A blogging bonanza.

I have so much exciting stuff to share with you that you'll want to hold on to your yellow hat.

-- Voting for the Children's Choice Book Awards is in full swing to prepare for 2010 Children's Book Week, coming up in May. Heavyweight contenders include Suzanne Collins, Jeff Kinney, and Rick Riordan. Make sure to have your say at the voting page!

-- Speaking of voting, School Library Journal's Battle of the Books has also started (we're actually into week 2 already). Watch great novels and nonfiction duke it out for the admiration of your favorite authors.

I can't really fathom how their selection process works as it seems completely arbitrary -- or maybe that's exactly how the selection process works -- but it makes for pretty high drama when they pit Newbery winner When You Reach Me against NYT Best Illustrated Tales from Outer Suburbia and expect poor Julius Lester to pick one. Picture Survivor, but with kids' books. (You'll have to go see for yourself which one he chose. I don't envy him the decision!)

-- I blogged yesterday that we're giving away pairs of tickets to Curious George Live! but then we realized that getting four tickets would be twice as fun. The first two people each week before the shows (weekend of April 23-25) who come to the Hut and mention they read the blog will get FOUR vouchers redeemable for Curious George Live! tickets.

-- In addition to more (!!!) fairy godperson gifts of books showing up for me, yesterday brought an ARC of Linger, the second Wolves of Mercy Falls book by Maggie Stiefvater. Unlike magical, serendipitous Penguin packages, this was one I had been expecting (thanks Nikki at Scholastic!). Super-receiver John is probably relieved that my almost-daily ants-in-the-pants ritual of "Is it here yet?....How 'bout now?" is, at least for the moment, over. And there was much rejoicing in the Hut. The new Penguin books are Laurie Halse Andersen's Wintergirls and Gayle Forman's If I Stay. I read Wintergirls when it first pubbed in hardcover and loved it, so Natasha snatched it up. I'm looking forward to If I Stay, which I've heard nothing but good things about. Thank you Penguin!

Grapevine (Jungle vine?) news...

A little bird (OK, my roommate who heard from a co-worker who heard from some other source) that Martin Scorcese, fresh off Shutter Island success, is adapting Brian Selznick's 2008 Caldecott winner The Invention of Hugo Cabret into a film. I did some internet research and found factual evidence on Reel Loop, via IMDB.

Let's clarify... this will be a cinematic, graphic novel about film to be made into a film? I wish you the best of luck, Scorcese. Here's hoping it's another Fantastic Mr. Fox style success.

New reviews, new voices: Kid Reviews #3

We're getting lots of reviews on the bulletin board, and while series (Twilight, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid) top the charts, so to speak, plenty of other favorites show up too! Here's the latest batch of kid picks:

Title: Dealing With Dragons
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
Reviewed by: Sean
Rating: 5 bananas
“One of my all-time favorite books.”



Title: The Lightning Thief
Author: Rick Riordan
Reviewed by: Sam
Rating: 5 bananas
“It is action-packed and suspenseful. Before you read it you need to know about Greek myths to understand it is a great book.”


Title: Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People
Author: Dav Pilkey
Reviewed by: Spencer
Rating: 5 bananas
“I loved this book."


Title: The Breadwinner
Author: Deborah Ellis
Reviewed by: Alexa
Rating: 5 bananas
“It was an amazing book – very well written.”



Title: The Twilight series
Author: Stephenie Meyers
Reviewed by: ♥ Do ♥
Rating: 6 bananas [last one drawn in – cute!]
“Amazing! Oh my goodness, I was so wrapped up in it I could never put any of the books down!”


Title: Ramona the Brave
Author: Beverly Cleary
Reviewed by: Taylor
Rating: 5 bananas
“It was a really great book. Anyone should read it.”



Title: Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls – Best Friends and Drama Queens
Author: Meg Cabot
Reviewed by: Leah
Rating: 5 bananas



We love to see what you think about what you've been reading, so keep up the great work!

