Scorcese Film of "Hugo Cabret"?

Martin Scorcese is planning his first children's film, a movie based on Brian Selznick's award-winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118014130.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

The Sydney Taylor Book Award

From Linda Salem ...

2010 Sydney Taylor Book Awards Announced! http://sydneytaylorbookaward.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-sydney-taylor-book-awards.html

New Yorker Profile of Neil Gaiman

Gothic horror was thoroughly out of fashion in children’s literature when, in the early nineteen-nineties, the writer Neil Gaiman began to work on “Coraline,” a book aimed at “middle readers”—aged nine to twelve—in which he reimagined Clifford’s demon as “the other mother,” an evil and cunning anti-creator who threatens to destroy his young protagonist. “The idea was, look, if the Victorians can do something that deeply unsettles kids, I should be able to do that, too,” he told me recently. Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/01/25/100125fa_fact_goodyear#ixzz0d0m8QbwH

2010 Newbery, Caldecott & Other ALA Winners

Newbery Medal
"When You Reach Me," written by Rebecca Stead, published by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books
Newbery Honor Books
"Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" written by Phillip Hoose, published by Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group
"The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" written by Jacqueline Kelly, published by Henry Holt and Company
"Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" written by Grace Lin, published by Little Brown and Company Books for Young Readers
"The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg" written by Rodman Philbrick, published by The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
Caldecott Medal
"The Lion and the Mouse" illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney, published by Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers
Caldecott Honor Books
"All the World" illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon, published by Beach Lane Books
"Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors" illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman, puslished by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

and more . . . http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/2010medawardwin.cfm

Werner Herzog Reads Curious George

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T8y5EPv6Y8&feature=player_embedded

The Year of Mark Twain

2010 marks a few anniversaries and an auspicious time to get reacquainted with one of America's most beloved writers. Jerry Griswold in the Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-caw-off-the-shelf17-2010jan17,0,1747731.story

Kids & Museums?

E.L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler and . . . ?

what other children's stories make use of museums? please use "comments" below

see also ...

http://www.amazon.com/Sargents-Daughters-Biography-Erica-Hirshler/dp/0878467424/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263612436&sr=1-1

and

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/arts/design/15museums.html

Remembering Childhood: Read This Excerpt from Patti Smith

An interesting excerpt from Patti Smith's memoir "Just Kids" appears on this NPR site:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122582840

Where to learn winners of Caldecott, Newbery, etc.

Linda Salem advises....

Here is a link to the ALA Youth Media Awards where you can tune in for the Newbery, Caldecott and other book and media awards announcements made at ALA Midwinter On January 18.
http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/october2009/yma2010webcast_pio.cfm

The Good Sense of Nonsense

In Parents' Choice, Jerry Griswold explores why a recent New York Times article entitled "Nonsense Sharpens the Intellect" is so important for children.

http://www.parents-choice.org/article.cfm?art_id=411&the_page=reading_list

Getty Museum Reissues Children's Books by Politi

How did Getty Publications, which produces books that complement the work of the L.A.-based J. Paul Getty Museum and its related institutes, come to reissue these titles? Melissa Crowley, Marketing Coordinator at Getty, explains: “We were interested in publishing the books because of their strong ties to the history of Los Angeles. Pedro, Juanita, and Emmet are set in Olvera Street and Angeleno Heights, two historic neighborhoods in downtown Los Angeles. Song of the Swallows is set at the Mission San Juan Capistrano, which fit nicely with the Getty Conservation Institute’s book, The California Missions: History, Art, and Preservation (also released in October). Leo Politi is a much-celebrated figure in California. Schools, libraries, and a park have been named for him, and many events took place around Los Angeles to celebrate the centenary of his birth in 2008.”

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6713515.html

Katherine Paterson: ambassador for young people's literature

Katherine Paterson is to be appointed the national ambassador for young people's literature:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/books/05paterson.html

Death of Eric Bowling

Eric Bowling, a grad student at SDSU, died on December 26, 2009. Intelligent and sharp, he was keen on Harry Potter and offered the first panel ever on Rowlings at Comic Con in 2008. Our condolences to his family and friends.

