Amy Keroes is a mother who was searching for good reads for her children. She wanted books that offered positive and believable characters for her son and daughter. Out of her search came the Anti-Princess Reading List, a collection of picture books that feature strong girls in lead roles. Her site also offers books that feature working mothers and book for babies. If you are a working parent yourself, she also has lots of parent reads she recommends.
Michael Rosen has been named the British Children’s Laureate. An author for over 30 years, Rosen has written some of the all-time favorite books of many. Story times just wouldn’t be the same if we couldn’t read restless toddlers We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. And if you haven’t read Michael Rosen’s Sad Book, then run run run and get your hands on it. It is a treat to see an author with this range of quality writing get an honor like this.
Got an email today from Cheryl Rainfield, who does a great job of providing book reviews of picture books and books for teens. She has great taste in books, clever titles, interesting subject grouping, and a friendly written style. She gives each title a star rating, but so many of her choices are winners that it is hard to go wrong.
To the Best of Our Knowledge is a great Wisconsin Public Radio program. This Sunday (June 3rd) they will be discussing children’s books. Here is the great intro statement that I heard on WPR this morning as I drove to work:
One of the worst things about growing up is you get kicked
out of the children’s section of the library. I mean, you learn to read
and life is one olong happy string of books, from Peter Pan to Winnie
the Pooh to Harriett the Spy, but then you reach a certain age and you’re
supposed to graduate and spend the rest of your life reading grown-up
books. Well, have no fear. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge,
it’s children’s books, for us.
Great sounding, isn’t it? Authors like Maurice Sendak and Philip Pullman will join in the conversation.
Even if you don’t live in Wisconsin, you can listen to the program later in the week online using the link above. Just click the Listen button and off you go!
Orlando will be home to a new theme park based on the Harry Potter books! Universal Studios expects to open the park in 2009. There is just something magical about being able to experience Hogwarts and Rowling’s world. I probably should feel more cynical about this. I know it is sure to be expensive and filled with cheap but expensive toys that no child can live without. But still, I would love to see Hogwarts…
FairyTalesCollection.com is a site that offers biographical information on the authors of fairy tales as well as featured stories from their writing. I adored fairy tales as a child, which a strong preference for the Grimm brothers rather than Hans Christian Andersen. Unfortunately, the Grimm section is still under construction, but hopefully the gore of the Grimm stories will soon fill the pages. And why is Mark Twain listed? I never considered him an author of fairy tales. Is my Twain reading too limited?
Associated Press has an article about Harry Potter fan sites. I enjoy the fact that the sites were started by teens who have continued to maintain and improve them over the years. Even better is the change in the approach that Warner Brothers is taking. Where originally they tried to shut down fan sites, they now invite the webmasters to premieres and more, knowing how many fans they reach.
The following sites are featured in the article:
Enter the gates of Bembo and you will find a very cool alphabet website. Run your mouse over a letter and it makes the noise of the animal that you will see when you click on the letter. Then the name of the animal is displayed and the word becomes the animal itself, built out of the letters in its name. Lovely stuff! And what a nice place for preschoolers and kindergarteners to spend some time.
You will need to have Shockwave installed to view the site.
Kirkus has a pdf version of its Top Picks for Reading Groups available online. The top picks include ones for teen reading groups towards the end. I have only read two of their recommendations: Ida B and Loud Silence of Francine Green. Good books, but I’m not sure they would have been my top picks for discussions.
Waking Brain Cells 