Curious George Sees the World

...well, not exactly, but merchandise buyer Ellen has made some awesome new finds lately that span the globe!

We've been expanding our foreign language section to include even more fun multilingual resources. Little Pim offers a great new line of foreign language learning tools for babies on up. Kids speaking their first language with adorable panda Little Pim himself share everyday vocabulary and phrases. We have several levels of Spanish, French, and Chinese DVDs, flash cards, and even catchy pop music!

Putumayo Kids CDs feature fun children's music from around the world. Latin Playground, World Playground, and Celtic Dreamland are just a few of our many selections. French Playground has been on heavy rotation on the Hut's stereo -- check out our pirate-inspired favorite track "Croque" by Thomas Fersen. (Michelle objects to my use of the adjective "pirate-inspired" and says it's instead "Fiddler on the Roof-y." I humbly submit "klezmer-inspired" as an alternative.)

I'm most excited about our new WaiLana Little Yogis items: kid-sized, eco-friendly yoga mats, inflatable yoga balls, and even a full yoga kit with mat, carrying bag, instructional DVD, and pose poster.

Best of all, these are perfect activities for rainy days indoors when your little ones (and yourself) are bouncing off the walls!

Wherein there is fangirling.

We have not one, but three new books illustrated by our oh-so-talented and all-around-lovely alumna Julia Denos! Julia's previous work includes the early reader biography Sojourner Truth: Path to Glory by Peter Merchant, the early chapter book series Sleepover Squad by PJ Denton, and the picture book My Little Girl by country singer Tim McGraw.

Her newest books are:
- 100 Days and 99 Nights by Alan Madison, an early chapter book about Esme's long wait for her father to return from his tour of duty.

- Cornelia and the Great Snake Escape by Pam Munoz Ryan, an early reader in which Cornelia tries to convince her mother that her new snake Corny is a great pet -- not an easy task when he escapes from his cage!

- Cornelia and the Show-and-Tell Showdown, the second Cornelia book, in which taking Corny to school for show and tell is a more daunting adventure than Cornelia expected, especially with bully Jason pestering her pet.

All three feature Julia's distinctive, endearing pencil and watercolor illustrations. Her kids are so real and expressive you'll want to hug them! See them in the new paperback display downstairs, and then stop by Julia's blog to tell her how much you like them. :)

Now accepting entries for the annual Art and Writing Contest!

Our annual Just for Kids Art and Writing Contest is here, so break out your pens, pencils, markers, paints, typewriters, or word processors and start working on your masterpieces! You may enter one or both contests in your age group.

The art contest categories are
ages 5-7 ages 8-10 ages 11-13
Illustrate a scene from your favorite poem, short story, fairy tale, or book. Please be sure to label your artwork with the title and author of the work you've chosen to illustrate.

The writing contest categories are
ages 5-7 ages 8-10 ages 11-13
Write an original short story, poem, or essay (three pages maximum).

Pick up an entry form at the register, or print one from the blog. All entries must be postmarked or turned in to the store by May 14. Results will be announced on our blogs (Notes from the Hut and Curious George's Art and Writing Contests) on May 15. Winners will be notified by mail.

Prize-winning work (1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, plus honorable mentions) will be posted online, and winning art will be displayed in the store's Yellow Hat Gallery through the summer. 1st place through 3rd winners will receive store gift certificates!

No purchase is necessary. All kids ages 5-13 are eligible, except relatives of Curious George employees. Please enter each contest only once; children submitting multiple entries in either contest will be disqualified. Children should enter only their own work.

To print, right click and select "open link in new window." When the new window opens, select "print" under your browser's file menu.

Now that you know all the rules, put on your thinking cap and get started! Good luck to all our entrants!

The guest blog series strikes back!

