Battle of the Books

My Battle of the Books decision -- a heart-rending choice between Freedman's Washington at Valley Forge and Anderson's Chains -- is up on School Library Journal and Twitter. Jonathan Hunt professes shock at my decision!

And check this out: the Everdeen Sisters rap Now or Never (Battle of the Book style). Awesome talent!

Battle of the Books, We the People bookshelf grants

It's heating up over at the Battle of the Books. Catch their tweets here. "Judge Partridge" they're calling me. I like the sound of that. It has a certain heft, doesn't it?

Here's the brackets -- a complete list of the contestants and judges and how the books advance.
I'm on for Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson and Washington at Valley Forge by Russell Freedman. My winner goes toe to toe with Meg Rosoff's pick between Here Lies Arthur and Tender Morsels. And the final arbitrator of the whole show is Lois Lowry. Ahem... make that Judge Lowry.

Good news on another book front: National Endowment for the Humanities’ We the People Bookshelf grant program has awarded 4,000 libraries across the United States free hardcover editions of 22 classic books. This year's theme: Picturing America.

Check out the books for grades 9 to 12:

• Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis
  
• Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange by Elizabeth Partridge
  
• Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck
  
• Viajes Con Charley - En Busca de America by John Steinbeck (translated by Jose Manuel Alvarez Florez)
  
• Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

Pretty impressive company I'm keeping! Steinbeck, Tocqueville and Partridge? I know this is really an award for Dorothea Lange and her incredible photography. Still, I'm happy to bask in her glow!

And because I love great images, check out this one below by Julie Paschkis from the front page of the We the People website. Beautiful! And I love image within image within image. Always magical.

NCTE photos

Run right over to Laurie Halse Anderson's blog for terrific photos of NCTE/ALAN authors. I knew I'd find good photos soon!

Thanks so much, Laurie!

Odd book titles, finishing touches on Big Cat Pepper

My blog today should be "read, write, laugh."

One of the things I don't do well is come up with titles. I admire people who do short snappy titles -- Laurie Halse Anderson is incredible at this with titles like Speak and Chains. I seem to prefer ten words or more....

So here's a contest for oddest book title of the year, started at the international Bologna Book Fair. Read to the end (it's a short article) for a good laugh.

We're getting down to the details on Big Cat Pepper. Melanie Cecka at Bloomsbury just sent me flap copy to check over, and asked for my dedication. Lauren Castillo's artwork is all done and is absolutely gorgeous.

Laurie Halse Anderson live chat

Authors and hoping-soon-to-be-published-authors-- want to see a pro in action? The most awesome and forthright Laurie Halse Anderson will be chatting live on the MySpace readergirlz forum this Thursday, June 19th. For those of you who love to read YA literature, Laurie is inspiring when she talks about why and what she writes and her hopes for youth today. Check this out!

<http://groups.myspace.com/readergirlz>
<http://www.readergirlz.com/issue.html>

The chat will start at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST and last for about an hour. We're featuring her book PROM but the discussion goes in every direction. To whet your appetites, here are a few things we've found out about Laurie:

On your nightstand: Flashlight, notebook, pen (all for middle of the night ideas) and my inhaler.

Favorite drink while you write: Tea or coffee

Favorite bookstore: River's End Bookstore, Oswego, NY

Favorite library: Mexico Public Library, Mexico, NY

Pet: Kezzie (my German Shepherd)

Place to write: The loft of our house

Inspiration: My readers

Dream book tour: One that includes Paris, Edinburgh, and Tokyo

Author-buddies: Sarah Dessen, Chris Crutcher, Holly Black

Cure for writer's block: Run 5 miles

Favorite outfit: Jeans and hoodie sweatshirt, sneakers

Long-hand or laptop? Laptop

Stilettos or Uggs? Uggs!!!

Author idol: Francesca Lia Block

Next up: Chains (Fall 2008), Wintergirls (Spring 2009)