Symphony Space's Thalia Kids' Book Club, now in its third season, will launch the first-ever Thalia Kids' Book Club Camp this August. In addition to meeting with authors, young readers and writers will have the opportunity to take part in writing workshops, create writing portfolios and discuss books with their peers. Featured authors include Brian Selznick, Katherine Marsh and Michael Winerip. Additional information is available at the Symphony Space Web site.
I don’t even want to think about the possibility that J.K. Rowling ripped off the work of another author in creating her beloved and top selling Harry Potter series of books. However, since everyone else is thinking about it, I don’t have to. Here are some of those links: The New York Times, Coventry Telegraph, E! Online, CBC, Sky News, Entertainment Weekly and The Daily Mail who go to the trouble of encapsulating the whole mess:
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Sophie McKenzie's Blood Ties, a YA thriller that explores genetic engineering, has won Britain’s Red House Children's Book Award, the only prize voted for entirely by children (this year, more than 143,000). U.S. rights, which are held by agent Rosemary Canter, have not yet been sold. more » » »
Graphic novel publishers were an encouraging presence at Book Expo America (BEA), with Marvel Comics hosting a party in honor of their 70th anniversary; publishers such as Image, IDW and Dark Horse announcing exciting new projects; and key librarians releasing a list of hot graphic novels to check out this fall. (full story)
BOGGLE ... AND TV?
Story time isn't the only way to nurture young readers over the summer.
"Play board games," says Kelli Kilmartin, a former English teacher who is the Minnesota district manager of Sylvan Learning, a tutoring service. "Every school expert out there will tell you games like Scrabble, Boggle and Apples to Apples, anything that involves words, is going to help their vocabulary, which will increase their reading fluency."
To build reading comprehension and work on writing — often a lost art in the summer — Kilmartin recommends that parents could even use television to their advantage.
It seems that young readers in China like getting goosebumps. Published in the U.S. by Scholastic, R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps novels have sold more than five million copies in China since 2002, when Jieli Publishing House launched the series there. When that publisher invited Stine to China to meet his fans in person, the author happily accepted. Last month he spent two weeks touring five cities across the country, and at every stop received a welcome that was anything but chilling.
From stories exploring the lives and ideals of family and communities to the reminiscence of roly-poly pudding the finalists of the LIANZA Children’s Book Awards are a true celebration of New Zealand writers and illustrators.
The LIANZA Children’s Book Award 2009 Finalists are:
LIANZA ESTHER GLEN AWARD (Fiction)
Juno of Taris by Fleur Beale (Random House New Zealand)
Old Drumble by Jack Lasenby (HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Ltd)
The Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner (Walker Books Australia)
The 10pm Question by Kate de Goldi (Longacre Press)
Violence 101 by Denis Wright (Penguin New Zealand)
LIANZA RUSSELL CLARK AWARD (Illustration)
Every Second Friday by Kiri Lightfoot, Illustrated by Ben Galbraith (Hachette New Zealand)
Herbert by Robyn Belton (Craig Potton Publishing)
My Favourite Places by Martin Bailey (Mallinson Rendel)
Oliver Goes Exploring by Margaret Beames, Illustrated by Sue Hitchcock (Scholastic)
Roadworks by Sally Sutton, Illustrated by Brian Lovelock (Walker Books Australia)
LIANZA ELSIE LOCKE (Non Fiction)
Atoms, dinosaurs & DNA by Veronika Meduna & Rebecca Priestley (Random House New Zealand)
Back & Beyond: New Zealand Painting for the Young & Curious by Gregory O’Brien (Auckland University Press)
Juicy Writing by Brigid Lowry (Allen & Unwin)
Piano Rock by Gavin Bishop (Random House New Zealand)
High-tech Legs on Everest by Mark Inglis with Sarah Ell (Random House New Zealand)
TE KURA POUNAMU (te reo Maori)
Mihiroa by Peti Nohotima (He Kupenga Hao i te Reo Ltd)
Nau te Rourou, Naku te Rourou by Rosalind and Waaka Vercoe (Huia Education)
Ko Maraea Me Nga Toroa by Patricia Grace, Illustrator Brian Gunson, Translator Waiariki Grace (Penguin NZ)
Toheroa by James Te Tuhi and Ross Gregory (Huia Education)
Hinemoa te Toa by Tim Tipene, Illustrator John Bennett, Translator Katerina Te Heikoko Mataira (Scholastic)
The Awards including New Zealand's longest-running book award, the LIANZA Esther Glen Award, are for excellence in literature, illustration, non-fiction and te reo Maori.
Prerequisite to selection as a LIANZA Judge is being a Librarian, along with passion to promote children’s experiences in the literary world; the Judges firmly believe reading and good books are the code to unlocking any child’s hidden potential.
The LIANZA Esther Glen, LIANZA Elsie Locke, and LIANZA Russell Clark Award judges are: Belynda Smith (Panel Convenor), Takapuna Library Auckland; Pene Walsh, District Librarian Gisborne; and Colleen Shipley, Librarian Marlborough Girls College.
The Te Kura Pounamu Award judges are: Alice Heather (Panel Convener); National Library Auckland, Kathleen Tamaki, Manukau Public Libraries and Haromi Williams, The Library and Information Advisory Commission and Tuhoe Education Authority.
The 2009 Award Ceremony will take place in Wellington on Monday August 10th at Caffe L’affare, College Street.
The LIANZA Children’s Book Awards 2009 are supported by Wheelers Books and Caffe L’affare.
For further information please contact:
Wendy Walker, LIANZA Children’s Book Awards Coordinator,
http://www.lianza.org.nz/events/childrensbookawards/index.html
Lazy Little Loafers
by Susan Orleon
Ever experienced stroller envy? Ever wished you were applauded just for walking across a room? Ever wanted to loaf about the park on a blanket in the middle of a school day with nothing on your agenda but being relaxed and happy? Then you should be a baby. They’ve got it made.
In this charming, droll story, a world-weary older sister ponders the question, why don’t more babies work? Her answers, hilariously tinged with resentment, offer up a wickedly accurate picture of just how great babies have it.
If you give a cat a cupcake
by Laura Numeroff
If you give a cat a cupcake, he'll ask for some sprinkles to go with it. When you give him the sprinkles, he might spill some on the floor. Cleaning up will make him hot, so you'll give him a bathing suit . . . and that's just the beginning! ... more
Her Mother's Face
by Roddy Doyle
“Her mother had died when Siobhán was only three.” In this quiet story set in Dublin, a girl is left with a father so sad he never speaks to her about her mother. By the time she is 10, Siobhán can no longer remember her mother’s face; it’s an “empty space” that causes painful unhappiness. One day, Siobhán meets a beautiful woman who recognizes the girl’s sadness and listens to her story.
Read more ... and get the activities ..., or buy the book either from Amazon or from an Australian outlet.
