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.