Happy Holiday Season

Image by Darwin Bell via Flickr

Just want to wish everyone out there a happy holiday season...Back soon.

CBC Books - Children's Book Panel: Holiday picks from The Next Chapter

I always look forward to the Xmas CBC's Children's Book Panel. Often I will have read most of their holiday choices, but there's always a few new books that I discover from the eclectic mix of their holiday picks. To check out the first installment of this year's titles, follow the link. CBC Books - Children's Book Panel: Holiday picks from The Next Chapter. You can even subscribe to a podcast.

Mary Kole's Holiday Gift Guide is a super book list

If you're desperately looking for Christmas presents think books.  For the perfect Xmas book for the child, young adult, or writer on your list, check out this post from agent, Mary Kole at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.  It's a great  list and features several of my favs.

PW's Best Children's Books 2010

In October The  New York Times printed an outrageous article about how the picture book was dying.  While there has been lots of blogger activity refuting the claim, an official rebuttal has finally come out from Publisher Weekly.  Check it out "Don't Write the Obit for The Picture Book Yet".

A chance to win 50 picture books at MotherReader

If you're a teacher, a librarian, or just a picture book lover like me, you'll want to hustle on over to MotherReader for a chance to win twenty-five picture books.  Katie Davis is running the Cybils ABC Giveaway, and she's offering two chances to win a set of twenty-five picture books for your library, your classroom, or just for you.  Check out MotherReader for contest details. 


By the way, here are the short-lists for the Cybils in the both Picture Book categories.  Of course there were lots of great titles that didn't quite make this list.

Fiction Picture Books

The Curious Garden, The

by Peter Brown
Little, Brown

x

xsss

The Lion & the Mouse
by Jerry Pinkney
Little, Brown

x

x

Jeremy Draws a Monster
by Peter McCarty
Henry Holt

xx

x

x

The Listeners (Tales of Young Americans)
by Gloria Whelan
Sleeping Bear Press

x

xx

All the World
by Liz Garton Scanlon
Beach Lane Books

x

x

The Book That Eats People
by John Perry
Tricycle Press

xxx

x

Silly Tilly

by Eileen Spinelli
Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books

x

x

Nonfiction Picture Books

Mermaid Queen: The Spectacular True Story Of Annette Kellerman, Who Swam Her Way To Fame, Fortune & Swimsuit History!
by Shana Corey
Scholastic

x

x

The Day-Glo Brothers
by Chris Barton
Charlesbridge

x

x

Life-Size Zoo: From Tiny Rodents to Gigantic Elephants, An Actual Size Animal Encyclopedia
Created by Teruyuki Komiya with photographs by Toyofumi Fukuda
Seven Footer Press

x

x

14 Cows for America
by Carmen Agra Deedy
Peachtree

x

x

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11
by Brian Floca
Atheneum

x

x

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea
by Steve Jenkins
Houghton Mifflin

x

x
Faith (Global Fund for Children Books)
by Maya Ajmera, Magde Nakassis, and Cynthia Pon for the Global Fund for Children
Charlesbridge

Giraffe and Bird by Rebecca Bender

Giraffe and Bird is a delightful new picture book by Rebecca Bender about a couple of curmudgeonly characters who get on each other’s nerves.   When bird makes faces at giraffe, giraffe responds by sticking out his tongue.  Bird can’t stand giraffe and giraffe can’t abide bird.  The two don’t even try to get along.  So, it’s no surprise that one day Giraffe tells bird to “Scram,” and Bird tells giraffe to “Get Lost!”  It takes weathering a scary storm alone to bring each of them to their senses.  Bird is glum without anyone to “pick and peck” while giraffe is lonely with no one to “pester and perturb him.”   

Bender’s richly textured yet spare backgrounds help to spotlight her marvelously expressive characters.  Giraffe and Bird may be far from saccharine sweet, but the friendship message comes through loud and clear in a refreshingly humorous way.  Onomatopoeia and enlarged, colored words make this an easy and fun read-aloud.  This debut author/illustrator from Toronto has hit the ball out of the park with her first picture book.  If Giraffe and Bird is any indication of what’s to come, Dancing Cat Books is well on its way to the major leagues of the kid’s publishing.

Giraffe and Bird by Rebecca Bender

Giraffe and Bird is a delightful new picture book by Rebecca Bender about a couple of curmudgeonly characters who get on each other’s nerves.   When bird makes faces at giraffe, giraffe responds by sticking out his tongue.  Bird can’t stand giraffe and giraffe can’t abide bird.  The two don’t even try to get along.  So, it’s no surprise that one day Giraffe tells bird to “Scram,” and Bird tells giraffe to “Get Lost!”  It takes weathering a scary storm alone to bring each of them to their senses.  Bird is glum without anyone to “pick and peck” while giraffe is lonely with no one to “pester and perturb him.”   

