of literature for young people. This interest has given rise to the creation of the Taiwan Children’s Literature Research Association (TCLRA), a distinctly Taiwanese organization in the process of formation that is dedicated to the study of children’s and young adult literature. The first action of the TCLRA is this conference, held in conjunction with the Children’s Literature Association (ChLA), that seeks to unite Asian scholars of children’s literature with each other and with scholars from regions where the study of children’s literature has had a longer tradition.

By focusing the theme for this conference on “the Child in the Book” we wish to interrogate the ways in which children and childhood are constructed in texts for young people from a variety of cultures and perspectives. What ideas lay behind the representation of children in literary texts? What assumptions are made about potential readers? If childhood is a shifting idea that is ideologically constructed, then how do these ideas shift between texts written by or for people in different national contexts? Do the historical ideas of childhood that have played such an extensive role in North American and European societies translate to other societies and cultures? While issues of childhood representations in all settings are welcome, of special concern is the representation of cultures and diversity in Asian contexts as well as with Asians in non-Asian settings.

CFP-Child in the book-new.pdf 509K View Download

Conference on South African and International Children's Literature

5TH CONFERENCE ON SOUTH AFRICAN CHILDREN'S AND YOUTH LITERATURE

by Doris Gebel on Thu, 02/23/2012

18-20 September 2012 North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Invitation to attend conference and call for papers

Conference theme: Spaces, routes and (re-)discoveries in children's and youth literature. Papers on South African as well as international children's and youth literature are welcome, and should preferably link up with one or more of the following topics:

Spaces - literary space, textual space, space and genre, space and media, physical space, psychological space, abstract space, geographical space, cities, towns, rural areas, nature, land, sea, outer space, ecological issues, verbal and visual depiction of space.

Routes - to explorations of children's and youth literature, in adventure stories, to interconnectedness of things through interdisciplinary studies, to the improvement of reading, to success in writing for children and adolescents, to using children's and youth literature in improving language education, routes to values portrayed in children's literature.

(Re-)discoveries - of the power of words, of the importance of visual storytelling, of almost forgotten authors, of classic/evergreen texts, of values old and new, of South Africa in the global world. Papers, workshops, panels and poster sessions are welcome. As was the case with the preceding conferences, this conference is for all who are currently involved or who wish to become involved in the production (e.g. oral storytellers, writers, illustrators, translators, publishers), marketing and distribution (e.g. publishers, agents, book suppliers), mediation (e.g. educators/facilitators, parents, librarians, and the media - newspapers, radios, television) and reception of children's literature (by toddlers, children and teenagers as listeners to, or readers of children's stories, poetry, stage productions and films).

Papers may be presented in any of the official languages of South Africa. Summaries of papers which will be presented in any language other than English must be accompanied by an English summary. Simultaneous interpreting from any South African language into English will be available, but should be requested by 18th of May 2012, when sending in the abstract.

Important dates18 May 2012: Final submission of abstract of paper (250 words) and a short CV (100 words) in Word format. 3 September 2012: Final date for registration (payment included).

Enquiries about any aspect of the conference programme can be addressed to:

Betsie van der Westhuizen E-mail: betsie.vanderwesthuizen@nwu.ac.za

Maria Popova on the History of Picturebooks, excerpt

24 FEBRUARY, 2012

A Brief History of Children’s Picture Books and the Art of Visual Storytelling

by Maria Popova

From cave paintings to Maurice Sendak, or what modern ebooks can learn from mid-century design icons.

Back in the fifteenth century, Leonardo da Vinci made an eloquent case for visual storytelling:

And you who wish to represent by words the form of man and all the aspects of his membrification, relinquish that idea. For the more minutely you describe the more you will confine the mind of the reader, and the more you will keep him from the knowledge of the thing described. And so it is necessary to draw and to describe.”----

In Children’s Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling, illustrator Martin Salisbury and children’s literature scholar Morag Styles trace the fascinating evolution of the picturebook as a storytelling medium and a cultural agent, and peer into the future to see where the medium might be going next, with case studies of seminal works, a survey of artistic techniques, and peeks inside the sketchbooks and creative process of prominent illustrators adding dimension to this thoughtful and visually engrossing journey.

For full text:
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/02/24/childrens-picturebooks/

From PsyPost, excerpt

Increasingly, children’s books are where the wild things aren’t

University of Nebraska at Lincoln | February 23, 2012

Was your favorite childhood book crawling with wild animals and set in places like jungles or deep forests? Or did it take place inside a house or in a city, with few if any untamed creatures in sight?

A new study has found that over the last several decades, nature has increasingly taken a back seat in award-winning children’s picture books — and suggests this sobering trend is consistent with a growing isolation from the natural world.

