Liz B from A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy has read Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Candlewick, March 2007) in ARC and blogged about it. Liz calls it, “A dark fantasy with plenty of humor that will also make you very hungry” and says “It’s as if someone opened a restaurant in Sunnydale.” For more, see July 1 post.

Thanks to Tanya Lee Stone (author interview) for blogging about the cover, which she called “fantastic!” She’s the fantastic one! Thanks also to Cynsations LJ readers jennyhan, mary_ohhh, lstolarz, cynthialord, crcook for their cheers, Spookycyn LJ readers jenlibrarian, d_michiko_f, beverlyjean, lizzb, moniquemadigan, cawriter, halseanderson, brandie_writer, azang, cynthea, and slwhitman for their cheers as well as everyone who wrote me directly. Most appreciated!

On Spookcyn, I’ve been blogging lately about “Superman Returns,” the Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas, Austin, taxidermy at Cabela’s, and “Cars.”

In other news…

A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children edited by Doris Seale and Beverly Slapin (AltaMira, 2005) has been honored by the American Book Awards, which according to BookWeb, were “established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation, recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre. The purpose of the awards is to acknowledge the excellence and multicultural diversity of American writing.” A Broken Flute also received a 2006 Skipping Stones Honor Award.

Other 2006 Skipping Stones honor recipients included: The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq by Jeanette Winter (Harcourt, 2006)(publisher interview)(BookPage interview); Hotel Deep: Light Verse from Dark Water by Kurt Cyrus (Harcourt, 2005)(recommendation); and Strong At The Heart: How it feels to heal from sexual abuse by Carolyn Lehman (Melanie Kroupa/FSG, 2005)

“Children’s Books by and about People of Color Published in the U.S. 2002-“ from CCBC. Big-picture, we’re not making much in the way of gains in terms of the hard numbers. That said, I’d much rather see fewer quality titles than more just for the sake of quantity.

Congratulations to Sara Shacter on the release of Heading to the Wedding, illustrated by Christine Thornton (Red Pebble, 2006). According to the catalog copy, “Every child invited to a wedding needs this amusing book to learn who’s who, what’s what and how to behave at a wedding while still having a great time.” Both the author and illustrator live in the Chicago area.

Congratulations to Greg Leitich Smith on finishing the first version of his new novel manuscript in progress, a process which he blogs about in “The Throwaway Draft.”

Curse of Arastold (Book Two of the Silverskin Legacy) by Jo Whittemore (Llewellyn, July 2006) is now available. I interviewed Jo about Book 1, Escape From Arylon (Llewellyn, March 2006) in April. See also “And Then What Happened?: Writing the Sequel” by Jo Whittemore from New Worlds of Mind and Spirit.

The Edge of the Forest has posted its June/July issue! Highlights include “A Day in the Life with Leda Schubert” and “What’s in their Backpack?” with Esmé Raji Codell, both by Kim Winters of Kat’s Eye. Kelly Herold of Big A little a also interviews author Susan Taylor Brown. Read recent Cynsations interviews with Leda, Esmé, and Susan. I’m so wowed by this online magazine.

“Just Like Magic, Susan Cooper Casts Another Captivating Spell” by Heidi Henneman from BookPage. Interview highlights Susan Cooper‘s latest, Victory (Margaret McElderry, 2006).

Kaley’s Korner: official online hangout of the heroine of The World According to Kaley (Darby Creek, 2005) and Cyberpals According to Kaley (Darby Creek, 2006), both by Dian Curtis Regan (author interview).

A Library Visit at Jail by Don Tate from Devas T. Rants and Raves. “My mind had built them up as monsters,” Don says, “but as I caught the eye of each one of them, I realized these were children–big, burly, possibly dangerous children, but children none the less. And they were respectful.” Read the whole post.

“Picture Book Manuscripts and Illustrations” by Harold Underdown from The Purple Crayon. An excellent Q&A article covering commonly asked questions about picture book submissions. Topics include: connecting with an illustrator, illustration notes, visual references, package submissions, and authors who themselves are also professional illustrators.

The 35th Annual One-on-One Plus Conference sponsored by The Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature will be Saturday, Oct. 21, 2006. “The unique one-on-one format gives writers and illustrators a rare opportunity to share their work with an assigned mentor. The conference also offers a chance to meet and exchange information and ideas with experienced authors, illustrators, editors, art directors, and agents, who have generously volunteered their time.”

What I’m Reading from Linda Sue Park offers her fabulous, two–part (note how cleverly I linked that) ALA report, which among other things, apparently included a blogger’s dinner! Read a recent Cynsations interview with Linda Sue.