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.
Learn to create your own comics with Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, a richly illustrated collection of 15 in-depth lessons that cover everything from crafting your story to lettering and laying out panels.
Read more .... lesson plans and activities .... buy from Amazon
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
First Grader Spots Dinosaur Mistake in School Library Book
Need to know something about dinosaurs? Ask expert Emilio Lemeni, a first grader at the Rosa Parks Elementary School in Woodbridge, VA.
The six-year-old recently checked out the book Scutellosaurus and Other Small Dinosaurs (Picture Window, 2006) from his school library and read it at home with his mother. He soon realized something was terribly wrong—and it had to do with the information on page 18 about the vicious little hunter, the Bambiraptor, which was equipped with sharp teeth and deadly claws. more » » »
[Via Children's Bookshelf]
Five nominees for the Los Angeles Times Young Adult Book Prize have been announced: The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming (Random House/Schwartz & Wade); The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins); Dark Dude by Oscar Hijuelos (Atheneum); Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions); and Nation by Terry Pratchett (HarperCollins). The winner will be announced on April 24.