A group of researchers led by University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociology professor emeritus J. Allen Williams Jr. reviewed the winners and honor books receiving the prestigious Caldecott Medal from the award’s inception in 1938 through 2008. In total, they examined nearly 8,100 images contained in nearly 300 books. Caldecott awardees are the children’s books judged by the American Library Association to have the best illustrations in a given year.

Researchers looked at whether images depicted a natural environment, such as a jungle or a forest; a built environment, such as a house, a school or an office; or something in-between, such as a mowed lawn. They also noted whether any animals were in the pictures — and if so, if those creatures were wild, domesticated or took on human qualities.

Their results, Williams said, visibly exhibited a steady decline in illustrations of natural environments and animals, as well as humans’ interactions with both. Meanwhile, images of built environments became much more common....

Harry Potter Author Writing for Adults, WSJ excerpt

• FEBRUARY 23, 2012, 4:24 P.M. ET

J.K. Rowling has deal for new novel for adults

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Adult fans of J.K. Rowling can rejoice: She has a new novel coming, for grownups.

The kids will have to wait and see.

The author of the mega-selling "Harry Potter" series has an agreement with Little, Brown in the United States and Britain to release her first adult novel, the publishers announced Thursday. The title, release date and details about the book, long rumored, were not announced. A neighbor of Rowling's in Edinburgh, author Ian Rankin, tweeted Thursday that he thinks Rowling has written a mystery novel.

Many Thanks to buildingalibrary.com for these links

Five “Best Books for Kids” Lists That Are Better Than Scholastic’s 100 Greatest Books for Kids

by Tom B., February 22, 2012

1. National Education Association’s Kids’ Top 100 Books vs. Teachers’ Top 100 Books

2. The Guardian’s “Building a Children’s Library” Recommended Reading List

3. Anita Silvey’s Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac

4. Common Sense Media’s Best Books for Kids Lists

5. ALA/Oprah’s Kids’ Reading Lists

reprint

Corner: The latest kids' books to win the Coretta Scott King Awards

02/22/2012

• KAREN MACPHERSON, Scripps Howard News Service

Celebrate Black History Month by reading the latest winners of the Coretta Scott King Awards, given annually to the best children's books written and illustrated by African-Americans.
Created in 1970, the Coretta Scott King Awards are named for the late wife of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and are designed to highlight the best children's books created each year by African-American authors and artists. The awards are sponsored by the American Library Association, and the winning books are chosen annually by a group of librarians and children's-book experts.
For more information about these awards, go to: http://www.ala.org/emiert/cskbookawards. To see a list of the books that have previously won the award, go to: http://www.ala.org/emiert/cskbookawards/recipients.

Napa Writers' Conference Announcement

Writers and Poets, Start Your Engines

Registration starts March 1 for the Summer Napa Valley Writers' Conference.

• By Betty Malmgren

Fiction writers and poets can submit applications beginning March 1 for the opportunity to work side-by-side with renowned authors at the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, slated for July 22-27, 2012. The faculty for this year’s conference features poet Eavan Boland and Tayari Jones, whose novel Silver Sparrow was released last year to wide acclaim.

Boland, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, is a member of the Irish Academy of Letters and directs the creative writing program at Stanford University. She has published ten volumes of poetry, the most recent being New Collected Poems and Domestic Violence. She has received the Lannan Award for Poetry and an American Ireland Fund Literary Award.

Jones was recently awarded a 2012 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship. Silver Sparrow was named a top book of 2011 by Library Journal, O Magazine, Slate and Salon, and has been nominated for a NAACP Image Award.

... Full conference tuition – including workshops, lectures, evening events and most meals – is $900. One in five conference attendees receive full or partial scholarships, which are awarded according to merit and need. Rolling admissions begin March 1, and scholarship applications are due April 2. For application materials and guidelines and further information visit napawritersconference.org.

Thanks to American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Sherman Alexie on Tucson student reading TEN LITTLE INDIANS

[Note: A chronological list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies Department at Tucson Unified School District is here. Information about the national Mexican American Studies Teach-in is here. The best source for daily updates out of Tucson is blogger David Abie Morales at Three Sonorans.]

___________________________________

This is a screen grab from Sherman Alexie's website:

Awards for Greek Children's Authors/Illustrators Announced, reprint

2011 Greek State Awards for Children’s Literature Announced

By Stella Tsolakidou on February 21, 2012 in Art, News

The results of the competition for the 2011 Greek State Awards for Children’s Literature were announced on Friday by the Letters’ Direction of the General Direction of Modern Culture of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The awards concerned books published in 2010 and the State Awards Committee chose its finalists after repeated sessions, and from a select list of competitors.

