CBC Showcase: July/August: Non-fiction Picture Books. Highlights include Ballet of the Elephants by Leda Schubert, illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker (Roaring Brook, 2006)(author interview).

Congratulations to author Joseph Bruchac on The Return of Skeleton Man (HarperCollins, 2006), which goes on sale July 25. From the catalog copy: “Molly thought she’d put her traumatic past behind her when she escaped from Skeleton Man last year. She rescued her parents and tried to get her life back to the way it used to be. She thought her family would live happily ever after and just be normal again. She thought wrong. Skeleton Man is back for revenge–but this time Molly is ready. In this long-awaited sequel to the award-winning Skeleton Man (HarperCollins, 2001)(excerpt), Joseph Bruchac revisits his most terrifying villain yet.” Read a Cynsations interview with Joe.

Congratulations also to author Niki Burnham on the release of Do-Over (Simon Pulse, 2006)(excerpt), a sequel to Royally Jacked (Simon & Schuster, 2004) and Spin Control (Simon Pulse, 2004). Read a Cynsations interview with Niki.

deborah_davis: new LJ from the author of Not Like You (Clarion, 2007); You Look Too Young to be a Mom: Teen Mothers Speak Out on Love, Learning, and Success (Perigee/Penguin, 2004); My Brother Has AIDS (Atheneum, 1994); and The Secret of the Seal (Crown, 1989).

Mainstream Protestant Christianity, Catholicism,and Orthodox Christianity: A World Religions Resource List for Teens by Erin Downey Howerton from VOYA (PDF file).

The Mandatory Happy Ending–Discuss by author Rosemary Graham from Not-So-Terrible After All. In response to a recent NY Times review, Rosemary invites YA novelists and YA readers to discuss their expectations and reasoning behind “tidy resolutions.” See the same discussion invitation at Rosemary’s LJ. Read a Cynsations interview with Rosemary.

Patricia M. Newman offers new interviews with authors Gennifer Choldenko, Margie Palatini, Richard Perlmutter, Louis Sachar, Jeff Stone, and Laura Torres.

Marcie R. Rendon: official site of the author of Powwow Summer: A Family Celebrates the Circle of Life (Carolrhoda, 1996) and Farmer’s Market: Families Working Together (Carolrhoda, 2001). Note: I learned of this site at American Indians in Children’s Literature from Debbie Reese.

Smart Writers Journal — July 2006: features include: “A Mermaid’s Tale” by Kelly Milner Halls (author interview); “Writer’s Retreats and Conferences” by Margot Finke (author interview); “Q&A with first-time author Candie Moonshower” and “Hot Summer Reads,” both by Roxyanne Young.