Got an email from JacketFlap, a children’s literature portal, this morning telling me that my blog had been added to their service.  How nice! And when I visited their site, I found much more than I expected.  They have an incredible list of children’s publishers, an active forum, a children’s publishing blog reader that follows 161 blogs, an enormous blogroll that has my fingers itching to explore by clicking around, and a free customizable personal page for visitors to select the blogs they wish to follow.  It is all professionally done, with a crisp clean feel that invites you to explore.

You will notice a link to them on the right side of my blog as well, so that you can easily start reading this blog via their interface. 

Got an email announcing the debut of Three Cats Write (Three Hollywood Cats — One Serial (but not serious) Novel, a new blog that will serialize The Amber Baboon written by Apollo Kerley, Asta Nethery and Jemima Wing, all feline authors.
What a great idea! Three children’s book authors: Barbara Kerley, Natasha Wing, and Mary Nethery collaborate to create a blogged book featuring three cat heroes. The blog is clever and the writing lots of fun.

If you have never attended the SirsiDynix Institute, then you should! They offer free online workshops for librarians (and you don’t have to be one of their customers!) On October 10th, the Institute will be doing a program called Engaging Youth on their Own Terms: Instant Messaging and Gaming in Libraries. It is about listening to our teen patrons and serving them in the way they want to be served. MySpace, iPods and blogs will also be discussed. I am all registered and hope to see you there!

Just One More Book!! is a blog that offers podcasts that are all about children’s books. Most of them feature recommended books, but others have author interviews and listener feedback.

We the People Bookshelf is funded by ALA and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  It is a grant program that will send 15 classic children’s books to 2000 school and pulbic  libraries in the United States.  You can apply online through January 31st.  A list of titles is available on the site.

I have started a new project inspired by the recent talk on Child_Lit about children’s literature blogs.  I have a del.icio.us page where I am compiling a list of those of us who blog about children’s literature.  I have only worked on it in my free time yesterday, so it does need some refinement.  Also, if you don’t see your blog listed, that means nothing because I am still working my way through my own bookmarks as well as those listed on other people’s blog rolls.  If you want to make sure I won’t miss you, please comment here or send me an email: kidslit@menashalibrary.org. 

The site is http://del.icio.us/kidslit.  You can subscribe via RSS feed, if you like.  It will also be added to my sidebar as a link.

TeenLibWiki is a fab resource for librarians who work with teens.  The wiki allows you to participate by sharing your own ideas and experiences.  You just need to register for an account first.  Subjects covered include Professional Resources, Programming, Reader’s Advisory, Teens and Technology, and YA Lit.  They have an awesome list of YA Authors who blog as well as other resources.  Definitely worth checking out and participating in.

A Chapter Closes is an incredible article on Children’s Librarian, Mr. Tony who is a star among the toddlers on Washington DC. Just reading about the way he has increased attendance at programming, created excitement about stories, and relates to small children is inspiring. This one is for all those children’s librarians who have a piece of Mr. Tony’s magic and for those of us who have always wished we did.

Besides having one of the best banners of any blog I have seen, Kiddley offers great ideas, projects, websites and more for parents to share with their children.