Lerner Publishing acquires assets of Millbrook Press
Lerner paid 3.4 million for the assets of the bankrupt Millbrook Press, a publisher that specializes in nonfiction for grades 7 and up.

GirlWise – Books That Empower by Julia DeVillers
Very cool website from the author of How My Private, Personal Journal Became a Bestseller.

Jane Buchanan
Website for the author of the forthcoming Goodbye Charley, a children’s book set in the 1940s.

Julie Anne Peters’ Official Website
This site offers information on her background, reviews and awards, speaking engagements, letters from readers, interviews, and recommended links.

CBCA Book of the Year Awards – Winners 2004
The Children’s Book Council of Australia has announced the 2004 winners of the Children’s Book of the Year Award. The older reader winner is Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta. The winner for younger readers is Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson. Early Childhood category was won by Grandpa and Thomas by Pamela Allen. The picture book winner is Cat and Fish by Neil Curtis and Joan Grant. And finally, the information book winner is Animal Architects by John Nicholson.

Inside Out by Terry Trueman (0-06-623963-X)
This is another remarkable teen novel by Trueman. Zach is a teen with schizophrenia who is caught in a hold-up situation in a store. Zach is unable to clearly distinguish between reality and his own delusions, making the situation all the more unstable for everyone involved. The book is filled with tension from beginning to end.
Recommend this one to reluctant readers as well as kids who enjoy books. It is a fascinating glimpse into the harrowing world of mental illness.

New teen magazine hopes to create new niche
A new magazine for girls that features room makeovers and crafts. The focus is on wholesome rather than tawdry.
justine magazine

I read two great kids books while on vacation. Both wonderful, each very different from the other.
The Crow-Girl by Bodil Bredsdorff is the evocative story of a girl who lives with her grandmother on a cove in Denmark until her grandmother dies. Before dying the grandmother gives her three pieces of advice that will lead her through her upcoming journey. On the journey, she follows two crows who speak to her. The book is magical, lyrical, and speaks to the great good that can be done by people. It is a quiet book that draws the reader in slowly and lovingly. This is one of my favorite reads of the year.
Grim Tuesday is the second book in Garth Nix’s Keys to the Kingdom series. It is just as wild an adventure as the first book in the series. I would recommend this series to lovers of fantasy, especially those who enjoy a strange sense of humor. The series is a rollicking good time.

Bill Martin Jr., best-selling author of children’s books
Bill Martin Jr, author of some of the most popular children’s picture books of all time, has passed away. He was 88.