Jen Robinson's Book Page

October 2007 Reading List

This is a list of all of the books that I read in October, broken up into Adult Fiction and Children's Books. Pretty sad showing for the month, I'm afraid. But at least I reviewed the last four... I hope to have more reading time in November and December.

Children's and Young Adult Books

1. Howard Whitehouse: Faceless Fiend, The: Being the Tale of a Criminal Mastermind, (Mad Misadventures of Emmaline and Rubberbones). Kids Can Press. Completed October 2, 2007.
2. Ellen Klages: The Green Glass Sea. Viking Juvenile. Completed October 3, 2007.
3. Barry Lyga: Boy Toy. Houghton Mifflin. Completed October 6, 2007.
4. Sara Lewis Holmes: Letters from Rapunzel. Harper Collins. Completed October 7, 2007.
5. Amy Timberlake: That Girl Lucy Moon. Hyperion. Completed October 9, 2007.
6. Scott Westerfeld: Extras. Simon Pulse. Completed October 20, 2007. My reivew.
7. Linda Urban: A Crooked Kind of Perfect. Harcourt. Completed October 27, 2007. My review.
8. Pseudonymous Bosch: The Name of this Book is Secret. Little Brown. Completed October 28, 2007. My review.
9. Marlane Kennedy: Me and the Pumpkin Queen. Greenwillow. Completed October 30, 2007. My review.

Adult Fiction

1. Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Goes West. Viking. Completed October 14, 2007.
2. Henning Mankell: The White Lioness. Vintage. Completed October 26, 2007.

Earthquake!

In case anyone is interested, we did feel the earthquake tonight in San Jose. It was the strongest one we've felt in the seven years we've been in California, about a 5.6. I actually just read in the Mercury News that it's the strongest in the area since the Loma Prieta quake in 1989.

Like Susan, I thought at first that a plane was very close by overhead. But Mheir was on top of it, knew right away that it was an earthquake, and said that we should go outside. We went out barefoot, and hung out in the driveway for a few minutes talking to our neighbor, until we were pretty sure it was over. We were fine, but I was definitely trembling.

Inside we found a few things disturbed - a picture that was propped up on a shelf fell over, taking a ceramic pot with it, things like that - but nothing major.

Just enough to leave us feeling a bit shaken up. And thinking about that earthquake-preparedness kit...

© 2009 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

First Issue of the Growing Bookworms Email Newsletter

Tonight I'm going to send out my first Growing Bookworms email newsletter, to a brave dozen subscribers. This issue will include three recent book reviews, a children's literacy news round-up, a Sunday visits article (with links to recent blog posts about books and reading), and couple of other potential posts of interest. I hope that those of you who have subscribed find it useful.

Also, to reiterate, if you already visit the blog on a regular basis, the newsletter won't have any content not found on the blog. The newsletter is designed to reach people who, for whatever reason, prefer to receive one bookworm-focused weekly summary via email, instead of making regular blog visits.

I hope that if you like this newsletter you will pass it along to your friends. My thanks to everyone reading this for their support. Happy reading! And Happy Halloween! May the trick-or-treating bring both books and chocolate.

The Name of this Book is Secret: Pseudonymous Bosch

Book: The Name of this Book is Secret
Author: Pseudonymous Bosch
Pages: 384
Age Range: 9-12

The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch is sure to appeal to fans of the Lemony Snicket books and The Mysterious Benedict Society. It's a mystery, aimed squarely at middle grade readers (accessible for boys and girls). It uses a narrative structure somewhat like that of the Series of Unfortunate Events books, in which the narrator speaks directly to the reader, and in fact warns the reader against reading the book. The first page has, in large text, "Warning: Do Not Read Beyond this Page!". When you turn the page (and who wouldn't?) you find this:

"Good.
Now I know I can trust you.
You're curious. You're brave. And you're not afraid to lead a life of crime.
But let's get something straight: if, despite my warning, you insist on reading this book, you can't hold me responsible for the consequences.
And, make no bones about it, this is a very dangerous book."

