First of all, of course, this is the weekend of ALA Midwinter. Our faithful award committees will meet and hash out the winners of such prestigious awards as the Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Pura Belpre, Printz, Sibert, AND MORE! Many more! Want to follow the awards live? The live webcast starts at 7:45am and you can follow ALAyma on Twitter for up-to-the-minute announcements! (Of course last year the Twitter feed broke down right before the two biggest awards... the Twitterverse came through, though, as people at the awards and watching the webcast Tweeted the winners and spread the word that way.) As much as I will miss sleeping in on my Monday off, I will be up for the live announcements!
Learn more about these awards at the ALSC website and the YALSA website.
And speaking of awards, do check out TeachingBooks.net's Coretta Scott King Award resources. Listen to authors and illustrators talk about their books, watch videos, access lesson plans and reading guides, and more! This is definitely a resource you'll want to check out when thinking about Black History Month lessons and celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Not strictly children's-lit related, but did you hear that Miep Gies, one of the people who helped hide Anne Frank, died this week at 100? Maybe a little more related is that Disney is making a new Anne Frank movie. (Apparently that is old news, but it was new to me!)
Participating in a book tour or wanting to add author interviews to give your blog readers some variety? Do check out Justine Larbalestier's tips on interviewing authors. She's got some great advice and I know I'll be taking it the next time I do an author interview! Thanks to Jen Robinson for the link.
And speaking of Jen Robinson, it occurs to me that you might be unaware of her awesome site, Jen Robinson's Book Page. In addition to thorough book reviews, Jen writes about early literacy and ways to develop a love of reading in your children. Here's a post to start with, an awesome roundup of news around the blogosphere.
If you're curious about the process of designing book covers (I know I am!), you won't want to miss The Hows and Whys of Cover Design over at the new Macmillan Children's Blog. Ann Diebel, Creative Director of FSG and Roaring Brook, shares the process to come up with a cover design for the upcoming release Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien. Personally, I'm glad they didn't use the third image in the post because it CREEPS ME OUT. Thanks to Tricia at The YA YA YAs for the link.
And if you're getting excited for the release of the Lightning Thief movie (February 12!) or if you need door prizes for a Percy Jackson program, you might be interested in Carlie's post about Percy Jackson gear from Hot Topic.
And that's all I've got for you today! Have a great weekend!
Photo: Georgie