children’s literature

GONE are the lashings of ginger beer, sensible sweaters and rubber bands to ensnare villains. The Famous Five have undergone a radical 21st-century makeover for a new Disney cartoon series. But instead of crawling through secret tunnels with nothing more than a penknife and a ball of string, the iPod-wearing children fight off their enemies using mobile phones and other modern-day gadgets.

Roger Sutton, editor-in-chief of The Horn Book, sparked an interesting discussion on his blog today with some casually derisive remarks about grown-ups who prefer to read children's books and YA novels:

Adults whose taste in recreational reading ends with the YA novel need to grow up.

Well, poor old Harry didn’t make the cut. The series just couldn’t compete against C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which has just been voted the best children’s book of all time. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle took second place in the poll. The top twenty list is here for your perusal.

Got kids? Here’s a list of should-read books for every youngster. With tales for toddlers through teens, it’s pretty comprehensive. But take a look; maybe there are one or two personal favorites you could add to the list?

Jon Scieszka, author of bestselling picture books The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, has been named the first US national ambassador for children’s books. As such, he’d like people to “stop demonizing TV and online as the enemy,” saying that kids can and should be able to do both. “Reading will give them something those platforms can’t.”

Now here’s a concept; children reviewing books for children. CNN, going with the idea that kids know what kids like, have chosen three of them to review eleven books. The audio slide shows let kids listen to the reviews.

Scholastic is publishing a children’s series that they hope will be the blockbuster successor to Harry Potter. The 39 Clues, to be officially announced on Tuesday, features 10 books as well as related Web-based games, collectors’ cards and cash prizes. The series is aimed at readers 8 to 12 and the books will come out every two or three months.

Even though the book cover features a mole with a giant poop on his head—in fact, the whole book is about poop—the phrase “new plop-up edition” was deemed inappropriate and had to be removed from the book’s ad before it was put up in the London Underground. No plop please, we’re British. :)

British writer Michael Bond has revealed that a book marking the 50th anniversary of Paddington Bear, Paddington Here and Now, will centre on the arrest and interrogation of the marmalade-loving fictional character. Too funny.

One for the children’s writers/illustrators out there. Here’s a wonderful slide show of illustrations taken from the NYT Book Review’s choices of the 10 best illustrated children’s books of 2007.