And so on. Chapter One is printed entirely in an unbreakable code (all x's). Not until Chapter 1.5 does the narrator relent, and begin the story. There are illustrations at the start of every chapter, occasional lists, frequent footnotes, codes, and embedded stories, not to mention investigative tips sprinkled throughout the text (as though the narrator might perhaps be a spy himself). The plot is complex and dark, with genuinely creepy bad guys, daring escapades, Circus performers, and certain Gothic elements.

The two main characters, Cass and Max-Ernest, are appealing. I especially enjoyed Max-Ernest, a boy who can't stop talking, and who lives in a literally split household between two parents who can't agree even to divorce (the situation is a bit Roald Dahl-esqe, I think). There's also a boy named Benjamin who is has synesthesia (he sees everything, including words, as colors and/or smells). He is rather intriguing. Also casually thrown in are a pair of surrogate grandfathers who live together (exact relationship undefined) in an old firehouse. Grandpa Larry and Grandpa Wayne care for Cass when her mother is unavailable.

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the dark background against the throwaway humor of the narrator. I laughed out loud several times, especially at footnotes like these:

"... turn to the Appendix. That's at the end of the book, by the way, not in your body."  (Page 15)

"But please don't draw any conclusions about the kind of people who write novels. After all, not all novelists are power-hungry madmen -- some are power-hungry madwomen. (Page 127)

And yet... The book felt a bit constructed to me. Take the narrative style of the Lemony Snicket books, add in some codes and puzzles and a dash of quirky characters, and mix well. I still enjoyed it. I thought that the whole thing was well-done and creatively presented. The black and white illustrations set just the right tone for each chapter. I think that kids in the 9 to 12 range will find the book a lot of fun. The Name of this Book is Secret is an excellent next book to give kids who enjoyed The Mysterious Benedict Society. But I personally felt a tiny bit manipulated by the whole production. Not enough to keep me from giving the book to kids, and probably not enough to keep me from reading future books in what will apparently be a series, it's something that I noticed. I'll be interested to hear what other people think.

Note: after having finished this review, I just read Leila and Becky's reviews, both of whom, in generally positive reviews, mentioned the possibility of the book being considered "gimmicky". So I'm not alone in my mixed feelings.

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Publication Date: October 2007
Source of Book: A review copy from the publisher
Other Blog Reviews: Bookshelves of Doom, Becky's Book Reviews

© 2009 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

Children's Literacy Round-Up: Teens, Dads, and Famous Kiwis

Here is this week's children's literacy and reading-related news from around the wires. There is some great stuff this week, and I've been helped in my quest by several other bloggers (links below):

