Monday Music: I Want You Back, The Remix

Daughter (in car, buckling seat belt): "Can we listen to Victorious?"

Me (with slight sigh): "Sure."

Daughter (commenting on me singing along): "Hey, you know this song!"

Me (feeling old): "It's an old song, er, a classic, sweetie. There was this group called the Jackson Five..."

To be fair to Victoria (Disney star, for those of you unfamiliar), she did a decent job. But she can't touch Michael Jackson, I think--and how awesome are those pants??

 
 Here's Victoria...
 

 And check out KT Tunstall; she rocks anything.

 

Wednesday Good News: Pippi!

Those of you who are regular YA Sleutheri know: I have a great love for Pippi Longstocking. I still want to be her when I grow up.

 So you can imagine my joy when I heard that vintage Pippi comics are being translated for release this fall. Read the full story here at GalleyCat.

Exciting!

Printz Award

I'm a bit late with this, but...

Here's the winner of the Michael L. Printz Award! As well as a list of the honor books--I'm loving all the covers, b.t.w. Oh, and here are the Caldecott and Newbery winners too.

Edgar Nominees

Mystery Writers of America announced its Edgar nominees this morning; here are the kid lit ones:

BEST JUVENILE
Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger (Abrams – Amulet Books)
It Happened on a Train by Mac Barnett (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Vanished by Sheela Chari (Disney Book Group – Disney Hyperion)
Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby (Scholastic Press)
The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey (Egmont USA)

BEST YOUNG ADULT 
 Shelter by Harlan Coben (Penguin Young Readers Group – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson (Penguin Young Readers Group – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall (Random House Children’s Books – Knopf BFYR)
The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines  (Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group – Roaring Creek Press)
Kill You Last by Todd Strasser (Egmont USA)

Find the list for all categories here.

 Lots I haven't read yet, so joy! I feel a trip to the bookstore coming on...

What Teens Are Really Reading

I'm on a library news kick this week: check out this librarian's article on what teens are really reading. 


Cool quote on an observed increase in debut novels from a Texas librarian: “Publishers are truly finding the best new voices in YA fiction out there.” Now that's good news.

Reason Number 548 To Love Libraries

Not that you needed another reason for library love, but just in case: here's an interesting Publishers Weekly article on library users and their buying habits.

I thought this quote by Library Journal executive editor Rebecca Miller summed up the article best: “Our data show that over 50% of all library users report purchasing books by an author they were introduced to in the library."

Good news for us authors, right?

The Year of The (Spy) Book

Now that I've had a chance to dip my toe in the waters of 2012 (I know, I'm a little slow here), I started thinking about what I want to accomplish this year.

Of course for me it'll be the year of the book, with Double Vision out late this year and all (exciting! scary!). I'll have to leave my comfy chair and travel (a post for a different time). Plus, I'll be starting work on book two in the series shortly--fun, fun, fun.

But I also want to read more this year--very important for a writer, and also fun, so double-score. For those of you looking to add to your reading list like me, check out this School Library Journal list of YA spy books.

A great list to grow your 2012 TBR pile.

Go Kelly!

Did anyone else see Kelly Clarkson rock SNL this past weekend? Pretty cool, and a great way to kick in the door of 2012. I thought I'd share. Happy new year! I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get back to work. Lock up your M&Ms, all...