ICBD

Happy Children's Book Day, everyone! 

The Book of the Future

A funny online strip by Grant Snider on The Book of the Future. 

Although I must say, I love my Kindle! It is not backlit so it doesn't hurt my eyes, and I can make the text as big as I need it so I don't need to wear my glasses. 

Bologna 2012 Photos

Via Publishers Weekly, here are some pictures from the 2012 Bologna Children's Book Fair! 

Here is the fair website. 

Scholastic Launches E-Reading App

The big news in children's publishing this week: Scholastic is releasing an e-reading app.

The kids’ e-book market is still nascent, with e-books making up just about three percent of children’s book sales. That could change now that Scholastic, the world’s largest children’s book publisher, is digitizing much of its list and releasing an e-reading app, “Storia,” that includes a large e-bookstore and lets kids read e-books based on their reading level.

Dr. Seuss

Happy 108th Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” 

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Study: New children's books lack reference to nature, animals

Read the whole thing at USA Today.

Researchers at several universities reviewed about 8,100 images in 296 children's books. The books were all Caldecott Medal winners and honorees from 1938 to 2008. The Caldecott awards are given annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. 

Researchers categorized images as containing either a natural environment, such as a jungle or forest; a built environment, such as a house, school or office; or a modified environment, such as a mowed lawn, park or farm field. They also identified wild and domestic animals.

Jan Berenstain's Obituary

Here is Jan Berenstain's obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Mrs. Berenstain was stricken at her home in Solebury, Bucks County, on Thursday. Just two days earlier, she had still been at work in the studio, illustrating two books that will appear later this year, said her son, Michael Berenstain, an artist who has been her coauthor in recent years. The books, which Michael Berenstain will finish, are to be published in December.

Rest in Peace, Jan Berenstain

From the Washington Post: Jan Berenstain, co-creator of Berenstain Bears children’s books with husband Stan, dies at 88.

“They say jokes don’t travel well, but family humor does,” Jan Berenstain told The Associated Press in 2011. “Family values is what we’re all about.”

Children's Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling

A good article from Maria Popova at the Atlantic discussing Martin Salisbury's new book, Children's Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling. 

I found his Illustrating Children's Books: Creating Pictures for Publication very interesting and valuable, and have added this new book to my wish list. 

In Children's Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling, illustrator Martin Salisbury and children's literature scholar Morag Styles trace the fascinating evolution of the picturebook as a storytelling medium and a cultural agent, and peer into the future to see where the medium might be going next, with case studies of seminal works, a survey of artistic techniques, and peeks inside the sketchbooks and creative process of prominent illustrators adding dimension to this thoughtful and visually engrossing journey.

I Am a Pole

Believe it or not, Stephen Colbert is publishing his picture book, I Am a Pole (And So Can You!).