More end-of-the-year “Best” lists
National Science Teachers Association: Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12: http://www.nsta.org/publications/ostb/ostb2013.aspx
Horn Book Fanfare 2012: http://www.hbook.com/2012/12/blogs/read-roger/horn-book-fanfare-2012/
2013 YALSA Nonfiction Award finalists
- “Titanic: Voices from the Disaster” written by Deborah Hopkinson, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic.
- “Bomb: The Race to Build – and Steal- the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon”written by Steve Sheinkin, published by Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
- “Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95” written by Phillip Hoose, published by Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan children’s Publishing Group.
- “Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different” a biography by Karen Blumenthal, published by Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
- “We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March” written by Cynthia Levinson, published by Peachtree Publishers.
http://www.ala.org/news/pr?id=11970 See this link for more information! The winner will be announced on Monday, January 28th at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.
Job Openings at “Raising a Reader”
Check out the job openings at “Raising a Reader” in San Francisco – http://www.rarbayarea.org/about-us/career-opportunities/ for Program Coordinator and Operations and Development Coordinator.
Submitted by Helen Bloch
Advice from SF Chronicle Film Reviewer Mick LaSalle
Even though his column was addressing film reviewing, much of what Mick LaSalle says applies to book reviewing, too. Check out his advice on writing reviews without spoilers or too many plot details:
Dear Mick LaSalle:
How do you write reviews without including spoilers and still get your points across? I wrote just two paragraphs for a Facebook review of “Skyfall,” and I had to edit it quite a bit to avoid spoilers.
Eric Nagamine, Pearl City, Hawaii
Dear Eric Nagamine: When people are first writing movie reviews, they think that they’re obligated to tie every observation to some event in the movie. But if you just detach the observation from the plot detail – which no one reads, anyway – you can say what you want to say while revealing little about the story. Basically, when people read a movie review, they want a general idea of the genre and the premise. That’s all the story they want, and everything beyond that is unwelcome, partly because it spoils the surprise but mainly because plot stuff is hard to follow. For that reason, I also try to avoid using character names in reviews, because people forget from one paragraph to another who plays what.
The general rule is that people don’t want their time wasted. So try not to talk about how this movie is like three other movies that the reader probably hasn’t seen, or that this actor looks like a combination of two other actors they probably don’t know. Most of all, never try to be funny, because as soon as you start trying, you’re not funny. Ninety-nine percent of the funny things you’ve said in life, you thought of one second before you said them. You weren’t trying – the though just arose. It’s the same in writing. If you’re focused on what you’re trying to say, you’ll be funny in the normal course of things. You’ll be illuminating the truth rather than bringing in something extraneous and stupid.
Sunday Datebook, San Francisco Chronicle, December 2-8, 2012, p. 30.
Submitted by Elizabeth Overmyer
Book Trailers for Readers
The Cooperative Children’s Book Center’s “Link of the Month” is well worth an exploration– “Book Trailers for Readers.” Dogs Frida & Kafka are a hoot with the Florida book nominees, but don’t stop there. They have a section of book trailers made by children and they’re impressive. My dog Dickens loves watching anything on a screen. He admired Frida & Kafka, but the trailer for “Guinea Dog” was his favorite.
Take a look at:
http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com/SSYRA+Nomination+Award+Book+Trailers+YouTube
Submitted by Linda Perkins
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