Get ready to "Read for your Life"

Many have been buzzing about the changing of guards for the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature for some time now (Fuse #8, Mother Reader and A Year of Reading among them). While some people leaked the information on the interwebz last night (I'm looking at you NYTimes!), Katherine Patterson was officially named the 2nd National Ambassador for Young People's Literature this morning.

First and foremost, congratulations! Not only to Ms. Patterson, but to everyone who had a hand in selecting her because you did a phenomenal job. I had the pleasure of hearing her speak at the Baker and Taylor CATS Publisher preview this past November and she was delightful and showed that she will do much more than step up to the plate.

Jon Scieszka spent his time as Ambassador promoting the love of reading and motivating reluctant readers to enjoy reading. What will Katherine Patterson do? She has already started her Ambassadorial duties declaring that "Read for your Life" is going to be her driving force. What this entails we will find out in more detail in the coming weeks. If her time prior to receiving this honor is anything to go by, it can only be good for young people's literature. Shelf Talker has written up a fabulous summary of Ms. Patterson's numerous qualifications for the post and links to the aforementioned NYTimes article that is definitely work checking out for a more detailed look at Ms. Patterson's accomplishments.

I bet your mom would let me

It's no secret that I'm in love with Super Punch. It's probably my favorite blog ever. But this post has out done itself. Please go ahead and apply the slow clap, the standing o and the hamster dance for old time's sake in honor of alerting me to the brilliance that is Children's Book Cinema.

New Blog!

I am delighted to present you with Curious Pages: Recommended inappropriate books for kids. Not that kind of inappropriate from what I've seen thus far, but a very fun look at random books intended for kids. Whoever knew that John Cage helped pen an awesome book about mud pies? Thanks to this new blogorino by illustrator Lane Smith (and some Bob fellow), I know that. And now you do, too!

Check it out!

You can always count on me...

...and I can count on you. Good times bad times in between your friends will see you through...

Which friends? The BSC of course!! The Library Ladies and I are pretty ridic and spent yesterday determining which officer we would be. I got to be prez by default because my name is Kristie. Anyway, why am I telling you this? Mainly because this led to a whole bunch of adult takes on the infamous permanent 8th graders.

1. You may have already seen the BSC Headquarters as it has had it's heyday and became defunct while ago, but the archive is worth perusing. It was run by some chick named Tiff that goes through the books and rereads them as an adult and then reviews them with insane amounts of snark. Very enjoyable. Here is a sample.
2. Trying to defend Mary Anne to my friend Cara yesterday (who was hating on her for being a good two shoes) I summed up #60 Mary Anne's Makeover by stating the following:

   Ummm helLO!!? Didn't you ever read Mary Anne's Makeover? When she gets an edgey new haircut and cool clothes and the BSC shuns her for being "too cool for school" and Logan is all like OMG BONERZ!

3. Lastly, Danielle sent me this link via email today and there is only one word to describe this take on the BSC: McSweeny's.

Oh dear god!

This crosses a line even for me. Some photoshop extraordinaire bludgeoned these childhood classics with dirty titles. Though, I do have to give a nod to this one. I almost feel like that should be the title to go with the coverart.
View the rest here.

If this is how 12 year olds look these days I give up

The female lead for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief has been announced and I have to say... did they not get the memo that this chick is playing a 12 year old? No seriously, who is believing Alexandra Daddario to be prepubescent? Not me, that's who.
Seriously though, did they decide to change the age of the characters for a broader appeal? That's lame. I guess they had to because Alexandra is 23 and Logan Lerman is 17. At least Lerman is under 20. In fact, I slightly hope they are making the characters older if just because a 23 playing a 12 year old makes me feel worse about the fact that I get mistaken for a high schooler all the time. If I could be mistaken for a 12 year old too... well... let's just not go there.

What made these books so awesome was the amount of daring adventure and intellectual problem solving these characters had to do at the ages of 12 and 13! To make these characters in their late teens is cliched and doesn't give the kids on the early end of their teen years the sense of empowerment the Percy Jackson book series provides. While I doubt there are 11 year olds out there going, "Hey, that 13 year old boy just opened a can of whoop ass on a Greek god," they identify with the age better than if it was a 17 year old opening the same can.

