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Today’s must-read – Killing Jodie

killing_jodieKilling Jodie: How Australia's Most Elusive Murderer Was Brought to Justice

by Janet Fife-Yeomans


Winner: Best True Crime, Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards


Daryl Suckling's arrest in remote NSW in the late 1980s revealed his disturbing connections with the disappearance of Jodie Larcombe from Melbourne. Charged with the murder of Jodie, then a sex worker on St Kilda's streets, Suckling was allowed to walk free, as police investigators struggled to prove a homicide without a body. He'd previously escaped conviction more than once after brutally abducting several women.


Frustrated by legal obstacles and bad luck, one officer resigned from the force in disgust, but the case was never forgotten and investigators closed in as Suckling stalked his next victim. The grisly murder linked St Kilda with the lonely, windswept sandhills of the NSW outback near Mildura, and brought two hardened policemen close to a brave family pushed to breaking point - in the end, it was too much for Jodie's mother, who committed suicide when Suckling appealed his eventual conviction.

Suckling is now one of 15 prisoners serving life in NSW, never to be released.

Amazon

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Today’s must-read – The Night has a Thousand Eyes

night_thousandThe Night Has a Thousand Eyes

Winner Best Young Adult Novel Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards

by Mandy Sayer

When Mark Stamp fires an air gun through the window of his father's shed, he's afraid he may have damaged something. But what he discovers is far worse. Peering through the broken window, he sees such a horrifying sight that he has to flee for his life. His older sister, Ruby, may not be officially old enough to drive, but she can handle the family's van, and Mark, Ruby and the baby set off on a hair–raising adventure across country, escaping the past and their violent father. In her electrifying new novel of family secrets and small–town scandals, Mandy Sayer deftly weaves raw suspense with exquisite prose. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes is a vivid and haunting tale of three kids on the run – and of rumours that spread like wildfire while the truth hides closer to home . . . People always talk about the dangers of speeding; no one ever mentions the risks of travelling too slowly through life.

You can support the Pivotal Network when you buy this book from Amazon by using this link

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LA Times Young Adult Book Prize

[Via Children's Bookshelf]

Five nominees for the Los Angeles Times Young Adult Book Prize have been announced: The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming (Random House/Schwartz & Wade); The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins); Dark Dude by Oscar Hijuelos (Atheneum); Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions); and Nation by Terry Pratchett (HarperCollins). The winner will be announced on April 24.

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ABA Announces Indies Choice Finalists

Publishers Weekly

The American Booksellers Association [this week] announced the finalists for its inaugural Indies Choice Book Awards, which replace the Book Sense Book of the Year Awards (the Abbys). There are seven categories—Best Indie Buzz book (fiction), Best Conversation Starter (nonfiction), Best Author Discovery (debut), Best New Picture Book, Best YA Buzz Book, Most Engaging Author, and Picture Book Hall of Fame—and voting is now open to owners and staff at all ABA member bookstores. The ABA is encouraging booksellers to vote electronically at bookweb.org/icba; however, a paper ballot is also available. Ballots must be submitted by March 31; paper ballots may be returned via fax or mail to be received by April 7. The winners will be announced in late April and will be honored at an awards ceremony at ABA's Celebration of Bookselling Luncheon at BEA.

The 2009 Indies Choice Book Awards finalists are:

Best Indie Buzz Book (Fiction)
City of Thieves by David Benioff (Viking)
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane (Morrow)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows (Dial)
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill (Pantheon)
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (Viking)
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (Knopf) 

Best Conversation Starter (Nonfiction)
American Buffalo by Steven Rinella (Spiegel & Grau)
The Forever War by Dexter Filkins (Knopf)
Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg (Other Press)
A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz (Holt)
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami (Knopf)
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead)

Best Author Discovery (Debut)
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan (Algonquin)
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Ecco)
The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block (Random House)
White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Free Press) 

Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book (Fiction)
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (HMH)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor)
My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger (Dial)
Savvy by Ingrid Law (Dial) 

Best New Picture Book
Bats at the Library by Brian Lies (Houghton Mifflin)
Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo & Harry Bliss (HarperCollins)
Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett (Simon & Schuster)
The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen & Dan Hanna (FSG)
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox & Helen Oxenbury (Harcourt)
Wave by Suzi Lee (Chronicle) 

Most Engaging Author
Sherman Alexie
Michael Chabon
Ann Patchett
John Scieszka
David Sedaris
Terry Tempest Williams

Picture Book Hall of Fame
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst & Ray Cruz (Atheneum)
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault & Lois Ehlert (Simon & Schuster)
Corduroy by Don Freeman (Viking)
Curious George by H.A. Rey (Houghton Mifflin)
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems (Hyperion)
Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann (Putnam)
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (Grosset & Dunlap/Philomel)
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans (Viking)
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (Viking)
Napping House by Audrey Wood (Harcourt)
Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon (Harcourt)
The Story of Ferdinand the Bull by Munro Leaf & Robert Lawson (Viking)
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (HarperCollins)

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CBC Reveals ‘Children’s Choice’ Finalists

-- Publishers Weekly, 2/26/2009
They’re back: the Children’s Book Council has unveiled the finalists for the second-annual Children’s Choice Book Awards. Nearly 15,000 children cast their votes in six categories—four based on age group, as well as author and illustrator of the year.

