The Devouring
By Billy Carton
When Reggie finds an old journal and reads about the Vours, supernatural creatures who feast on fear and attack on the eve of the winter solstice, she assumes they are just the musings of some lunatic author. But soon, they become a terrifying reality when she begins to suspect that her timid younger brother might be one of their victims.
by Kelly Link
Link, who has two breathlessly received books of strange, surrealistic tales for adults under her belt, makes the leap into the YA fold with this collection of short stories (most previously published in separate anthologies) that tug at the seams of reality, sometimes gently, sometimes violently. In nearly every one of these startlingly, sometimes confoundingly original stories, Link defies expectations with such terrific turnarounds that you are left precipitously wondering not only “What’s going to happen now?” but also “Wait, what just happened?”
[Via Publisher's Weekly]
Twenty years ago this month, Boston pediatricians Barry Zuckerman and Robert Needlman started handing out books at well-baby checkups. Since then Reach Out and Read, the nonprofit organization they founded to provide books for at-risk children between the ages of six months and five years, has given away more than 20 million books as part of its Rx for reading readiness. Working with publishing partners ranging from Scholastic to NBN to Charlesbridge, the Boston-based nonprofit has found a cost-effective solution to getting books into the hands of children at or near the poverty line —only $8 per child per year. Here, Dr. Sean Palfrey shares a book with a young patient at Boston Medical Center.
Stephen Hawking barely needs an introduction, but his recent direction does. He is packaging the universe for the younger generation. With his daughter Lucy Hawking, he has branched out into writing children's books. They tell Alison George all about it, and recount Stephen's personal alien experience.
by Rebecca Emerley
Illustrated by Ed Emberley
"An old chestnut of a tale comes to rip-roaringly glorious, hilarious, gorgeous life in the hands of two picture-book masters...Emberley fille’s dry wit acts as the perfect complement to Emberley père’s art, which leaps off the page, mixing colors with crazed combinations that provide the perfect balance between text and image. Ideal for reading aloud and as a visual stimulant, this title is bound to become the favored version for children and adults alike."
by Melina Marchetta
Finnikin of the Rock and his guardian, Sir Topher, have not been home to their beloved Lumatere for ten years. Not since the dark days when the royal family was murdered and the kingdom put under a terrible curse. But then Finnikin is summoned to meet Evanjalin, a young woman with an incredible claim: the heir to the throne of Lumatere, Prince Balthazar, is alive.
Read an extract, Author's website, Audio reading, Author video, Teacher Notes
A first-edition Harry Potter book was sold for about $19,000, according to an auction house in Dallas, Texas.
Normal copies of the Harry Potter books go for under $20, unlike the autographed first edition that sold for $19,000.
The soft-cover book was one of 200 copies printed and is a rarity compared with later editions of the popular series that were printed in the millions, the Heritage Auction Galleries said.
-- Publishers Weekly, 2/26/2009
They’re back: the Children’s Book Council has unveiled the finalists for the second-annual Children’s Choice Book Awards. Nearly 15,000 children cast their votes in six categories—four based on age group, as well as author and illustrator of the year.
As last year, the winners will be announced at the Children’s Choice Book Awards Gala on May 12, during Children’s Book Week. Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, will reprise his role as host of the gala, during which the second annual Impact Award will be given—this year to Whoopi Goldberg. From March 16 through May 3, kids can vote for their favorite books and authors at their schools, libraries and bookstores, as well as at BookWeekOnline.com.
And the finalists are:
Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year
The Donut Chef by Bob Staake (Random/Golden)
Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman (Holt)
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems (Hyperion)
Sort It Out! by Barbara Mariconda, illus. by Sherry Rogers (Sylvan Dell)
Those Darn Squirrels! by Adam Rubin, illus. by Daniel Salmieri (Clarion)
Third Grade to Fourth Grade Book of the Year
Babymouse: Puppy Love by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House)
One Million Things: A Visual Encyclopedia by Peter Chrisp (DK)
Underwear: What We Wear Under There by Ruth Freeman Swain, illus. by John O’Brien (Holiday House)
Willow by Denise Brennan-Nelson and Rosemarie Brennan, illus. by Cyd Moore (Sleeping Bear)
Spooky Cemeteries by Dinah Williams (Bearport)
Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year
100 Most Dangerous Things On the Planet by Anna Claybourne (Scholastic Reference)
Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic/Graphix)
The Big Field by Mike Lupica (Philomel)
Swords: An Artist's Devotion by Ben Boos (Candlewick)
Thirteen by Lauren Myracle (Dutton)
Teen Choice Book Award
Airhead by Meg Cabot (Scholastic/Point)
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen (Viking)
Paper Towns by John Green (Dutton)
Author of the Year
Stephenie Meyer, Breaking Dawn (Little, Brown)
Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Abrams/Amulet)
Christopher Paolini, Brisingr (Knopf)
James Patterson, Maximum Ride: The Final Warning (Little, Brown)
Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth (Disney-Hyperion)
Illustrator of the Year
Laura Cornell, Big Words for Little People by Jamie Lee Curtis (HarperCollins/Cotler)
Robin Preiss Glasser, Fancy Nancy: Bonjour Butterfly! by Jane O’Connor (HarperCollins)
Mo Willems, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! (Hyperion)
David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon, Smash! Crash! by Jon Scieszka (Simon & Schuster)
Jon J Muth, Zen Ties (Scholastic Press)
