Children’s author Cynthea Liu believes in putting her money where her mouth is. And she’s succeeded in encouraging others to put their money down for a good cause. Liu, a native of Oklahoma and author of The Great Call of China, launched her second book for middle-grade readers, Paris Pan Takes the Dare (Putnam, June), with an online "slumber party," featuring an auction to benefit a Title I school in an impoverished and crime-ridden area in Oklahoma City. more » » »
“All right, Noah, dear. It’s time to leave,” says Noah’s mom. Noah has other plans. “No,” he says. And then says it again. And again. And each time, his nos get crazier and crazier.
It’s a lot of fun and will feel familiar to any parent up against a child’s tireless opposition, and kids (maybe) will recognize their own silly stubbornness. The educational use of various languages extends the book’s age range a bit, too.
Watch a trailer of the book
"In the bristling thriller CATCHING FIRE, two young heroes win the horrifying--and mandatory--Hunger Games, thereby becoming targets of a Government bent on maximum revenge."
Read the first chapter (PDF)
Listen to the author read a chapter
Rattletrap car
by Phyllis Root
The internal rhymes, alliteration, and creative car sounds make a perfect read-aloud. The watercolor illustrations are full of action as the rattletrap car bounces off the road and seems to rush off the page. The words for the car sounds bounce, too, in their larger, uneven fonts. The illustrations contribute humorous detail capturing the family's alternating despair, inventiveness, and glee at moving again.
3 excellent Library/Classroom Suggestions
Lesson Idea on using onomatopoeia
Examples of Art by Jill Barton
Read and listen to the book online
The Awakening
by Kelley Armstrong
(The darkest Powers. Book 2)
Genetically altered at birth by a sinister group of scientists, Chloe is an aberration - a powerful necromancer who can see ghosts and even raise the dead, often with terrifying consequences. Now Chloe is running for her life with three other supernatural teenagers - a charming sorcerer, a troubled werewolf and a temperamental young witch.
After meeting a bevy of baby animals -- including a clever monkey, a hairy warthog, and a dusty lion cub -- the baby in this story discovers the most precious creature of all...itself, of course!
With an exuberant rhyming text by bestselling author Mem Fox and adorable cut-paper illustrations by Caldecott-Honor recipient Steve Jenkins, this book is an irresistible celebration of the joyful connection between parent and child.
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---Take a guided tour of the private writing space of author Mem Fox.
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---Listen to the author, Mem Fox reading the book aloud
Author Kate DiCamillo’s first book, the Newbery Honor-winning Because of Winn-Dixie, is heading to Broadway as a musical. A creative team is not yet in place, but the show will feature a live dog playing the role of Winn-Dixie, trained by Bill Berloni (who trained the dog Sandy, for the musical Annie). “The opportunity to surround Kate’s story with top Broadway artists lends itself to creating an exciting new Broadway musical,” producer Gerarld Goehring said. more » » »
Award-winning author/illustrator Shaun Tan was already a star in his native Australia before he first gained nationwide attention in the U.S. with his brilliant wordless graphic novel, The Arrival (2007). Tan follows up with 15 extraordinary illustrated stories in Tales from Outer Suburbia (2009, both Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Bks.).
Were you surprised that The Arrival was such a hit in this country?
I was surprised that people reacted so positively to it because I was expecting it would be a disadvantage, in some ways, with a wordless book. I always worry that my work will seem obscure and that people will not know where to shelve it. But I’ve learned that the key to illustrated books is to let the reader do the work. more » » »
The internet is full of great comics created specifically for children, but young readers don’t have any way to find them. After all, there is no children’s room on the internet. But Brian Leung is hoping to solve that problem with Kidjutsu, a site that collects kid-friendly webcomics and displays them using an easy-to-use online comics viewer.
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Simon & Schuster's children's division has launched Pulse It, a social network site where teens can read and react to S&S titles. The site is aimed at 14- to 18-year-olds and will let teens do things they can do on such places as Facebook—like create personal profiles and befriend other members—as well as read and react to S&S titles. more » » »
