The Harry Potter Lexicon is the most comprehensive reference to the Harry Potter universe. It offers an atlas, encyclopedia of spells, bestiary, who’s who, history, muggle studies, Hogwarts details, and much more. Add to that the fact that it is gorgeously designed and fun to use, and you have a great resource to send your own wizards and muggles to visit.

Chicken Spaghetti is a children’s literature blog that covers a wide range of children’s literature subjects well. The blog’s author, Susan Thomsen, is an author and editor. Her writing is strong, on the mark, and fun to read. Definitely add this one to your must-read list.

The Inter-Galactic Playground is a children’s literature blog with an emphasis on science fiction for children.

April Pulley Sayre has created the Children’s Media Professional’s Community, an online forum for people working in children’s media, like educators, publishers, booksellers, illustrators, authors, librarians, and agents. Sections in the forum include ideas for professional success for specific professions, lesson plans, recommended books, cds and websites, business information, and publicity on new projects or job openings.
Via Cynsations.

Meredith Reads YA is a really nice teen fiction blog where Meredith Snyder lists all of her recent teen reading, complete with reviews. The blog focuses on Canadian books.

YALSA offers recommended reading for teens in light of recent disaster. Very nice list of teen fiction and nonfiction about disasters and survival.

Harold and the Purple Crayon is 50! This article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers some insight into Crockett Johnson as well as a letter from a publisher saying that she doesn’t think that the book works. She changed her mind about a month later.

Read Alert is a children’s literature blog from the State Library of Victoria in Australia. Great information on Australian authors and international children’s lit.

North Jersey Media Group! has an article on  a mother who has been trying to get Nightjohn removed from the Glen Rock Middle School curriculum for years. The article highlights other requests for reconsideration across the country as well. I think it is always good for librarians to be able to see the controversy of trying to remove a book or get it removed from classroom use from the parent’s point of view, it will make us more sympathetic as we try to get them to understand that they cannot make decisions for anyone but their own children.