The New York Times has selected this year's best picture books. That seems strange, since the year is not over yet. Anyhow, you can view a slide show here.

UK Librarians Oppose Age Recommendations on Books.

There are so many reasons that age-banding is a bad idea. Kids who are reading above or below grade level, kids who are going back to an old favorite, differing standards in families... I hope this never happens here. Accelerated Reader levels are bad enough.

KidLit Project Runway

I'm late in posting a very funny video from the ALA children's lit banquets:

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RIP Tasha Tudor

Illustrator Tasha Tudor passed away on Wednesday at the age of 92.

Student From Frederick, MD, Wins Letters About Literature Contest

Her school library received $10,000 as part of the prize!

What Kids Are Reading

The Book-Reading Habits of Students in American Schools.

This study was conducted by the Accelerated Reader people, so you should take it with a grain of salt, but there is some interesting information. Daniel Handler's comments are a highlight.

Report on Safer Children in a Digital World

On 6th September 2007, the Prime Minister asked Dr. Tanya Byron to conduct an independent review looking at the risks to children from exposure to potentially harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and in video games. Her Review is about the needs of children and young people. It is about preserving their right to take the risks that form an inherent part of their development by enabling them to play video games and surf the net in a safe and informed way.

By listening to children and young people and putting them at the heart of this Review - and by replacing emotion with evidence - she hopes she has provided some very necessary focus to what is a very necessary debate.