2014 IBBY Award Nominees

| Tasha

The nominees and judges for the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Award have been announced.  The award is considered the highest international distinction given to children’s book authors and illustrators.  The following nominees have been submitted for the awards, representing 34 countries.

Cuentos de La Buena Suerte  It's Useful to Have a Duck

Argentina: author María Cristina Ramos; illustrator Isol

My Place Fox

Australia; author Nadia Wheatley; illustrator Ron Brooks

Das Vamperl A daisy is a daisy is a daisy (except when it's a girl's name)

Austria: author Renate Welsh; illustrator Linda Wolfsgruber

Azerbaijan: author Sevinj Nurugizi

Journal de Jamila Het geheim van de Keel van de Nachtegaal

Belgium: author Frank Andriat; illustrator Carll Cneut

O Soldado que não era O Gato Viriato: O Encontro

Brazil: author Joel Rufino dos Santos; illustrator Roger Mello

This Dark Endeavor (The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, #1) Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters

Canada: author Kenneth Oppel; illustrator Philippe Béha

Mo's Mischief: Teacher's Pet 

China: author Hongying Yang; illustrator Liang Xiong

Croatia: illustrator Svjetlan Junaković

The Boy in the Suitcase (Nina Borg, #1) 

Denmark: author Lene Kaaberbøl; illustrator Charlotte Pardi

Estonia: author Aino Pervik

 

Finland: author Kirsi Kunnas; illustrator Pekka Vuori

Winter's End La vie suspendue (Tobie Lolness, #1)

France: author Jean-Claude Mourlevat; illustrator François Place

Anne Frank: A Hidden Life Definitely Not for Little Ones: Some Very Grimm Fairy-tale Comics

Germany: author Mirjam Pressler; illustrator Rotraut Susanne Berner

Greece: author Sofia Madouvalou; illustrator Daniela Stamatiadi

Iran: author Houshang Moradi Kermani

Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1) No One But You

Ireland: author Eoin Colfer; illustrator PJ Lynch

Ascolta il mio cuore In bocca al lupo

Italy: author Bianca Pitzorno; illustrator Fabian Negrin

Guardian of the Spirit (Moribito, #1) 

Japan: author Nahoko Uehashi; illustrator Ken Katayama

 

Republic of Korea: author Jin-Kyung Kim; illustrator Byoung-Ho Han

Latvia: illustrator Reinis Pētersons

2320259 Klein verhaal over liefde

Netherlands: author Ted van Lieshout; illustrator Marit Törnqvist

Silmätyksin Hullet

Norway: author Bjørn Sortland; illustrator Øyvind Torseter

Ler, Ouvir e Contar The Seven Kids

Portugal: author António Torrado; illustrator Teresa Lima

Мальчик со шпагой 

Russia: author Vladislav Krapivin; illustrator Igor Oleinikov

Još nam samo ale fale 

Serbia: author Ljubivoje Ršumović; illustrator Dobrosav Živković

Kniha, ktorá sa stane Oči a rýmy (Nočné piesne kamenného mesta)

Slovakia: author Daniel Hevier; illustrator Peter Uchnár

Slovenia: author Polonca Kova; illustrator Alenka Sottler

Spain: illustrator Javier Zabala

Sweden: illustrator Eva Lindström

Switzerland: illustrator Albertine

 

Turkey: author Serpil Ural; illustrator Saadet Ceylan

The Story of Tracy Beaker Mr. Gumpy's Outing

UK: author Jacqueline Wilson; illustrator John Burningham

Beneath a Meth Moon Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave

USA: author Jacqueline Woodson; illustrator Bryan Collier

This Week’s Tweets and Pins

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter and Pinterest accounts this week that you might find interesting:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

The 25 Books Every Kid Should Have on Their Bookshelf – Flavorwire http://buff.ly/16KGPMZ

Amazon backs down over Cornish-language children’s book | Books http://buff.ly/11IwiRa

The children’s books you can never part with | The Poop http://buff.ly/16C1Vx8

The Duck Who Shared Her Eggs: How Children’s Books Approach Modern Reproduction – Jennifer Bleyer-The Atlantic http://buff.ly/10QQZJt

Five questions for Marilyn Singer – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/16CietP

