• Colleen Mondor over at Chasing Ray puts a whole new spin on the Kirkus death that I think is worth reading.  "I’m wondering why the discussion about Kirkus seems to include only the demise of professional reviewing and the increase in personal reviewing – with the entire middle ground overlooked. I’m talking about the hundreds of literary magazines out there (print and online) that have been publishing reviews for decades often by well regarded critics and authors and always for editors."  And once again I am reminded how lucky we are to have Colleen on our side.

• Barbara Bader also discusses the end of that particular publication.

• New Rainbow List alert.  According to their website, "the 2009 Rainbow List, a joint undertaking of the American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table and Social Responsibilities Round Table. Featuring well-written and/or well-illustrated titles with authentic and significant gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered/queer/questioning (GLBTQ) content for youth from birth through age 18, this year’s bibliography presents 34 outstanding titles, published in the last eighteen months and representing a broad range of GLBTQ experience."  Sounds good to me.  Alas, I was hoping that all the books on the list would be just from 2009.  They’re not, but it’s still worth checking out.  Hopefully in the future there’ll be enough published in a given year to make for a significant round-up of the past 365 days.  Thanks to Lee Wind for the link.  UPDATE: Malinda Lo noticed that I linked to last year’s list.  She says, "The new one, the 2010 Rainbow List, will be released, I believe, in early 2010. That list will include 2009 books."  So there you go then.

• You know how much I like lists to begin with. If I can list it, I can love it. So Jonathan Hunt’s recent post looking at past Newbery and Newbery Honor winners and how many stars they got prior to their award win is nothing short of fascinating to me.  Rules by Cynthia Lord got zero stars?  Geez o’ petes what is wrong with the world today?  It’s a wonderful reminder that a star does not a winner make (though it certainly helps).

• From Cynopsis Kids :

"Japan’s Studio Ghibli is adapting author Mary Norton’s 1952 classic kid’s book, The Borrowers, as an animated feature film, per Variety.  Directed by animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi under the supervision of the great Hayao Miyazaki, who is also one of the heads of the studio, the movie is titled Karigurashi no Arrietty (Arrietty Borrows Everything).  The movie is set for a summer 2010 release with Toho serving as distributor.  Studio Ghibli is known for its animated features including Ponyo, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and My Neighbor Totoro among others."

• 100 Scope Notes may have cornered the market on librarian gifts you do not want to give, but if you’re still desperately looking for a special something for a librarian you love (guess what’s in exactly one week?), seek ye no further than the Librarian in Black’s Gift Guide for Librarians and Book Lovers.  It’s Etsy-rific.  Thanks to AL Direct for the link.

• My new favorite illustrator: Red Nose Studio.  Red Nose Studio is apparently a bloke by the name of Chris Sickels who creates these remarkable little models.  He has a book coming out this February penned by Jonah Winter called Here Comes the Garbage Barge that is possibly the most wonderful little bit of fictionalized non-fiction in picture book form I’ve seen in a long time.  To quote my friend Lori, I lurve it.  Keep an eye on this fellow.  He’s one to watch.

• Shake-up in Putnam City.  According to PW: "Putnam Books for Young Readers president and publisher Nancy Paulsen is launching an eponymous imprint, Nancy Paulsen Books, with the first titles landing in 2011."  Hoo!  Thanks to PW Daily for the link.

• Daily Image:

Sometimes when I take the kids on a tour of the library I like to show them this fabulous cutaway image that was in Scientific America circa 1911.  It’s a view of what our stacks would look like if you sliced our building in half.  Well recently there was a " Modern Women of Sewing " event here and one of the folks who attended was inspired.  In effect, she created a library skirt.

Thanks to Jessica Pigza for the link.

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