Current events
From ChildLitWiki
JK Rowling: Learning to live with fame, fortune and life without Harry
JK Rowling is richer than the Queen and feted across the globe for her magic-filled books. But once the final 'Harry Potter' hits the shelves later this month, what on earth will she do with herself? John Walsh peeks into the author's increasingly glamorous, yet frostily guarded, private world
http://arts.independent.co.uk/books/features/article2737970.ece
The wand is mightier than the pen
What gives Harry Potter such sales magic? And just how good are the books? Sam Leith investigates
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/06/30/nosplit/bopotter130.xml
Battles Rage Over Children's Books With Gay Themes
One of the fiercest battles over gay visibility today is unfolding in the seemingly innocent arena of children's picture books:
http://www.afterelton.com/Print/2007/6/childrensbooks
Pullman wins 'great book' title
Philip Pullman's Northern Lights has been named the best children's book of the past 70 years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6228124.stm
New children's laureate slams education policy
Michael Rosen, who was today appointed children's laureate, set out his stall for the two-year stint with a pledge to fight to bring back into classrooms a love of reading for pleasure.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2100543,00.html
Book industry will miss 'Potter'
What will a post-Harry Potter world mean for the book business?
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2007-05-30-post-potter_N.htm
China launches crackdown on scary children's books
China has launched a crackdown on scary children's stories including the popular Japanese "Death Note" comic book series, state media said Saturday.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/26/asia/AS-ODD-China-Scary-Book-Crackdown.php
Clyde R. Bulla, 93; wrote more than 60 children's books
Clyde Robert Bulla, a prolific writer who captivated young readers for decades with his stories of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Pocahontas and other historical figures as well as tales of contemporary boys and girls, died Wednesday at his home in Warrensburg, Mo. He was 93.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-bulla27may27,1,2356187.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california&ctrack=2&cset=true
China launches crackdown on scary children's books
China has launched a crackdown on scary children's stories including the popular Japanese «Death Note» comic book series, state media said Saturday.
http://www.pr-inside.com/china-launches-crackdown-on-scary-children-s-r135576.htm
Lloyd Alexander, 83; children's author wrote 'Prydain Chronicles'
Lloyd Alexander, whose books for children set in mythic lands with modern-sounding problems won him top literary prizes, has died. He was 83.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-alexander19may19,1,5601985.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california&ctrack=1&cset=true
Books 'unfair' to overweight kids
CHILDREN'S books portraying fat characters as mean and unpopular are demonising overweight pupils, an academic has claimed.
Many popular children's stories - from Harry Potter to the Billy Bunter series - depict overweight youngsters as greedy and unpleasant.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/education/s/1006/1006803_books_unfair_to_overweight_kids.html
Scholastic Stocks the Nearly Empty Bookshelves of Schools in the Middle East
There were bookshelves lining the busy classrooms in Jordan, but they were nearly empty. The children had
almost nothing engaging to read. Then a shipment arrived from Scholastic
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-17-2007/0004567278&EDATE=
Books give kids the wrong picture, study finds
That's the picture in a lot of children's books these days, according to a study, "Gender Stereotyping and Under-representation of Female Characters in 200 Popular Picture Books: A Twenty-first Century Update."
http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/117577264758500.xml&coll=2
Tintin is off to the movies
On Friday, it was announced that Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks Studios has begun work on a film version of one of the 23 Tintin adventures Herge — real name Georges Remi — penned between 1929 and his death in 1983.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/263414/1/.html
Award Winning Children's Book Banned From Some U.S. Schools, Libraries
An award winning children's fiction book has been banned from some schools and libraries for the use of an unpleasant word in its opening paragraphs. The book titled "The Higher Power Of Lucky" won the 2007 Newbery Medal for children's fiction, but it stirred a nationwide controversy after some parents complained of the use of the word "scrotum" on the first page of the book.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006517438
Daughter of President George W. Bush to Write Book Based on Her Work With UNICEF
HarperCollins Publishers today announced that it has acquired world rights to ANA'S STORY: A JOURNEY OF HOPE by Jenna Bush.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-06-2007/0004540487&EDATE=
Children's books still show gender stereotypes, study reveals
Images of men continue to dominate children's picture books, according to the study done by professor of psychology Mykol Hamilton and professor of economics David Anderson of Centre College, Danville, Ky,. and Michelle Broaddus and Kate Young, recent graduate students of Centre College.
