Tiny Treasury

Because things never go as planned, I never finished Knots (which I read all but 30 pages of months ago and finally picked up again to finish), which means I never even started Soupy Saturdays, which will most likely take under an hour for me to read. The Chicago Tribune briefly noted the book in their reviews this weekend.

Teaming up with YALSA, Readergirlz is hosting 31 Flavorite authors for teens in 31 days during the month of October to celebrate Teen Read Week. Here’s a full list of the amazing authors who will be available to chat at the Readergirlz forums at 8 pm EST each night.

Week One
October 1st: Meg Cabot
October 2nd: Tiffany Trent
October 3rd: Brent Hartinger
October 4th: Lorie Ann Grover
October 5th: K.L. Going
October 6th: Nikki Grimes

Week Two
October 7th: Ellen Hopkins
October 8th: Justina Chen Headley
October 9th: Chris Crutcher
October 10th: Ann Brashares
October 11th: Sarah Mlynowski
October 12th: Cecil Castellucci
October 13th: Kirby Larson
Week Three
October 14th: Tanya Lee Stone
October 15th: John Green
October 16th: Sara Zarr
October 17th: Deb Caletti
October 18th: Rachel Cohn
October 19th: Kirsten Miller
October 20th: Mitali Perkins
Week Four
October 21st: Sonya Sones
October 22nd: Lisa Yee
October 23rd: Carolyn Mackler
October 24th: E. Lockhart
October 25th: Janet Lee Carey
October 26th: Gaby Triana
October 27th: Lauren Myracle
Week Five
October 28th: Holly Black
October 29th: Cynthia Leitich Smith
October 30th: Dia Calhoun
October 31st: Stephenie Meyer

Click, Clack, Moo by Doreen Cronin is just wildly amusing, one of my favorite kids’ books. And it’s also one of my kids’ favorites because they can read along - the text is very simple (and witty!).

I was really glad to see this video clip on YouTube of the book being read aloud - with sign language.

You can download versions here from PBS - or order videos.

Okay, this I don’t get: one in four adults read no books at all in the past year, according to an AP-Ipsos poll. The survey went on to say that the typical person claimed to have read four books last year. Of those who had read at least one book, the usual number read was seven. Yet, 27% of people hadn’t read a single book in the last year.

Interestingly, folks from the West and Midwest are more likely to have read at least one book in the past year. Southerners who do read, however, tend to read more books, mostly religious books and romance novels, than people from other regions. Additionally, Democrats and liberals typically reading slightly more books than Republicans and conservatives.

I wonder whether this is an adult thing - or whether children pick up on this on a young age. So, here’s an informal poll: Did you read a book last year? If so, what genre? And more importantly, tying it into this blog, did your children read a book last year?

I was planning on continuing my series on place-specific books this week (I have the Mounties book in hand) but I ran across this post on a Gaming MMO and couldn’t help myself. It kind of goes to the heart of my posts from last week about censorship and banning.

Many of the commenters (including myself) criticized the parent’s failure to review the game before buying it. This is exactly the kind of logic that many librarians and school administrators use to justify book banning - that the parents aren’t doing their job.

What do you think? If this were a book instead of a video game, should the clerk have spoken up? Other parents? Would a ban prevent this kind of thing from happening?

In light of the earlier discussions about languages, I thought I would tailor this week’s War of Words Wednesday to focus on that issue.

So, this week’s question is:

If young children are exposed to foreign languages in schools or government programs, should the parents be allowed to choose a specific language (like Spanish) or should schools offer exposure to a number of different languages?

Fans have launched a new web site, Save Harry!, to save Harry Potter. The web site has a petition that fans hope will convince author JK Rowling to continue the Harry Potter series. Rowling has said that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, slated to launch on July 21, is the last in the series.

Harry Potter, JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Save Harry

I’m not a comic book fan but I’ll bet those of you who are will be thrilled to hear that DC Comics has announced plans for Zudacomics.com. Zudacomics is described as “a Webcomics imprint and online community” and plans to solicit original Web comics from fans. The content will likely be published in print, as well.

Zudacomics.com will begin soliciting comics today.

A computer hacker claims to know.

The hacker, who goes by the name “Gabriel,” purports to have a copy of J.K. Rowling’s, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” which he obtained by hacker into Bloomsbury’s computer system.

Reuters had reported that the information on Gabriels’ web site InSecure.org that, if true, would reveal the ending of the book. However, my trip over to the site didn’t prove fruitful - I didn’t see anything about Harry Potter and quite frankly, the layout and info on the site made my head hurt (sorry guys, not all that interested in hacking).

A Bloomsbury spokesman declined comment on the hacker’s claims. And it’s likely not to affect sales anyway - Scholastic plans to release 12 million copies of “Deathly Hallows” and pre-orders so far have already broken records.

Harry Potter, hacker, JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Bloomsbury, insecure.org

Yet another tweak on the War of Words Wednesday… It’s summer (and it’s hot in Philly) so I’m trying to think of light and fun things to do for the WOW.

Today’s question is inspired by ABC’s sitcom-name fiasco:

What TV show (past or present) would you rename to reflect or spoof a kids’ book title or famous line/lyric - and why?

This fall, ABC had planned to introduce a new series starring Christina Applegate in “Sam I Am.” In the series, the title character, Samantha Newly, played by Christina Applegate, is afflicted with amnesia. A clever title perhaps. But also a little bit… taken. The title mimics the first few lines of Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham.

Apparently, the Seuss heirs didn’t find the title quite so clever. ABC is not commenting on the specifics but has released information that the name of the show has been changed to “Samantha Be Good.”

Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham, ABC, Christina Applegate, Sam I Am, Samantha Be Good

Okay, I’m tweaking the War of Words Wednesday a little bit today… Instead of offering a couple of choices, I’m asking an open-ended question.

This summer, a number of films based on books are being released: Harry Potter and Nancy Drew to name two. So, my question to you is…

What children’s book would you like to see most made into a film?

I asked earlier today what your own summer reading lists were like… You can check out children’s book guru Elizabeth Kennedy’s Top Summer Reading Lists for Kids and Teens here.

Treehouse Junkie is celebrating with a contest! You can win a free book… check out the details here.

Gosh, it’s just around the bend. Katie’s last day of school before the summer break is next Friday - how did it get here so quickly?

I am now into super-charged “what are we doing for summer?” mode and I’m curious. What are your kids doing? Any book clubs or reading oriented plans? Summer book lists?

I’d love to know what you’re planning!

Yep, it’s just two weeks away now until the official launch of the Nancy Drew movie.

Since I’ve decided to embrace the movie (insert clearing of the throat here) rather than rue its coming, I thought that I would make it my first ever kids’ book carnival!

These are the details. The deadline for submission is Monday, June 4. The theme is “Nancy Drew�?. Submit your Nancy Drew related stories, blog posts, photos and articles for consideration in the carnival. It can be old or new Nancy Drew, take your pick. I’m not going to judge (well, I will silently, but that’s to be expected), I’m just going to post.

Climb in your convertible, let your titian hair down and join the fun!

carnival, Nancy Drew