A Fast and Brutal Wing by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson.
Niki and Emmet are siblings who were caught naked in the woods on Halloween night. That same night, a famous author who lived nearby disappeared. Through the kids’ writings and newspaper articles, readers slowly begin to learn the truth about what happened.
In Niki’s writings, she claims that she and her brother can change into animals at will. She can become a cat and Emmet becomes a hawk. This fascinating book lets readers find their own truth.
I couldn’t put this one down. I just had to continue to work out the puzzle of the book. It was quick moving and lots of fun, but filled with mystery and suspense. Recommended for teens who enjoy fantasy and/or mysteries.

News: Harry Potter 6 release date: July 16, 2005
Woo hoo! We will have to plan a Harry Potter party that Saturday. Our last one was very well attended by those elusive preteens. We did a treasure hunt, trivia contest, and mixed magical potion drinks. I would definitely do the potion drinks again. The kids had a really fun time with those. I’ll have to come up with some other ideas…

Sky News has this article about a popular book-writing kit for children for sale in Britain. The kit walks kids through plot choice and character selection. Unfortunately, the article ties the phenomenon together with Rowling and Harry Potter. I am certain that it runs much deeper than a single series. Perhaps we could start to refer to the depth of great children’s books out their right now to inspirt young writers.

Infants, Children Prefer Sounds Over Pictures And Only Slowly Become Visually Oriented, Studies Find
This is an important study for those of us who do storytimes or other programming for infants and toddlers. According to the research by Vladimir Sloutsky, a professor in the Center for Cognitive Science at Ohio State University, “sounds are more dominant over visuals from infancy, and only slowly through childhood do visuals become more important.”

JS Online: The new Web of life is an article about how the lives of college students are affected by the Internet. The answer is: profoundly! People working with teens should read this, since it offers insight into why teens are so interested in technology and truly integrating it into their lives.

Slashdot – Le Guin Peeved About Earthsea Miniseries
Um, I would say more than peeved, I would say royally pissed off. Read both her personal website and the Slate article. I had taped the episodes of the TV movies to watch, but deleted them after hearing how awful they were. I do not want a colorless Earthsea to cloud my personal vision.

NPR : The Real Lemony Snicket
All Things Considered interviews Daniel Handler, author of the Series of Unfortunate Events. He compares A Cat in the Hat with his series, and also talks about Jim Carrey as Count Olaf and his own childhood fears.

The CCBC has held their annual Newbery Discussion. The winner was A Dream of Freedom by Diane McWhorter with Al Capone Does by Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko and The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg.

Madison Public Library offers a great selection of Reading Suggestions for Kids and Teens. The lists run from preschool to middle school to teens and cover all sorts of topics.