• Becky Levine was kind enough to send me a link to a UC Davis Magazine article about the school's Children's Literature program. Here's my favorite part: "Both a good bedtime story and an effective classroom tool, a children’s book can teach young children the use of words and language in a friendly way, and help improve their writing skills. It can also introduce children to a whole world of cultural experiences. Yet, as schoolrooms become increasingly dominated by standardized testing, UC Davis instructors fear that the value of children’s literature may be overlooked. So at UC Davis new programs for future teachers are refocusing attention on the subject. And in recognition of the benefits of children’s literature for adults as well as children, the books are also playing an important role in some undergraduate classrooms." How cool is that?
• The Roanoke Times reports that teens still read. The article contains encouraging statistics about teen reading, as well as quotes and examples from teenagers. Teens quoted mentioned that they read more because there is now YA literature that reflects their lives. It seems to me that this trend will likely increase. Thanks to Confessions of a Bibliovore for the link.
• The Prince of Wales has called upon British parents to read to their children. According to the Telegraph, "A new national festival supported by the Prince of Wales hopes to revive the art of family storytelling. Jasper Rees reports, and gets the views of some notable storytellers." The article notes that: "The long-term impact of an early childhood without bedtime stories, according to leading children's writers, cannot be overstated." Authors cited in the article include Eoin Colfer, Michael Morpurgo, and GP Taylor.
• Literacy Launchpad links to a great New York Time article by Michael Winerip called Making a Love of Reading Happen. As Amy pointed out at Literacy Launchpad, it's especially nice to see an article like this written from a dad's perspective. Michael notes, after several years of attending back-to-school nights at his children's middle school, "Each year it seems I hear less and less about what books the students will read and more and more about how they’ll be prepared for the state tests. If my wife or I don’t raise our hands and ask “What novels?” it usually doesn’t come up." [This is exactly the same criticism that came up in some UK-based articles last week - many schools are so standardized-test-focused that they don't have the resources to foster a love of reading.] Michael also says "It falls to parents to make a love of reading happen. And though I have labored long and hard at this, I haven’t found it easy, particularly as my kids get older." But you should read the whole article - it's excellent (even though the author admits to mixed success, his goals are clear, and I, for one, appreciate his perspective).
• Speaking of dads, the Worthington Daily Globe has an article about a Dads and Early Literacy Workshop held in Slayton, MN. According to the article: "“If parents — especially fathers — read to their preschool children, it really shows and makes a positive difference when those kids arrive at school,” emphasized Tom Fitzpatrick, the workshop’s leader and a program director of the Minnesota Humanities Center, based in St. Paul." The article discusses statistics on why it's important to get fathers reading to their children, and the potential payoff when they do. Of course it's great for both parents to read to their kids - I think the idea here is to encourage fathers, who are statistically less likely to do so. See the Minnesota Humanities Center for more information.
• The Anderson County (SC) Literacy Fall Festival was held this weekend. Organizers expected to give free books to "roughly 3,000 to 4,000 children from pre-kindergarten through middle school", according to the Independent Mail. The festival is now in it's 16th year.
• Famous New Zealanders (aka kiwis) are donating their favorite children's books for an online charity auction. According to Scoop (New Zealand), "The November auction will raise funds for the Books for Babes Trust. The Trust is celebrating ten years of giving books to families that have limited access to books, with the aim of helping parents bond with their newborn babies."'
• Several senators have introduced a bill to Congress that would (according to the Providence Journal) "create a federal pediatric early literacy grant initiative based on the longstanding, successful Reach Out and Read program. Under the new, five-year, $85 million initiative, parents would be sent home with a prescription to read to their child and the tool to make it happen — a brand-new children’s book." Here are the author credentials for the article, which includes much-read details about the success of the Reach Out and Read program: "Aaron Friedman, M.D., is a professor and chairman of pediatrics at Brown University’s medical school, and is pediatrician-in-chief at Rhode Island Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Pamela High, M.D., is a professor of pediatrics at Brown’s medical school and director of developmental/behavioral pediatrics at Hasbro Children’s Hospital." Reach Out and Read is also targeting military families, according to an article in the Blackanthem Military News.
• The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a feature article by Julie Pfitzinger about helping kids "crack the code" of learning to read. Specifically, the article is about the use of phonics to help kids to decipher the elements of reading (registration may be required, but you can sign up for a 7-day quick pass with minimal information).

And that's all for this week. But if you come across any articles in the news related to children's literacy or raising readers, please let me know. Thanks, and happy reading!

Extras: Scott Westerfeld

Book: Extras
Author: Scott Westerfeld (blog)
Pages: 432
Age Range: 13 and up

Extras is the fourth book in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies trilogy. Well, not really. It's more of a companion book, set in the same environment, but with a different protagonist. Tally, the main character from Uglies, Pretties, and Specials does make an appearance, but this story is told from the perspective of Aya Fuse.

Extras takes place several years after Specials, and explores how society has evolved once the strict social roles of the "bubblehead years" have been relaxed. In the former Japanese city where Aya lives, a reputation economy now drives people's existence. People make constant "feeds" out to the net, and everyone has an ever-updated "face rank" that reflects their popularity and name-recognition. The people in the top 1000 are the most revered celebrities, and are automatically given huge apartments and nice clothes. Aya, at 451,396, is invisible. But she doesn't intend to stay that way.

Aya infiltrates a group of girls who pull crazy tricks while striving to remain unknown. Aya's plan is to become famous by revealing the hidden story of the Sly Girls. However, she soon encounters a much bigger story than she had expected, one that affects the future of the entire world.

I found Extras an interesting commentary on our world of blogs and twitters and feeds, not to mention reality television and paparazzi, if taken to extremes. Westerfeld also explores truth, through a character who has been genetically modified so that he can't lie, and environmentalism.