May Kids’ Book Club Pick: ‘Lunch Lady And The Cyborg Substitute’ : NPR http://buff.ly/16PyHe6

Reading with Babies and Board Books for Babies – Mama Smiles-Joyful Parenting http://buff.ly/XYELQd

EBOOKS

The Reading Brain in The Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens: Scientific American http://buff.ly/ZjydYA

Thin Reads Wants to Be Like ‘Publishers Weekly’ for Ebook Singles http://buff.ly/16KsYq6

Why Do We Keep Making Ebooks Like Paper Books? http://buff.ly/YY1NFX #ebooks

LIBRARIES

All Your Data Are Belong To You | Librarian in Black Blog http://buff.ly/YTJ3r5 – also known as why librarians kick ass #rights #librarians

BBC News – Libraries to store all UK web content http://bbc.in/10Ab4Cd #libraries

The public library: Historic artifact or adaptive success

Ithaka Survey: Humanities Faculty Love the Library; Scientists Less Enthusiastic http://buff.ly/Ya05m5

Librarians and community involvement as a professional competence | Library as Incubator Project http://buff.ly/XYcGZj

Libraries and Authors – ALA’s response to Scott Turow – http://buff.ly/10YSF3y

The Slow Death of the American Author – Scott Turow bemoans library e-lending among other things – http://buff.ly/16KrHPL

Toronto Public Library Enters Alternate Reality (Gaming) http://buff.ly/ZbQ7PO

PUBLISHING

Ten ways self-publishing has changed the books world | Books http://buff.ly/Y9mTCf

What’s the Problem with Self-Publishing? – Library Journal http://buff.ly/16PECQB

READING

reading-as-breathing: “No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find timr for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” Confucius

Love this poem – Personal by Tony Hoagland : Poetry Magazine http://buff.ly/YaBiy4

TECHNOLOGY

Pls Rt- Next week: Join Internet Defense League action to fix the #CFAA. Justice for #aaronswartz http://act.demandprogress.org/act/cosponsor_aarons_law_idl/?referring_akid=.194196.pE4I30&source=typ-tw …

Still under the impression that video games are strictly for kids? Meet an 85 year old gamer- Psychedelic Catnip – http://buff.ly/Yf0Bis

TEEN READS

The evolution of LGBTQ characters in Y.A. lit | Bill Konigsberg Online http://buff.ly/16BB4RS

How a Graphic Novel is Born (And Raised) by Raina Telgemeier | Inside A Dog http://buff.ly/16Ku4SF

New Imprint to Reissue Forgotten YA Literature http://buff.ly/Y0HHr9 #yalit

Review: The Eagles Are Back by Jean Craighead George

| Tasha

eagles are back

The Eagles Are Back by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Wendell Minor

The third book in this pair’s new nature series, this is the story of how people worked together to save the bald eagle from possible extinction.  Told through the eyes of a young boy, this is also the story of how children can make a real difference in their world.  When the boy climbs to a bald eagle nest, he sees that the eggs in the nest are broken.  Only 450 pairs of bald eagles still survived in the wild because of the impact of the pesticide DDT making the eagles’ eggs soft and fragile.  The boy meets with a ranger who has a healthy eagle egg for the empty nest.  The boy agrees to keep an eye on the pair and see whether they accept the egg.  The boy kept watch and saw the eagles adopt the egg, but he also helped by catching fish for the eagles to catch in midair.  Readers and the boy get to see the eaglet grow and take her first flight.  This is a celebration of how humans can turn things around and help the environment, no matter how young they are.

George writes with plenty of details that really explain the seriousness of the situation that DDT caused.  Writing with a child as the main character sends a powerful message to today’s children and the impact that they too can have on issues that are important to them.  It is also a clear invitation to enter the wild and explore.  George specializes in writing about nature and the environment and always reveals the beauty and wonder of the wilderness.

Minor’s art echoes that beauty and wonder.  In gouache and watercolor, he creates images that are soft and inviting.  They are also lit from within, giving them the glowing feel of real nature and sunlight on leafy canopies. 

Celebrate the return of the eagles with this book, but also make sure that your library collection has the first two about wolves and buffalo.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books for Young Readers.

