Upstart is holding an election for your favorite books and the first round of voting just opened. They have some really interesting pairings, like Where the Wild Things Are vs. The Polar Express and Twilight vs. The Lightning Thief. Go! Vote! Have your voice heard! The top four books in each category will go on to a second round (which starts September 22) and then the top two will face off starting October 13. The winners will be announced on November 5.
Did you know that the first new Madeline book in 50 years comes out this week? Madeline and the Cats of Rome is written by John Bemelmans Marciano, grandson of the original author, who apparently spent several years in Italy researching and creating illustrations for the book. I reserve judgment on resurrecting a beloved children's book character, but it will certainly be one to check out. Also interesting for those in the Chicago area is that Marciano will be at Anderson's Bookshop on Wednesday, September 24.
Speaking of Anderson's Bookshop, their fifth annual Young Adult Literature Conference will be held on Saturday, September 27 and there looks to be a great selection of authors attending. I'll be heading down there for the conference and I'm especially looking forward to seeing Suzanne Collins, Ellen Klages, and Paula Yoo. Now, if only I can get the courage to actually think of words (beyond "I LOVE YOUR BOOK!", that is) and speak to them, I'll be doing good.
(By the by, I met John Green last year and I could think of absolutely nothing to say. But I was in a Brotherhood 2.0 video!)
Last, but not least, I've been following some of the Allen County Public Library's mock awards blogs and I think it's a great way to stay on top of those award contenders. Of particular interest to me are the Mock Sibert and the Mock Geisel, but they also have a Mock Newbery and a Mock Caldecott. The official discussions for the mock awards will happen in January, but anyone can take part in the virtual discussion on the blogs.
ETA (Sept. 5, 2008): Ohhh yes, and don't forget ACPL's Mock Printz! Thanks for reminding me, Heather!
In completely unrelated news, I am back from my vacation (it was awesome, but I have a lot of bug bites [which are not awesome]). Look for some audiobook reviews, the Official start of my Celebration of YA, and a special surprise when this blog reaches 10,000 hits (some time this week!).