It's... hot out there. Does that put you (or your kids) in the mood for some books about summer? Good thing Pam's on top of it. At Booklights she's featuring 13 picture books and 13 chapter books about summer!
Newbery... Printz... yes, but how many of the Lambda Award Winners have you read? Previously, the awards could go to any book with GLTBQ content, but I learned from I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read? that the criteria have recently been changed to recognize only authors that self-identify as GLTBQ. Ellen Wittlinger, author of the Lambda Award-winning Hard Love (fabulous book!), has some thoughts on the change. Arthur Levin's got thoughts, too. Thanks to Fuse and Roger for the links.
Cheryl Klein suggests a way to stand up against whitewashing in publishing. What do you think? Would it work? Would you take part? (I would.) Thanks to Fuse for the link.
Does your library serve homeschoolers or want to get started? Do you know any homeschoolers? You might want to check out The Bitter Homeschoolers' Wish List. You'll get a chuckle, but she makes some good points, too.
I would totally go see this documentary if it came somewhere near me:
Thanks to Fuse for the link*.
No matter what feelings you have about The Giving Tree, you have to admit that it would be quite a different story if the tree had had a sassy gay friend. (Video is somewhat not safe for work...) Thanks to @thereadingzone for the link.
Are your teens and tweens as crazy for wrestling as my library's teens and tweens? You might want to register for YALSA's WrestleMania Reading Challenge. It's free to register and kids in grades 5 and up who participate and read books for the challenge will be eligible to win fabulous prizes!
If I had an unlimited travel budget, I would so be heading to YALSA's Young Adult Literature Symposium November 5-7. If anyone reading this goes to the conference, report back, please. I'd like to live vicariously through you. :)
Um, who doesn't love free ebooks? Nobody, that's who! Apparently Wowio offers a different free ebook every month, so go check that action out. July's offering is a YA fantasy, The Choir Boats by Daniel Rabuzzi.
And you know you want to help Teen Fire pick out a cover for the upcoming book, The Water Wars by Cameron Stratcher. Bonus - you might win a copy of the book! I'm partial to #3 and #1, myself.
And on that note, I'm out. Have a great weekend, blogosphere!
*I should call this post the What Would I Link To Without Betsy? Edition.
