Source of image: bumpkinbears.

1. The March Carnival of Children’s Literature is up! Click over to The Miss Rumphius Effect and treat yourself to a delicious selection of book reviews, author interviews, storytime activities, author tributes, and posts about writing and literacy from all over the kidlitosphere. Tricia has arranged the links in such a fun way, guaranteed to get you caught up in all the carnival excitement.

         

2. Special thanks to Janet at Across the Page for presenting alphabet soup with the Prolific Blogger Award: "A Prolific Blogger is one who is intellectually productive . . . keeping up an active blog that is filled with enjoyable content." It’s always nice to receive an enthusiastic nod of approval from a fellow blogger!

3. Have you seen the Periodic Table of Cupcakes? These were specially made for Jacqueline Houtman’s book launch party; her debut novel, The Reinvention of Edison Thomas, was just released this month by Front Street/Boyds Mills Press. The cupcakes were even flavored according to their chemical group. Très cool!   

TTFN!

        
         photo from ichabodhides’s photostream.

Alrighty then.

Can you hear that faint jingle of sleigh bells? Eep! Christmas is only 24 days away. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving. In my next life I’m coming back as pie. Actually, after this weekend, I’ve already become pie. Just call me pumpkin or chocolate pecan.
November 29th and 30th are very good days for literature. Born on the 29th: Louisa May Alcott, Madeleine L’Engle, C.S. Lewis, Katherine Paterson. Born on the 30th: Mark Twain, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Jonathan Swift, Margot Zemach. 
The incomparable Maira Kalman (Pursuit of Happiness) created an amazing Thanksgiving picture essay,"Back to the Land." She visited Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, a couple of edible schoolyards, walked to California in her head a couple of times, met Michael Pollan, and makes a great case for America becoming "less fastly fastly and more slowly slowly" when it comes to growing our food. Don’t know how she does it, but each month Maira tops herself, and I have to say this one is my favorite so far. Don’t miss it!
Corinne at the Paper Tigers Blog recently mentioned the OllyBolly Online Picture Book Project from Korea. Anyone with internet access can watch animated stories from various countries around the world. So far, Vietnam, the Philippines and Mongolia are represented. They will be building their list of culturally diverse offerings to include West Asia, South America and Africa in the coming months. Stories can be heard in English, Korean, or their original language.
Exciting announcement! Tarie of Into the Wardrobe has a new blog featuring children’s and YA books set in Asia, or with Asian characters by both Asian and non-Asian authors and illustrators from around the world. Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind, is a much needed resource in the kidlit blogosphere. We congratulate Tarie on this new venture and look forward to lots of reviews and interviews, and learning about titles we would otherwise never encounter through traditional channels. Tarie will also continue posting about general children’s and YA books at Into the Wardrobe.
If, like me, you plan to give a lot of children’s books as holiday gifts, make sure to check Chicken Spaghetti’s Best of the Best List as well as the nominated titles for the 2009 Cybils Awards for recommendations. Also, if you plan to order from Amazon, click through from the Cybils website widget. The small commission earned from the sale will help purchase prizes for the winning authors and pick up the tab for a few other minor expenses. 
If you happen to notice a little strangeness with my LJ cuts (text hidden behind a link), it’s not because I’m seeing double or making mistakes to get your attention. Ever since LJ updated its Rich Text Editor to FCKeditor 2.6.5., whenever I try to use LJ cut, instead of (Read More), it does this: (Read More)(Read More). It’s driving me crazy and I’ve put in a support request. Others are experiencing similar probs, so we’ll just have to be patient and hope they fix this bug soon. Till then, I hope you’ll continue to (Read More)(Read More)(Read More) . . .
Don’t forget to watch Grace Lin on the NBC Today Show this Friday, December 4th at 9:45 a.m. (EST)! Her wonderful middle grade novel, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, was selected for Al Roker’s Children’s Book Club. Can’t wait to see the famous red dress!
Happy Monday and happy shopping and wrapping and mailing and eggnogging and decorating and partying and caroling. More 2009 Fall for Restaurants fun coming up in December! 

Copyright © 2009 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan’s alphabet soup. All rights reserved.

from kandeland’s photostream.

Happy November!

As crisp autumn leaves dance and swirl outside, these things are making me smile:

1. alphabet soup was named one of the 100 Best Book Blogs for Kids, Tweens, and Teens by Online Universities. We are very honored to be listed in the Picture Books and Younger Readers category!

2. Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Little, Brown, 2009) has been selected for Al Roker’s Book Club for Kids! You may remember how much I raved about this book when it was released in June. I am thrilled for Grace and can’t wait to see her NBC television appearance on December 4th, when the Book Club Kids will ask her a few questions. School Library Journal recently published a really lovely article about Grace’s life and work,"A Touch of Grace," which is a must read for its thoroughness, depth and sheer inspiration.

3. Diane deGroat and Shelley Rotner’s Dogs Don’t Brush Their Teeth (Scholastic, 2009) was just awarded an Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio Platinum Book Award! Hooray for those kooky canines! My review/short interview with Diane is here.

4. Big growls of approval for Old Bear by Kevin Henkes, which just received a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor citation in the Picture Book category. The alphabet soup kitchen helpers were especially elated with this news, because Mr. Henkes’s bear artistry is sublime in every way. My review of Old Bear is here.

5. Every month I can hardly wait for Maira Kalman’s next Pursuit of Happiness picture essay. She always makes me so happy, and this time there’s a turkey dinner, floors shined to the point of ecstasy, bipartisan bathrooms, and spiffy elevator operators. Read E Pluribus Unum here.

6. Have you seen YA Author Holly Cupala’s Book Cook Series? She’s posted a raft of delectable author recipes, including Chris Eboch’s Graveyard Cookies, Janet Fox’s Nesselrode Pudding, and Megan Frazer’s Goat Cheese Pizza! 

photo by master fighter.

Hope you had a great Halloween weekend, and that the week ahead is fun and productive with a nice surprise or two tucked in. Good luck to those of you participating in NaNoWriMo! ♥

Copyright © 2009 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan’s alphabet soup. All rights reserved.