The Awards were the following:

1. Children’s Literature Book Award was presented to Christos Boulotis for his work “The precious garbage of Mr. No” (Greek Letters edition)

2. Young Adult Literature Book Award was presented to Maria Papayianni for her work “The lonely tree” (Patakis editions)

3. Illustrated Children’s Book Award was presented to illustrator Myrto Delivoria and writer Antonis Papatheodoulou for their work “The town that drove war away” (Patakis editions)

4. Knowledge Book for Children Award was presented to Alkistis Chalikia for her work “In the zoo” (Kaleidoscope editions)

Greek State Awards for Children's Literature,

Black Tie Children's Literature Event Tomorrow in U.K.

WEBWIRE – Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Jamie Oliver, Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Morpurgo are among a host of literary stars due to shine at a glittering evening in celebration of children’s literature at The Clore Ballroom in the Royal Festival Hall.

Children’s literature is often described as being in a Golden Age. The sale of children’s books is rising unimpeded by the current economic climate. More and more children’s books are becoming the subjects of Hollywood blockbuster films – Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse most recently. There are numerous campaigns to aid literacy being launched and meeting with success.

And yet despite these triumphs, children’s literature – unlike many children – could be described as ‘quiet’. There are no red carpet ceremonies, no black tie functions, no glamorous occasions to celebrate the richness of the industry.

Until now…

Tomorrow (February 23), at The Clore Ballroom in the Royal Festival Hall, the great and the good of children’s literature will finally be celebrating all that is great and good about children’s literature!

Complete with red carpet, black tie dress code, stunning Thames-side venue and a children’s books-themed menu devised by Jamie Oliver himself, the gala dinner, hosted by the Book People will be a fairytale night to remember.

From Tyne and Wear, excerpt

The Brian Alderson Series: Talks about children's literature in the Seven Stories Collection

Brian Alderson, one of the pioneers of children’s literature studies in Britain, and a prolific writer, reviewer, and translator, will give a series of free lectures on authors and work included within the Seven Stories collection.

The talks will take place at the Robinson Library, Newcastle University between 9 November and 16 May 2012 and are being organised by the Children’s Literature Unit at Newcastle University’s School of English in partnership with Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books.

CFP/Conference in Canberra

Dear members and friends of ACLAR,

This is a quick reminder that the closing date for submitting abstracts to our 2012 Conference is February 29, 2012.

This year’s conference, ‘If We’re Being Honest: The Facts and Fictions of Children’s Literature’ is being held at the National Library of Australia from June 20-22, and is hosted by Dr. Anthony Eaton of University of Canberra. Keynote speakers are Shaun Tan, Prof. Clare Bradford, and Prof. Kerry Mallan.

A detailed CFP can be read at: http://aclar.org/index.php/callsforpapers/8-cfplisting/28-cfp-aclar-2012-conference

from the WSJ, excerpt

• FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Colbert to release kids' book about a flag pole

Associated Press

NEW YORK — With the blessing of Maurice Sendak, Stephen Colbert is releasing a children's book.

Grand Central Publishing said Tuesday that it will publish "I Am a Pole (And So Can You!)" on May 8. In a two-part "Colbert Report" segment that aired last month, Colbert previewed the book with "Where the Wild Things Are" author Sendak.

Congratulations and Admiration to Heidi and Alexis in Vermont!

Hometown

Celebrating Chittenden County Communities

Teachers sport bright pink hair to get kids reading

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Lynn Monty

Charlotte Central School librarian, Heidi Huestis, and para-educator Alexis Krech challenged students to read 1,200 books this year in honor of The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award contest. It's Vermont's children's choice award for grades 4-8, founded in 1957. Huestis and Krech told students if they read 1,200 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award books they would dye their hair pink.

Russell Hoban Quotation Event site

SA4QE 2012 - Celebrating 10 years of SA4QE

On 4 February 2012 the Slickman A4 Quotation Event celebrated 10 years of sharing Russell Hoban quotes, with many fans across the world posting their favourites in public places both real and virtual. This site is being updated daily with these quotes.
See all 2012 quotes

SoCal Children's Lit Festival in Redlands, March 2-3

Charlotte S. Huck Children’s Literature Festival

On February 14, 2012

Date:

Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3, 2012.

Place:

University of Redlands Main Campus, Orton Center

Contacts:

Festival Secretary Colleen Quesada at 909-748-8791 or festival coordinator Marjorie Arnett.

Click here to register online.

Full registration for both days is $150 and includes all meals and events.

Visit http://www.redlands.edu/academics/school-of-education/4153.aspx for other registration options and costs.

Website:

http://www.redlands.edu/academics/school-of-education/4153.aspx

Description:

The Charlotte S. Huck Children’s Literature Festival is a two-day series of workshops and presentations designed specifically for authors, illustrators, librarians, teachers and others whose work focuses on books for children. More than 25 workshops, presentations and question/answer sessions focus on a variety of topics ranging from poetry and story structure, to sparking creativity and addressing difficult social topics.

