Kidlit News Round-Up (Monday, July 2nd Edition)

I think I’m going to start making longer posts filled with more and more information in an attempt to appease the RSS feeder readers and, frankly, to keep my ugly mug from marring my posts with its incessant popping.   Why must it pop so?  I’m definitely going to change the pic when I get the chance.  What do you think?  Should I do something with a monocle or something with Groucho glasses? 

• Back on topic.  A bunch of interesting pieces of info for you today, children. First off, there’s this bit of movie-related news coming straight from Cynopsis Kids.

Franny K Stein the movie?  It’s like the world just spit up a whole can of awesome all over my day.

• If you aren’t completely and utterly sick of all the ALA coverage that went down, high thee henceward towards yonder Linda Sue Park blog and check out her recent ALA Photo Journal, June 22-25, Washington DC.  Therein you will find the full view of Nina Lindsay’s Martha costume, David Wiesner posing with the three ladies who won Newberys the three years he won his Caldecott, and a lovely look at Linda Sue Park’s undeniably red red red red dress.  Amongst other things.

• Do you know what today is?  Today is the day my library system rolls out the infamous Espresso Book Machine.  Sadly, it will not be located in my particular branch.  Instead it’ll be at the we-have-all-the-fun SIBL branch way way down on 34th Street.  Pfui.  Here’s the interesting part:  " The New York Public Library will give away the books its Espresso Book Machine prints. To avoid the inevitable gridlock as visitors decide among 200,000 books, it’s limiting titles to 20. They include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Moby Dick, A Christmas Carol and Epstein’s Book Business –an expanded version of his 1999 lectures."  Book Business??

• And this one goes out to my fellow children’s librarians out there.  My boss recently showed me a print-out from something called Story Lovers SOS.  Go to this link, and then select the SOS: Searching Out Stories part of the page.  Now scroll down down down and see the billion or so topics down there for searching.  Here’s how the site describes itself.

  This unique, comprehensive archive has been growing for the past eight years. It contains references to hundreds of categories and thousands of stories, suggested by professional storytellers, librarians and teachers from all around the world through the Storytell listserv at Texas Women’s University and independent research. You’ll find full stories, abridged stories, book references, and descriptions of actual experiences and helpful hints in telling these tales at an event or using them in the classroom or at home with your own children or grandchildren.

  All of the lists are categorized and alphabetized within each category for easy access. When you find the category or story you’re looking for, simply click on it and immediately you will access the information you need.

  So basically, it’s a reference source.  An enormous reference source.  I love that in the world of the internet, eight years sounds like an eternity.  They’ve been collecting them for eight years?  Surely no one was alive then? (Eddie Izzard reference)

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