Occult book ban demanded
A group of parents is asking that books about the occult be pulled from the school libraries in Washington Township, NJ. Their son checked out two books on the devil from the school library and also accessed devil-related websites on school computers.
Usually I don’t see the humor in censorship, but a couple of things in this article struck me as funny. The fact that the boy was trying to tattoo DAMIEN on the back of his neck but only got as far as DA because it hurt too much. And most of all that one of the books being challenged is an Opposing Viewpoints book! Um, wouldn’t that mean that it had both opinions on Satanism in it?
Via LISNews.com.

Children’s librarian tells tales
A glimpse into the job and life of Win Rosenberg, a youth services librarian for 17 years in Delaware. It is a pretty comprehensive look at what a children’s librarian does each day.

NEWS.com.au | Porn alert on children’s books
This news story from Australia shows a new movement to place warning labels on children’s books that contain “violent, hard-core porn” that is “disguised as children’s literature.”
I would love to hear an example of what they consider hard-core pornography being marketed as children’s books. I can’t think of even a teen book that would come close to being considered hard-core porn. But then, porn is now a word that is bandied about to mean anything sexual. And yes, there are certainly sexual themes in young adult literature. But not pornography.

Nickelodeon – Kids Choice Awards 2003!
The nominees for favorite book are the Harry Potter series, the Captain Underpants Series, Double Fudge, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. But the big question is which movie will win for Best Fart.

Quirky mystery wins Whitbread
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has won the Whitbread, one of Britain’s top literary awards.
“Haddon said of his hero: “He should be a really bad narrator because he takes everything literally, who doesn’t understand emotion and misses the big picture.
“But he turns out to be a really good narrator because he leaves a lot of space for you to add your own stuff to the story.”
The Whitbread judges agreed, saying: “Haddon sets himself considerable limitations – a teenage narrator who lacks conventional emotions – but makes his observations moving and amusing.”

MSNBC – Books: Rewriting History
A look at the trend to publishing history books and historical fiction for children that don’t gloss over the truth.
“Nobody specifically tracks sales of kids’ history books, but publishers and booksellers agree it’s a hot niche, and not the old sanitized version of events. Many of the new books aimed at kids 4 and older take a surprisingly sophisticated look at our world and our heroes, warts and all. “There’s been this amazing leap in the quality and breadth of the topics,” says Ilene Cooper, children’s-book editor for the American Library Association’s Booklist.”

Munsch on this
Robert Munsch is the honorary celebrity of Family Literacy Day this year. To honor the day, he has shared the inspiration behind some of his books.
Via [places for writers].

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen — The Official Movie Website
This movie, based on a popular teen novel and starring Lindsay Lohan (Freaky Friday, Parent Trap), will be released on February 20th. The site offers a preview.
Via ACHOCKABLOG.

Philip Pullman
Official site for this author of the His Dark Materials series. The site contains information on him, his books, his writing techniques, and the worlds he has created.