Speakers include:

• Steven Layne, award-winning author and literacy education professor
• J. Patrick Lewis, National Children’s Poet Laureate
• Eric Kimmel, Caldecott Honor Book and Newbery Honor Book author
• George Ella Lyon, children’s novelist
• Brian Pinkey, award-winning children’s book illustrator

UT Austin's Marah Gubar's Book--

Artful Dodgers: Reconceiving the Golden Age of Children’s Literature

February 12th, 2012

Artful Dodgers: Reconceiving the Golden Age of Children’s Literature

In this groundbreaking contribution to Victorian and children’s literature scientific studies, Marah Gubar proposes a fundamental reconception of the nineteenth-century attitude toward childhood. The ideology of innocence was a lot slower to spread than we think, she contends, and the folks whom we assume had been most committed to it–children’s authors and members of the infamous “cult of the youngster”–were really deeply ambivalent about this Romantic notion. Rather than wholeheartedly promoting a static ide

List Price tag: $ 24.95

From The Daily Reporter, Greenfield, Indiana, excerpt

Ex-Rep. Gabby Giffords' husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, writing kids' book about a mouse

HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer February 20, 2012

In this July 1, 2011 file photo, NASA Space Shuttle astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly listens during a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington. Kelly, who collaborated with his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, on her memoir, is writing a children's book about a mouse that goes to space.

Children's Literature Events at SDSU

March 10: 8th Semi-Annual Children's/YA Book Review Marathon
on campus, Info or RSVP: childlit@sdsu.edu

March 19: Publishing Forum: Love Library, Leon Williams Room, LL 430, 5-8 p.m.

April 16-18: India's children's author/editor Anushka Ravishankar-- stay tuned for details

Blogger Recommends Kids' Books about Nature, reprinted with thanks--

Ten Beloved Children’s Authors Write About Nature

Laure Latham
February 17, 2012

Want kids to connect with nature? They need to learn to love it first and any of these books will help you to plan your next nature exploration. When nature books are so good that they get made into a feature-length movie or stick with your child's memory through the years, the author's achieved something quite special.

By connecting with a child's imagination, the story becomes an excuse to go out and observe the world. Rather than stopping on the last page of the book, it lives on in children's minds as a question or a passion to be nurtured—maybe a family trip in the near future? Read on, enjoy and get out!

Dr. Seuss and The Lorax

"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." The last words of the Once-ler in The Lorax are some of the most powerful words in environmental education. Kids have got to care to protect what they love and this tale of a wonderful world gone wrong is a great way to introduce concepts such as ecosystem, change, sustainability or mindless progress. Read together at night, talk about it, watch the movie and sign up for Earth Day activities near your home!

Kate Messner and Over and Under the Snow

Do you ever wonder what goes on around you in nature? How about peeking behind the scenes? In Over and Under the Snow, a dad and his daughter go skiing in a wintry landscape. Under the snow where eyes cannot see them, the animals of the forest are surviving or hibernating in their own ways. The juxtaposition of two worlds, above and under, will spark numerous questions that you can take outside and apply to your own environment. Simpler yet, read this book before planning a snow trip and try to find animal clues in winter landscapes - real world I Spy!

Lois Ehlert and Leaf Man

Autumn leaves becomes nature art in Leaf Man, a book where author and illustrator Lois Ehlert fashions a man with a body of leaves and acorn eyes. Leaving his backyard to wander with the wind, Leaf Man travels a countryside also made of leaves. Simple in simple words, the story will surely inspire a craft project at home. For a winter read, check out Lois Ehlert's Snowballs, a beautiful book about winter!

Jane Yolen and Owl Moon

A wonderful father-daughter book, Owl Moon is one of Jane Yolen's most famous books and a reference book for teachers and librarians. When a little girl goes out at night with her dad in the woods, she's going owling for the first time. The pair will walk through the snowy woods and imitate an owl's call to attract a real owl. In her family, it's a child rite of passage and you will love the subtle emotions going through the girl's head. During the experience, she discovers the importance of quiet, the presence of nocturnal animals but also the solitude of a walk in the dark. After this elegant and inspiring story, take your kids owling in your area and have them compare their experience.

Margriet Ruurs and When We Go Camping

A perfect read for a summer trip, When We Go Camping follows a family in the woods on a camping trip. Exploring is the name of the game and the family's children do it with delight. From discovering animal tracks to foraging for berries, stargazing to making a fire, these kids are having the time of their life in total wilderness. For your next or first camping experience, this book will inspire children to go out and explore the natural world.