http://www.mlive.com/features/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/features-1/1173284608317120.xml&coll=7
The cat that killed Dick and Jane
Fifty years on, Richard King examines the enduring appeal of an anarchistic feline in a striped hat. It was 50 years ago next month, on March 12, 1957, that Random House and Houghton Mifflin in the US published a book that (only half metaphorically) set the cat among the pigeons of conventional children's literature.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21142635-5001986,00.html
How JK Rowling has us spellbound
In publishing houses, money men now take children's books seriously because they can make money. The downside is that a lot of books that maybe don't deserve it get hyped, especially books written by celebrities.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1167972.0.0.php
Last Potter Book to be Released July 21st
Scholastic, the children's book publisher, says it is releasing the 7th and last Harry Potter book in the series on July 21st.
http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=12875
Sen. Inhofe: Climate 'Hysteria' Targeting Kids
Move over, Chicken Little. A children's book planned for release in September is an attempt to "fill the minds of children with 'sky-is-falling' global warming hysteria," a Republican senator warns.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/1/30/131146.shtml
Marketing: A 'Little House' Makeover
Publishers are altering cover art—often tied to anniversaries and movies—to appeal to kids weaned on videos and computer games.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16721095/site/newsweek/
Leading Children’s Book Author puts over 100 Picture Books on The Internet For FREE Download
With over thirty five million books in print, Hans Wilhelm is one of America’s foremost author/illustrator of children’s books. In a bold and unique move, he now offers 100 of his most popular picture books on the internet, free of charge.
http://www.childrensbooksforever.com/
American Library Association Announces Literary Award Winners
The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top books and video for children and young adults -- including the Caldecott, King, Newbery and Printz awards -- at its Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-22-2007/0004510462&EDATE=
Rowling ranked the second richest woman in global entertainment
She started out as a single mother struggling to make ends meet, but J K Rowling is now the world's second richest women in entertainment with an estimated fortune of more than £500m, according to Forbes magazine.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2169251.ece
Al Gore's No. 1 Best Seller AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH to be Adapted for Young Adults
Penguin Young Readers Group and Rodale announced a co-publishing partnership today for the purpose of adapting US Vice President Al Gore's New York Times No. 1 best-selling book, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It (Rodale Books; Paperback; $21.95; May 2006) for young readers.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-11-2007/0004504546&EDATE=
Trying to find the winners among children's books
Lovers of children's books are in high gear these days, wondering which books will win the 2007 Newbery and Caldecott medals on Jan. 22.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/bsun/fe_books/article/0,2403,BSUN_19070_5269854,00.html
Children's author Philippa Pearce dies
Philippa Pearce, author of the best-selling "Tom's Midnight Garden" and other children's books, has died, her publisher said Tuesday. She was 86.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/gossip/16367950.htm
What would E.B. White think of latest `Charlotte'?
"I do hope, though, that you are not planning to turn `Charlotte's Web' into a moral tale. It is not that at all.
http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-0612270457dec28,0,1482776.story?coll=mmx-movies_heds
Final Harry Potter title revealed in web puzzle
The name of the long-awaited seventh and last Harry Potter book has been revealed today in a puzzle on the author's website.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2514527,00.html
Bookstart founder honoured for promoting children's literature
Wendy Cooling has been awarded the Eleanor Farjeon award for a life spent promoting children's literature.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1954268,00.html
Time-travel and rough and tumble on Carnegie longlist
The nominations for the 2006 Carnegie medal - the UK's most prestigious children's literary award - have been unveiled.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1953576,00.html