As last year, the winners will be announced at the Children’s Choice Book Awards Gala on May 12, during Children’s Book Week. Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, will reprise his role as host of the gala, during which the second annual Impact Award will be given—this year to Whoopi Goldberg. From March 16 through May 3, kids can vote for their favorite books and authors at their schools, libraries and bookstores, as well as at BookWeekOnline.com.

And the finalists are:

Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year

The Donut Chef by Bob Staake (Random/Golden)

Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman (Holt)

The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems (Hyperion)

Sort It Out! by Barbara Mariconda, illus. by Sherry Rogers (Sylvan Dell)

Those Darn Squirrels! by Adam Rubin, illus. by Daniel Salmieri (Clarion)

Third Grade to Fourth Grade Book of the Year

Babymouse: Puppy Love by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House)

One Million Things: A Visual Encyclopedia by Peter Chrisp (DK)

Underwear: What We Wear Under There by Ruth Freeman Swain, illus. by John O’Brien (Holiday House)

Willow by Denise Brennan-Nelson and Rosemarie Brennan, illus. by Cyd Moore (Sleeping Bear)

Spooky Cemeteries by Dinah Williams (Bearport)

 

Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year

100 Most Dangerous Things On the Planet by Anna Claybourne (Scholastic Reference)

Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic/Graphix)

The Big Field by Mike Lupica (Philomel)

Swords: An Artist's Devotion by Ben Boos (Candlewick)

Thirteen by Lauren Myracle (Dutton)

 

Teen Choice Book Award

Airhead by Meg Cabot (Scholastic/Point)

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen (Viking)

Paper Towns by John Green (Dutton)

 

Author of the Year

Stephenie Meyer, Breaking Dawn (Little, Brown)

Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Abrams/Amulet)

Christopher Paolini, Brisingr (Knopf)

James Patterson, Maximum Ride: The Final Warning (Little, Brown)

Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth (Disney-Hyperion)

 

Illustrator of the Year

Laura Cornell, Big Words for Little People by Jamie Lee Curtis (HarperCollins/Cotler)

Robin Preiss Glasser, Fancy Nancy: Bonjour Butterfly! by Jane O’Connor (HarperCollins)

Mo Willems, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! (Hyperion)

David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon, Smash! Crash! by Jon Scieszka (Simon & Schuster)

Jon J Muth, Zen Ties (Scholastic Press)

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Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize

Michelle Harrison has been awarded the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize in the U.K. for The Thirteen Treasures (Simon & Schuster), the story of a girl who can see fairies, and who tries to solve a mystery that has haunted her family for generations. Harrison will receive a £5,000 prize and the bookstore chain will support the title throughout the year. Little, Brown will publish the book in the U.S. in spring 2010. For more information, click here.

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40th NAACP Image Awards

The 40th NAACP Image Awards were given out last Thursday night. Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Bryan Collier (Simon & Schuster) won for Outstanding Literary Work—Children, Letters to a Young Sister: Define Your Destiny by Hill Harper (Gotham Books) won for Outstanding Literary Work—Youth/Teens, and Hip Hop Speaks to Children, edited by Nikki Giovanni (Sourcebooks/
Jabberwocky) won for Outstanding Literary Work—Poetry, the first time that a book for children has won in this category.

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Book – The House in the Night

 Winner: Caldecott Medal 

by Susan Marie Swanson, Illustrated by Beth Krommes

From the Reviews

A spare, patterned text and glowing pictures explore the origins of light that make a house a home in this bedtime book for young children. Naming nighttime things that are both comforting and intriguing to preschoolers—a key, a bed, the moon—this timeless book illuminates a reassuring order to the universe.

more (including an interview with the author)

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Keats Illustrator Award Goes to Shadra Strickland

 Shadra Strickland was recently named the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator of 2009, just weeks after receiving the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award on January 26, 2008 for her illustrations in the picture book Bird (Lee & Low, 2008).

The honors were the furthest things from Strickland’s mind when she and I first met last June on a return flight to New York from the American Library Association conference in San Diego. At the time, she was an enthusiastic young passenger sharing the proofs of her drawings for Bird with her seatmate. more » » » 

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Caldecott Medal Goes to Artist Beth Krommes