Mem Fox and Koala Lou

In Koala Lou, beloved children's author Mem Fox writes a tale of love set in the Australian outback. When Koala Lou becomes an older sibling and his mom takes care of the baby, he thinks that his mom doesn't love him anymore. To attract his mom's attention, he signs up for the Bush Olympics in the tree-gum climbing category. Adventures ensue and the confirmation that moms love their children no matter what. This sweet book combines the emotional struggles of an older sibling with the exotic Australian landscapes.

Eric Carle and Mr. Seahorse

Though it's hard to pick a favorite from the author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?, Mr. Seahorse has everything a book needs to become a children's classic. A simple story, gorgeous collage illustrations and surprise hide-and-seek pages make the book a great read for all ages. While older readers will focus on the special role of dads in the seahorse world, younger kids will love the colorful aquatic world and hiding games.

Doreen Cronin and Diary of a Fly

Humor and nature facts have never worked so well as when a young fly keeps an upbeat diary of her young life. While the fly wants to be a superhero, she's worried she doesn't have what it takes. Fortunately her friends Worm and Spider come to the rescue. Diary of a Fly works great for preschoolers who will learn science facts about the world flies while laughing out loud. It's also a book they'll revisit once they are in grade school and relate to the school activities such as the "All About Me" poster.

Diana Hutts Aston and A Butterfly Is Patient

By the author of the popular A Seed Is Sleepy and An Egg Is Quiet, A Butterfly Is Patient is the perfect companion to a walk in nature to discover your local butterflies and their life cycle. Learning fun science facts about the winged animals, kids will love the exquisite illustrations by Sylvia Long. This book will also appeal to older children with an interest in the natural world. Next time you go out on a hike, look for butterflies!

Laurel Snyder and Good Night, Laila Tov

On a camping vacation that takes a Jewish family from the coastal sand dunes of the Oceanside to the green rolling hills of the countryside, two children discover the joys of sleeping away from home. Told in lulling rhyming verse, Good Night, Laila Tov is a book that will get small children excited about summer days and the endless nature experiences ahead of them.

UC Davis Honors Children's Author Feb. 23, excerpt

Children's literature event honors Ying Chang Compestine

February 16, 2012

Compestine and the book that earned her a silver medal in the California Book Awards competition in 2007, and recognition as a 2008 Notable Book, an honor bestowed by the American Library Association.

By Dateline staff

AT SHIELDS LIBRARY

In connection with Words Take Wing, the General Library presents an exhibition of selected works by Ying Chang Compestine. Look for the exhibition in the lobby of Shields Library, through winter quarter.

UC Davis is once again flying high in celebration of diversity in children’s literature, at the annual Words Take Wing program, this year featuring the author Ying Chang Compestine.

She is due on campus next Thursday, Feb. 23, to present two programs, one primarily for children and the other for adults. Both programs are open to the public.

Born in Wauhau, China, Compestine came to the United States more than 20 years ago to attend graduate school. She is married now, living in the San Francisco Bay Area and writing in English.

She has written for young adults (the multiple award-winning Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party, drawing from her childhood and described as “Anne Frank in the Cultural Revolution,” and A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts) and for younger ages (Boy Dumplings and The Runaway Rice Cake, as well as picture books).

Job/Internship, Journal of International Students

Positions Opened: Copy editor/Section Editor (Journal of International Students, www.jistudents.org)

Roles:

Copy editors are responsible for ensuring the highest quality of editorial copy of journal publication. It should be as clean as possible before the final copy is presented to the Editor-in-chief and managing editor. Copy editors are responsible for ensuring that all stories (text) are error-free before publication of the Journal.

Major Responsibilities

· Edits (at least 2 papers per year) for grammar and spelling mistakes and stylistic discrepancies as outlined by the APA manual.

· Must have superior proofreading skill.

· Contributes constructive and helpful criticism to the Journal team.

All editorial members serve a two-year term and can anticipate being asked to copy edit approximately 3 manuscripts per year. The review members or editors hold doctoral degrees, have a minimum of a year experience in higher education, and have expertise in writing and publication.

Further, the editors agree to return reviews within three weeks of receipt. Individuals (including doctoral students) are invited to submit current curriculum vitae with research interests to the Editor at center.asu@gmail.com.

Journal of International Students

ASU-Jonesboro Campus

PO Box 1270 State University

AR 72467 (USA)

Web: http://jistudents.org/

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Children's Literature Conference Feb.25, St. Paul

20th Annual Hubbs Children’s Literature Conference

Authors, illustrators, and teachers of children’s literature will gather for the 20th annual Hubbs Children’s Literature Conference at the University of St. Thomas. The 20th anniversary event will be held on Saturday, February 25, 2012, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the new Anderson Student Center on the St. Paul campus.

