MediaDailyNews 06-11-04
“The N announced Tuesday that it would begin production on Miracle’s Boys. It’s a teen drama centered around three orphaned brothers coming-of-age in Harlem, the premiere episode of which will be directed by Spike Lee. The six episode miniseries is based on a novel by Jacqueline Woodson. It will be shot entirely in Harlem and will premiere in February 2005.”

Children’s Book Buyers Spending More, Buying Less
Consumer spending on children’s books reached a seven-year high in 2003. However, fewer books were actually purchased, meaning that buyers are purchasing more hardcover book like Harry Potter.

PBS KIDS Share a Story
PBS Kids kicks off a national literacy program encouraging families to Share a Story. The website has information for grownups including local events, resources, and tips for book choices and reading aloud effectively. The section for kids encourages them to write stories, act them out, use artwork, and much more.

Boing Boing: Lemony Snicket trailer online
Woo hoo! The trailer for the upcoming Lemony Snicket movie is now online! Very cool.

The Globe and Mail
In this article on children’s books, four books are highlighted. Three of them cover World War II, including the well-received B for Buster.

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett, illustrated by Brett Helquist (0-439-37294-1)
Three mysterious letters are sent to three different people and the art mystery begins. How are these people connected? Why have they been contacted? And how will almost-twelve-year-olds, Petra and Calder figure into the entire thing?
This book is filled with coincidence, mystery, wonder, and codes. It would be the perfect classroom read-aloud for 2nd through 4th grades and should inspire kids to look beyong the surface and find the coincidences and patterns in their own lives.

Katie Davis, Author/Illustrator
Official site for this author/illustrator of Who Hops?, which is one of my favorite read-alouds for toddlers. It works every time! Her site is filled with information on her art, reader’s theater scripts for her books, special sections for teachers and librarians filled with activities, and much more.

Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith (0-316-98894-4)
This is my favorite new read-aloud for little ones. I have shared it with 3 year olds through first graders with great success! There aren’t many books that have that kind of range.
Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum is about a group of animals that get stuck on a lump of bubble gum melting in the road. The rollicking rhymes (one first grader I read it to said “This book sings!”) and the frenetic pace keep kids riveted waiting to see what will happen. The illustrations add to the humor, and are big and bright enough to convey easily to a fairly large group, like a classroom.
This is one that begs to be read aloud and kids will beg for it again and again.

Coming Soon! – Latest News
A new movie version of Charlotte’s Web is being planned. This one will be a live action/CG combo.