World got you down?

Then don't miss Barkley the Cat at the Mental Floss blog. Innocence and love in an absurdly cute song.

Random Items for a Wednesday

Tomorrow I'll have a review and book giveaway much like what's happening over at Jen Robinson's place. In the meantime, here are some things I'm thinking about today:

1. How many of you live in states where political ads are running already? John McCain ads have been in regular rotation for about a month here in Iowa, and Obama popped up today. Isn't it only June? I know Iowa is probably up for grabs (it constantly swings from red to blue and back again), but June? June?
   
2. Don't miss the 7-Imps interview with David Small today. It's a good one!
3. Speaking of interviews, Fuse 8 is up over at the Class of 2k8.
4. What do you remember from the prom? I'll admit it: I remember a long, pink, lace-infected Jessica McClintock dress. Oh, and super big hair. If you're in the mood for reliving the prom, then don't miss this photo collection at Jezebel.
   

The wonderful and the odd

This week seems to be a week for the odd and the wonderful in children's book-related items.

First for the odd:

• Getting married? Want to look like a Disney Princess? You're in luck: Check 'em out at Jezebel.
• You know that the celebrity book thing is getting completely out of hand when Heather Mills is ready to try her hand at the field. Guess what? She's inspired by her daughter and thinks it would be cool if she (Heather Mills) were the next J.K. Rowling! I think it's time for a BACA intervention. (I actually saw in real life Jeff Foxworthy's new picture book prominently displayed at Barnes and Noble in Santa Monica this week. What is the reading demographic for his book?)

Wonderfully odd:

• Patrick Lee writes about Potter in the academy for CNN. Unfortunately, the article only covers Potter in theology or religious studies classes.
• Goosebumps are back.
  

Wonderful:

• Salon's Broadsheet covers the Amelia Bloomer project. Check out the 2008 Amelia Bloomer list here.
• It's time for the Children's Choice Book Awards! Have your children vote for their favorite books of the year here. And, you can find the nominees here. (Good lists and a great-looking functional website to boot.)

Random Items: Slow Internet Edition

I'm in Los Angeles right now on a s-l-o-w internet connection, but I thought I'd stop in with a few items of interest I've found here and there online.

• I love the subtitle to this Guardian BookBlog item on the Famous Five movie: "Hurrah for updated Blyton! Lashings of organic, cane-sugared ginger beer is clearly the way to protect our children from reading anything new." How true is that? Now, don't get me wrong: I loved the Famous Five as a child. But we have so many better mystery/adventure titles available to kids now. Just off the top of my head I can think of Kiki Strike, Sammy Keyes, the Alex Rider series, Percy Jackson, etc, etc. Every one of these books--even the weak ones in the series--is miles better than the best of Famous Five.
• Are you looking for Easter books for the youngsters? Dinah Hall has some recommendations for you in the Telegraph.

I'll be back later when my speed is better with a review of Andrea Beaty's Doctor Ted.

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.

Random Items of Interest

I really loved HipWriterMama's interview with Kirsten Miller (Kiki Strike) yesterday. If you haven't read it yet, head on over and do so now.

Have you been noticing the phrase GuysLitWire popping up here and there? Well, it's a project well on its way--a blog on books for the teen boys. Colleen Mondor and a gang of bloggers are behind the initiative, but we're still looking for a few good....to be blunt...men to participate in the project. Are you, well, a guy and a blogger, or writer, or illustrator, or graphic novelist, or artist, or publisher, or agent, and would look forward to talking books for guys once a month? Then head on over to Chasing Ray and send Colleen an e-mail. (Jules has a great round up post on GuysLitWire today at 7-Imp.)


Leila of Bookshelves of Doom asks if she is the only one skeeved out by the Digital Dr. Seuss project. Uh, no, Leila. You're not alone. This is what got me: "Content is downloaded on an à la carte basis, with fees ranging from $.99 to $10.00; content owners determine the prices." This is what I've noticed as a trend lately and it worries me. The only sites making money on the internet "on an a la carte basis" are sites that sell to kids and teens.

Two items of interest

While reading the news this morning, I ran across two items you might find interesting.

• Writers talk their favorite fonts over at Slate. I'm a Times New Roman girl myself. Courier just seems wrong to me. Which font is your favorite?
• An AP article that has been making the rounds: Hillel Italie talks to Mary Pope Osborne (Magic Tree House)

Tangentially related to children's books and blogging

I hope you're all having a beautiful Tuesday. When reading the news, blogs and listservs this morning, I came across three interesting, yet unrelated, items of interest. They include:

A Fair(y) Use Tale. A series of Disney clips spliced together to explain how copyright works. (Via Child_Lit)

Benedict Carey has written an fascinating article on narrative and psychology for The New York Times. Read especially page three on considering first- versus third-person retellings of one's life story.

The smartest and most eloquent voice on book vs. blog reviews anywhere? Colleen Mondor at Chasing Ray. I'm sorry, but I haven't seen a piece in print that rivals what Colleen has to say and I'm not making this claim because I'm biased for blog reviews. I read them all--print and blog. I honestly believe they both can exist and readers are smart enough to rely on the ones they trust. Colleen's latest post is a tour de force.