By Sara HoffmannSenior Editor If you’re anything like me, your thoughts have probably turned to holiday shopping (unless, of course, you’re already done with your holiday shopping—in which case I’m incredibly jealous). Finding the right gifts can be daunting, but I have a list that just might help. These Lerner books make excellent gifts for […]Read more "Holiday Shopping Lerner Style"

I’m on record all over the place that young adult is a genre and that paranormal, dystopian, realistic, etc. are best thought of subgenres of YA. I’ve said many times that adolescent experience is the concern of all YA, and the subgenres are the prisms through which we view that experience. I continue to believe […]Read more "The rise of the subs"

Drum roll, please! It’s time to announce the results of our Night Fall™ Scary Story Writing Contest. And the winner is Macy from Spring, Texas! We read through hundreds of wonderful entries, but Macy’s ending made us cringe with fear. As the lucky winner, Macy will receive a set of Night Fall™ books for her […]Read more "Night Fall™ Scary Story Contest Winner!"

By Domenica Di Piazza, Editorial Director, TFCB (Tom Emmer, above left; Mark Dayton, above right) My brother is the co-founder of a great educational commonplace book (website, blog) called GOVERNINGWorks. It deals with political life and law (mostly American) and offers one main essay or interview per week (Tuesdays) along with wonderful links to all […]Read more "Minnesota Recounts….Again"

By Carol HinzEditorial Director, Millbrook Press I’m a big fan of charts, schedules, and spreadsheets. Without them, I’m not sure how I’d know where a project is at a given moment or when it needs to be done. In my office, I have what I affectionately call my wall o’charts. Here is a photo showing […]Read more "Got Charts?"

By Domenica Di Piazza, Editorial Director, TFCB TFCB science writer and illustrator Ron Miller is always feeding me the most wonderful science activities. I’m always amazed at how Ron is able to offer such an easy way to get a grasp of the huge cosmic forces at work around us every day. The latest Ron […]Read more "Star Dust"

By Carol HinzEditorial Director, Millbrook Press As you may already know, Brian P. Cleary is the author of the entertaining and educational Words Are CATegorical books. But did you know that he also posts fun word trivia on his Facebook page? Here are a few recent tidbits: WITHOUT LOOKING IT UP what does GLEDGE mean? […]Read more "Fun with Words from Brian P. Cleary"

Covers have an uneasy relationship with social media, or so it is beginning to seem to me. So much about the book making and marketing processes have updated themselves for a socially networked world. In this world covers are, in best cases, avatars for books and their authors and lightning rods for their publishers in […]Read more "Covers (probably part I)"

Here’s a happy occasion for GU Comics Day to return to the blog! Kirkus Book Reviews has announced their 2010 Best Children’s Books, and two Graphic Universe titles are on the list: Hamster and Cheese and And Then There Were Gnomes by Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue. There are of course many other great books […]Read more "GU Comics Day: Hurrah for Guinea Pigs (and Koalas)! Kirkus announces its 2010 Best Children’s Books List"