Here & There: July 19, 2010

Children's Books at ALA: A PW Photo-Essay (Publishers Weekly, July 2010)
NOTE: The photo-essay includes pictures of my fellow Blue Rose Girls Grace Lin and Alvina Ling.

Story behind the Story: Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan’s Ballet for Martha
The Art of Making Art
by Ilene Cooper (Booklist, July 2010).

Books and Authors: Talking with Cathryn and John Sill by Terrell A. Young and Barbara A. Ward (Book Links, June 2010)
The husband-and-wife creators of painterly picture books about wildlife and nature discuss their collaborative process.

The Summer Reading Network: To keep kids reading during the summer, librarians connect online to share resources (School Library Journal, July 2010)

RIF Reading Planet

Summer Reading Fun (RIF Reading Planet)

Pile them high; it's summer time by Sheila Wayman (Irish Times, 7/13/2010)
Excerpt:
School may be over for the summer, but that’s no reason for the reading to stop.

WITH NO school or homework to interrupt them, summer is invariably a time of great discovery for avid young book readers.

It is a chance to try different kinds of books or wallow in a whole series from a favourite author. Some holidays will forever be associated with who or what you found between those pages.
The only downside is likely to be a nagging parent: “What are you doing indoors on a lovely day like this? Put that book down and go out.”

But, according to the director of Children’s Books Ireland, Mags Walsh, “If they are happy reading, let them read. Don’t put any walls or barriers around it.”

Q & A with Grace Lin by Julie Yates Walton (Publishers Weekly, July 2010)

Over the years, author-illustrator Grace Lin has mined her own childhood for funny, upbeat stories that shed light on the unique experience of growing up Asian-American. The past year has been a good one for Lin, with her novel, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, winning a 2010 Newbery Honor and earning a selection on Al Roker's Book Club for Kids. Known for her novels and her vibrantly illustrated picture books, Lin is now reaching out to the audience in between. Her first early reader, Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same, features twin Asian-American girls, and is due out this month from Little, Brown.

NOTE: Grace has garnered another award for her fantasy novel Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Read about it here.