One more comic book link for the day. HeroMachine is presented by Underground Online. You can create your own comic book hero or heroine. From the color of their outfit to their hairstyle to the type of gauntlet on their wrists.

Sequential Tart is a webzine about the comics industry that offers interviews, articles and news.

TOKYOPOP 5th Annual Manga Talent Competition runs from December 1st through February 15th, 2005. The top 20 finalists will have their work posted on the TOKYOPOP website. This is definitely a contest to share with your library’s manga fans and budding artists.

The New York Times > Children’s Books: Notable Books of 2004 offers a list of the top nine books for children from age three through twelve and up.

The New York Times > Babes in a Grown-Up Toyland
This article starts by asking if the new interests of children in video games, TV and other electronic diversions are eroding childhood. Then interestingly, it goes on to ask if our belief in a sheltered childhood is incompatible with modern society.
At the end of the piece, a comparison is made between The Secret Garden as a book of yesterday and Harry Potter as a phenomenon of today. But there is still a place for The Secret Garden in libraries and in lives. And there are many of us, including children’s librarians, giving children sheltered childhoods and sharing books that are modern right next to old favorites. It never has to be one vs the other. They can be done side by side. Modern children in a sheltered world.

New York Daily News – Babies are bookin’ it
A nice article on new toddler programs, baby reading areas, and board book collections in Brooklyn.

Mesoj is a blog from an education librarian from Alabama.

The last I knew, David Almond had a site through Random House. Now check out his new site! It is both evocative and functional, offering biographical information, books and reviews, writing tips, a FAQ for schools, and a notice board.

The Leaf Chronicle has this article that offers a small collection of children’s books that look at complex issues in life. The books include subjects like adoption, dementia in a grandparent, and friendship.