Elizabeth's Children's Books Blog October 2003 Archive

June 2004 Update: See my new article, Harry Potter Book Six: Just Rumors, or Facts?, then join the discussion about the plot of Book Six on the About Children's ... Read More

I was pleased to read that 74-year-old illustrator and author Eric Carle has no plans to stop writing children's books. His most recent book is Panda Bear, Panda Bear, ... Read More

I'm not the only one recommending Halloween books for children these days. As Halloween approaches, more and more recommendations are appearing online. The U-Press Telegram recommends stories about ... Read More

I am always interested in knowing what children are reading in other countries. I was intrigued to learn that the Soong Ching Ling Foundation in China recently anounced its ... Read More

Mildred D. Taylor has been named laureate of the inaugural $25,000 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature, awarded by the University of Oklahoma and its international quarterly, World Literature Today. ... Read More

In addition to reading and writing about Sharon Creech (see my previous blog), I have also been reading more of her novels for children. I just updated my Guide ... Read More

Sharon Creech not only writes award winning novels for 9-12 year olds (upper elementary and middle school), she also has a terrific website. Check out my new article for ... Read More

Week after week, month after month, when I check page views, I find several articles that always seem to be among the most popular articles on About Children's Books. ... Read More

The National Book Foundation has announced the National Book Award finalists. The winners will be revealed on November 19th at the 54th annual National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit ... Read More

The latest Book Sense children's fiction report lists the bestsellers at independent bookstores across the nation for the week ending October 19, 2003. The number one book on the ... Read More

I have added another Halloween book to my list of recommended Halloween books, thanks to Carolyn Kretzer of Watermark Books. In her latest "Teacher Feature" newsletter, Carolyn recommended A ... Read More

The BBC News has announced the shortlist of 21 books nominated for the title of Britain's best-loved book. Close to 140,000 people voted in April, when BBC2's Big Read ... Read More

In addition to the major children's book awards and the state children's book awards I have listed, authors and illustrators are also often recognized through other awards. Last night, ... Read More

I was delighted to read on usatoday.com that a U.S. stamp honoring Dr. Seuss will debut on October 27. The stamp will feature a photograph of Dr. Seuss (Theodor ... Read More

I have been wondering who your favorite picture book authors and illustrators are, and if your children have the same or different favorites. Post your comments on the About ... Read More

Can you imagine writing a 528-page fantasy epic for children and seeing it shoot to the top of the bestseller list by the time you were 19? It happened ... Read More

Children's picture book artist and storyteller Jan Brett is well known for her beautifully illustrated books. I consider my copy of Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury to be a real ... Read More

While there are numerous authors and illustrators listed in my Authors directory of articles and links, their websites vary widely. One of the best is the website of children's ... Read More

Today, SFGate.com featured a fascinating San Francisco Chronicle interview with Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, the author of the A Series of Unfortunate Events series. In the interview, Handler ... Read More

An annotated list of The Volunteer State Awards nominees for 2004-2005 is now online. The list has three categories: Primary (Grades K-3), Intermediate (Grades 4-6), and Young Adult (Grades ... Read More

The children's librarians of the Toronto Public Library have selected and put online what they feel are the "100 Best Canadian Books for Today's Children and Teens." The list ... Read More

When I first read the BBC News article "Publishers fight for more 'male lit,'" I found some of the comments in it so outrageous that I thought it might be ... Read More

There was an interesting article about bilingual children's books in yesterday's The Salt Lake Tribune. “Bilingual books offer bridge for children, their immigrant parents,” by Erin Hanafy of The ... Read More

If you and your family love Ian Falconer's Olivia, the pig with an attitude, I have good news for you. Falconer's third picture book about Olivia has just been ... Read More

On October 5, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named 24 new MacArthur Fellows for 2003. Each will receive $500,000 in “no strings attached” support over the next ... Read More

October 5-11 is Mental Illness Awareness Week, and there is a new children's book I wanted you to know about. Bebe Moore Campbell's Sometime My Mommy Gets Angry is ... Read More

I was sorry to hear that William Steig, who won the Caldecott Medal in 1970, died on Friday. Steig, a cartoonist for New Yorker, was 95; he began writing children's ... Read More

Publishers Weekly editors have announced their top picks in children's books for October. These are the new children's books that PW editors feel are exceptional. There are five books ... Read More

If you'd like to combine a children's book and a craft activity, try reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and then making the story sack designed by Family ... Read More

Did you know that a movie based on J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan will be released during the Christmas season? Take a look at Universal Studios' Peter Pan website. ... Read More