This year’s featured authors are Newbery Award winners Christopher Paul Curtis and Linda Sue Park. The Red Balloon Bookstore will be on site selling the two featured authors’ books as well as a variety of children’s literature.

The annual Hubbs Children’s Literature Conference provides an opportunity for parents, teachers, students, librarians and others interested in children’s literature to share information and learn how to better meet the educational needs of youth.

registration

Tentative Schedule:
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.: Registration and check in at Woulfe Auditorium, Anderson Student Center
9:00 a.m.– 10:00 a.m.: Hubbs featured speaker: Christopher Paul Curtis, One Author’s Life
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.: Break and book signing
10:30 a.m.- 11:30 a.m.: Hubbs featured speaker: Linda Sue Park, The Gift of Story
11:30 a.m.– 12:00 p.m.: Break and book signing
12:00 p.m.- 12:50 p.m.: Lunch
1:00 p.m.- 1:50 p.m.: Breakout Sessions 1
2:00 p.m.- 2:50 p.m.: Breakout Sessions 2 (All sessions are repeated)

Featured Breakout Sessions

A Conversation with Christopher Paul Curtis
An informal opportunity to ask questions and engage Christopher Paul Curtis in discussions regarding his work and other topics of interest.

A Conversation with Linda Sue Park
An informal opportunity to ask questions and engage Linda Sue Park in discussions regarding his work and other topics of interest.

Thanks to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, for its Children's Literature Reseach Guide, links reprinted

For the full article and descriptions of the web sites, here is the full link:
researchguides.library.wisc.edu/content

• Research Guide: LGBT Materials for Middle and High School

Databases

• International Children’s Digital Library
• 
  
• UW Multicultural Children's Literature

Blogs on Multicultural Literature

• American Indians in Children’s Literature
  
  
• Boston University African Studies Center
  
  
• Finding Wonderland
  
  
• How to tell the difference: A guide to evaluating children's books for anti-Indian bias
  .
• I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell Do I Read?
  
  
• Literanista Blog
  
  
• PaperTigers.org

Multicultural Review

Multicultural Review is a journal dedicated to providing reviews of a better understanding of diversity, and it focuses on differences in ethnicity, race, spirituality, religion, disability, and language. Multicultural Review is provided by the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table of the American Library Association.

• Multicultural Review

Organization based Blogs

• Association for Library Services to Children
  
  
• Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT)
  
  
• IFLA Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section
  
  
• YALSA
  .

University of Winnipeg Summer Teaching Job

THE FACULTY OF ARTS INVITES APPLICATIONS
FOR CONTRACT FACULTY POSITIONS
IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH.

Course Name
Picture Books for Children
ENGL 2113(6) - 001

Start Date
May 1, 2012
End Date
August 11, 2012 (exam date plus 10 working days)

Number of Classes
24

Class Times
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Projected Enrollment
35

Credit Hours
6

Location of Course
Main Campus

Qualifications
M.A. in English

Remuneration
$7,960 (inclusive of 6% vacation pay based on 2007-2012 UWFA-CF Agreement)

Applicants should send their curriculum vitae to:
Dr. Catherine Hunter
Department of English,
The University of Winnipeg,
515 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9

The closing date for the application is March 1, 2012.

Please note that all positions are subject to final budgetary approval.
The posted position is required provided there is sufficient enrollment to offer the course. Other positions may become available. Applicants should contact Department Chairs directly for more information.

The University of Winnipeg is committed to employment equity, welcomes diversity in the workplace and encourages applications from all qualified individuals including women, members of visible minorities, aboriginal persons, and persons with disabilities. In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, this advertisement is initially directed to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Additional information on the University of Winnipeg is available at http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/.

The Nation in Children’s Literature

Nations of Childhood

Edited by Christopher Kelen, Bjorn Sundmark

To Be Published June 1st 2012 by Routledge – 256 pages

Series: Children's Literature and Culture

Hardback: 978-0-415-62479-4: $125.00

• Description
• Contents
• Author Bio
• Subjects

This book explores the meaning of nation or nationalism in children’s literature and how it constructs and represents different national experiences. The contributors discuss diverse aspects of children’s literature and film from interdisciplinary and multicultural approaches, ranging from the short story and novel to science fiction and fantasy from an array of countries. The emergence of modern nation-states can be seen as coinciding with the historical rise of children’s literature, while stateless or diasporic nations have frequently formulated their national consciousness and experience through children’s literature, both instructing children as future citizens and highlighting how ideas of childhood inform the discourses of nation and citizenship. Because nation and childhood are so intimately connected, it is crucial for critics and scholars to shed light on how children’s literatures have constructed and represented historically different national experiences. At the same time, given the massive political and demographic changes in the world since the nineteenth century and the formation of nation states, it is also crucial to evaluate how the national has been challenged by changing national languages through globalization, international commerce, and the rise of English. This book discusses how the idea of childhood pervades the rhetoric of nation and citizenship, and how children and childhood are represented across the globe through literature and film.