Review: Ten Things I Love about You by Daniel Kirk

| Tasha

ten things i love about you

Ten Things I Love about You by Daniel Kirk

Rabbit and Pig are great friends.  So Rabbit decides to make a list of ten things that he loves about Pig.  Rabbit comes up with the first one all on his own: Number 1 – I love Pig because he is very pink.  Then he turns to Pig for help, but Pig is busy doing something else.  Rabbit figures out Number 2, I love Pig because he knows how to keep busy.  As time goes by, Rabbit continues to fill his list as Pig reacts to Rabbit’s visits and questions.  But Pig is getting more and more frustrated with the interruptions.  Finally, Rabbit’s list is complete and Pig has a surprise in turn for Rabbit.

Told entirely in dialogue, this is a picture book that begs to be read aloud.  Because of the way it’s written, the humor is highlighted clearly for young readers.  The pacing too is impacted by the format with a dashing briskness that is very refreshing.  Kirk’s illustrations are very modern.  They were made by scanning ink drawings and painted plywood panels into the computer and then texture and color were added with Photoshop.  They have a wonderful rustic edge to both the images themselves and also the edges of the plywood.  It adds an organic warmth to the story.

Add this one to your friendship story times, Rabbit and Pig are sure to get along well with Frog and Toad as well as Elephant and Piggie.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Nancy Paulsen Books.

2013 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Shortlist

| Tasha

CBCA

The CBCA Book of the Year Awards Shortlist has six titles in each of the categories except for the Information Books which has five.  Award winners will be announced on August 16, 2013.  Each category also has a list of Notables which can be seen here.

 

PICTURE BOOK SHORT LIST

The Coat A Day to Remember Herman and Rosie

The Coat by Julie Hunt, illustrated by Ron Brooks

A Day to Remember by Jackie French, illustrated by Mark Wilson

Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon

Lightning Jack  Sophie Scott Goes South Tanglewood

Lightning Jack by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Patricia Mullins

Sophie Scott Goes South by Alison Lester

Tanglewood by Margaret Wild, illustrated by Vivienne Goodman

 

EARLY CHILDHOOD SHORT LIST

It's a miroocool! Peggy

It’s a Miroocool! by Christine Harris, illustrated by Ann James

Peggy by Anna Walker

Pros and Cons of Being a Frog The terrible suitcase

The Pros and Cons of Being a Frog by Sue DeGennaro

The Terrible Suitcase by Emma Allen, illustrated by Freya Blackwood

Too Many Elephants in this House With Nan

Too Many Elephants in This House by Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Andrew Joyner

With Nan by Tania Cox, illustrated by Karen Blair

 

YOUNGER READERS SHORT LIST

After (Once, #4) The Children of the King Other Brother

After by Morris Gleitzman

Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett

Other Brother by Simon French

Pennies for Hitler Pookie Aleera is not my Boyfriend The Tender Moments of Saffron Silk

Pennies for Hitler by Jackie French

Pookie Aleera Is Not My Boyfriend by Steven Herrick

The Tender Moments of Saffron Silk by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Stephen Michael King

 

OLDER READERS SHORT LIST

Creepy and Maud Friday Brown The Ink Bridge

Creepy & Maud by Dianne Touchell

Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield

The Ink Bridge by Neil Grant

Sea Hearts The Shiny Guys The Wrong Boy

Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (published as Brides of Rollrock Island in the US)

The Shiny Guys by Doug MacLeod

The Wrong Boy by Suzy Zail

 

EVE POWNALL AWARD FOR INFORMATION BOOKS SHORT LIST

Lyrebird! A true story Portrait of Spain for Kids Python

Lyrebird! A True Story by Jackie Kerin, illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe

Portrait of Spain for Kids by Queensland Art Gallery

Python by Chistopher Cheng and Mark Jackson

Tom the Outback Mailman Topsy-turvy World : How Australian Animals Puzzled Early Explorers

Tom the Outback Mailman by Kristin Widenbach, illustrated by Timothy Ide

Topsy-turvy World: How Australian Animals Puzzled Early Explorers by Kirsty Murray

