School Library Journal

SLJ Friday Links

What book from childhood influenced you the most? Share your story on The Sensible Nonsense Project.

Here are 10 things that might surprise you about the Brothers Grimm.

Learn air safety tips from Frodo! Air New Zealand flights include a Lord of the Rings-themed safety video.

Taking a page from Harry Potter’s playbook, “Researchers at Duke Are Perfecting an Invisibility Cloak.”

Just for Fun, “Turn Your Browser into a Typewriter.”

Even Ann M. Martin has her favorite “Baby-sitter’s Club” books.

TIME magazine chooses the Top 100 Video Games.

SLJ Friday Links “Oops I Did It Again” Edition

Britney Spears is negotiating a book deal for a novel.

The Horn Book “KidLit Election 2012: Election results are in!”

Author Barbara Kerley blogs about the Common Core and taking part in the SLJ Summit.

You know what origami is, but can you guess what “starwarigami” includes. Hint: R2-D2 requires some intricate folding.

After Hurricane Sandy forced the New York Public Library to cancel its annual black-tie fundraising gala, volunteers gave out the food that would have been served at the event.

Jen Doll writes in the Atlantic Wire about “Y.A. and middle-grade books we’ve relied on in the past for guidance and clarity when our environment appears to go off the rails.”

SLJ Friday Links Election Edition

Penguin and Random House will join to create Random Penguin. Nah. Just kidding. But the two publishers will indeed merge.

Caroline B. Cooney’s final ‘Janie Jones’ book will publish in 2013

How well do you know Shel Silverstein?

The 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards polls are open

Hey! So is The 100 Scope Notes Poll. Vote early and often.

Oh, AND you should cast your final ballot in the Horn Book’s KidLit Presidential Election!

SLJ has photos of and news coverage on how libraries are helping their communities in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

We all need some good news this week: “Hardcover Children’s & YA Revenues Up Nearly 30%”

SLJ Friday Links Halloween Candy Edition

Stephen Colbert hints that he’ll make a cameo as an Elf in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit.

Andy Serkis, the actor who played Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, plans to direct and act in an adaptation of Animal Farm .

“If Brach’s laid out the candy corn kernels it sells each year end to end, they would wrap around the Earth 4.25 times.” Yum! “25 Fun Size Facts About Classic Halloween Candy”

We’ve got bookshelves envy.

A list of literary candy names. Draculamond Joy, anyone?

“Are Zombies Good for Kids?: A Chat with Psychoanalyst Jack Schwartz” by SLJ’s Peter Gutierrez

SLJ’s Friday Links

And you thought there was just one VP debate. The Horn Book has “Five questions for the VP candidates” in the 2012 KidLit Election.

Think you know Charlotte’s Web? Take this quiz from mental_floss to really test your knowledge.

“An early childhood surrounded by books and educational toys will leave positive fingerprints on a person’s brain well into their late teens, a two-decade-long research study has shown.” Read more in The Guardian.

Dumbledore comes back? J.K. Rowling talks to Jon Stewart about The Casual Vacancy.

“I’m not interested in writing for adults. I like them as people! I don’t like the way they publish books in that world. Nothing ever gets a chance. I like our world because the good books, the best books, hang around.” John Green talks to the Huffington Post about his reading habits.

SLJ’s Election 2012 resources for kids and teens.

School Library Journal’s Friday Links Spectacular

We’ve got a doozy of a list for you this week.

Prep for your next social gathering with these “20 Spectacularly Nerdy Dinosaur Jokes.” You’ll be the hit of the party…or get the chip bowl all to yourself. Either way, it’s a win.

That ancient philosophical question is tackled by Slate: “Is Big Bird an Order Muppet or a Chaos Muppet?” Talk amongst yourselves.

Though I’m partial to Sully and Mike from Monsters, Inc., check out these other “lovable” movie monsters compiled by the folks at Flavorwire.

What does a librarian look like? There’s a Tumblr for that.

The Horn Book KidLit Election 2012 continues with the Lorax, Brian Robeson, and Ole Golly joining as third-party tickets.

Tolkien tourism is still going strong. And the New York Times has an awesome slideshow to prove it.

Speaking of J.R.R., HarperCollins plans to publish a never-before-seen epic poem by the man who brought us Middle-earth.

The National Book Award Finalists in Young People’s Lit have been announced.

Think you know your “Goosebumps” books? Test your knowledge with a quiz.

School Library Journal’s Friday Links

During dark, dark, dark periods of history, there have been attempts to ban coffee. I know. I, too, was shocked.

Support your library…with your car. Kentucky residents can now buy license plates to help libraries.

Happy Banned Books Week! Enjoy this interactive graph from the Huffington Post of the most challenged books of the year.

Little House on the Prairie is bound for the big screen. David Gordon Green, the same man who brought us Pineapple Express, might direct.

Did you miss the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards?  Yeah, I did, too. Bummer. But you can read all about the event on the ceremony time line.

Happy Friday!

Friday Links Spectacular

Book blogger Monica Edinger recommends Philip Pullman’s essay “The Challenge of Retelling Grimms’ Fairy Tales.”

Time for some trivia:
“12 Facts About ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’” That Will Blow Your Mind.”
“43 Sesame Street Facts for the 43rd Season”
“J.K. Rowling By the Numbers”

Want to cook like Peter Rabbit?  Since that’s not possible, the next best thing would be to read Beatrix Potter’s 161-year-old recipe book.

Let’s end this debate for good. What’s better The Princess Bride the book or The Princess Bride the movie. Elissa Gershowitz of The Horn Book weighs in.

Can’t make it to England?  Well, you can still visit the Roald Dahl Museum via an interactive tour.

Bill Moyers campaigns against banned books with a video.

Have a lovely weekend!

Friday Links from the Editors at SLJ

Roald Dahl: author, fighter pilot, and…spy? “10 Celebrities Who Spied on the Side” from the folks at mental_floss.

From Ian Fleming to Gertrude Stein, sometimes the results are fantastic “When the Authors of Adult Books Write for Children.”

Alice fans take notice, the CW is developing a pilot based on Lewis Carroll’s classic books. According to Entertainment Weekly, in Wunderland Alice is a detective and Wonderland is set in underground LA.

“Mind-blowing” indeed. This elaborate LEGO ball machine took two years to build.

William McCleery’s Wolf Story is back in print and NPR has an interview with the author’s seventy-two-year-old son about the story’s creation. 

“Part of the film’s appeal lies is its timelessness. It could’ve taken place anytime in the last 30 years as long as some theater somewhere still has a midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show or there are eccentric teens that feel like they don’t quite fit in with the popular crowd.” SLJ’s Kent Turner reviews Perks of Being a Wallflower.

And now, as Jon Stewart would say, “for your moment of Zen”: beautiful sculptures made from children’s books.

Have a super weekend!

Friday Links from the Editors of SLJ

What’s better than free books? I honestly can’t think of anything right now.  Here’s a link to hundreds of free ebooks.

The Horn Book’s Calling Caldecott Blog is back!

These are some tough librarians!  The geniuses at mental_floss bring you “11 Amazing Librarian Tattoos.”

Readers Almanac explores why the Little House books are popular with kids and adults.

Chicago public libraries are stepping it up during the teachers strike.

How fast they grow up! “The Changing Art of Our Childhood Reads” from  The Atlantic Wire.

Four theories about “Who’s to blame for NPR’s super-white book list?” from Salon.