Wednesday Blurbs

I am so happy! Why? Lots of reasons.

First up: It’s official! The Cybils 2009 panelist and judges lists are being announced. I am so excited to be on the Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books Panel. The category has been tweaked from last year to be more representative of the stages of reading in this phase of a reader’s development. Look who I get to chat books with …

Panel organizer: Anastasia Suen, 5 Great Books, Literacy Links
Panelists: Sarah R. Neal, In Need of Chocolate; Jennifer Wharton, Jean Little Library, Check It Out; and
Melissa Young, Sweet On Books! Lucky me.

The reader is slowly inching its way down to 700. Why is it taking so long? Because (a) there have been a TON of great reviews, and my virtual TBR pile is growing exponentially! and (b) we have a new Literacy and Reading Wiki ! Susan Stephenson (The Book Chook) and I have been building, tweaking, and otherwise polishing this go-to resource for books and reading. The goal is to create a comprehensive, family-friendly space that links users to reading ideas and tools with booklists, article links, videos, and (when it becomes available) whatever they think of next. Some spots (like the authors and illustrators online page) are still thin, but they will grow over time. Stop by, tell us what you think … and if you’d like to volunteer to take a page, just send me a note!

Attention Librarians: Bryn Samuels, a graduate student at U of Tennessee, is conducting a survey about the use of picture books in developing an informational literacy curriculum. Sounds long, but she assures us that the survey is short. You can read more on her blog, Lybrio, or just take the free survey to help.