From The New York Times (Nov. 20, 2011): Print books may be under siege from the rise of e-books, but they have a tenacious hold on a particular group: children and toddlers. Their parents are insisting this next generation of readers spend their early years with old-fashioned books. This is the case even with parents who themselves are die-hard downloaders of books onto Kindles, iPads, laptops and phones. They freely acknowledge their digital double standard, saying they want their children to be surrounded by print books, to experience turning physical pages as they learn about shapes, colors and animals. Parents also say they like cuddlingRead More →

We loved this article by Patrick Carman from SLJ-Check it out now! From School Library Journal, Nov. 1, 2011: Read Beyond the Lines: Transmedia—and its multiplatform brethren—has changed the very notion of books and reading By: Patrick Carman Whenever I speak to a group of middle school students, I run the same simple test. I ask the audience to think about the day before I arrived. Only that one day. Then I have them count on their fingers each of the following things they did the day before I got there: • Used a cell phone • Used a personal device to listen to musicRead More →

From Publisher’s Weekly: With 2012 fast approaching, here at Publishers Weekly we’ve assembled our list of the very best books published this year for children and teens. Did your favorites make the cut? Read on to see the top Children’s Picture Books here. Or, check out the best of Children’s Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, or see all of PW’s top picks for readers of all ages.Read More →

ASU is Offering ENG 500: Research Methods in English Education Investigating Reading and Writing Practices in Secondary Schools Spring 2012 Wednesdays 4:40-7:30pm Dr. Jessica Early Course Description: This graduate seminar is designed to explore research methods used to study the reading and writing practices of secondary students in classroom settings. Research methodology is a central issue for literacy researchers and this course will link methodological concerns with practical issues, acknowledging the ways research design has an impact on the classroom as well as the academy. In recent years, researchers examining secondary reading and writing practices have become increasingly interested in expanding their methodological options andRead More →

Publisher’s Weekly (10/14/11) reports: “What if you’re writing a book and the audience already had a relationship with the content when the book came out,” said Alex LeMay, CEO of the Shadow Gang, a firm that creates on- and offline social communities. LeMay and Shadow Gang have partnered with YA novelist Michael Grant to create an immersive transmedia project called GoBZRK, around Grant’s next novel that does just that. “Publishing is more than books,” LeMay said during an interview at PW’s offices about BZRK, the title of Michael Grant’s new thriller, scheduled to be published in February 2012 by Egmont. “Storytelling is key, and aRead More →

What do 41,267 books look like, you ask? Well, they come nicely wrapped on 16 large pallets.  They barely fit in our back receiving area. Then when you cut the shrink wrap and start separating them, those pesky boxes fill the rows.  You have to fill the rows, unpack all the boxes, then fill up the row again.  It can be a little insanity-inducing.   Your only choice at that point is to dive right in.  (Simon’s Cat is inspirational for this kind of work, you know)   Since Monday night, the four of us have logged over 70 hours, countless squats, lifts, forward bends, and backRead More →

From The New York Times Motherlode: Adventures in Parenting  blog(Oct. 12, 2011): In the name of encouraging my kids to read, I’ve dumped my iPad’s Kindle app. In many ways, I loved it. Every bookshelf in our house is two deep, with stacks on nearly every surface. I liked the idea of having at least some books take a less intrusive form. But I realized that no matter what I said, when I sat down in the evening during what I’d dubbed “quiet reading time” with the iPad, my kids didn’t believe I was reading. And they were often right. . . . A bookRead More →

Publisher’s Weekly (Oct 13, 2011) reports: When Australian author John Flanagan arrives stateside in early November for a two-week, cross-country tour, he’ll have a lot to talk about. On October 4, Philomel published Ranger’s Apprentice: The Lost Stories, a collection of tales starring the characters from Flanagan’s bestselling 10-book fantasy adventure series. On November 1, the publisher will release Brotherband Chronicles: Book 1: The Outcasts, the inaugural volume of a series that is set in the world of Ranger’s Apprentice but introduces a new cast of characters who embark on seafaring adventures. Ranger’s Apprentice, which has sales of more than three million copies in theRead More →

Publisher’s Weekly (Oct. 13, 2011) reports: The finalists for the 2011 National Book Award in Young People’s Literature were announced on Wednesday. The nominees are: Franny Billingsley, Chime, edited by Kathy Dawson (Dial), Debby Dahl Edwardson, My Name Is Not Easy, edited by Melanie Kroupa (Marshall Cavendish); Thanhha Lai, Inside Out and Back Again, edited by Tara Weikum (Harper); Albert Marrin, Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy, edited by Michelle Frey (Knopf); Lauren Myracle, Shine, edited by Susan Van Metre (Abrams/Amulet); and Gary D. Schmidt, Okay for Now, edited by Virginia Buckley (Clarion). The winner will be announced on NovemberRead More →