Thank You, Ev!

A few days ago Ev Bishop nominated me for a Prolific Blogger Award, which just goes to show, my dogged (obsessive?) determination to post every single weekend has been rewarded! Thanks to Ev, not only for the award, but for the opportunity to nominate a few of my own many favorite blogs, with an emphasis on active involvement as well as quality.

To begin with, let me tell you that I find myself visiting CHARLOTTE'S LIBRARY an awful lot these days. Why? Because fantasy is my favorite genre, and Charlotte Taylor keeps me up to the minute with her posts about middle grade and YA sci-fi/fantasy. I particularly like her new Sunday roundups of middle grade sff reviews from throughout Kidlitosphere, also her frequent lists of the latest books coming off the presses. Charlotte's own reviews are both down-to-earth and intelligent, which not everybody can do at the same time!

Here are Charlotte's latest Sunday roundup, a cool post that introduced me to the term "field of care," and her most recent list of new sff books for kids.


Becky of BECKY'S BOOK REVIEW awes me because she is such a prolific reader! (I thought I was, till I started visiting her blog...) She also has an eye for off-the-wall picks and a nice wry voice, which further endears her to me.

Here is Becky's recent Poetry Friday post about a great poetry collection for children, The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry. Her latest review is of Cynthia Kadohota's A Million Shades of Gray.


Doret of THE HAPPY NAPPY BOOKSELLER has left some thoughtful comments on my blog and on other blogs I've visited. She's an active voice in Kidlitosphere, a voice in particular for African American literature, and a voice for great books, period. Read her reviews and you'll see what I mean.

Here are her thoughts on Black History Month, plus links, and a review of Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves.

I know YA author LINDA GERBER from the online critique group I belong to, lucky me. She used to be the SCBWI rep over in Japan, but she's back in the States and still going strong. Linda networks like nobody's business—she seems to know everybody in the YA world. Linda's blog is cheerful and lively, filled with interviews, giveaways, and Linda's own exuberant personality.

Check out Linda's latest "Freebie Friday" post, a review, interview, and book giveaway featuring Jen Nadol's YA book, The Mark.


INTO THE WARDROBE's Tarie helps me remember how cozy the Internet can make the world, since she lives in the Philippines. Tarie focuses on multicultural literature with wit and good humor, bringing books to my attention that I might otherwise miss.

Here is Tarie's overview of the Spirit of Paper Tigers Project, an effort to get multicultural books into underfunded libraries around the world. And here are a review, a video, and an author interview for my new favorite nonfiction book, The Frog Scientist by Pamela S. Turner. (I just recommended it to a fellow teacher, who took it to a homebound student along with five or six other books she thought he'd like better. But he chose The Frog Scientist!)


SCRUB-A-DUB-TUB may be familiar to many of you, but I can't talk about blogs without highlighting one of our literacy activists! Along with Jen of Jen Robinson's Book Page (see also Booklights), Terry keeps us on track when it comes to getting kids to fall in love with reading—really the driving force behind so much of what we do.

This is Terry's February Roundup of Resources for Literacy and Reading, for example.


Finally, I'll mention a blog that's new to me, although it looks like many other blog readers already know about it. The blogger of GREEN BEAN TEEN QUEEN is one of my favorite things, a tween/teen librarian, and I was impressed by her recent review of this year's Coretta Scott King award winner, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson's Bad News for Outlaws, a biography of Bass Reeves.

Take a look at GBTQ's "In My Mailbox," where this week she spotlights The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott, The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee, and Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten. Or try her recent review of Lesley Livingston's Wondrous Strange.


I'll confess that I don't go out visiting other blogs nearly as often as I should, so this award has served to remind me just how nice it is to see what everyone else is up to. Check out the blogs I've listed and then visit a few more, looking for those not-so-hidden treasures in the marvelous world of people who love and blog about children's books.

Note to winners: Feel free to give this award to your own 6-7 Prolific Blogger picks!