But what Scott Westerfeld truly excels at is world-building. His characters have their own vocabulary of terms, and even a manner of speaking that stands out. I think I could read a couple of paragraphs from, say, a future book in the series, and immediately know what it was. Here's an example:

"Once Aya recognized a snow monkey's scream in the roar of the wind -- hardly dangerous and person-eating, but the thought of untamed animals out here sent a nervous shudder through her. Or maybe that was just the cold. Even wrapped inside two dorm jackets, a three-hundred-klick wind was shiver-making." (Page 104)

"Person-eating". "Shiver-making". Westerfeld uses a very distinctive voice. Here's another example showing Westerfeld's descriptive flair:

"Aya had never realized how annoying the wild could be.

The jungle was unimaginably hot, snarled, and logic-missing. Every direction was blocked by massive roots that spilled down from the trees. Spiderwebs glistened among the ferns, and the humid air was choked with clouds of insects. Ankle-grabbing vines covered the ground, which the rain had turned into a maze of waterfalls, rivulets, and mudslides. Her Ranger coverall was having trouble staying slime-resistant, and Frizz's clothes -- the formals he'd worn to the tech-head bash last night -- were threatening to fall apart." (Page 310)

I think that fans of the series will be pleased with this installment, especially with the glimpse of "what happens next" to Tally, and the chance to see what happens to Westerfeld's future society once the bubblehead restrictions are removed. I think that Extras stands on it's own as a story, but that readers who've read the earlier books will get more out of it. I recommend this series, and this title, to readers age 13 and up.

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: October 2007
Source of Book: Bought it
Other Blog Reviews: Crustimoney Proseedcake, Becky's Book Reviews, Karin's Book Nook, Boing Boing

© 2009 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

The 2007 Red Sox...

...have won the World Series!!!! It's not the same thing emotionally that the 2004 win was (that was epic and life-changing, and a gift to long-gone grandparents). But this one was still an awful lot of fun. Going down three to one against the Indians just made the eventual win that much more satisfying. And after the season that they had, it would have been pretty devastating to see them not win. But they did. Yay!

Did you see Jason Varitek crying in his interview after the game? Did you see the rookies Ellsbury and Pedroia play their hearts out this entire series? Does Jonathan Papelbon rock, or what? (And in more ways than one.) How about those home runs by Mike Lowell and Bobby Kielty? And John Lester... and Josh Beckett .... and Dick-K .... and Curt Schilling ... and the bullpen... Wow! I'm thrilled to see Mike Lowell as the World Series MVP. I hope that's an omen that he's going to stay for next year.

What's really amazing is to look at all of the young players, and think about how all of them are going to do next year! It is a fine time to be a Boston fan, that's for sure. The curse is really dead and gone now, isn't it?

GO RED SOX!!!

© 2009 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

Sunday Afternoon Visits: Book Lists, Growing Bookworms, and the Little House Books on CD

This week I've done quite a bit of mulling over how I should be structuring this blog to make it more useful to people who are looking for book news and recommendations for kids. What's become clear is that if what I care about is helping to grow bookworms, then I should be spending more of my time on the core content that this blog provides: book reviews and news about literacy and raising readers.

Although I've enjoyed my "Sunday Visits" posts, in which I recap various items from around the Kidlitosphere, I have reluctantly decided (and with thanks to Kelly Herold for her advice and her example) that they aren't contributing very much to my core mission. I think that many of my readers would be better served by my writing an extra review or two each week than by my spending all of Sunday afternoon working on this recap post.

So, what I've decided is to re-focus the post a bit, so that it primarily includes news from the blogs that will specifically help people who are out there getting books into the hands of kids. I will also still be continuing my weekly children's literacy round-ups, which include children's literacy and reading news from newspapers and literacy sites like Literacy News and FirstBook. I won't rule out ever including Kidlitosphere news in this post. But I am going to try to make it more focused.

