Why do some parents believe when they find a book that they dont want their child to read, they decide that the book is bad for all children? Books bring so many experiences and varying view points - they provide opportunities for sharing and discussion. Who would expect that children's books are so dangerous. Sendak's response to parents concerned about Where the wild things are

Francesca Simon's top 10 anti heroes. No wonder her Horrid Henry is so popular. He's so Denis the Menace. Why isnt he on the list?

Down in the stacks

How weird is this? I have been updating records on some of the books, the most recent is "Julie of the wolves" by Jean Craighead George. Then I see via SLJ that she has just had her 90th birthday. We didnt have a copy in our Children's Literature Collection which is a Reference collection for students of children's literature, so I ordered copies. Luckily there were some still in print. We also have a lovely copy of her "The wounded wolf" illustrated by John Schoenherr.

This author has written an earlier series: Atherton, which had its own website about the 'world' he had created. This time he's written a very scary book for teens where we have 2 characters - the boy who has written a journal of his experiences and the girl who has video links embedded into his story. It really is quite incredible and will be interesting to see how readers react to this format.

Skeleton Creek
By Patrick Carman.
"Although housebound following an eerie accident, teenaged Ryan continues to investigate the strange occurrences in his hometown of Skeleton Creek, recording his findings in a journal and viewing email video clips sent by fellow detective Sarah. The reader may view Sarah's videos on a website by using links and passwords found in the text." - from the book's summary.
According to one reviewer, Sarah’s video is even more frightening giving a Blair Witch element to the whole experience for the reader. A fascinating mix of story by book / text and visual / video. The two blend together to heighten the reader/viewer’s experience of the building fear for the characters as they are drawn to a derelict dredge and the secret it holds. Check out the publisher’s website for a preview of what this book has in store: http://www.enterskeletoncreek.com/

Finding what titles and what order in series

It can be difficult to know the answer, when asked what are the books in a series and in what order they are written. I found this site which helps when looking for books in a series:

Gaslight Books

Go to the 'Four-Part Trilogy' to find the author or series you are looking for.