BBC News reports that JK Rowling has had a baby daughter. This makes three children for Rowling. Congratulations!

The Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers is always a list that I look forward to, because it helps so much with collection development. I know that these books are going to circulate well with both readers and reluctant teens. Also, the list is quite budget-friendly, because many of the titles are in paperback.

MadChatter is a blog by Dr. Ruth Cox Clark, a YA Literature professor. One to check out and add to your feedreader.

Quad-City Times Newspaper Online has an article on an Iowa book challenge where parents are turning the tables on a school district that is restricting access to James Howe’s The Misfits.
“Two Pleasant Valley parents are challenging the decision to restrict the use of a book with a gay character in the district’s elementary schools, saying the decision violates constitutional protections for teachers and students, the process was not as open as it should have been, and the board violated its own policies.”
Woo hoo!
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The Crutcher Book Challenges page has information on the attempt this month to remove Crutcher’s Whale Talk from the curriculum in a South Carolina school district. The final decision will be made soon by the superintendent and as always, I hope that a book is retained.