Quick Link: Poet Lee Bennett Hopkins Launches New Site!

 

     Amazing and prolific children's poetry writer Lee Bennett Hopkins has launched a new website yesterday! On the site, he reports that he has written over 250 collections of poetry for children in his lifetime. That's an amazing accomplishment! Hopkins was a part of the establishment of two awards for poetry in children's literature. One of these is  awarded by the International Reading Association every three years, and it is called the Lee Bennett Hopkins/IRA Promising Poet Award. The other, with his namesake, is sponsored by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association and the Pennsylvania Center for the Book.

• Lee Bennett Hopkins new website link
• Lee Bennett Hopkins blog journal just launched on March 18, 2011
• A selection of popular Lee Bennett Hopkins books
• Lee Bennett Hopkins on Facebook

Four of my personal favorites from Lee Bennett Hopkins includes:

• Sharing the Seasons (Margaret K. McElderry, 2010)

• My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2000)
  
  
• Incredible Inventions (Greenwillow, 2009)

• Wonderful Words (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2004) 

His newest collection, I Am the Book (Holiday House, 2011) was just released on March 15th. I certainly love the topic and I can't wait to explore it at a library or bookstore soon! Remember, April is National Poetry Month. I'll be posting about some additional favorite poetry books and authors in the month of April as well!

Celebrate the Upcoming Children's Book Week by Voting for the 2011 Children's Choice Book Awards!

     Another fabulous opportunity to celebrate the best in new children's literature will occur during Children's Book Week. This year, it falls on the week of May 2-8, 2011! It is sponsored by the Children's Book Council. The voting for the Children's Choice Book Awards is now open! It's super easy to vote online through their site.



This year's poster art is created by Peter Brown, author of
Children Make Terrible Pets (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2010)



     The awards are going to be hosted by fabulously talented Jarrett Krosoczka. The voting is divided into three categories: K-2, 3-4, and 5-6. Check out the nominees to find an inspiration for a read aloud, a new mentor text to tie in to a mini-lesson, or a fresh suggestion or two for your classroom library. 

Voting for K-2 - Nominations

Voting for 3-4 - Nominations

Voting for 5-6 - Nominations 

     A very cool feature the CBC set up to present the nominees is through the site A Story Before Bed.  Through here, you can watch Jarrett announce the books and authors through a video while a virtual book turns pages in to show the books of the competitors!  

You can follow Children's Choice Book Awards on Facebook and on Twitter for the most current updates!

Check out Jarrett Krosoczka's awesome website! You can also read a fun entry in my old blog from where Jarrett visited our school and my young authors!

If you would like to order a copy of Children's Book Week poster for 2011, check out this link from the CBC site for where to send a self-addressed stamped envelope. It just cost an envelope and 65 cents in postage for one! :)

Quick Link: Notable Books from the Children's Literature Assembly Announced!

The Children's Literature Assembly is an affiliate of NCTE (The National Council of the Teachers of English.) It has released the 2011 Notable Book List from the Children's Literature Assembly recently. You can check it out here:

Children's Literature Assembly - Notable books for 2011

You can also check out their Journal of Children's Literature, which is published twice a year, through this link. The direct link to CLA on Facebook for the most current updates on the organization's activities. 

Journal of Children's Literature from the Children's Literature Assembly


Children's Literature Assembly on Facebook