Guys Read: Funny Business - The Joke

The contributing authors for the upcoming book, Guys Read: Funny Business reads like a who's who of kid's books. Check out Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett, Adam Rex, David Yoo, Paul Feig, Kate DiCamillo, Christopher Paul Curtis, Eoin Colfer, Jack Gantos, David Lubar, and Jeff Kinney tell in the book's trailer called "The Joke". It's a hoot. (I'll post the cover as soon as Harper Kids passes it along).

More good news

More good news...

Sara Pennypacker has a new Clementine book coming out. Clementine: Friend of the Week with illustrations by the fabulously quirky Marla Frazee. I'm not sure what sort of adventure Clementine is in for, but you can be sure it will be one you won't want to miss.

It's a Book by Lane Smith

OMG! It's a Book and the trailer that goes with it is pure awesomeness. Of course that shouldn't be much of a surprise since it's by Lane Smith who is always awesome. Check it out.Macmillan: Videos for It's a Book: Books: Lane Smith And by the way, if you are a part of my bookish world (editor, agent, book group friends, etc.) don't buy this book because someone you know has already bought you a copy! Anyone else, get your butt to the bookstore!

Important News!

Important news! My friend Dennis Foon, novelist and playwright has made Time Magazine. The film he wrote the script for, Life, Above All, received a 10 minute standing ovation from an audience filled with stars such as Mick Jagger, Russell Crowe and Jennifer Lopez during it's Cannes preview. The film deals with the tragic but uplifting story of a young girl fighting to help her family in the face of the scourge of AIDS in Africa. Read the article, or better still, go to the movie when it comes and definitely read the book it was based on, Chanda's Secret by Allan Stratton.

Wiff and Dirty George

Thanks again to Betsy Bird of A Fuse #8 Production, I have come across another great book that I have to read...Wiff and Dirty George by Steve Swinburne. It sounds like a total hoot, with a couple of kids who set out to solve the mystery of disappearing pants (including their own). Apparently an evil man in a bunny suit and his attractive but not really evil assistant are behind the mystery which somehow threatens the Queen (yes it's a British book). The whole thing just sounds hilarious, from the first few chapters I read, which can be downloaded here.

Red Cedar Book Award Winners

The winners of the 2009[2010 Red Cedar Book Awards are:

Information Book Award Winner: Sweet: the delicious story of candy by Ann Love and Jane Drake, illustrated by Claudia Davila

Fiction Award Winner: Dear Jo: The story of losing Leah... and searching for hope by Christina Kilbourne

Congratulations to the winners!

Here are the lists of nominated titles for next year so get reading!

2010-2011 Red Cedar Fiction Nominees

Pete's Gold by Luanne Armstrong
Feather Brain by Maureen Bush
Zach and Zoe and the Bank Robber by Kristin Butcher
The Girl in the Backseat by Norma Charles
Grave Yard of the Sea by Penny Draper
Dear Canada: Days of Toil and Tears by Sarah Ellis
Libertad by Alma Fullerton
Diary of Laura's Twin by Kathy Kacer
The Nine Lives of Travis Keating by Jill MacLean
Star Climber by Kenneth Oppel
Dear Toni by Cyndi Sand-Eveland
The Shadow of Malabron by Thomas Wharton

2010-2011 Red Cedar Information Book Nominees

One Peace: True stories of young activists by Janet Wilson
Super Crocs & Monster Wings by Claire Eamer
Who Discovered America by Valerie Wyatt
Science on the Loose by Helaine Becker, illustrated by Claudia Davila
The Curse of Akkad by Peter Christie
Dirt on Dirt by Paulette Bourgeois, illustrated by Martha Newbigging
Polar Worlds by Robert Bateman
Everything but the Kitchen Sink by Frieda Wishinsky and Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Travis King
Alien Invaders by Jane Drake and Ann Love, illustrated by Mark Thurman
A Native American Thought of it by Rocky Landon with David MacDonald
Ballplayers and Bonesetters by Laura Coulter, illustrated by Martha Newbigging
Inside Hockey! by Keltie Thomas, illustrated by John Kicksee

Congratulations to all the Nominees.