I have some other ideas about focusing the site and making it more useful (including my new Growing Bookworms newsletter), and I'll be working on those in the coming weeks. I welcome your feedback. Meanwhile, here's the news from the blogs for this week:

• Book lists abound. Inspired by Halloween, Adrienne of What Adrienne Thinks About That has put together a list of favorite picture books designed to empower. Over at The Miss Rumphius Effect, Tricia lists (and blurbs) favorite books and poems about fall. The Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC) blog has a phonological awareness list focused on "the power of repetition, alliteration, rhyme and play on words in books to teach children language." It's more fun than it sounds, with lots of books with great rhyme and rhythm. And finally, this one is not exactly a book list, but Kathryne from The Longstockings has asked for "favorite books for a seventh-grade girl who just discovered that reading is fun". There are lots of great suggestions in the comments.
• Also available this week (I first saw the list at Mitali's Fire Escape), YALSA has published the Teens' Top Ten list, as voted on by more than 6000 teen readers. Number one on the list is New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer (second in the Twilight series, and which I reviewed here). Life As We Knew It, one of my favorites, is number seven.
• In a different sort of list, Alpha Mom lists her favorite online resources for finding children's books (including Book Buds and Three Silly Chicks). Several others (including my blog - thanks Genevieve!) have been suggested in the comments.
• My fellow Readergirlz Postergirl Miss Erin recently made a video book trailer for Sarah Beth Durst's novel Into the Wild (and which is not be confused with Jon Krakauer's non-fiction title Into the Wild). But seriously, if you're interested in learning about this middle-school aged fantasy, check out Erin's video trailer.
• Just as I've been waxing introspective about focusing my blog efforts, so have Kelly from Big A little a, Libby from Lessons from the Tortoise, and Colleen from Chasing Ray. All three posts are well worth checking out if you're interested in how children's book blogging is evolving for individuals, and how children's book bloggers are trying to make a difference through their efforts.
• And speaking of Kelly Herold, she has a new format for her blogrolls. She's put them into various separate, categorized posts, instead of listing everything in her sidebar. So now if you want to see the list of all of the children's book blogs that Kelly knows about, just click here. There is definitely something to be said for this approach - my sidebars in the blog are very very long.
• The Reading Tub website (and blog), which I have mentioned previously, is adding a new feature to their children's book reviews. Instead of a single recommended age range for each book, they will publish two age ranges, one for reading together (with a parent) and one for the child reading alone. I think that this is a brilliant idea, don't you?
• If anyone is looking for a family-friendly audio series, Sarah Miller highly recommends the Little House books on CD. She says: "I don't even know what to say about these audiobooks, except that they're so darn good, if I ever meet Cherry Jones I'm going to ask her to sign my ears." Funny!

And in closing, all I have to say is: "How about those RED SOX!!!!!"

Reading Children's Books Got Me into My Dream College

I mentioned this to one of my blog friends in an offline discussion today, and Cheryl suggested that I share it with people who read my blog. Specifically, she thought that parents would be interested. So here it is. I went to Duke University for my undergrad degree. It was a great experience (I was there right when the basketball team started to excel), and I feel very fortunate to have spent four years there. I was also fortunate to get support in my goals from my parents, and to receive generous finanical support from Duke. I was very, very lucky.

But here's the thing. I honestly don't think that I would have gotten into Duke if I hadn't loved to read. I wasn't much of a joiner in high school (I'm still not). I have no athletic, dramatic, or musical ability. I was the kid who sat around reading books all day (I know that many of you who are reading this can relate).

This sitting around reading does not directly look good on college applications. (What are you going to include? Pictures of yourself sitting in a tree reading a book?) However, I received a pretty high score on my SATs, especially the verbal section. This was before the days of SAT prep classes and re-takes of the exam (at least for me). I went in, took the test, went home, got my score, sent it off to colleges, end of story.

And I simply have to think that my verbal SAT score, and even my math SAT score, owe themselves to the hundreds upon hundreds of books that I had read up to that point. I remember reading Dickens in junior high school (David Copperfield). I remember reading Joseph Conrad and Shakespeare in high school. Not to mention Madeleine L'Engle and L. M. Montgomery and Alexandre Dumas, and ever so many other authors. And every one of those books was there with me, in one way or another, when I sat down to take that test.

