Thursday Links

It's the first day of school here in Smalltown: After a great summer, the kids were ready to go. I have to dust myself off and get ready for my own students, but before I go, here are some (mostly) book-related links:

Children's Book Crime Report: Kids' Books used to smuggle cocaine to Hong Kong and a shipment of children's books headed to Indiana are stolen en route.

You've all heard that Enid Blyton was named "best loved" British children's writer, right? Lucy Mangan defends the choice in the Guardian.

Michael Rosen questions teaching to the test in the Guardian.

Random House removes an "offensive" word in a Jacqueline Wilson novel aimed at the Middle Grade reader. (Alison Flood reports for the Guardian. )

Did you know those super-cool Readergirlz have their own YouTube channel?

Okay, so Nastia Liukin may have won the all-around gold in Beijing, but she doesn't have a butter statue like Shawn Johnson does. Check out these pics at flickr.