Storyopolis
What a cool online store! Selling art that appears in children’s books and autographed copies of children’s books, I could blow my entire budget for the year in minutes. Definitely worth a visit to at least drool at the items for sale.
Horn Book Fanfare
Fanfare
Horn Book’s choices for the best books of 2003 in a range of levels.
Via Children’s Books.
Mr. Picassohead
Mr. Picassohead
I love finding things like this online to share with kids and teachers. This site allows users to create a Picasso-like picture by adding eyes, noses, lips, ears, and more.
Swear to Howdy
Swear to Howdy by Wendelin Van Draanen (0-375-82505-3)
Rusty and Joey are best friends getting into all sorts of trouble together, putting frogs in older sister’s underwear drawers, plinking cans, and other stunts. Each time trouble find them, they make a blood pact not to tell. But when does friendship mean breaking a promise?
This is a great book for boys. It is fast paced and kids will relate to the sorts of trouble the boys get into. Some parts will have you laughing outloud while others will have you reacting just like the two friends in the story with your mouth open in amazement. The best part of the writing is that it all reads so true to life.
Give this one to boys who are reluctant readers. They will be immediately hooked by the first chapter and enticed by the short length, and they will have discovered a book that is deeper than they ever expected.
William Durbin Homepage
William Durbin
Homepage for this author of books for young adults. His newest is Blackwater Ben, which is waiting for me to read on my book pile.
Cool Moonlight
A Cool Moonlight by Angela Johnson (0-8037-2846-8)
This short novel for children is about Lila, a girl with a rare sun allergy that prevents her from being exposed to any sunlight at all. Lila lives in darkness ans plays by moonlight, dreaming of being able to dance in the sun someday.
Johnson’s writing is both spare and evocative, capturing the magical quality of playing outside at night. The characterization of Lila is superb, giving readers a true glimpse of someone living in a unique situation.
I would recommend this for children who understand the appeal of exploring a character. I would also use this as a read-aloud in a classroom, because it would lead to interesting discussions on people who are different yet the same as us.
PIKA
PIKA Canadian Children’s Literature Database
This database of Canadian children’s literature is the work of three organizations: The Canadian Children’s Book Centre, Communication-Jeunesse and the National Library of Canada. The database includes information on 35,000 Canadian children’s books, subject headings for fiction, and book summaries.
The True Story of Christmas
The True Story of Christmas by Anne Fine (0-385-90156-9)
I had heard online that this was a very funny book, and it certainly is! This will make a wonderful read-aloud for Christmastime. Don’t expect a book with saccharine images of a family get together, instead look for the chapter where all Dad says is “Sorry”, the oven door that won’t stay shut, horrible noises and flying dinner rolls.
Happy Holidays!
Mercedes Lackey
Mercedes Lackey Homepage
This is a great time to check out Lackey’s website, since she has several new books out right now and another one arriving in January. Teen readers enjoy Lackey, especially the Valdemar series. I just completed Exile’s Valor and really enjoyed it. But I enjoy Lackey’s writing and her obvious love of her characters and setting, that it is easy for me to return to Valdemar time and again. A great author to recommend to teens looking for adventure and magic in their novels.
Waking Brain Cells 