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May 17, 2012: Her Side of the Mountain

Award-winning author and naturalist Jean Craighead George passed away May 15 at age 92. George was the author of more than 100 books for young people, among them Julie of the Wolves, which won the Newbery Medal in 1972, and My Side of the Mountain, a Newbery Honor book in 1959. Ice Whale, her latest novel, will be published next year by Dial.

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May 12, 2012: The Kids Have Voted

Votes have been tallied for the 2012 Children’s Choice Book Awards. Winner in the 5th/6th grade category was Okay for Now, Gary Schmidt’s companion novel to his Newbery Honor-winning The Wednesday Wars. Illustrator of the year went to Brian Selznick for Wonderstruck, and author of the year went to Jeff Kinney for Cabin Fever, the latest installment in his Wimpy Kid series.

For a complete list of the winners…

May 10, 2012: Happy Children’s Book Week!

In honor of National Children’s Book Week, award-winning author-illustrator Matt Phelan posted this delightful review of Polly Horvath’s new book on his blog… 

For more about Children's Book Week…

May 5, 2012: Oh Me, Oh May

Check out all the new books releasing in May...

May 5, 2012: Be a Fourth-Grade Somebody

One lucky fourth-grade classroom will win a Skype visit from author Judy Blume this month. To participate, all you have to do is have your students write a sentence or two on why they like fourth grade. The contest, which ends May 15, is sponsored by School Library Journal.

For details…

May 5, 2012: Sturm und Drang for Kids

Guardian columnist Julia Eccleshare tackles the question “Why are so many highly praised children's books gloomy?” in this April 30 article…

May 1, 2012: It’s No Mystery

The Edgar Award for the best juvenile mystery of the year was presented this past weekend to Matthew Kirby for Icefall (Scholastic, 2011). Publishers Weekly said of Kirby's Viking suspense novel, “Readers may be drawn in by the promise of action, which Kirby certainly fulfills, but they’ll be left contemplating the power of the pen versus the sword—or rather the story versus the war hammer.” 

For more on the award…

To read a Mixed-up Files interview with Kirby... 

May 1, 2012: Crystal Clear

Winners of the 2012 Crystal Kite Awards, the only peer-given awards in children’s publishing, were announced this week. The awards are voted on by members of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Middle-grade winners include The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson and The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine.

For a complete list of winners...

April 30, 2012: Does a Pineapple Have Sleeves?

What happens when a Daniel Pinkwater story is adapted for use in a statewide standardized test? The New York Times reports on the kerfuffle here...

April 30, 2012: More than One Path to Publication

The lines between traditional and self-publishing continue to blur as more and more traditionally published authors find ways to utilize the flexibility and freedom that self publishing offers. Author Kate Milford recently announced in Publishers Weekly that her new fantasy, The Broken Lands, which will be published by Clarion in September, will be accompanied by the release of a self-published novella, The Kairos Mechanism.

Says Milford, "I want to experiment with self-publishing as a way to promote and enhance traditional releases by providing extra content to readers in the form of complete, related tales. I also want to use resources that support independent bookstores." As an added bonus Milford is planning a special digital edition of her self-published work that will include illustrations by 10 teen readers. 

For more…

April 14, 2012: It’s Raining, It’s Pouring!

Check out all the new books releasing in April...

April 12, 2012: The Greatest Girls 

Jen Doll, columnist for The Atlantic Wire, talks about “The Greatest Girl Characters of Young Adult Literature” in this April 5 article, the first in a series called “Y.A. for Grownups.” Among the characters Doll mentions are a number of middle-grade favorites, including Meg Murray from A Wrinkle in Time and Claudia Kincaid of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

For more… 

April 12, 2012: Moss Aims to Pick Up Where Tricycle Left Off

Berkeley-based children’s author and illustrator Marissa Moss, best-known for her Amelia’s Notebook series, is starting a new West Coast publishing venture called Creston Books. Says Moss, “The idea’s been percolating for years. It came to a head after Random House bought Ten Speed and threw Tricycle away.” Moss got her start with the quirky, risk-taking Tricycle Press, which published Amelia’s Notebook at a time when traditional publishers were unsure what to do with the illustrated diary format.  “New York publishing is about: what’s the next Harry Potter, what’s the next Twilight?” says Moss. “When I’ve approached people, I’ve asked, ‘What is the book you’ve been dying to do, but New York won’t do?’ I want the books that they think won’t sell—because I think they will.”

