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Idaehindvo is the Cherokee Sun Goddess. Happy Mid Summer, everyone!

Just One More Book!! Podcast - Children’s book reviews and interviews with authors, illustrators, editors, publishers, teachers, librarians and more

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This month’s FREE coloring page of ABC lessor known Goddesses features Hannahannas.

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The Children’s Book Council has released the schedule of official events in New York City for Children’s Book Week, which begins this weekend. As we previously reported, this marks the first time Children’s Book Week will be held in the spring, instead of the traditional week in November. Though schools, libraries and bookstores nationwide will celebrate the week, each year the CBC will add a city, beginning with New York City, where official events will take place. Additional information is available on the Children’s Book Week Web site.

The NYC events are:

Saturday, May 10: Kick-Off Event, Bryant Park Reading Room. Readings and signings will take place from 12 to 5 PM, with authors, illustrators and children’s book characters in attendance.

Monday, May 12: Commerce Bank Breakfast. The finalists for the Children’s Choice Book Awards will receive certificates. Leonard S. Marcus (Minders of Make Believe, Houghton) will discuss children’s book history.

Tuesday, May 13: Children’s Choice Book Awards Gala. The winners of the CBC’s first Children’s Choice Book Awards will be announced in an evening event hosted by Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Thursday, May 15: NBA Store Reading and Signing. Walter Dean Myers (Game) and Bob Krech (Rebound) will read from and sign their books. Members of the WNBA’s New York Liberty will also be in attendance.

Saturday, May 17: The Little Big Read. Grand Central Terminal will become home to a mystery scavenger hunt, with clues derived from Bruce Hale’s book, The Malted Falcon (Harcourt), the official book of the 2008 Big Read for Kids. Jon Scieszka will serve as host.

Sunday, May 18: Closing Event, Bryant Park Reading Room. Writers from WritopiaLab, an organization that conducts writing seminars for youth in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Westchester County, will read their stories, poetry and other works.

Endorse the Responsible Plan to End the Iraq War

This week’s IF word is fail. Also, in my new critique group we had an illustration exercise with a prompt to mix animals. I decided that the best way to combined the two was to create an animal that was doomed to fail. I mixed a horse’s leggy hoofs with a mouse’s small body. The poor thing had such a hard time standing up, he needed four balloons to assist him for his debut appearance.

As a species the Horsenmouse was doomed to fail. Too ungainly to run away and to cumbersome to hide in small burrows, the Horsenmouse only occupied the planet for less than a century. Late in the 2100s, some fossilized remains were discovered, setting the scientific community on its ear.

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Reading is Fundamental Seeks Help

From Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO, of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF):

“President Bush’s proposed budget calling for the elimination of Reading Is Fundamental’s (RIF) Inexpensive Book Distribution program would be devastating to the 4.6 million children and their families who receive free books and reading encouragement from RIF programs at nearly 20,000 locations throughout the U.S.”

“Unless Congress reinstates $26 million in funding for this program, RIF will not be able to distribute 16 million books annually to the nation’s youngest and most at-risk children. RIF programs in schools, childcare centers, migrant programs, military bases, and other locations serve children from low-income families, children with disabilities, foster and homeless children, and children without access to libraries.”

To find out how you can help, visit http://www.rif.org/get-involved/advocate/what/