Bender’s richly textured yet spare backgrounds help to spotlight her marvelously expressive characters.  Giraffe and Bird may be far from saccharine sweet, but the friendship message comes through loud and clear in a refreshingly humorous way.  Onomatopoeia and enlarged, colored words make this an easy and fun read-aloud.  This debut author/illustrator from Toronto has hit the ball out of the park with her first picture book.  If Giraffe and Bird is any indication of what’s to come, Dancing Cat Books is well on its way to the major leagues of the kid’s publishing.

Baking and Books post

For a little Xmas cheer in the way of a kid-friendly recipes and family favorite Xmas stories, check out my news blog for Baking and Books posts.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Have you seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1?  You probably have, but if not, check out my review in on www.readingkidsbooks-teenbooks.blogspot.com.

2010 Trends in Kid's books

Thanks to Marsha Skrypuch for alerting me to Scholastic's take on what's been happening in the world of kids' books over the last year. Number one on their list is the expanding Young Adult (YA) audience. This may be in part because YA books just keep getting better. Or it may be because YA books are also popular with a fair number of adults. Sadly, the picture book market seems to have shrunk. They also point to dystopian fiction as high up on the list of last year's trends with series like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. Not surprisingly, the rise of the diary or journal format is on their list. This is partly due to the success of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which started out on line rather than in book format.

A couple of things I've noticed over the last year is that no matter what the target age, series seem to be flying off the shelves. This is a trend that I predict will only increase. Another trend is an increasing number of books being turned into movies. E-books weren't mentioned in the Scholastic roundup, but I'm pretty sure this is another area of the kids's book market that's ballooning. For example, Harlequin has jumped into the ring with a new online YA Romance presence with Harlequin Teen. Lastly, a trend I'm sad to say I've seen is that in addition to a shrinking picture book market, there are fewer complex cross-over picture books being published. This is perhaps the most disturbing trend of all given what a wonderful reading opportunity picture books can be for everyone; especially since kids have less time for reading. Picture books can be particularly beneficial to populations like ESL students and reluctant readers, and the art is often some of the best in the world. PB offer a wealth of opportunities to address complex issues and open the doors to discussions both in schools and homes. In the push to get kids reading chapter books, sometimes we forget that many picture books are richly crafted gems that contain the elements of larger works of fiction.

Check out On Our Minds @ Scholastic: Scholastic's 10 trends in children's books for 2010 for the entire list.

Book review of Rules by Cynthia Lord coming soon...

I've finished reading the awesome Rules by Cynthia Lord, which was a Newbery Honor book as well as the winner of the Schneider Family Book Award. A book review is coming up, but not until later.  I'm off to see the new Harry Potter movie this afternoon and may report on that too.

In the meantime, here are some virtual cookies for you to munch on.

CCBC grade one book give-away

This year, the Canadian Children's Centre and the TD Bank Financial Group will be providing every grade one student across the country with a copy of Caramba, by Marie Louise-Gay.  Providing every family of a grade one student with this delightful picture book is one way to encourage parents and children to read together.  This is the 10th year the program has been operating.  This year, 547,000 grade one children will benefit from the program.  You can show your support with a generous donation to the Canadian Children's Book Centre today.  They need you, and so do Canadian children and their families.

Caroll Simpson

Caroll Simpson

Monday Dec. 6^th, 7:30 pm

at the Victoria Children’s Literature Roundtable

Caroll is visiting us from her remote fishing lodge, Ookpik Wilderness Lodge, in the northern interior of B.C.  She spends the off-season writing, painting and observing animals and nature. She is the author/illustrator of The First Beaver (2008) and The First Mosquito (2010), and will tell us about the creation of these original First Peoples of the Pacific Northwest creation stories.

The VCLR is open to the public . Members free ($25/year), drop-ins $5, students $4. Meetings are held at the Nellie McClung Branch Library, 3950 Cedar Hill Road, at 7:30 pm. Come early and browse Cadboro Bay Books' table, and bring a friend!

A program offered by the Victoria Children's Literature Roundtable. 

Sad news about Sid Fleischman

Sad news...Tricycle Press out of Berkley, California will be closing down.  They were bought out last year by Random house, and I think everyone in the kid's books world had their fingers crossed that they wouldn't be swallowed up.  Sad to see them go.  I've heard Abigail Samoun speak on a few occasions and I really like both her and Tricycle's vision.

