Copper by Rebecca Lisle (0-399-24211-2)
An engaging fantasy novel for elementary-level readers, this is a wonderful introduction to the genre. Copper has been raised by her Aunt Ruby until her aunt sends her away to the Marble Mountains because Copper is in danger. Copper arrives at the Marble Mountains and is received by a warm group of people in a house built in an enormous tree. Copper feels immediately at home there, and finds herself in the middle of an old battle between two families as she discovers her own personal history.
This tale is filled with lots of magic, though it can be confusing at times. Most of the story is very charming and makes the reader want to enter Spindle House and discover it for themselves. The charm of the book and the accessibility of the writing will have readers happily entering this fantasy world.

Read On Wisconsin!
Wisconsin debuts its new children’s and teen statewide book club. The book club extends from infants through high school.

Juvilib
Reviews of books for Juvenile Justice librarians where the reviews are specifically written with for use with youth in juvenile delinquency programs.

The Baltimore Museum of Art: Education: Matisse for Kids
I love finding amazing sites that can be used with children. Matisse for Kids is one of those sites. Raoudi, Matisse’s pet schnauzer, leads kids through the paintings and kids earn props and items to use in creating their own Matisse artwork.

Lipsyte Novel Yanked from Library Shelves
This brief news blurb from SLJ says that the public library in Ansonia, CT has pulled One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte from their special summer reading section.
“The objection focuses on a paragraph describing the masturbation fantasy of a teenage boy. School officials asked the library to remove the book from shelves that include titles for students who will attend middle school in the coming school year. Janet Fitol, a children’s librarian at Ansonia, says that while all but one of the copies of the book are currently checked out, the remaining copy was pulled. The book will remain in circulation on the regular shelves.”

MNSUN – News
This is a fascinating article on kindergarten readiness of Minnesota children. Their study shows that a certain percentage of children are simply not ready for Kindergarten. These children are three times more likely to come from lower income homes. I think that this calls for children’s librarians to focus more on basic literacy in our storytimes and to reach out to do more programs with Headstart and other care settings.

Cherie Bennett
Home page for the popular YA author, Cherie Bennett. She has written one of my faves Life in the Fat Lane as well as a new novel, A Heart Divided.

ALA | ALA provides free access to K-12 Information Literacy Standards
ALA is providing free online access to the K-12 Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning. School librarians will find it easily accessible via pdf format.

The Hayao Miyazaki Web // Nausicaa.net
Cool fan site filled with news about this creator of films and manga like Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind and My Neighbor Totoro.