Odds, ends, and a request

I'm blogging over at the ALSC Blog today.  

If you want to chime in with the name of a new kids' book that you can't wait to read, join me there.

In other news, if you don't follow me on FB or Twitter, you may not know of a free book offer that should interest you.  For the first time ever, the National Book Foundation (bestower of the prestigious National Book Awards) is offering free e-book excerpts of all of the finalists for the National Book Award in all three categories: fiction, nonfiction, and young people's literature.  The excerpts have been released as a three book series titled: The Contenders, with a book for each category. This is a wonderful tool for familiarizing yourself with the books, getting a "flavor" of each finalist, preparing booktalks for kids, or deciding what to read next.  The free E-books are available in most formats. Full details may be found at http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2013_thecontenders.html#.UoF6cvmUTfU

And finally, a personal and totally non-book-related request:

My daughter is currently in an internship at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston (to say that she's thrilled would be an understatement).  The intern and co-op students at JSC have a Twitter account and are trying to reach 3,000 followers.  If you're on Twitter, please go there now and follow @NASAJSCStudents.  They're all working very hard and would love to share their activities with you.  Spread the word. Thanks.