Monday Morning Miscellany v.8

I haven't been posting much lately, but it's not because I haven't been busy.  Here's what I've been doing:

I'm a Round 2 Judge for Nonfiction -Early & Middle Grades. The finalists are listed below. A winner will be announced on February 14, 2015.  Stay tuned and check out the finalists in all the other categories on the Cybils site.  I can't discuss the books, but you are free to comment on your favorites.

Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain
by Russell Freedman
Clarion Books

Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa’s Fastest Cat 
by Sy Montgomery
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Feathers: Not Just for Flying
by Melissa Stewart
Charlesbridge

Handle With Care: An Unusual Butterfly Journey 
by Loree Griffin Burns
Millbrook Press

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation
by Duncan Tonatiuh
Harry N Abrams

The Case of the Vanishing Little Brown Bats: A Scientific Mystery
by Sandra Markle
Millbrook Press

When Lunch Fights Back: Wickedly Clever Animal Defenses

by Rebecca L. Johnson

Millbrook Press

I'm honored to be the 2015 Co-Chair of the ALA/ALSC Great Websites for Kids Committee.  If you've never taken advantage of this great resource, I urge you to check it out at http://gws.ala.org/.

The site is continually updated with new sites added and outdated sites deleted. Suggestions and comments are always welcome.  In December, we announced the seven newest sites to be added:

• App Inventor – http://www.appinventor.org
• Cyberchase - http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/
• Duolingo - https://www.duolingo.com/
• Code.org - http://code.org
• My Garbology - http://www.naturebridge.org/garbology.php
• Scratch - http://scratch.mit.edu/
• U.S. EPA’s RadTown USA - http://www.epa.gov/radtown/index.html

And last but not least,

This year will mark the fifth anniversary of the KidLit Celebrates Women's History Month celebration.  Each year, fellow librarian, Margo Tanenbaum and I, gather writers, illustrators, librarians and bloggers to highlight and celebrate and raise awareness of great books for young people that focus on women’s history.  This year's celebration kicks off in March. Please, stay in touch with us and support the inclusion of women's history in books for young readers! Follow our blog, KidLit Celebrates Women's History Month.

 You can also find us on:

• Twitter: @kidlitwhm
• Facebook: KidLit Celebrates Women's History Month
• Pinterest: KidLit Celebrates Women's History Month

 Below is a sneak preview of the authors and their books that will be featured this year.  

See? I told you I've been busy! Have a great week!  Let it start with a reminder from MLKDay.gov,

"Life's most persistent question is: What are you doing for others?" Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

And, oh yeah, it's Nonfiction Monday! Check it out.

Justine

Justine. Published by Justeen, LLC
http://www.justinemagazine.com/

I reviewed this magazine last year and I'm pleased to see that it's still doing well. The subscription price has not changed, and its website just keeps getting better. In fact, the latest addition to the website is "Spark: Where Girls and Books Ignite," an online book club. What librarian doesn't love that? http://justineforms.com/bookclub.htm If you're tired of Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, and the rest, check out Justine, reviewed below.

“Teens … Real teens….Just teens” is the tag line for the bimonthly magazine with the clever name, Justine. Publisher and Editorial Director, Jana Kerr Petty, promises that Justine is “positive and uncompromising,” “with a focus on a healthy lifestyle.”
(http://justinemagazine.com/aug_sept07/publisher_letter.htm) The $14.95 per year subscription price is higher than the price for rival magazines, Teen and the industry leader, Seventeen, however Justine appears ready to take on the long-time favorites, billing itself as “the new teen in town.” The June/July 2007 cover features an attractive blond model, an inset of celebrity Mandy Moore, feature article teasers, and a top banner touting an exclusive interview with Bonnie Wright, of Harry Potter fame. Placed side by side with Seventeen magazine, it’s difficult to tell them apart. The higher subscription price can most likely be attributed to the very minimal amount of advertising in Justine.

Justine contains six focus areas – features, “just’beauty,” “just’style,” “just’life,” “just’media,” and “just’give.” True to its publisher’s promise, Justine shuns celebrity dirt in favor of uplifting celebrity stories, and the positive message reveals itself in activism (Dollars for Darfur, for example) and athlete profiles. This wholesome message, however, does not necessarily spell “uncool” for YA readers. Justine contains the beauty tips, fashion advice, and celebrity bios (Corbin Bleu of High School Musical) de rigueur for a publication of this type. Reviews of books, movies, music and technology, round out the serial’s offerings. Judging by content and the average age of letters written to the editor, the target audience for Justine is teenaged girls, aged fourteen to seventeen. It will be interesting to see if this fairly new magazine will have staying power.

The 39 Clues

I am reading all of the buzz about Scholastic's upcoming book series, website, trading cards, interactive site, and movie - The 39 Clues. With top writers like Rick Riordan and Gordon Korman lined up to write the series, and Steven Spielberg interested in the movie, The 39 Clues appears to be a huge undertaking. The series will focus on the fictional Cahill family and its links to important events in history throughout the ages. The story, set to unfold in books as well as online, debuts in September. Stay tuned!

New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/books/18scho.html

The 39 Clues homepage http://the39clues.scholastic.com/

The 39 Clues introductory video http://the39clues.scholastic.com/inthenews/index.clue