New Grant for Mid-List Authors

Jane Yolen and SCBWI Create Grant for Mid-List Writers

15 February 2012

Author Jane Yolen, together with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, has created a grant meant to recognize mid-list authors who “struggle to remain true to their personal vision and craft.” Those who wish to be considered must be nominated, and the winners and honorees are chosen by Yolen.

The first grant was given to Mary Whittington, author of Carmina Come Dance, The Patchwork Lady, Troll Games, and Winter’s Child, at SCBWI’s 13th annual conference last month. Honorees were authors Ann Whitford Paul and Barbara Diamond Goldin.

Nominations for the 2013 grant open June 1 2012 and must be received by September 1 2012. Nominees will then be invited to fill out an online application before the deadline of November 1 2012, and the winner will be announced at the SCBWI winter conference in New York. For more details see the SCBWI website.

World Book Day March 1, Broadcast Link, excerpt

World Book Day's Children's Festival Will Be Beamed Live On 1st March

Posted at 7:37AM Wednesday 15 Feb 2012

A show-stopping line-up of authors and illustrators are uniting for the country's first online children's book festival on World Book Day 2012 (Thursday 1st March).

Jacqueline Wilson, Eoin Colfer, Cressida Cowell, Derek Landy and Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson, are just some of the best-loved authors taking part in a series of fun performances for the 'Biggest Book Show on Earth' as it is streamed to the nation's homes, schools, bookshops and libraries live from London's Southbank.

Also taking to the stage to show off the wonders of children's books are top illustrators including Axel Scheffler, Lydia Monks and Nick Sharratt as well as actor Bertie Carvel who plays Miss Trunchbull in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical. The event will be compered by former Blue Peter presenter Andy Akinwolere.

Taking part couldn't be easier – simply visit www.worldbookday.com to register for free and check your technical set-up before the big day. Young audiences from all over the world then have the chance to watch online and submit questions to the line-up while parents, teachers and librarians can download a full pack of resources and ideas to help children as they laugh, sing and read along. The show will also be available to watch on-demand at www.worldbookday.com the next day.

Winnipeg Free Press on Saudi Children's Lit PhD scholar, excerpt

U of W lures history-making Saudi scholar

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 02/16/2012

Sabah Aisawi will join the University of Winnipeg as a visiting research fellow from February to June.

As the first woman to gain a PhD in children's literature in Saudi Arabia she will look at cultural diversity and portrayal of disability in children’s literature.

Aisawi said she chose to spend her sabbatical at the U of W since "it is one of the most well-known centres worldwide in my field of research."

She will also be teaching a new children’s literature course at the University of Dammam in Saudi Arabia next year, and will consult with U of W faculty who teach in the field of young people’s texts and cultures.

Publishng Perspectives blog, excerpt

Children’s Books Go Multimedia, Multinational, Multi…Everything

Read more by Guest Contributor
February 15, 2012

By Peggy Intrator

How far can a digital book go before it stops being a book? Does that matter? Can books be created and developed by game developers as well as traditional publishers? Are new formats hurting or helping reading? How many of the old publishing rules still apply? What are the new rules?

Storybird, a book platform that puts artists directly in touch with consumers

Lorraine Shanley, organizer of the day long Children’s Publishing Goes Digital event at Digital Book World on January 23 in New York City summed up the day by saying, that children’s publishing is multiplatform, multimedia, multinational, multi…everything.

There is consensus that even though lines are blurring across media, many of the familiar publishing truths apply in both print and digital. First and foremost you have to start with great content....

Scholastic Magazine's Top Kids' Books Link

The 100 'Greatest Books for Kids'

The 100 "Greatest Books for Kids," ranked by Scholastic Parent & Child magazine:

1. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

2. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

3. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

• STORY: 'Charlotte's Web' and 99 more 'great' kids books

• PHOTOS: Top 10 children's books

National Ambassador for Children's Literature, Walter Dean Myers, answers questions about reading, NEA, excerpt

Art Talk with Walter Dean Myers

February 14, 2012

By Rebecca Gross

Walter Dean Myers. Photo courtesy of the author

“Reading is not optional.” —Walter Dean Myers

When Walter Dean Myers was a teenager, he was so embarrassed by his love of reading that he carried his library books hidden in a paper bag. In a January interview with the New York Times, Myers said, “I felt a little ashamed, having books.” Despite this, books anchored Myers throughout a difficult adolescence in Harlem, and later evolved from a source of comfort into a wildly successful career. The author of dozens of children’s and young adult books, Myers is celebrated for his frank portrayal of the problems that can derail a young person’s life before it ever truly begins: poverty, gang violence, broken homes, drugs. Among his many awards, he is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, a two-time Newbery Honor recipient, a two-time National Book Award finalist, and the winner of the 2000 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Literature for Young Adults. Most recently, he was named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a two-year position chosen by the Library of Congress. I talked with Myers via e-mail about his youth, the country’s alarming literacy gap, and how sugarcoating childhood in literature can be a way of dehumanizing readers.