Anita Silvey's Book-a-Day Almanac

I love kids books and I love the people who love kids books as much as I do, especially when they're bloggers.  Anita Silvey is one of my favs.  The former editor of The Horn Book review journal and a former children's publisher at Houghton Mifflin, she has set out to write about and recommend a book a day.  No, I'm not making this up...a book a day!  And if anyone out there can do, it's Silvey.  So, check out her Book-a- Day Almanac.

Harry Potter lineup in Victoria BC

The big news in books this week isn't a book at all, but a movie. Here's a short clip of the midnight lineup for the new Harry Potter movie in my part of the world. Given that it was cold last night and that I'm generally a wimp, I opted for my nice cozy bed. After all, I'm pretty sure the movie will be around town for a while.

Dec. 4 is Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day

So many independent book stores have gone under.  It's about time that we started supporting our local booksellers.  So here's your chance.  December 4 is the first annual Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day.  If every reader with a child celebrates this day, booksellers and bookstores won't become an endangered species!
READ DREAM GROW

PW's Best Children's Books 2010

Just in case you haven't come across this list of great books yet, check this out. It's a kids' book list worth sharing. PW's Best Children's Books 2010.  And hey, it includes some of my favorite books and authors including Lane Smith's It's a Book.

NBA Winner for Young People's Lit.

The other NBA has just announced this year's winners.  The Award for Young People's Literature goes to Mockingbird by Kathryn Erkstine.  One more book for me to add to the pile...sigh.  I'll never be able to stay ahead on top of my growing list.

2010 Governor General's Award winners for Children's Literature are...

Children’s Literature – Text

Wendy Phillips, Richmond (British Columbia), Fishtailing(Coteau Books; distributed by Publishers Group of Canada)

In this highly-inventive, poetic narrative, four compelling characters take the reader on a wild ride through the dangerous terrain of friendships threatened by manipulative acts. Deftly switching voices,
Wendy Phillips creates a powerful momentum in Fishtailing that leaves the reader breathless.

Children’s Literature – Illustration

Jon Klassen, Los Angeles [originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario], 

Cats’ Night Out, text by Caroline Stutson (Simon & Schuster / A Paula Wiseman Book; distributed by Simon & Schuster Canada)

In Cat’s Night Out, Jon Klassen’s highly imaginative and clever illustrations, with their subdued, delicate colours and their minimal movement, mysteriously transform a smoky New York night into a grooving and pulsating background for his cool dancing cats.

Mother Reader is the place to be

Image by your neighborhood librarian via Flickr

So you if are a fan of picture books, Mother Reader is the place to be. As one of the judges for the Fiction Picture Book Category of the Cybils Award Committee for the last 3 years, this children's librarian has too many books and it's time to give them away!  They'll all go...in a splashy contest that you could win...but not until after she reviews the books.  So hey, every one will end up a winner because you'll learn about some great new books.  And how could that be a bad thing!  So check it out, and while your at it, you can visit the Cybils Award site to look for more great books in other categories.

Opera Company of Philadelphia "Hallelujah!" Random Act of Culture

Literature is an integral part of culture and so is music. Sometimes people have never developed much of an interest in culture so it's easy for them not to care about funding cuts to culture. How can we combat this? Here's on cultural organization's solution...Random Acts of Culture. As you can see from the video clip, it's pretty powerful. Thanks Gizela Sherman for passing this on.

The Information Book Award Announced

The Winner of the Information Book Award sponsored by the Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada has been announced.  Congratulations Valerie Wyatt and Fred Rix for How To Build Your Own Country.  Since Val lives here in Victoria, I just may have to take her to lunch to celebrate!

Manzanar & Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki,

While we were heading south to the Four Corners area in the US, we stopped in Bishop, California. That night, after a fabulous mexican dinner, we pulled out the maps and guide books to plan the next day's drive.  That was when we discovered Manzanar, home of the largest War Relocation Camp in the US during WWII.  At it's peak, it held more than 10,000 forcibly relocated Japanese Americans behind barbed wire.  It operated from1942-1945, and when it was closed, the inmates, who had lost businesses, homes, and other worldly possessions, were given a bus ticket and $25.  It's a shameful time in US history, and one the we Canadians share.  Today, a National Historic Site stands in place of a prison.  It is well worth a visit, especially for the oral histories which have been and continue to be collected.  

As is often the case, some very moving stories have come out of that time and place.  One that I brought home with me is Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, illustrated by Dom Lee.  Published in 1993, by  Lee & Low Books, it is a powerful story of how both children and adults built a baseball park in the desert, of how the American game helped to ease some of trials of the internment camp and of how baseball helped to break down the scars and barriers of post-war discrimination.  The illustrations are powerful and evoke the dust and desolation I experienced when visiting Manzanar.  

