Y'all have probably heard about the Massive, Ridiculous Amazon Fail that started last weekend. EarlyWord sums it up quite nicely in Amazon v. Publishers. And linked in that post is John Scalzi's All the Many Ways Amazon So Very Failed the Weekend, also worth a read. Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the link.
A school in Arkansas is declaring February 12, one month after the tragic hurricane hit Haiti, the day to show your continued empathy and support for Haitians by wearing red and blue. Link via American Libraries Direct.
And on a lighter note, author Jackson Pearce writes about where she gets her character names. I love posts that give us a glimpse of process.
Very exciting that School Library Journal's Battle of the Kids' Books is coming back at some point in the near future. Follow the Battle of the Kids' Books Blog or @SLJsBoB for any and all developments.
I no longer live in Illinois, so I will leave it to Becky at Libri Delectio to tell you about the 2011 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award Nominees. It is a stellar list. (My local schools don't seem to do much with the Young Hoosier Book Award... maybe after I tackle the eleventy bajillion projects on my plate, I'll see what I can do about that...)
J.D. Salinger passed away last week and I confessed that I am not a big fan of The Catcher in the Rye. If you somehow missed reading this modern classic (or are thinking about rereading it), join Melissa and a bunch of others in the Catcher in the Rye Read-Along, starting February 14.
The People of Color (POC) Challenge: it's a good thing, right? Well, yes, but Debbie Reese, American Indian Studies professor, has some thoughts about it and they're well worth a read. Check out her thoughts about the POC Challenge Part 1 and Part 2.
Who's going to BEA? (I am! Woohoo!) If you're a BEA newbie like myself, check out this blog tour full of BEA tips by bloggers who have been there.
The January Carnival of Children's Literature is up at Jenny's Wonderland of Books! Do check it out for some great reading.
And on that note, I'm out. COMING TOMORROW is a VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT about a project that I am VERY EXCITED ABOUT! (Note all the caps and the boldness. I am very excited about this thing I will be telling you about tomorrow. You better come back and read my very exciting announcement.)