New website Irish Society for Study of Child Lit

This message comes from the ISSCL committee to wish you a very happy Christmas and New Year.

We attach a newsletter (thank you Valerie) with updates on the Society's activities and news of forthcoming events, and we also invite you to take a moment to look at our new website at http://www.isscl.com/. We'll be adding more and more information and links over the next few weeks, so do check in with us from time to time, and let Amanda know (apiesse@tcd.ie) if there's anything you'd like us to put up on the site. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank Conor and Siobhan at mrandmrsstevens.ie for their wonderful design and facilitation skills in getting this together for us.

One new venture we promised for the new year was a joint venture with children's film and the IFI. The IFI is having its first children's screening on January 31st at 12.30; the film will be Disney's The Princess and the Frog. The IFI have agreed to give ISSCL ten free tickets and to give us a space on the Mezzanine afterwards so we can have a brief presentation on the film followed by an informal discussion. If you'd like one of the free tickets, please contact Jane Carroll (carroljs@tcd.ie).

See you in the New Year!
With our very best wishes,
The ISSCL committee.
http://www.isscl.com/

From Harvard, among our favorite blogs ...

Maria Tatar's blog ("Breezes From Wonderland: A Forum for Folklore, Children's Literature, & Storytelling") is one of the most interesting we know:

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tatar/

Knoepflmacher as Children's Author

Noted critic in the field of children's literature, Uli Knoepflmacher has published his first children's book:
http://centraljersey.com/articles/2009/12/17/time_off/entertainment_news/doc4b296637d1883495141555.txt

Best of 2009, part 5 (NYT)

Best children's books of 2009, according to the NYTimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/notable-childrens-gift-guide/list.html

Best illustrated books:
http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/20091108_best-illustrated_gg/list.html

Best Books 2009, part 4 (LAT)

Jon Scieszka in the Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-state-of-the-art13-2009dec13,0,5156728.story

5th semi-annual Children's Book Review Marathon

from Alida Allison:

Lots of laughs, lots of fun, lots of food, and lots of reviews of contemporary children's books! Current and former Children's Literature MA students congregate to explore the latest of hundreds of books we receive for review, to read especially enjoyable sections aloud, or pass around spectacular illustrations. The Natl Center for the Study of Children's Literature posts some 200 reviews a year, then donates the books to SDSU's library, to local schools, or to Children's Hospital. Participants included: Emily Moore, Marie Soriano, Sean Prinz; Halima and Chris Bell, Marianne Paluso, NaToya Faughnder, and Kira Hall.

To see the last round of books reviewed by the National Book Review Service go to:

http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~childlit/reviews/2009SpringReviews.htm

Princeton: Course on children’s literature draws 450

If SCORE enrollment is any indication, ENG 335: Children’s Literature is where the students will be. With an enrollment of 450 students, the course, to be taught by English professor William Gleason, is currently the largest planned for spring 2010. In addition to such classic children’s stories as Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are,” the lecture’s sample reading list includes J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women.”

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/12/11/24728/

Best Books 2009, part 3 (PC)

Best books of 2009, according to Parents' Choice:
http://www.parents-choice.org/award.cfm?thePage=books&p_code=p_boo

Best Books 2009, part 2 (SLJ)

Best Books 2009, according to the School Library Journal:

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6708210.html

Best Books of 2009 (PW)

The best children's books of 2009, according to Publishers' Weekly:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6704596.html

Visiting Filipina Professor Christine Bellen

Alida Allison and Christine Bellen met with College of Arts and Letters Dean Paul Wong to discuss an exchange program for faculty and students (between SDSU and Christine's Ateneo University in Manila); Dean Wong pointed out that SDSU offers language classes and courses on Filipino history. Both universities' administrations are very supportive of an exchange program, and Ateneo hopes to establish a Children's Literature Center on its campus as well. Alida will be going to Manila next Fall to continue these discussions.

A.S. Byatt's "The Children's Book"

What they're talking about: A.S. Byatt's "The Children's Book"

http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Book-S-Byatt/dp/0307272095/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260104369&sr=8-1

Your comments welcome. See comments.