Robert Munsch by Frank B. Edwards

Further to yesterday's post about Robert Munsch... Frank Edwards has recently written a biography for kids that deals with some of Munsch's ongoing problems in a sensitive way. CM Magazine recommends it and says "It is everything we want to know about Robert Munsch told with care and sympathy." The book was recently short-listed for The Silver Birch Awards; reader's choice awards that attract some 250,000 readers in Ontario.

Bob Munsch is as brave as he is talented.

I can't say that I was shocked by children's book author Robert Munsch admission of mental health problems, but I was saddened. Bob's writing has brought a unique off-the-wall perspective to children's books that I and many others treasure. I recall thinking (when I took my kids to see him years ago) that his energy output during his performance was verging on manic. It seems that wasn't far off the truth. In a note to parents on his website, Bob admits to struggling with a manic/depressive disorder and in a recent interview he's owned up to drug and alcohol abuse to cope with it. All I can say is, not only is the man an incredible talent, but he's also exceedingly brave. Way to go Bob. For what it's worth, you have my support and I trust the rest of the children's literature community is behind you too.

Information Book Award Long List...time to narrow it down.

Yep, it's that time of the year again. Here's the long list for the 2010 Information Book Award for Canadian children's non-fiction. Most of the books are available from the Greater Victoria Public Library or at your local library. Selections will be made by June 15th and the winner is chosen in the fall.

Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada

2010 INFORMATION BOOK AWARD PRELIMINARY LIST

Ages 5-8

Alfalfabet A to Z: The Wonderful Words from Agriculture

Written by Carol Watterson. Illustrated by Michela Sorrentino

BC Agriculture for the Classroom Foundation, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-9812317-0-9

Follow That Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills

Written/Illustrated by Scot Ritchie

Kids Can Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55453-274-2

Fun With Composers – Volume II

Written by Deborah Lyn Ziolkoski. Illustrated by Jim Fee

Fun With Composers, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-9780360-5-8

Getting There

Written by Marla Stewart Konrad

Tundra Books, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-88776-867-5

Have You Ever Seen an Octopus With A Broom?

Written by Etta Kaner. Illustrated by Jeff Szuc

Kids Can Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55453-247-6

I Is for Inuksuk: An Arctic Celebration

Written/Illustrated by Mary Wallace

Maple Tree Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-897349-57-1

It’s a Snap! George Eastman’s First Photograph

Written by Monica Kulling. Illustrated by Bill Slavin

Tundra Books, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-88776-881-1

La Primera: The Story of Wild Mustangs

Written by Ian Tyson. Paintings by Adeline Halvorson

Tundra Books, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-88776-863-7

Oh, Canada!

Written/Illustrated by Per-Henrik Gurth

Kids Can Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55453-374-9

Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion

Written by Jane Barclay. Illustrated by Renne Benoit

Tundra Books, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-88776-951-1

The Rocket

Written by Mike Leonetti. Illustrated by Greg Banning.

North Winds Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-545-98948-0

Who Lives Here? Forest Animals

Written by Deborah Hodge. Illustrated by Pat Stephens

Kids Can Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55453-070-0

AGES 9-15

Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road

Written by Priscilla Galloway with Dawn Hunter

Annick Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55451-198-3

Animal Aha! Thrilling Discoveries in Wildlife Science

Written by Diane Swanson

Annick Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55451-1655

Charlie: A Home Child’s Life in Canada

Written by Beryl Young

Key Porter Books, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55470-200-8

The Children of Africville

Written by Christine Welldon

Nimbus Publishing, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55109-723-7

Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees

Written by Deborah Ellis

Groundwood Books/House of Anansi, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-88899-907-8

