Guardian Unlimited — Chris Riddell on being a children’s illustrator
Chris Riddell just won the Kate Greenaway Medal for his illustrations of Gulliver’s Travels, a picture book for older readers. This article speaks about his dual life as children’s book illustrator and newspaper cartoonist.
Picture Books Help Kids Learn
When I saw the title of the article: Picture books can help youngsters learn, I thought, Hoorah! Someone actually gets it, books in general help kids learn. Wrong. The article is about a handful of books that the author of the article have decided are among the new releases that promote learning.
I am firmly of the opinion that every reading experience for a child helps them learn, that every book is of value at the picture book level. Whether it is a simple Dora or Blues Clues board book, or a more challenging picture book by an amazing author who truly creates art. All of these books can only help a preschooler or early elementary child connect with books and understand the joy that is there.
What Teen Girls Want
Finding what teen girls want, and producing it is an article about Alloy Entertainment, the company responsible for Gossip Girl, A-List and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The process at Alloy is a little different than authors approaching a publisher. In Alloy’s case, they approach authors (often authors without any experience) to produce an idea that Alloy has developed.
Cottrell Boyce Wins Carnegie Medal for Millions
‘Million To One’ outsider scoops CILIP Carnegie Medal with First Novel
Frank Cottrell Boyce has won the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2004 for ‘Millions’. Cottrell Boyce’s debut novel beat off strong competition from former winners Philip Pullman and Sharon Creech, and well-established writers Eva Ibbotson and Anne Cassidy, as well as one other first novel from American, Gennifer Choldenko.
Invisible
Invisible by Pete Hautman is a taut wire of a book that offers a study of Doug Hanson, a loner seventeen year old obsessed with bridge building. Doug’s best friend Andy lives right next door so that they can chat through the window. Unlike Doug, Andy is a popular football star at school. They are a strange pair but remain best friends.
As the book continues, the reader will see clues that all is not what it seems. A lot of the power of the book comes from slowly realizing what is really going on, so I will not spoil it for you. The reader will see what is coming and feel the powerlessness of being unable to stop it.
Recommend this slim book to kids who enjoy psychological thrillers. This is the sort of teen novel that adults will enjoy as well, demonstrating the power of writing for teens. This book is fast enough moving for reluctant readers, especially boys.
Roald Dahl Article
The New Yorker: The Critics: A Critic At Large offers an article on Roald Dahl and the magic that children seem to find in his writing while many adults find things to be worried or even insulted by.
Naughts and Crosses
Naughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman is book that is a head-spinning thriller filled with twists and turns. Picture a world where instead of white people being the dominant race, they were the ones with a history of slavery. In this world, white people are treated just as our society treats black people. They are immediately suspect, looked down upon, not credited with achievements, and not allowed in black schools. In this world live Callum and Sephy. Callum is a Naught or white and lives in a shack with his family. Sephy is a Cross or black and lives a priveledged life with her prominent father and family. But the two are drawn together from childhood and soon begin a fledgling relationship.
This book is one that you will not be able to put down after a certain point. It is engrossing, amazing and gripping. The characters of Callum and Sephy are complex and vivid, while the society they live in becomes a character in the book as well. This book is eye opening, offering a unique perspective on racism in the world. Give this to kids who enjoy fast-moving thrillers, but also to those who read science fiction and those who enjoy deep books that will make them think.
This is the first in a series. They are released in England first where the third book has just arrived. So we have a lot to look forward to!
Summer Reading Studies
NJ Summer Reading offers a nice selection of studies In Support of Summer Reading. If you are ever asked again why public libraries spend money getting kids to read during the summer, this is a nice site to have bookmarked.
Getting Kids to Read
NPR : Getting Kids to Read was on Talk of the Nation yesterday. The featured guests were Paul Kropp, author of How to Make Your Child a Reader for Life, Esme Raji Codell, author of How to Get Your Child to Love Reading, Steven Johns, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You, and Jon Scieszka, author of many amazing children’s books.
Waking Brain Cells 