A Few Items of Interest

It's spring break for me and I'm in a place with sunshine. (Sun! How I've missed you.) So, I'll be out and about until it's dark and then I'll be back with a review of Siobhan Vivian's YA A Little Friendly Advice. In the meantime, here are some do not miss items of interest:

• Chris Bond talks to Philip Pullman in the Yorkshire Post. Pullman shares a little writing advice in this piece: "'So write what you want to write, because people don't know what they want to read. It's like politicians asking focus groups what they should be doing. If you're in politics you should know what you want to do...Read everything you can get your hands on, in fact if you're not a compulsive reader you probably shouldn't be writing.'"
• No stone-throwing at this blog or at this blogger, please. But I'm just going to come out and say it: I am not a fan of The Little Prince. In fact, my feelings on The Little Prince are quite strong. I hate it. I don't think it's a children's book and I find its message as delicate as a steel-headed hammer. But...for those of you who are interested in The Little Prince, don't miss this article about the German fighter pilot who (possibly) shot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry down in the Globe and Mail.
• It's Non-Fiction Monday! Don't miss the round up at Anastasia Suen's blog.
• ETA: Via the lovely ladies at Finding Wonderland, I hear my blog friend Nick Green is getting the last laugh with his Cat Kin books. As well he should. I loved the first book in the trilogy--Cat Kin--and managed to finally get the second book (Cat's Paw) back from daughter last week so I could read it myself. (She confiscated it when it arrived to our house because she loved the first so much. Then she loaned the book to two of her friends. She's now banned from opening my mail. But, this story of tween disobedience tells you that the Cat Kin books do indeed appeal to children.)

Have a great day, everyone. I'm off to go boulder climbing with the kids. Outside. In the sun.