We're thrilled to have YA author Robin Wasserman as a guest blogger! I can't possibly improve upon the bio on Robin's website -- "writer, chocoholic, certified procrastinator, TV addict, sometime cupcake baker, and all-time world champion klutz" -- except maybe by pointing out that Robin has written Hacking Harvard, Chasing Yesterday, and the Seven Deadly Sins series. The second book in her Skinned trilogy, Crashed, pubbed in September. Whether your taste runs toward snarky high school drama or dystopian sci-fi, Robin has a great book for you!

First of all, thanks for having me on your site; I’m so excited to be here! I lived in Cambridge when I was in college and used to stop by the Curious George Bookstore whenever I needed a pick-me-up. I would stare at the “W” section on the shelf and dream of seeing my own name there someday. So it’s a little surreal that it’s actually happened. Clearly Curious George is some serious good luck.

How soon can we get our hands on the third Skinned book, Wired?!
Well, as of this week, the manuscript is officially finished, so you’re definitely one step closer. But the book won’t be in stores until September 2010 (plenty of time to go out and read the first two in the trilogy…).

How is writing your sci-fi novels different from writing the contemporary realistic ones? Do you prepare differently, write in another space, listen to different music? (Do you think of Skinned and Crashed as “sci-fi,” or do you prefer something else?)
I was a huge sci-fi fan when I was a kid, so I definitely have no issues with the term. I always figured I’d grow up to write books about spaceships and aliens and time travel, but I guess for the moment, angsty mechanical teenagers will have to do!

That said, I don’t approach these books any differently than the realistic fiction I’ve done (except for the fact that I do a bit less on-the-spot research, since it’s hard to go visit the future). I think when you’re writing about a world that doesn’t exist, it’s incredibly important to make sure that the characters and their relationships feel grounded in reality—that their experiences and emotional reactions are just as believable and identifiable as they would be in any conventionally “realistic” novel. Lia, the main character in Skinned, may be living in a dreary dystopia, trapped in a mechanical body, but that’s reality for her. She doesn’t know that she’s in a science fiction story, so as I write, I try to pretend she isn’t.

Although I do enjoy the occasional robot song. This one is not to be missed.

What was the inspiration for the Seven Deadly Sins series? Was it ever tempting to stop at, say, the third or fourth deadly sin?
In 2003, I moved from New York to LA, and spent a couple weeks driving all my stuff cross country. It was the first time I’d ever seen the desert, and I was blown away. There was something about the broad expanses of arid land dotted by cacti, deserted highways, and the occasional dusty, small town that grabbed hold of my imagination and wouldn’t let go. I couldn’t stop wondering what it would have been like to grow up in a place like that.

The characters followed the setting, and the plot came after that—I mapped out all seven books at the beginning, so I was determined to get them all down on the page, as long as my publisher would let me. Fortunately, they did, and even though it was tempting to give up sometimes—sloth, as you can imagine, posed a particular challenge—I managed to push through. Actually, of all the characters I’ve written, those are the ones I miss the most. I lived in the Seven Deadly Sins for so long that the characters became almost real to me, and I often wonder what they’re up to these days…

You’ve blogged about the idea that some books are “bad influences.” Has there been any controversy about your books, i.e., accusations that they “make teens do things”?
When the Seven Deadly Sins came out, I worried that there would be some uproar, especially since the title seemed to invite it, but I’ve been fortunate in having very few challenges issued to my books. However, I’ve watched several of my friends deal with their books being challenged in schools and libraries all over the country, and it never fails to alarm me to see words and ideas labeled as dangerous.

How did you and Scott Westerfeld become “partners in crime”?
I still remember sitting in airport several years ago, shortly after I’d sold the Seven Deadly Sins, reading an advance copy of Uglies. I loved it. And I couldn’t believe I was going to share a publishing imprint with the author. Over the next couple years, I read and loved Scott’s other books (including the final book in the Midnighters trilogy, my current favorite), and eventually I got to meet Scott himself. I was incredibly intimidated and, I’m sure, made a complete fool out of myself as I babbled about what a fan I was of his work. Miraculously, I managed not to scare him away, which turned out to be a lucky thing for me.

