Fallen Star Stories

This year's Late Late Toy Show on RTE attracted the highest viewer audience in well over a decade with an estimated 1.4 million viewers tuning in to Ryan Tubridy and his guests in order to view what's hot and what's not for this Christmas. The great thing about this show is always the kids.... they let you know exactly what they're actually thinking on the toys... and (especially what we're concerned with here) the books. Books got a fantastic showing with year, including some of my favourites. A Bit Lost by Chris Haughton is wonderful, humorous... a pure delight. (My further thoughts are on the Picture Books page.) Also, from our dear friends at Walker books, and equally wonderful, were There's Going To Be A Baby by John Burningham and Helen Oxenbury and, an oldie, but definitely a goody (making a surprise return) Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus by Mo Willems. Another not to be missed picture book featured is Up And Down by Oliver Jeffers. For the ...

The link below is for the Guardian review of Jennifer Donnelly's stunning new young adult novel Revolution . I include this here because it is the best, most precise review I've seen to date. Revolution is a spectacular book by a truly gifted author and this review tells you exactly why. A novel full of texture and emotion, it treats it's themes with such sensitivity and authority that it cannot fail to move you. And if you haven't read Donnelly's previous book A Gathering Light , please do so immediately. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/27/revolution-jennifer-donnelly-fiction-review

Today's Guardian (on-line) featured a very interesting gallery of children's books over the years. Chosen by The Observer's Kate Kellaway, these are her "The 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books" ; the finest picture books for children. Included are some real gems: Dogger by Shirley Hughes, The Princess and the Pea retold by Lauren Child and 'captured' by Polly Borland, The Cat and the Hat by Dr. Suess, The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan... but there are also some completely unexpected inclusions and some notable exclusions. (I'm thinking of E.H. Shepard and Eric Carle most immediately.) I know if you only have 10 slots for the best illustrated books, it' would be very difficult to chose.  I'm certainly NOT going to argue the validity of any of her selections...they are all wonderful. But I'm wondering about Kellaway's criteria. Was she applying a specific criteria or formula in her choices? Or were they simply her favourites? Not a cr...

This just in...... at the Bord Gais Irish Book Awards, held this evening at the Dublin Mansion House, the winners for 2010 were announced... all very interesting and brilliant (the shortlist was fantastic!)... Here on my blog, I'm of course most interested in the children's categories. And the winners are..... For the best children's book, junior category : On The Road With Mavis and Marge by Niamh Sharkey !!!!! (Yayyyy!!!!) In the senior category for best children's book: Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil by Derek (he's done it again!) Landy. CONGRATULATIONS NIAMH AND DEREK!!!! Couldn't be more pleased for you if I'd written the books myself. If you looking for more information on all the winners of this years awards, here's the link for the Irish Times breaking news article. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/1125/breaking64.html

For a while now, we have been anxiously anticipating the release of Barack Obama's children's picturebook, Of Thee I Sing : A Letter To My Daughters , and it has now hit the shops as of the 16th (November). Of Thee I Sing... was written (before he became US President) as a letter to his two young daughters, Sasha and Malia, who feature through the story and is dedicated to his wife, Michelle. A word of caution, this book is very, very, very US centred. But that in and of itself does nothing to detract from the sentiment of the book. While it features only historical figures from United States history, reminding his daughters of the significant role each figure played in the development of the nation, the focus is not so much on specific US events in history as it is the qualities these people represent... courage, justice, strength, belief in oneself and in others and the ability to create change in themselves and others surrounding them. It may noy sell as well over here as ...

Also from PW, the New York Public Library played host to our good (and scary) friend Darren Shan as part of their TeenLIVE programming , which looks to “spotlight current cultural trends and important mainstays that inform the lives of today’s teens.” The event was held to celebrate the publication of Shan's newest novel The Saga of Larten Crepsley: Birth of a Killer. Shan was seen hobnobbing with actors dressed as characters from the Cirque du Freak series, and crow puppets made just for the occasion. And from all accounts, a good time was had by all.

There is a veritable treasure trove of children's book news from Publishers Weekly this week. One item of particular interest was a Q&A with former UK children's laureate and nearly everybody's favourite author, Michael Rosen. (I know he's mine!) In the Q&A, Michael addresses such ponderings as the whys of writing poetry and it's impact on children's literature, the importance of the picture book, his role as children's laureate and his newest (simply wonderful) offering Tiny Little Fly , illustrated by Kevin Waldron. Here's the (rather long) link: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/45217-q--a-with-michael-rosen.html