Book Bits (February 10, 2014)

Lots of interesting little links and tidbits for you today in our weekly Book Bits feature (formerly Web Newberys)! Please remember that we do not necessarily endorse every book listed through these links. Rather, these are interesting ways to see what the nation is reading, what book trends are circulating, and other oddments we bibliophiles find noteworthy. Enjoy!

Helpful Tips

• 5 Tips for Parents of Precocious Readers (helpful!)
• 100 Ways to Grow a Reader (lots of great tips here)

Awards and Book Lists

The Newbery and Caldecott aren’t the only awards given out by the ALA in late January, nor is the ALA the only group handing out awards and making lists. Check out the links below for other awards and notable books.

• The Gryphon Award (for books targeted to K-4th grade; the winner this year made me laugh out loud)
• “Diverse” Awards (a helpful lineup of the various cultural and ethnic awards given out this past month)
• Outstanding Science Books (the Children’s Book Council and National Science Teacher’s Association publish a list every year of the best trade books for children–as opposed to textbooks)
• Orbis Pictus Award (National Council of Teachers of English for outstanding nonfiction for children–we reviewed the winner this fall!)
• Hornbook’s Olympic-themed Booklist (some interesting looking biographies and Olympic history in this list)
• Amazon’s 100 Books To Read in a Lifetime List (how many have you read? What titles would you change?)

Bibliofun

• Dress Like Paddington! (Our own Megan just had another baby boy…. she’d be a good recipient of some of these cuties)
• Alice Re-Imagined (Alice in Wonderland turns 150 next year; get a sneak peak at some new art)
• Laura Ingalls Wilder’s birthday was this week. Which is your favorite Little House book?
• Famous and Intriguing LAST Lines of Books
• Upcycle Those Books (fun crafts with old books)

Did you come across any random and amusing or thought-provoking links in your web travels this week? Share if particularly noteworthy!