I'm not writing this post to brag (though I'm aware that it might sound that way). And really, I don't sit around every day basking in SAT scores from 20+ years ago, or even thinking much about where I went to college - I have certainly moved on. But my point is that I am my own test case, and I personally believe that reading books helped drive the scores that got me into the college that I was dying to attend. I know that there are studies to support the link between reading and academic performance (try The Read-Aloud Handbook for examples), but here I'm giving a personal, specific example.

Of course getting into college is different today than it was in 1985 - you can't rely on just SAT scores, you need to be well-rounded and all of that. I also know that there are issues with the fairness of SAT scores, and that some schools are moving away from them. I'm sure that this is a good thing - we should be rewarding the many different ways that kids are remarkable. But still, a lot of attention gets paid to those scores...

That's why I'm telling you what reading children's books accomplished for me. I didn't read those books because, as a six year old or a fifteen year old, I thought that they were "good for me". I read those books because I LOVED them, couldn't possibly be without them, would have found a fifteen minute car ride an eternity if I didn't have a book for company. I believe that those books rewarded my affection by helping me get into into my dream college. No, of course that's not everyone's goal. And yes, there are plenty of other benefits that people gain from reading books. I just thought that a few parents out there might find this tiny little case study of interest. If you do, consider it one of the many reasons to be fostering a love of books in your children. We'll certainly be discussing others in future posts. Thanks for listening.

© 2009 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

Readergirlz 31 Flavorites: Week 5

Welcome to week 5, the final week of the readergirlz 31 Flavorites Event, a special event co-sponsored by YALSA, and taking place every day during the month of October. The readergirlz divas will be hosting 31 au thors in 31 days. Every evening will feature a live chat with a different young adult author, with all chats to be held at 5:00 pm PST/ 8:00 pm EST, except for Stephenie Meyer's chat, which will take place at 9:00 pm PST / midnight EST.

Here's the schedule for Week 5:

October 28th: Holly Black
October 29th: Cynthia Leitich Smith
October 30th: Dia Calhoun
October 31st: Stephenie Meyer

All chats will take place at the readergirlz forum. You can also download copies of this 31 Flavorites posts in Large PDF, small PDF, and JPG format, and download and print the 31 Flavorites bookmark.

Don't miss the exciting Halloween wrap-up chat with Stephenie Meyer, author of Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and hopefully many more titles.

Introducing the Growing Bookworms Weekly Newsletter

This post introduces my new Growing Bookworms email newsletter, which focuses on book reviews and literacy related news for children and young adults.

I've had feedback from friends that they like my blog, but don't have time to visit every day, or just don't think of it because their lives are so busy. Since I started the blog I've had an option by which people can sign up to receive my blog posts each day via email using a service called Feedblitz. Currently I have about 35 subscribers who are dedicated enough to receive my daily Feedblitz updates - many of them are close friends or family members. But receiving daily emails is quite a commitment, and not one that I've wanted to push on anyone.

What I've wanted to do for a while is provide a weekly email newsletter that focuses on my blog's core content: the book reviews and literacy and reading related news. However, I have some experience with publishing newsletters (though my work), and I know that starting one from scratch would require quite a lot of work.

Therefore, I was very pleased when I learned recently that Feedblitz had added a newsletter publication feature. This feature makes it easy for me to send out mailings once a week (or on whatever time frame I choose), and include only the posts that I select. I can also customize the graphics a bit, and include my own introductory text. I think this is going to be a perfect vehicle to let me meet my desire to publish a weekly email newsletter, without adding too much to my workload. (Plus it's free, with only very tiny text ads included by Feedblitz at the bottom of each email)

And so ... drumroll, please! ... I'm happy to announce the commencement of my new weekly email newsletter, which I've named the Growing Bookworms Newsletter. The newsletter won't contain all of my blog content. Instead, it will focus on my reviews and on literacy and reading-related content from newspapers and from around the Kidlitosphere.

I received some truly wonderful feedback (thank you all so much!) to a post that I put up earlier in the week, in which I expressed my wish to focus my blog content better to meet my goal. And my goal, in its simplest form, is to help parents and teachers and librarians and other concerned parties to find resources that will help them to help kids to grow up loving books. My hope is that this new Growing Bookworms Newsletter will help, by making it easier for people who don't have time to visit the blogs every day to keep up with this type of content.

