- I’ve been enjoying Abby’s series on what librarians wish patrons knew about the library. My favorite is this one on storytimes.
- The New York Times gives a little insight into how the best-seller list works, and what being on the list can do for a book or author.
- Love this article about the use of filtering and blocking software in schools and libraries. The answer is not to block access to information. The answer is to be an educator.
- Neesha Meminger shares her thoughts on how the gender of an author affects a book’s cover, particularly in terms of books by South Asian women.
- Turns out Judith Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day translates well to twitter. Made me giggle.
- Booklights has a wonderful post up on the page design in Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are.
- You’ve probably all seen this Wall Street Journal article on YA lit’s “new” dark side by now. There have been plenty of thoughtful reactions to the article, but my favorite was probably from the one and only Meg Cabot. She has a lot to say about why kids choose to read what they do – and why she chooses to write what she does. There are a lot of kinds of books for teens out there, and we need all kinds.
- A YA author teaching how to throw a knuckleball? This video couldn’t be any more up my alley. Unless maybe Michael Northrop was also baking a pie. The money quote: “The knuckleball, like so many things in life, is all about letting go.”
- Chasing Ray is putting together a One Shot focused on Southeast Asia. I’m in!
- Holy cow. Jarrett Krosoczka and Amy Poehler, together at last! This sounds pretty amazing. (Hat tip to the Green Bean Teen Queen.)
- Defining Young Adult Literature is tough. Really tough. Cheryl Klein takes a shot at it here, and I like what she has to say. She’s looking for input – go add to the conversation!