Does anyone have confirmed information on this?

Yet more reasons to want to be a librarian

Why wouldn't you want to be an advocate for these guys?  Children's authors=my heroes.  Thanks Fuse 8 for the link!

Mo' Mo please!

I really do love him.  I do.  I am aware I have never met him and probably never ever will, but I still love him.  Click here and then tell me you don't.  Go on, I triple dog dare you!

New Blog Alert!

A fellow faux librarian (i.e., someone in library school inches away from a MLIS) just landed on the kidlitosphere map this year! The Almost Librarian's blog looks how I hoped mine would have turned out, you know, if Danielle hadn't ruined me with fandoms of one sort or another. So please do check out her blog and poke around. There are already several awesome booklists, among other things.

Poetry Friday

For the first time ever I've decided to participate in Poetry Friday. However, instead of supplying you with the poem I am going to urge you to read Meow Ruff: A story in concrete poetry by Joyce Sidman. My favorite style of poetry is concrete poetry and this book is the perfect balance of adorable illustration and awe-inspiring poetry. I've taken the first page from the Amazon Look Here feature so you can get a feel for it, but keep in mind that it by no means does this book justice. Check it out of your library yesterday if you haven't had the pleasure of viewing it!

Anyway...

I feel like I'm the only person in the kidlitosphere that is apathetic about the Youth Media Awards. Even my friend Sara who doesn't blog outside of once a year dedicated our daily email thread to them. Am I the Grinch that stole the Awards Ceremony? Granted, I did not fashion my aged dog and myself in spiffy outfits and take the correspondences into a red sack, all the while laughingly maniacally. This much is true, but I still am all bah-humbug! about this stuff.

When I was a kid Newberry books were something you had to read for school over and over again, and therefore sucked. Now that I'm a librarian I'm supposed to get giddy about it? I can still see that strained look when kids come into the library with their Newberry assignments, so I know this hasn't changed much in the past decade. I know there are kids out there that get excited about the award books, but from my personal experience they are younger and care about the Caldecott. I honestly tried to be proactive about them the summer before library school started and ... fail. The books I read were enjoyable but that nagging feeling that I was reading a Newberry clouded my brain. Prejudices die hard.

So, Kidlitters, I implore you to show me why I should care about this. Yeah, it's a bit of a demand and yeah, I'm aware 2 people read this but still... IMPLORE!

Note: What do I know? I'm not even a for-real librarian yet, what with that pesky graduation 4 months away. Also: I love Animorphs which should serve as several grains of salt in and of itself.

Nothing Youth Media Awards related at all

Except for this, but then again, it's only because it is Mo. He trumps my anti-award mood any day. Congrats, Mo! My best to Elephant and Piggie.

I know I've been a huge link dump slore, but I wish to get as much goodness to you all as I can. Forgive me? Aw thanks, you're too kind!

Super Punch Amazingness:

• The future is bleak and headed more towards Idiocracy* every day.
• New Pixar movie has a spiffy poster.
• Show me someone who doesn't like robots and I'll show you a liar.

Crafty type items:

• Barfing unicorn. Somehow, it looks even more magical than it sounds. I don't think I'll ever regret the day I added Craft: blog to my reader and this just about proves that point.
• Craftster blog link dump. I'm glad my boyfriend doesn't read my blog otherwise he'll see what horribly "original" idea of a Valentine's day present he is getting, complete with card.
• This is from the same link dump as the last bullet point, but the sheer ridiculousness of time and effort that went into these beads deserved its own tiny little dot on my blog. Absurd.

Other people review so I don't have to:

• All About Sleep by Elaine Scott (reviewed by Abby (the) Librarian)
• Is it cheating if you include a link to someone who links to other people's reviews when copping out of reviewing due to a computer shortage or true genius? Oh, true genius? You don't say! Please view Jen Robinson's review links that also made me want the books too!