My expectation is that providing content for the newsletter will help me to focus more of my blog content in these key areas. I'm mulling over other changes, too, to make the blog a more useful resource for people (and to keep it manageable and fun for myself). I'll keep you posted on those changes. But I am moving forward with the newsletter in the meantime. If you would like to subscribe, please click this link to go to the Feedblitz subscription form (or use the form at the very top of my right-hand sidebar). Thanks so much for your support! And happy reading.

UPDATED to add (with thanks to Megan Germano for asking the question): The newsletter won't have any content that isn't also on the blog, so if you already read the blog, there's no need to subscribe. (So, I suppose, I'm announcing the newsletter in this post to the audience that has the least use for it - but I have to start somewhere). I would still love for people to visit the blog directly - I think that people who visit online are much more likely to comment and join in the discussion. The newsletter is there as a backup, and a way to reach people who, for whatever reason, would prefer receiving email to directly visiting the blog. Thanks, Megan!

Robert's Snow Event: Blogging for a Cure: Week 3

As you know if you've been visiting any children's book blogs for the past few weeks, Robert's Snow is an online auction that benefits Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Over 200 children's book illustrators have created art on individual snowflake-shaped wooden templates. The snowflakes will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to cancer research. You can view all of the 2007 snowflakes here. Jules and Eisha from Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast have found a way for bloggers to help with this effort, by blogging about individual illustrators and their snowflakes. The idea is to drive traffic to the Robert's Snow site so that many snowflakes will be sold, and much money raised to fight cancer. The illustrator profiles have been wonderful so far - diverse and creative and colorful. And there are lots more to go.

Here's the schedule for Week 3, which starts Monday. As previously, this early schedule links to the participating blogs, instead of to the individual posts. You can find links to the posts themselves, and any last-minute updates, each morning at 7-Imp. Jules and Eisha have also set up a special page at 7-Imp containing a comprehensive list of links to the profiles posted so far. Also not to be missed is Kris Bordessa's post summarizing snowflake-related contests to date over at Paradise Found.

Monday, October 29

• Dan Santat at Writing and Ruminating
• Joanne Friar at The Longstockings
• Alissa Imre Geis at Wild Rose Reader
• Diane Greenseid at Just One More Book!!
• Sean Qualls at Brooklyn Arden

Tuesday, October 30

• Ann Koffsky at Book Buds
• Bill Carman at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
• Gretel Parker at Finding Wonderland
• Matt Phelan at A Year of Reading
• Stephanie Roth at Writing with a broken tusk

Wednesday, October 31

• Shawna Tenney at Kate's Book Blog
• Adam Rex at Booktopia and Welcome to my Tweendom
• Mo Willems at MotherReader
• Rolandas Kiaulevicius at a wrung sponge

Thursday, November 1

• Karen Lee at sruble's world
• Diana Magnuson at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
• Melissa Iwai at Brooklyn Arden
• Victoria Jamieson at AmoXcalli and Cuentecitos
• Molly Idle at The Shady Glade
• Meghan McCarthy at A Fuse #8 Production

Friday, November 2

• Tracy McGuinness-Kelly at Sam Riddleburger's blog
• Sarah Kahn at Kate's Book Blog
• Sylvia Long at Whimsy Books
• Jeremy Tankard at the excelsior file
• Holli Conger at Please Come Flying

Saturday, November 3

• Susan Miller at Your Neighborhood Librarian
• Ellen Beier at What Adrienne Thinks About That
• Hideko Takahashi at The Silver Lining
• Judith Moffat at Jo's Journal
• Wendell Minor at Wild Rose Reader

Sunday, November 4

• Joy Allen at Check It Out
• Robin Brickman at Greetings from Nowhere
• Lauren Stringer at laurasalas
• Nancy Wallace at In the Pages . . .

Please take time out to visit all of these blogs, and read about these fabulous illustrators. And, if you're so inclined, think about bidding for a snowflake in the Robert's Snow auction. Each snowflake makes a unique gift (for yourself or for someone else), and supports an important cause.

See also the following note from Elaine Magliaro of Wild Rose Reader:

Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success.