There is no time in my life that I don’t remember reading. Whether I was hiding under my quilt, flashlight in hand reading Nancy Drew, swearing to my mom that I had gone to sleep; sitting in my third grade class crying my eyes out while Ms. Carter read Charlotte’s Web; or curled up by the fireplace imagining that I was a Little Princess just like Sara Crewe, books have been an important part of my life. And I hope that books will become an important part of my children’s lives. I have enjoyed sharing my love of reading with you on One Book Two Book. I am, however, saying goodbye to the site. The site will live on and I hope that you will continue to stop by! I leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Anne of Green... [Read more]

1, GALLOP!, written and illustrated by Rufus Butler Seder. (Workman, $12.95) 2, DIRT ON MY SHIRT, by Jeff Foxworthy. Illustrated by Steve Bjorkman. (HarperCollins, $16.99) 3, DON’T BUMP THE GLUMP!, written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. (HarperCollins, $17.99)* 4, GRACE FOR PRESIDENT, written by Kelly Dipucchio. Illustrated by Leuyen Pham. (Hyperion, $15.99) 5, SMASH! CRASH!, by Jon Scieszka. Illustrated by David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon. (Simon & Schuster, $16.99) 6, THE JELLYBEANS AND THE BIG DANCE, written by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans. Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. (Abrams, $15.95)  7, KNUFFLE BUNNY TOO, written and illustrated by Mo Willems. (Hyperion, $16.99)  8, ZEN TIES, written and illustrated by Jon... [Read more]

The Economist posted an interesting article that warned of the impending demise of the picture book. The gist of the article is that fewer picture books are being produced for sale due to the cost of production. Since picture books cost more to make, publishers have to charge more for them. The higher cost of the books may turn off consumers – in turn, bookstores are ordering fewer to offer for sale. As the mother of toddlers and early readers, I have to say that I have never really balked on the cost of a picture book. Ironically, I have put adult fiction for me back on the shelf because of the increased cost associated with paperback books ($15 for an afternoon read, no thank you). But not children’s picture books. I guess... [Read more]

Happy International Children’s Book Day! The holiday has been celebrated since 1925 on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, which is April 2, there has been an international celebration of children’s literature. International Children’s Book Day is sponsored by The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), a non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. Hans Christian Andersen is, of course, a Danish author most famous for his fairy tales. His commitment to great literature in the form of stories, books and poems exemplifies the spirit of International Children’s Book Day. Check in throughout the next few days for more info about Hans! [Read more]

The 2007 edition of To Read or Not To Read provides a pretty interesting – and startling – look at the state of reading in the US. It incorporates some stats from the National Endowment for the Arts’ 2004 report, Reading at Risk, as well as new information. Here’s a glimpse at some of the disturbing results of the studies as they apply to younger readers: 1, Nearly half of all Americans ages 18 to 24 read no books for pleasure. 2, Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers. 3, The percentage of 17-year-olds who read nothing at all for pleasure has doubled over a 20-year period. Yet the amount they read for school or homework (15 or fewer pages daily for 62% of students) has stayed the same. 4, 15- to 24- year-olds... [Read more]