-------
NEA: What do you hope to accomplish during your tenure as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature? What was your reaction when you found out you’d been selected for the position?

MYERS: Most of my writing life I’ve also tried to encourage young people to read. Being appointed National Ambassador gives me a public voice to add to my private efforts. I was thrilled and honored to become National Ambassador and I hope, basically, to be useful to America in changing the reading environment from one which suggests that reading is an attractive addition to one’s life to one that identifies reading as a basic need. “Reading is not Optional” will be my theme song. For the next two years I hope first to encourage families and communities to read with children for the first five years of their lives. I also hope to get mentoring groups to read with older children. What children read is less a concern of mine than the idea of building basic reading proficiency.

CFP, Conference, South Africa, Sept. 18-20

5TH CONFERENCE ON SOUTH AFRICAN CHILDREN'S AND YOUTH LITERATURE

18-20 September 2012

North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Invitation to attend conference and call for papers

Conference theme: Spaces, routes and (re-)discoveries in children's and youth literature

Papers on South African as well as international children's and youth literature are welcome, and should preferably link up with one or more of the following topics:

Spaces - literary space, textual space, space and genre, space and media, physical space, psychological space, abstract space, geographical space, cities, towns, rural areas, nature, land, sea, outer space, ecological issues, verbal and visual depiction of space.

Routes - to explorations of children's and youth literature, in adventure stories, to interconnectedness of things through interdisciplinary studies, to the improvement of reading, to success in writing for children and adolescents, to using children's and youth literature in improving language education, routes to values portrayed in children's literature.

(Re-)discoveries - of the power of words, of the importance of visual storytelling, of almost forgotten authors, of classic/evergreen texts, of values old and new, of South Africa in the global world.

Papers, workshops, panels and poster sessions are welcome.

As was the case with the preceding conferences, this conference is for all who are currently involved or who wish to become involved in the production (e.g. oral storytellers, writers, illustrators, translators, publishers), marketing and distribution (e.g. publishers, agents, book suppliers), mediation (e.g. educators/facilitators, parents, librarians, and the media - newspapers, radios, television) and reception of children's literature (by toddlers, children and teenagers as listeners to, or readers of children's stories, poetry, stage productions and films).

Papers may be presented in any of the official languages of South Africa. Summaries of papers which will be presented in any language other than English must be accompanied by an English summary. Simultaneous interpreting from any South African language into English will be available, but should be requested by 18^th of May 2012, when sending in the abstract.

Important dates

• 18 May 2012: Final submission of abstract of paper (250 words) and a short CV (100 words) in Word format.
• 3 September 2012: Final date for registration (payment included).

Enquiries about any aspect of the conference programme can be addressed to:

Betsie van der Westhuizen

Subject Group Afrikaans and Dutch

School of Languages

Faculty of Arts

North-West University

Potchefstroom Campus

Private Bag X6001

Potchefstroom

2520

South Africa

Tel.: 27 18 2991491 (international) or 018 2991491 (South Africa)

Fax: 27 18 2991562 (international) or: 018 2991562 (South Africa)

E-mail: betsie.vanderwesthuizen@nwu.ac.za

OR:

Franci Greyling

Subject Group Creative Writing

School of Languages

Faculty of Arts

North-West University

Potchefstroom Campus

Private Bag X6001

Potchefstroom

2520

South Africa

Tel.: 27 18 2991781 (international) or 018 2991781 (South Africa)

Fax: 27 18 2991562 (international) or 018 2991562 (South Africa)

E-mail: franci.greyling@nwu.ac.za

OR:

Dolly Dlavane

School of Teacher Education (Human-oriented School Subjects)

African Languages

Faculty of Education Sciences

North-West University

Potchefstroom Campus

Private Bag X6001

Potchefstroom

2520

South Africa

Tel.: 27 18 2991817 (international) or 018 2991817 (South Africa)

Fax: 27 18 2994238 (international) or 018 2994238 (South Africa)

E-mail: dolly.dlavane@nwu.ac.za

OR:

Gerda Wittmann

Lecturer: German

School of Languages

Potchefstroom Campus

North-West University

POTCHEFSTROOM 2520

Tel: 27 18 2991560 (international) or 018 2991560 (South Africa)

Fax: 27 18 2991562 (international) or 018 2991562 (South Africa)

E-mail: gerda.wittmann@nwu.ac.za