Scott is about as generous as he is brilliant, which means I’ve gotten a lot of advice from him in the last couple years. (And he’s as brilliant at the advice-giving as he is at the writing.) This fall our publishing company sent us on the road together for a week, and the rest was history. (Or at least, it was a fabulous road trip with plenty of very cool Westerfeld fans and some excellent food and drink along the way).

Thanks so much to Robin for the post (and bonus Flight of the Conchords video)! Make sure to check out Robin's website, blog, and Twitter, all of which are thoughtful and hilarious. I totally want to invite Robin over to bake cupcakes (with chocolate, of course -- and I hope she doesn't mind vegan) and talk YA.

Bippity boppity boo!

An update on the books from my fairy godperson at Penguin!

I'm in the middle of Jandy Nelson's brand-new YA novel The Sky is Everywhere. After her exuberant older sister Bailey dies suddenly, shy Lennie can only seem to feel two things: "crazy sad" and boy-crazy. Gram, Uncle Big, and Bailey's boyfriend Toby are devastated as well, and the four of them drift through their small town seeing nothing but Bailey's absence. Lennie's new classmate Joe is an unexpected source of comfort, but Lennie's torn between him and the off-limits Toby. With its just-slightly-larger-than-life hilarious characters, wrenching plot, and exquisite writing (both prose and poetry), I can only manage a few pages at a time before my heart hurts and I have to put it down.... but this is my next staff pick for sure!

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher is the other book I received mysteriously in the mail (in a somewhat When You Reach Me-esque way) from Penguin. While I haven't started it yet -- owing to my glacial pace on The Sky is Everywhere -- Michelle did read and recommend it:

Genre: dystopian, steampunk; for fans of Hunger Games
Suggested reading level: ages 14 and up
Synopsis: In order to make the world “safe,” Incarceron, a vast thinking prison, was created to contain the criminal or mentally ill. Finn, an epileptic prisoner, finds a crystal key to communicate with a girl Outside – but can he escape before Incarceron thinks, and acts, for itself? This British import blends action, philosophy, and mystery.

And it looks like Incarceron will be a movie! It'll be a while, but between The Lightning Thief and Alice in Wonderland out now, the upcoming Legends of the Guardians [of Ga'hoole] adaptation, and the long-awaited Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, our movie adaptation viewing schedule's planned for at least a month or two. :) AND DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, oh my gosh. I can't believe I forgot with our life-sized Wimpy Kid in his director's chair right in front of me.

Candlewick CHIRPs!

Staff fave (and Cambridge-based) publisher Candlewick Press just launched a program to show their appreciation for indie booksellers! Candlewick's Handselling Indie Recognition Program, or CHIRP for short, rewards indies with sneak peak books they're especially proud of in the upcoming season. They also encourage booksellers with tips for stronger handselling and cute CHIRP-printed shelftalkers for staff picks.

We're frequently complimented by customers on the thoughtfulness and knowledge of our staff members when recommending books. We're so happy to hear that Candlewick -- whom we love -- thinks these are valuable traits as well!

Happy birthday to you (and Thing One and Thing Two)!

Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday! (He's 106!)

In honor of Dr. Seuss, today is also annual Read Across America day. Schools, libraries, government programs, and even the First Family are celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday by renewing their dedication to literacy. Meanwhile, the "Cat-a-Van" wends its way through the states, treating students to read-alouds and donating funding and books to needy schools and their libraries. Check out the Library of Congress's Read.gov for more information on national literacy programs.

We'll be celebrating too with an upcoming event! Boston Sports Club for Kids will be joining us for story time on March 27th. They'll do a swim safety demonstration and fun activities to follow the reading of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Come on in at noon as usual.

One last thing: take a moment to feast your eyes on these amazing Seussian-themed cakes. Good books and good cakes -- what more could you want on someone else's birthday? :)