The Christian Science Monitor has an article on When the very young write that first big book. The article features the latest teen author sensation, Helen Oyeyemi, author of The Icarus Girl.

I have finished the latest Harry Potter book and completely loved it! If you are looking for a place to discuss the new book head to the Leaky Lounge. Click on Flourish and Blotts and then The Princely Nook to discuss the latest book.

A little wild about a supersized teen
Let the attacks on Rowling’s writing officially commence! I am always amazed at how badly some people take this woman’s success. While I agree that it would have been nice to have a protagonist who was not a white male, it is too late to bemoan that fact now. The article ends with:
“It isn’t mindless knocking of someone extraordinarily successful. If anything, it would probably help Rowling to be seen as a normal person like the rest of us who can make mistakes. If we make her more human, perhaps she’ll feel able to come out of the prison we have put her in by having been so ridiculous and phony in our envy-tinged, blindly accepting reception of everything she does. Let’s ease the person who wrote three of the best children’s books ever down off her pedestal, so she can breathe.”
Yeah, right, it’s for her own good that she needs to be knocked down a few pegs.
Hope everyone enjoys their new copies of Harry Potter on Saturday!

CNN.com – McCartney writes children’s book called High in the Clouds: An Urban Furry Tale. It will be released this October by Penguin. The book was inspired by an animated film that McCartney worked on called Tropic Island Hum.

Detroit Free Press offers the article: ‘Time Soldiers’ root out young readers that covers the new Time Soldiers series from Big Guy Books and Stan Lee. The books feature glossy pages and graphics created to appeal to kids of the video game, movie and TV generation. They are designed to get reluctant male readers reading. If you visit the Big Guy Books site, you will find that they are offering a free set of Time Soldier books to libraries. The offer is only good through April 29th.
Via Reading Today Daily.

Shurtugal :: A New Generation Of Dragon Riders is a wonderful fan site for the Eragon series. The second book in the series is Eldest and will be released in August. This site already has some information about the second book, a cool selection of international book covers, information on the characters and the author, fanfiction, forums, a newsletter and much more.

CNN.com – British author chosen for ‘Peter Pan’ sequel
Author Geraldine McCaughrean has won the right to create an authorized sequel to Peter Pan. The sequel will mark the centenary of the classic.
McCaughrean, overjoyed at being picked, told Reuters: “It scares the living daylights out of me but once the hype is behind me, I shall settle down and enjoy writing it.
“This is a thing infinitely worth doing.”

Random House has created an amazing website for The Five Ancestors, a seven-book kung-fu series by Jeff Stone. The first book Tiger has just been released. The site offers historical information, online activities and information on the author and the series.