'A Wrinkle In Time' Turns 50!

This year, the book, A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle is celebrating it's 50th year of publication. (I'm sure I mentioned this as upcoming sometime last year... and thanks to David Maybury for the blog reminder). A truly incredible journey of a book... if you haven't ever read it, you really should. Give it to your children, share it in the classroom... please, please pick up this book ASAP. If you have read it, read it again. It will amaze and enchant you all over again.

Also, one of the best books of last year is Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me, which was written (in part) as a tribute to Madeleine L'Engle's outstanding story.
Happy 50th Birthday, A Wrinkle In Time. You gave me more years of joy than I could have imagined. (But that's what great books do!)

p.s. I will also take the opportunity to remind you that another great childrens' contemporary classic The Phantom Tollbooth turned 50 last year! What a great time it was for children's literature..... (and other nostalgic thoughts....)

The 20 Most Beautiful Bookshops in the World

On this chilly February morning (February 2nd...Happy Groundhog Day, by the way), here's a link for 'The Most Beautiful Bookshops in the World'. Pointed out by our good friends at Children's Books Ireland, they really are spectacular. If you're feeling particularly cold and dismal, check out the bookshop in Ojai, California (above and link via Book Chatter blog to more of Bart's Books 2nd below). It'll warm you right up!
http://flavorwire.com/254434/the-20-most-beautiful-bookstores-in-the-world#20
http://bookchatter.net/2009/05/10/the-sunday-salon-barts-books/

Five Children, Jacqueline Wilson and It?

As part od Puffin's Classic's 30th anniversary, Jacqueline Wilson will be publishing an updated version of E Nesbit's Five Children and It. To be published in August, Wilson's story will centre around four contemporary children who travel back in time to meet Nesbit's original group. They discover the Psammead in a big sand pit in Oxshott Woods, Surrey and have their fondest wishes granted.
Wilson has been a fan of Nesbit's writing since she was young;
"I loved the way she wrote very approachably. This is a kind of tribute to her because I so admire."
As well as Four Children and It, we can look forward to The Further Tales of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson, and more!
Thank you to The Bookseller for this information.
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/five-become-four-wilsons-nesbit-update.html

New Releases From Little Island

Little Island has just released some fantastic new books! Two of the books I have been most looking forward to are:

The World's Worst Mothers by Sabine Ludwig
Upon hearing about a contest to find 'the world's worst mothers', Ludwic, Sophie and Emily are very quick to volunteer their mothers for the competition. But when their mothers disappear and are replaced by  perfect 'Aunt Annas', they soon discover that something sinister is afoot! "A fishy tale of betrayal,intrigue and adventure on the high seas - and the dog gets shot!'
Large Mammals, Stick Insects and Other Social Misfits by Felicity McCall
Aimee McCourt's cross-border exchange partner, Caoimhe is coming to visit, along with her gorgeous brother Darren. As Aimee tries to get her best-friends' lives back in order - as well as her own- she finds that as long as she has her stack of lists, her cat, Rainbow, a hot chocolate and Facebook, nothing is impossible! Honest, fast-paced and just plain fun this is a delightful read without being simplistic or boring.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

This interesting bit of news came in today and I thought I'd share it with you. As you probably know, Michael Morpurgo's beautiful book War Horse has now been made into a feature film and is out in the cinema now... and the play is having a brilliant run in the West End, as well.
(Now for the interesting bit...) In the past two weeks since the films opening, War Horse (the book has sold more copies in the UK than it has since it was first published 25 years ago! Pulisher, Egmont Press, says that in the last fortnight, War Horse has sold 30,000 copies per week in the UK; whereas it has sold 50,000 copies total worldwide between 1982 and 2007 (when the stage play opened) creating an average sales rate of 2000 per year in that time period. Staggering!
War Horse is the story of Joey, a farm horse, told from his perspective. Joey gets separated from his owner and ends up in the trenches during World War I. War Horse is a true classic and if you haven't read it yet, please take the time to do so now. (The film is wonderful as well, but differs from the book in it's telling of the story.)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16750325

World Book Day Extravaganza 2012!!!!

I'm really excited about this year's World Book Day events at Dubray Books, Galway! I've got an  all-star cast lined up and it gets better day by day. So far, we'll be hosting reading events for the local schools by such wonderful authors/story-tellers as.....

Patricia Forde, Rab Swannock Fulton, Kevin Whelan, Dolores Keaveney.....

Maeve Friel and Nicola Pierce!!!! There are a few more requests to authors outstanding... and, of course there is the regular cast and crew of Dubray Books, Galway (if there's any room left for us!)


The events will take place this year from Monday, 27th February through Friday, March 2nd. I'll be contacting the schools for confirmation of their attendance through the next 10 days.

THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT!!!!! Stay tuned for more exciting news about World Book Day!

Storytelling Superstar Competition

Do you know someone who is brilliant at bringing stories to life? It could be anyone...a parent, teacher, librarian... anyone at all! This is someone who brings such life and joy and entertainment to the story that you feel like you are right in the story and totally involved. If you know someone like this... then here is the competition to enter!!
Visit the WorldBookDay2012 Channel on YouTube for directions on how to enter, but basically, it involves making a brief (1-2 minute) video of your favourite storyteller doing their thing and entering it! The winner will be crowned World Book Day's Storytelling Superstar 2012 in March. So get busy! The competition closes on 13th of February.
Here's Cressida Cowell to tell you all about it!

http://www.youtube.com/worldbookday2012