This and That On A Sunday Afternoon

Here are a few things from the blogs that have caught my eye over the past few days:

• The Horn Book magazine has been threatened with legal action by an unnamed publisher. This publisher wants The Horn Book to stop reviewing the publisher's books (presumably because the reviews are rather negative), and claims that (all) reviewers need permission from the publisher before reviewing any book. This was originally posted on Read Roger (the Horn Book blog). I also saw a nice piece on it at A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy. Clearly, the idea of needing permission before posting a review is ridiculous, but it also says scary things about our lawsuit-ridden society that it's even as issue.
• I also learned from Read Roger about a children's book crisis brewing in my home town of Lexington, MA. A second grade teacher at Estabrook Elementary School read aloud the children's book King & King, a fairy tale about gay marriage between two princes. This led to complaints from an outraged parent who felt that she should have been warned before the book was read to her son. The Boston Globe included this quote from the Lexington Superintendent of Schools, Paul Ash: ''We couldn't run a public school system if every parent who feels some topic is objectionable to them for moral or religious reasons decides their child should be removed," he said. ''Lexington is committed to teaching children about the world they live in, and in Massachusetts same-sex marriage is legal." That ought to close the issue, but sadly, probably won't.
• On a lighter note, A Fuse #8 Production has a great list of Sure-Fire Story Time Hits. Anyone looking for good picture book read-alouds should definitely check out the list.
• Kelly at Big A little a recaps The Telegraph's semi-annual "Books for Younger Readers", with several recommended titles.
• Kids Lit links to a site that (according to Kids Lit) "offers recommended books for children, advice on how to find/create free kids books, and information for new authors on writing and publishing.  But most of all, his site is filled with great lines that will re-inspire readers about the importance of children's literature and reading."
• Chris Barton made me laugh with this post in which he asks what it means "that when I went to get my wife a novel at the library this evening, I didn't even know where the adult fiction section was?"
• FredCQ (father of a book-loving young daughter), has a new blog in which he merges his two lives as a writer and a musician.
• Kids Lit recaps the 2006 Edgar Award Nominees for children and adults, prior to the April 27th announcement of the winners. I'm pulling for Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams in the young adult category. When I reviewed this book earlier in the year I said: "What I like about this book is that it's a classic mystery, with a murder and clues and the main character figuring out who the killer is."
• Little Willow has an annotated list of her favorite teen books dealing with fame.
• And finally, my thanks to Louise at Student for Literacy Ottawa for posting about my small brush with Fib-related fame. Thanks also for the encouraging words I received from Susan and Jen in my blog comments, and to Jonathan for passing along the word to friends.

And that is quite enough for one post. I should be better able to stay caught up this week, because I have a rare week without any travel.