Creston’s first books are due to release Fall 2013. In the meantime, Moss is seeking kickstarter funds to help back the project. For more…

April 10, 2012: After Chrestomanci

An online celebration of the life of British author Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011) will kick off April 12 with a two-week blog tour. In conjunction with the tour a special blog has been set up where fans can share their favorite books, quotes, stories, characters, covers, and memories of Diana with fellow fans around the world.

Wynne Jones was the author of dozens of popular titles, including the Chrestomanci series and Howl’s Moving Castle, which was made into an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki in 2004.

For details…

April 6, 2012: Game Over!

The Battle of the Books has ended. And the winner is…

I’m not telling! You’ll just have to click on over to the School Library Journal site and read Jonathan Stroud’s incredible analysis of the three finalists—Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet; Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys; and Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt.

March 31, 2012: Hiaasen Says There’s No Fooling Kids

Newbery-honor winning author Carl Hiaasen talks about writing for kids versus writing for adults in this March 6 School Library Journal interview. Says Hiaasen, “The idea that you're fooling kids is crazy. That's the way I've been able to connect to and go between adult and young adult books. Kids love sarcasm and the idea of bursting a grown-up's bubble. It's a question of calibrating the story to the young adult market. Once I did that with Hoot and it worked, it opened up a new and rewarding way of writing for me.”

Hiassen’s new middle-grade book, Chomp, was released this week.

 For more…

March 29, 2012: What’s the Buzz in Middle-grade Fiction?

A panel of editors will share their predictions for this fall’s breakout titles when BookExpo America convenes June 5-7 at the Javits Center in New York City.  You don’t have to wait until June to catch the buzz, though. According to the BookExpo on-line news, titles to watch are:

• Malcolm at Midnight by W. H. Beck (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

• The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann (HarperCollins)

• Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin (Little Brown)

• Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #1: Professor Gargoyle by Charles Gilman (Quirk)

• With Love From Paris: Mira's Sketchbook by Marissa Moss (Sourcebooks)

For more…

March 26, 2012: Lindgren Winner Announced

Dutch author Guus Kuijer has won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award given by the Swedish Arts Council to honor an author whose body of work is in the spirit of Pippi Longstocking author Astrid Lindgren. The winner receives 5 million Swedish crowns (more than $700K), making it the richest prize in the world for children’s literature. Past winners include Katherine Paterson, Sonya Hartnett, Maurice Sendak, and Shaun Tan.

Kuijer was selected by an international jury of experts who praised his "razor-sharp realism,” “subtle humor,” and “visionary flights of fancy.” Kuijer is author of more than 30 titles, most of them for young teens. Sadly, only one of his books has appeared in English—The Book of Everything, a slim but haunting novel published by Arthur Levine Books in 2006.

 For more…

March 20, 2012: No Grownups Allowed

It’s time for kids to vote for their favorite books of the year in this year’s Children’s Choice Awards. Winners will be announced during Children’s Book Week, May 7-13, 2012. The awards are sponsored by the Children’s Book Council, which celebrates the transformative power of literacy. Kids can vote individually or librarians, teachers, and booksellers can log on to record their students’ votes.

Finalists for the 3rd-4th grade Book of the Year are:

• Bad Kitty Meets the Baby by Nick Bruel

• A Funeral in the Bathroom and other School Bathroom Poems by Kalli Dakos

• The Monstrous Book of Monsters by Libby Hamilton

• Sidekicks by Dan Santat

• Squish #1: Super Amoeba by Jennifer and Matthew Holm

Finalists for 5th-6th Grade Book of the Year are:

• Bad Island by Doug TenNapel

• How to Survive Anything by Rachel Buchholz

• Lost & Found by Shaun Tan

• Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt

• Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog by Garth Stein

For more about Children’s Book Week…

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A Tribute

 In 1968, E. L. Konigsburg’s middle-grade novel, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, won the coveted Newbery Award for Excellence in American Children’s Literature.  This site is named in honor of her beloved book.  We hope you approve, Ms. Konigsburg.  And thank you.  Your book has touched generations of readers, and, if we have anything to say about it, will continue to do so for generations to come.