The Chinese Thought of It: Amazing Inventions and Innovations

Written by Ting-Xing Ye

Annick Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55451-196-9

Dieppe: Canada’s Darkest Day of World War II

Written by Hugh Brewster

Scholastic, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-545-99420-0

Dinosaurs in Your Backyard

Written by Hugh Brewster. Illustrated by Alan Barnard

Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-8109-7099-1

Hoaxed! Fakes and Mistakes in the World of Science

by the Editors of Yes Magazine

Kids Can Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55453-206-3

How Figure Skating Works

Written by Keltie Thomas. Illustrated by Stephen MacEachern

Owlkids, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-897349-59-5

How to Build Your Own Country

Written by Valerie Wyatt. Illustrated by Fred Rix

Kids Can Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55453-310-7

If America Were a Village: A Book about the People of the United States

Written by David J. Smith. Illustrated by Shelagh Armstrong

Kids Can Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55453-344-2

Kaboom! Explosions of All Kinds

Written by Gillian Richardson

Annick Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55451-203-4

Learn to Speak Music

Written by John Crossingham. Illustrated by Jeff Kulak

Owlkids, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-897349-65-6

Living Stories

Written by Mindy Willett, Therese Zoe and Philip Zoe

Illustrated by: Tessa Macintosh (photographs)

Fifth House (Fitzhenry and Whiteside), 2009

ISBN: 1-897-252-447

Out of This World: The Amazing Search for an Alien Earth

Written by Jacob Berkowitz

Kids Can Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55453-197-4

Pharaohs and Foot Soldiers

Written by Kristin Butcher. Illustrated by Martha Newbigging

Annick Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55451-171-6

Remembering John McCrae

Written by Linda Granfield

Scholastic, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-439-93561-6

Robert Munsch

Written by Frank B. Edwards

Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55455-138-5

Sargeant Gander: A Canadian Hero

Written by Robyn Walker

Dundurn Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55488-463-6

Spiked Scorpions & Walking Whales: Modern Animals, Ancient Animals & Water

Written by Claire Eamer

Annick Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55451-206-5

A Thousand Years of Pirates

Written by William Gilkerson

Tundra Books, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-88776-924-5

Vanishing Habitats

Written by Robert Bateman with Nancy Kovacs. Illustrated by Robert Bateman.

Scholastic/Madison Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-545-98621-2

The War to End All Wars: The Story of World War I

Written by Jack Batten

Tundra Books, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-88776-879-8

What’s the Big Idea? Inventions that Changed Life on Earth Forever

Written by Helaine Becker

Owlkids, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-897349-60-1

Whispers from the Ghettos

Written by Kathy Kacer and Sharon McKay

Puffin Canada, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-14331-251-2

You Are Weird: Your Body’s Peculiar Parts and Funny Functions

Written by Diane Swanson. Illustrated by Kathy Boake

Kids Can Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-55453-282-7

Ontario Reader's Choice Awards Announced

The Ontario Library Association has announced the "2010 Tree Awards." Congratulations to the winners of this wildly popular reader's choice awards.

Blue Spruce Award (Kindergarten–Grade 2):
Jeremy Tankard, Boo Hoo Bird (Scholastic Canada Ltd.)

Silver Birch Express (Grade 3–4):

Cyndi Sand-Eveland, Dear Toni (Tundra Books)

Silver Birch Fiction (Grade 4–6):

Robert Paul Weston, Zorgamazoo (Penguin Group Canada)

Silver Birch Non-fiction (Grade 4–6):
Larry Verstraete, At the Edge: Daring Acts in Desperate Times (Scholastic Canada Ltd.)

Red Maple Award (Grade 7–8):
Susin Nielsen, Word Nerd (Tundra Books)

White Pine Award (Grade 9–12):
Pam Bustin, Mostly Happy (Thistledown Press)

Jacob Lambert is worth a read

I came across this very funny article by humorist JACOB LAMBERT

Are Picture Books Leading Our Children Astray? It's a total hoot with Lambert using five classic picture to explain how picture books are "thinly-veiled endorsements of chaos". I happened on it when perusing Chicken Spagetti, a wonderful blog I enjoy following. Check them both out.