I highly recommend a virtual visit to Manzanar, and I highly recommend this story.  For a north-north-of-the-border story for older readers, Joy Kogowa's Obasan is equally powerful.

Lest we forget

Image via Wikipedia

Today's post is a poem written by John Gillespie Magee, a young Canadian  pilot who did not survive World War II.  He wrote this at age 19 a few months before he died.

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,

I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft thro' footless halls of air....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue

I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark nor even eagle flew—

And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God

*Thanks to my friend Linda Granfield for the reminder.  She's one of those special people in the world who has been able to lead the way in helping us celebrate fallen soldiers without glorifying war itself.  Thanks for all your work Linda.

And the winner is...

It's official, the Canadian Children’s Book Centre has just announced the winners...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Toronto (November 10, 2010) ― The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) is thrilled to announce the winners of the four major children’s book awards it administers. The winners were announced last night at a gala event at The Carlu in Toronto.

This year’s winning titles will captivate the hearts and imaginations of children and adults everywhere. Readers will be introduced to a hunchback child who has the ability to transform himself and who is a trained secret agent; to an alluring story of mystery, perception and friendship with a surprise ending; to an exquisite, informative and delightful account of the history of China’s famed Silk Road; and to a young Sherlock Holmes on the sinister streets of Victorian London.

These books exemplify some of the best work by Canadian authors and illustrators. The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is proud to share these titles with you. For a list of the honour books for each award, please click here.

. . . .

TD CANADIAN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE AWARD ($25,000)Sponsored by TD Bank Financial Group

The Hunchback Assignments

Written by Arthur Slade (Saskatoon, SK)

HarperCollins Publishers

for ages 11 and up

Here's the jury description...“Arthur Slade’s foray into the steampunk genre is of world-class quality and makes The Hunchback Assignments a fresh and unexpected addition to Canadian children’s literature… A mystery thriller, the novel’s tone is grippingly suspenseful… Literary allusions to characters and plots, from the Hunchback of Notre Dame to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, enrich the subtext of reality and illusion.”

MARILYN BAILLIE PICTURE BOOK AWARD ($20,000)Sponsored by A. Charles Baillie

Timmerman Was Here

Written by Colleen Sydor (Winnipeg, MB)

Illustrated by Nicolas Debon (Saint-Denis, France)

Tundra Books

for ages 4 – 8

This is what the jury said of Timmerman Was Here...“This is a sublimely humanistic and memorable story about the way we discover the difference between truth and appearances… Dramatic pictures equally involve the reader, while the artistic use of dark and light further affect our emotional response… This intriguing tale with a twist delves exceptionally well into values and perceptions, the rational and the irrational, achieving a conclusion that is profoundly self-affirming for the child… This emotionally rich and suspenseful story is capped by an uplifting ending that will stir hearts from 8 to 80… A perfect pairing of text and illustration.”

NORMA FLECK AWARD FOR CANADIAN CHILDREN’S NON-FICTION ($10,000)Sponsored by the Fleck Family Foundation

Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road

Written by Priscilla Galloway (Penetanguishene, ON) with Dawn Hunter (Toronto, ON)

Annick Press

for ages 10 and up

The jury called Galloway's work “A gripping account of three remarkable historic journeys; cultural, spiritual and commercial, enable the reader to imagine this fabled ancient route taken by the adventurous of long, long ago. Galloway’s excellent research, clear text, stunning photographs, art and maps updates this history for our times. A wonderful resource for research and reports."

GEOFFREY BILSON AWARD FOR HISTORICAL FICTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE ($5,000) Sponsored by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Bilson Endowment Fund 

Vanishing Girl

(The Boy Sherlock Holmes, Book 3)

Written by Shane Peacock (Baltimore, ON)

Tundra Books

for ages 9 and up

The jury describes  how “Peacock delves into the young mind of one of the best-known characters in literature, creating a story that is well-plotted, with plenty of action, adventure and plot twists… Beautifully written and fast-paced… Peacock’s writing has a distinctive voice and tone that is perfectly suited to the story being told.”

For more information on how you can help support these awards visit www.bookcentre.ca.

Wow...so much has happened

Image via Wikipedia

Wow...In the month I've been away, so much has happened...sadly, the great Eva Ibbotson, author of a couple of my favorite books, Journey to the River Sea, and The Star of Kazan, passed away.  And, surprisingly, one of  of my favorite bloggers in the agenting business,  Nathan Bransford has changed careers and stepped out of the world of agenting, and likely blogging about kid's books.  I'm sure a lot more has gone on since I've visited Mesa Verde, Chaco, and Arches National Park, but between doing laundry, paying bills, catching up on my mail, and grocery shopping, I haven't had a chance to discover it yet.