Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber (0-06-009334-X)
A great goth novel with a marvelously accurate tone and voice. Readers are immediately caught up in “Dullsville” with the town goth 16-year-old Raven. Raven is known as the strange one in town until a new family moves into the town’s abandoned mansion. And best of all is Alexander, the teenage son of the new family who seems to be Raven’s dream vampire.

Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events Dominates March 21 New York Times Best Sellers List
“On the March 21, 2004 New York Times Best Sellers List, A Series of Unfortunate Events held seven out of ten slots on the Children’s Chapter Book List-a feat only duplicated by the Snicket series itself on May 5, 2002; Feb. 9, 2003 and April 13, 2003.
No series has ever dominated a New York Times Best Sellers list like A Series of Unfortunate Events. The seven titles on the March 21 list-The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window, The Miserable Mill, The Ersatz Elevator, The Austere Academy and The Slippery Slope-have been on the New York Times’ list a total of 448 reported weeks. The series as a whole has been on the list in excess of 600 weeks.”

Sci Fi Wire — Muppets Head for Oz
There will be an upcoming Muppet version of The Wizard of Oz! Best of all is the final sentence of the blurb that tells us it will be based on the children’s book, not the 1939 musical! Hurrah!

TheStar.com – A hip-hop approach to lit
Article on a bookstore that specializes in urban literature for teens. It also speaks of the increase in black imprints responsible for many of the new urban books.
Via [places for writers].

The BookHive
An online guide to children’s literature from the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in North Carolina. The site offers book reviews, a place to hear stories, activities and a spot for young authors to post their work.

USATODAY.com – Harry hits his teens
Nice article on the next Harry Potter film with tantalizing glimpses into the changes from the first two films.
“Light, or lack of it, will play an important part in the film. Cuarón has created a distinctly different look, with the colors darker and more muted, the music more haunting, and the tone edgier.
He used more wide-angle shots than in the first two films to heighten the sense of drama, says cinematographer Michael Seresin. “The story is more dramatic, so the lighting is more dramatic, high contrast, more shadows. It has a very different look and feel from the previous films.”
Plus, there will be visual treats for the careful viewer.
“There are lots of extraneous little bits of magic appearing in the background,” says Craig. “Strange animals that live in Hagrid’s hut, for example. There’s somebody’s tail poking through the floor. They’re real throwaways, but there’s extra richness, extra detail in these wide shots.””

The Chicken House
Very slick and fun webpage for this children’s book publisher.

USATODAY.com – Comedians writing children’s books for a laugh
Celebrities writing for children has been a big trend lately, but here comes another one: comedians writing for kids. This article lists the new authors as including Jay Leno, Billy Crystal, Ray Romano, Rhea Perlman and Whoopi Goldberg. Now the question will be if any of them are actually funny in print!

KRT Wire — New novel holds appeal for the young outdoorsman
A sportsman’s take on Gary Paulsen’s latest book “Brian’s Hunt.” It even ran in the Sports section of the newspaper.