TheLifestyles and Entertainment section of Floridy Today has an article on the new popularity of “little sister” magazines for teen girls. These include Teen People, CosmoGirl, ElleGirl and Teen Vogue. But the best part of the article is the nice but short list of magazines that offer something different to teens: Blackgirl, Girls’ Life, New Moon, and Teen Voices.

A New York Post article says that another of the American Girl characters is going to be featured in a film. This time Felicity, the girl from 1774 Williamsburg will be the star. Samantha was already a hit for the WB network.

Seeing Past Z: Nurturing the Imagination in a Fast-Forward World by Beth Kephart. (0-393-05882-4)
This is not children’s literature, but an amazing series of essays on Kephart raising her son to be a reader and a dreamer, intentionally removing him from the race to improve his high school resume as a child. The reader gets to watch as her son reluctantly starts to read on his own for pleasure and eventually turns into a force of creativity all his own. This book will do any librarian’s heart good. It is a celebration of what language, reading, and imagination can do to transform somone’s life. A must read!

eSchool News online is carrying the story of Spellings, the new education secretary, denouncing PBS for spending public money on an episode of Postcards from Buster that features a lesbian couple. The episode does not focus on the couple but on their maple sugaring in Vermont. What a sad statement when conservatism like this is allowed to determine what families have access to. It certainly tells gay and lesbian parents exactly where they stand in the new secretary’s eyes.

it’s sharyn dot org! is a site by Sharyn November that offers a large collection of links to children’s and teen book authors and related resource links.

Guys Read is a program to get boys reading. The website is graphical and fun. It offers lists of books to choose from, including ones picked by other guys, and a great selection of links to related sites.

Wilde Writing Works from Susie Wilde, offers reviews, interviews, bibliographies and more on children’s literature. She also gives out two sets of awards, Picture Book and Longer Book.

Wands and Worlds: Young Adult and Children’s Fantasy and Science Fiction is a great site that lists authors, series, subjects, and much more for science fiction and fantasy books for youth. The contents of the site are amazingly up-to-date and comprehensive. A wonderful place to look for recommendations for kids or for yourself.

UNICEF — Childhood Under Threat: The State of the World’s Children 2005 tells the stories and shows the statistics of children around the world living in poverty, caught in conflict, and suffering from HIV/AIDS.