Various kidlit tidbits and other johnsons:

• Some TinTin ish. (Thanks BWE!)
• PUPPY BOWL 2009!!
• School librarians making a lot of fuss to ensure my future job security. Thanks guys, you shouldn't have... (Thanks YALSA blog)
• Twilight/Buffy shirt I covet like no other. (Thanks interactivereader!)

*If you are unfamiliar with Idiocracy, let me first shame you and then suggest you add it to your Netflix queue yesterday. That is all.

Drive-by link dump

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

Link ambush!

Sorry for the gangsta stylings, but every time I go to blog, I get bombarded with, "Ms. I need more time!" "Ms. how do you find a google images?" "Ms. show me how to make a cootie catcher!" "Ms. How do I find things on google images?" Therefore, you will get overwhelmed with linkity link links. I mean, psht, don't these children know that my computer was attacked by zombies and the only time I have to give you these amazing links is when I am at work? Clearly the job comes first, so I will gladly stop blogging to give them the assistence they need (even if I have to show them the same thing 5 times before they actually get it), but still... YOU NEED TO SEE THESE LINKS!!!!!!

The 6 links up thar on the tippy top of the post are pretty self evident. As for the links that follow, they benefit from some blurbification.

I'm a 21st Century Reader, are you? Thanks, A Year of Reading!

Is it just me, or should someone turn the news into YA novels?

• Man steals live shark
• "U.S. Marshals tracked Marcus Schrenker, 38, to a north Florida campground late Tuesday night, peeling back the flap to his one-man tent to discover him in clouded consciousness with blood-soaked arms, muttering the word 'die.'" Um... excuse me? I thought only fiction writers were capable of this level of epicness.
  

Bib-Laura-graphy link dumps, so I don't have to. Thanks Laura! Though, I will point out my favorite article she mentioned, which is obvious since it is Twilight. Not only is it Twilight, but it involves cognitive pyschology!! I don't often (if ever) mention my love of this subject because Purple Polka isn't really the right forum, but Twilight+cognitive science=Heaven on the web.

The Book Chook offers some helpful hints on how to get those pesky, reluctant readers to enjoy reading. Thanks! Makes my job a whoooole lot easier here in Library Land. Let's get those parents' reading that information!!

Dr. Seuss can use 0nly 50 words to create a masterpiece, can you? Thanks Tales from an Open Book!

Um what? Note: the word Sexting is absurd. Thank you, YALSA Blog, for bringing it to my attention.

So excited I might have a heart attack

Hands down my favorite picture book is Wanted: The Great Cookie Thief.  It's an old school Sesame Street joint from the seventies that takes place in the old west.  The town has an immense problem in the form of the Great Cookie Thief.  He steals all the cookies so no one can have any and the townsfolk are understandably miffed.  A fellow with big, white, googly eyes and blue, shaggy fur wanders in and everyone is convinced that he is the elusive criminal.  Not one to jump to conclusions, the sheriff sends someone over to check the potential perp against the wanted poster to ensure they are accusing the right man.  After verifying several things, including his fur, eyes, bandana and hat they know he is for sure the criminal mastermind behind the missing cookies.  Once accused, Cookie Monster alters the wanted poster in an act of considerable skullduggery so that the criminal featured has a mustache, which he clearly doesn't.  The townsfolk apologize, only to find out that he is indeed the Great Cookie Thief when he showers them all with cookies after lifting his cap.  Oh that Cookie Monster.

I decided to finally review this literary classic because I found THIS VIDEO that nearly gave me a heart attack.  Apparently there is a video version of the book and a brainiac in the truest sense of the word decided to pair it with Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal, making my life.  Literally.  If I were to die this moment it would most likely be okay because my life is complete.  I'm sure my friends and family will be sad, so I hope I don't die, but still.. life=complete.

In case you needed more reasons to love Liz Burns

"the Newbery [award] is our Angelina Jolie"

As much as I'm all about taking interesting quotes out of context just to make a funny, that would belittle her compelling argument. So please do yourselves a favor and follow the above link to read her views on the current discussion of diversity in children's literature, specifically relating to the Newbery.

