Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (0-439-53164-0)
There has been a lot of positive buzz around this title, so I was anxious to read it. Well, it is fully worthy of all of the buzz. It is truly a book for book lovers. The quotations at the start of every title from classic children’s books are priceless, evoking an immediate emotional response that prepares you for the chapter ahead. Just lovely.
I don’t like giving away the plot, because it is such a treasure to journey through. I enjoyed the female characters who exhibited courage and honor throughout the book, letting readers see that sometimes heroes are the least likely people.
Share this one with kids. Read it aloud, because that will double the magic inside. Any kid who enjoys fantasy will love this book, but bookworms will treasure it.

Aesop’s Fables
I have had this site on my List of Links for some time, probably since they came up in 1997. I love to find sites that have been in operation for such a long time (in Internet time.) This site offerse an online collection of over 655 fables by Aesop with their morals.

ReadWriteThink
This site is provided by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. It provides teachers and students with lessons, information on standards, materials and a list of quality web sites on reading.

Young People’s Poetry Week
The third week in April in Young People’s Poetry Week. Perfect time to highlight the library’s collection of underused but fantastic poetry books.

Bookshelf: Children’s Books in Brief
Another quick glimpse at new children’s books from The New York Times. Registration required.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A new version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be released in June 2005. Johnny Depp will star as Willy Wonka, directed by Tim Burton. For more articles on the film, scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Lite Brite
I always like to find good websites to let kids play on. This one is the old toy Lite Brite from my childhood without the sore fingers from poking those plastic pieces through the paper. No popup ads, no ads at all, just a simple game to share with kids.
Via Metafilter.

NOW with Bill Moyers
Tonight on NOW with Bill Moyers (and usually repeated sometime over the weekend) Bill Moyers will interview Maurice Sendak about his new book, Brundibar.
The NOW website has articles up about Brundibar as well as censorship of children’s literature.

Scripps Howard News Service
“This month, Scholastic Books rolls out a new Nancy Drew series featuring a fresh version of everyone’s favorite girl detective _ with quite a few notable changes.”
What changes? Well, they are now written in first person, rather than third. Nancy is a little older now, out of high school. Best of all, the first four volumes have an introductory price of 99 cents!
Via [places for writers].