Nothing wrong with a child thinking her mom is beautiful, right? But a book that helps kids cope with a “new” mommy, all fresh and taut and lifted by the local plastic surgeon? You’ve got to be kidding me.
And, if you want to read about another “alternative” book today, Andrea posts about It’s Just a Plant, here.
Via Jen Robinson, today (April 12th, Beverly Cleary’s birthday) is Drop Everything and Read Day (D.E.A.R.). Here are the highlights, from the D.E.A.R. website:
What is National D.E.A.R. Day?
D.E.A.R. stands for Drop Everything and Read. National D.E.A.R. Day is a special reading celebration to remind and encourage families to make reading together on a daily basis a family priority.Who Is Leading the National D.E.A.R. Day Celebration? The National Education Association (NEA); Parent Teacher Association (PTA); the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association; Reading Rockets; The General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC); the Newspaper Association of America Foundation (NAA); First Book; HarperCollins Children’s Books; and Ramona Quimby.
Sounds like a perfect way to spend a Saturday to me!
Wow. A story told via Google Maps, link by link. I haven’t read beyond the first few bubbles, but it seems like a really time consuming way to publish a story. On the other hand, I could see this type of story being really intriguing to hesitant readers and kids who prefer electronics over paper books. Up next? Maybe a Flat Stanley version?
Robin has a post up about books and whether they should - or shouldn’t - be rated ala movies and TV shows. I’ll bet that this one generates a fair amount of conversation…
It never ceases to thrill me to see my name on the cover of a new book on Amazon. Great Medieval Projects is now available for pre-order. 
One of the many things that I get to do as an author - beyond actually writing the book - are things like verifying how people really cleaned themselves during the Middle Ages, discussing whether Middle Ages should be capitalized or not, and helping with marketing.
My latest assignment is to create a list of people who would be interested in reviewing my book and possibly writing a blurb (yes, that is an official term) for the back of the book. Presuming they like it; I don’t want a blurb that says, “Hey, save your money. This book blows.”
Anyway. My list is going well. So far I have one person on it. But, don’t get me wrong. Just because I’m making such headway in creating my list does not mean I wouldn’t be open to suggestions. I’m easygoing that way.
My kids have a tendency to start at step ten. They don’t want to do basic stuff; they want to start with the coolest of advanced projects. From the time Brad was about 10 he had visions of building a robot. But it had to be a fully functional robot that did something. I was not much help in this category, and he was frustrated with my suggestions to learn about wiring as a first step.
When I tracked down a book called Build Your Own Underwater Robot and Other Wet Projects, he was thrilled. It features step by step instructions that were easy to follow, with each project resulting in an actual working remotely operated vehicle. It’s no R2D2, but it was a pretty successful project, as I detailed here.
The book features a brief history of undersea exploration and a look at the capabilities of modern underwater vehicles, along with instructions for creating four different projects: a diving bell, an underwater habitat, and underwater glider, and an ROV. The instructions are very clear; a teen would be able to craft a vehicle on his/her own, but a younger child would benefit from some adult assistance. It’s kind of an obscure title, but one worth looking for if your child is interested in this sort of thing. The publisher is in Canada, but offers buying options for US customers.
Check out all of the books posted for Nonfiction Monday over at Anastasia Suen’s blog.
When you’ve got stairs like these?
From Apartment Therapy due out from Chronicle Books this spring.
We have LibraryThing, GoodReads, and JacketFlap. LibraryThing and GoodReads are pretty general in their content, while JacketFlap features children’s authors and fans. Now, we can add to that Booknolia, which focuses primarily on nonfiction books.
When I mentioned Booknolia in a previous post, Francis Tapon - one of the founders of Booknolia and author of Hike Your Own Hike - asked:
What feature would you like to see that would make the site irresistible?
This seemed like a good discussion to have. What exactly DOES make a social book site worth visiting? Ease of use? Access to authors? Good reviews?
If you use any of these sites, what do you like about it (or them, if you use more than one)? What could you do without?
Talk amongst yourselves….
PS: If you’re feeling clever, What Else Wednesdays is up.
I received an email the other day from Booknolia, a new site with a focus on non-fiction books and authors. It seemed like a good thing to report on Nonficiton Monday.
Booknolia is a social network built around books, readers and authors.
Readers join Booknolia to share their individualized reading experiences, meet like-minded friends, join book clubs and reading circles, and gain access to a wealth of content about their next great book.
Authors join Booknolia to promote their books, interact with their fans, and share their thoughts and bookshelves with the community.
I’ve signed up, though for now my profile is bare bones and picture-less. You can take a peek, here.
