Carolyn Howard-Johnson, who wrote This is the Place, a novel loosely based on her life of growing up with a Mormon father and non-Mormon mother, wonders why literary fiction has taken a back seat to Sci-Fi, Fantsy and Romance these days.  Although Carolyn writes mainly for adults, her ideas could apply to books for younger people, too.
Perhaps you’d like to take a look at her guest post at Potpourri of Writing and see what you think.

The estate of A.A. Milne has authorized a sequel to the original Winnie the Pooh books, and will publish “Return to the Hundred Acre Wood” on October 5. This is the first authorized sequal to the 1926 book, Winnie the Pooh and will be written by novelist David Benedictus and illustrated by Mark Burgess.
Benedictus and Burgess have captured the “spirit and quality of those original books,” stated Michael Brown, the trustee of the estate.
Look for the book in early October from Penguin Young Readers. As Jeffrey A Trachtenberg of the Wall Street Journal said today, even Eeyore might smile about …read more

Comic books, graphic novels, cartoons…
Since prehistoric times, people have been telling stories through pictures so why is the graphic novel such a new and “novel” idea? Well, it really isn’t. A Graphic Novel is similar to a comic book but it has lengthy and complex storylines like novels. In some cases there are also series of graphic novels.
Essentially, a graphic novel is more serious, more literary than a comic book. Neil Gaiman showed us this in Sandman.
According to the School Library Journal these are the Best Graphic Novels of 2008:
Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection: 1987-1991, by Scott McCloud …read more

As a reading teacher my favorite books for kids are quite varied. They range from educational to entertaining. I love young adult angst books and I adore kiss and hug board books. And I think each has it’s place in children’s literature.
Here are my favorites right now. Some will always remain my favorites (and I will always think they belong in a child’s library) but some I think are just plain trendy.
Corduroy 40th Anniversary Edition Corduroy is celebrating his 40th birthday this year. It’s a perfect time to bring him back.
The Little Engine That Could One of my son’s favorites.
Where …read more

As this year rapidly races to a halt we here at One Book, Two Book have found some astounding new releases that your kids will be reaching for even before they shake those deliciously wrapped boxes.
With that said, here is your list of stocking stuffers for 2008, complete with our favorites. All of the “Best of” books were published and released in 2008.
The Best Holiday Books, 2008
The Best Non-Fiction Books, 2008
The Best Board Books, 2008
Best Picture Books, 2008 
The Best Books for Middle Readers/Tweens, 2008
Best Books for Young Adults, 2008
Mary Emma’s Favorite Books 
Marcie’s Favorite Books

Middle readers, or tweens, include the 9-12 age group and typically fall between 5th and 8th grade. Recently there has been an increase in great books for boys in this category but I am also seeing a decline in the really good books for girls. From what I have seen, authors who tend to write for girls are either in the early reader category or in the Young Adult category (and the topics are too advanced for some girls in the 9-12 age range_.
I would love to see some good solid literature back for tween girls, as I think they …read more

“The boundaries are always there—between the graveyard and the world beyond, between life and death, and the crossing of them.” – Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman has, according to reviewers, done it again. Gaiman is known for his chilling tales, his ghostlike wonders, and his mysterious narrative. Like his infamous Coraline, which broke him into Young Adult Literature, The The Graveyard Book will manage to capture more young readers.
The book is magical, humorous, and attaches a bit to the history of Kipling’s The Jungle Book (Unabridged Classics).
This is a Blogtoberfest Sponsored Post. If you would like to enter for a …read more

The City of Ember is the only light in a dark, dark world. But, when the light starts to dim because the power starts to fade it’s up to just two children to try to save the city.
There is more to the The City of Ember (The First Book of Ember) than just the darkness. Deep beneath the city is a history that is ignored, there are things like death that have no meaning, much like that in the The Giver.
Ember comes to the screen October 10, 2008. Read the book BEFORE you see the movie!

In the Young Adult book world Stephenie Meyer is the next J.K. Rowling. The Mormon author writes disgustingly addicting teen romance novels about the undead.
The three first novel’s in the series have spent a combined total of 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller’s list. Currently,  The Host: A Novel is number six and has been there for nine weeks. It is not part of the series.

Twilight’s fourth novel in the series, Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4) (pre-order here),  will hit the shelves on August 2 at midnight, an apt time for a Vampire book, …read more

Experience the hilarity of the Irish teacher turned young adult author first hand on July 15th. With over 10 million books sold in the US alone, Colfer surely does not have to tour but with a personality like his it’s no wonder he does…he seems to enjoy kids and the interaction touring brings him.
The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl, Book 6) will be published July 15th “and will be supported with Colfer’s live one man stage show “Fairies, Feinds, and Flatulence, throughout the US.”
He also recently published Airman.
For tour dates and bookstores to see the show see the Artemis Foul Website. …read more