On that note...

This quote from the last entry's BONUS JONAS Philip Pullman interview was so spot on that it deserved its own post.  

"Books should be at the heart of every place of learning, and every community should have a library where children are welcome."

::Philip Pullman::

True freaking story!

Inkheart Trailer

I SAW THE INKHEART TRAILER ON TV TODAY!!!  That makes it official--in case you didn't know.  Because when you see a trailer in the theater and get flippin' excited about it, that doesn't mean anything, let me tell you.  I saw the Inkheart trailer way back in 2007 before The Golden Compass and swallowed the lies that it would be released in 2008.  Well, now that a movie trailer has made its way to the silver screen, it better mean business.  Or else.

As for the trailer itself, does it seem like they read themselves into the book to you?  I have this nagging feeling that they do, just from the description given in the trailer.  Lame.  That isn't supposed to happen until Inkspell, silly heads.  Please hope I am wrong in this hypothesis because otherwise I will be incorrigibly angry for a very long time.  

BONUS JONAS:  I found this bad-boy cruising around for the official Golden Compas movie website.  I heart Philip Pullman immensely.  It's a fabulous interview and apparently he is making a new book in the His Dark Materials universe.  Where have I been?  Oh right, obsessed with the rubbish that is Twilight.  Oops.  As for the official Golden Compass movie website, it has sadly been taken down, which is rather depressing since it was beautifully designed and a wonderful time suck.  In its stead is this craptastic ad campaign.  Lame.

Uh-oh.

Apparently I'm trying to be a witch-doctor. 

A Grimm assignment

My final project for the personal hell that is Learning Theory, Media and the Curriculum is surprisingly not painful (or as painless as a giant homework assignment can really be). Since I pretend actual school librarians read this blog, I'm going to briefly describe it in case anyone's interested in using it. Before that, I'm going to post some EXCITING news. The next Sisters Grimm book, The Everafter War is set to come out in May of 2009!!!! Look to the left to get a sneak peak at the cover.

In short, my unit consists of fifth graders reading one of my favoritest books ever, The Sisters Grimm: Fairytale Detectives by Micheal Buckley. After having book discussions with their primary teacher (or reading teacher if the school is into that), students come to the school library to research some of the fairytale characters featured in Buckley's work to compare and contrast their representations in his work and their more traditional roles. They will also be encouraged to check out some nontraditional depictions too (such as Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the Three Little Pigs). The characters selected for the character study are: the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, Prince Charming, Jack (of beanstalk fame), and the Giant (also of beanstalk fame). The findings will go on a graphic organizer created for the unit and make a poster out of them after all the data is collected. I'm stuck on the work computer, so I can't publish the organizer as of yet. Look for the edit if you're interested.

The last portion of the unit also takes place in the library. Students are reminded of basic story elements like plot, theme, setting, blah blah blah. Then they are asked to write up short stories of their own (1-2 pages typed) that include two fictional characters from different works. They may include more, but one character must be a protagonist and the other has to be an antagonist from another work than the first character. So no Harry Potter and Voldemort mashups. The premise of the stories revolves around the students suddenly finding out these fictional characters are more than literary figures, they exist in real life. Lastly, the students booktalk their short stories to one another in the library.

Interested in using the Sisters Grimm in a lesson plan but think my idea stinks? No matter, you can always check out the resources provided by the publishing company on the official site!

Mo!

Mo Willems is the love of my picture book reading life. I'm very sad that I will have to shuffle his books out of my storytime lineup, since there are only so many times children can have an entire half hour dedicated to Mo's stories. To make up for such depressing realities, I share my top two favorite blog posts he made in the past two months.

1. All of the fanmail is always so adorable, but I have to say the Don't let the pigeon be president section is highly amusing, especially considering the politico cameo. Plus, hearts to the post title!!
2. Ever wonder what to do with an aligator? Now I know.

A last little nugget is ReadKiddoRead.com, which Willems links to on his blog. I have yet to look through it, but I plan on spending the rest of my non-working at work time reading through it and thought you might want to do it with me! It gets awfully lonely out there...