Review: All My Noble Dreams and Then What Happens by Gloria Whelan

| Tasha

all my noble dreams

All My Noble Dreams and Then What Happens by Gloria Whelan

This sequel to Small Acts of Amazing Courage continues Rosalind’s story.  Rosalind lives in British-controlled India.  She is the only daughter in a well-off family, though she avoids the Club and all of the other British girls there.  Instead she runs a small school for the village boys, one that is not government sanctioned and so can continue to run.  She is a follower of Gandhi, something her father certainly does not approve of.  He wouldn’t approve of the school either, but he doesn’t know about it.  The book also tells of what happened to Hari, the infant that Rosalind rescued in the first book and how her aunts are now doing living in India.  As Rosalind gets drawn further into British life, she finds her two worlds colliding and the question is how she will remain true to herself and the cause she believes in so fiercely.

I simply adored the first book in this series and am so happy to say that the second is just as wonderful.  Whelan captures the period of British rule in India very clearly, never flinching from the harsh realities of the period, including the injustices of the British, the selling of child brides for money, and the severe poverty brought on by the caste system.  It is a book that is filled with the dust and clamor of the streets, the laughter of close trusted friends, and the grandeur of a prince’s visit. 

Rosalind shows a lot of growth from one book to the next.  In the first book, she would rush headlong into trouble.  Here the trouble she gets into is still there, but much of it she walks into with her eyes open and understanding what she is doing.  She is a radiant character, filling the pages with her passion for change and her love of India.  It is Rosalind who carries the story, because one never knows quite what will happen to her next.

A worthy sequel to the first gem of a book, fans of the first will welcome this second story of Rosalind and India.  Appropriate for ages 12-16.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

2013 Little Rebels Shortlist

| Tasha

The Alliance of Radical Booksellers has announced the four books shortlisted for the first annual Little Rebels Children’s Book Award.  The winner will be announced on May 11th, 2013.  I must say that I love a bit of radical children’s list and I haven’t read a single one on the list!

Here is the shortlist:

Azzi in Between Matilda and Hans

Azzi in Between by Sarah Garland

Hans and Matilda by Yokococo

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket Wild Child

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

Wild Child by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Lorna Freytag

Review: Tiger in My Soup by Kashmira Sheth

| Tasha

tiger in my soup

Tiger in My Soup by Kashmira Sheth, illustrated by Jeffery Ebbeler

When a boy is left in the care of his big sister, all he wants her to do is read his book to him.  But she’s too busy reading her own book.  He tries to read his book on his own, but it isn’t the same.  She just keeps ignoring him until he asks for lunch.  Then she heats up some soup and gives him a bowl.  That’s when the action starts and a tiger comes out of the soup.  The boy battles him, stabbing him with a spoon and chasing him around the kitchen.  His sister continues to read, ignoring all of the ruckus.  It isn’t until the tiger is chased back into the soup that she agrees to read the book to him.  But wait, this book has a final toothy surprise.

Sheth has created a loving older sister who is just too caught up in her own book to have any time to spend with her younger brother.  It makes me very happy to see two siblings arguing over which book to read right then.  I also enjoyed the boy trying to read to himself, turning the book this way and that and even trying with his eyes closed.  Throughout the book there is a wonderful sense of playfulness.

Ebbeler’s illustrations are just as playful.  He plays with perspective especially in the outdoor scenes.  Then when the tiger arrives, he is wonderfully real, his fur stands on end, his claws threaten and his teeth gleam.  The action scenes are rivetingly fun, the escapades daring. 

Jaunty and devoted to reading, this book is a compelling mix of stories and action.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Peachtree Publishers.

Review: How to Be a Cat by Nikki McClure

| Tasha

how to be a cat

How to Be a Cat by Nikki McClure

Small Kitten follows the lead of Big Cat as they go through their day in this very simple picture book.  With just one word per page, the story is told more in the images than in the words.  The little kitten practices how to clean himself, how to hunt bugs and butterflies, and how to listen.  As the two of them explore the house and garden, the book shows a day filled with exploration and learning. 

Told through dynamic cut-paper art, this simple book has a powerful sense of style.  The images are black and white, cut from a single piece of paper with just a touch of blue at times.  Thanks to this, the images pop and would work well for sharing with groups of children.

Ideal for toddlers, this is a clear and beautiful look at feline fun.  Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from library copy.