End-o'-the-Week Kid-Lit Roundup

Quick links from around the kid-lit blogosphere:

Dolly Parton reads aloud from the Little Engine That Could. School Library Journal just did a nice interview with Dolly about her Imagination Library literacy program, which sends out six million books a year to preschoolers. The Little Engine That Could is the first book that kids receive in the program, and her site has some sweet video of her reading aloud from it:

(Sorry for the auto-load, just click on the little red train icon to pause.)

Tener un Patito Es Util. Boing Boing points us to a recently translated–and very cute–accordion-fold Spanish board book: “…read from front to back, it tells the story of a boy who found a rubber duck that he loves but uses roughly, sitting on it, drying his ears with it and leaving it in the plug-hole when he’s done with his bath. Read back to front, though, the story becomes ‘It’s Useful to Have a Boy,’ and it tells the same story from the duck’s perspective — the boy ‘rubs my back,’ ‘waxes my beak’ and when it’s all done, the duck finds ‘my little sleeping hole.’”

Hunger Games sweeps the Battle of the Kids’ Books. We have a winner! Go read the final verdict for yourself, straight from Lois Lowry–who based her decision “solely on petulance, vengeance, reverse nepotism, and payola.”

The new May/June Horn Book. It’s out, with a lovely Frances the badger cover. Some of the highlights are also available online, including “an interview with Sarah Dessen, Jack Gantos on booze and books, Janet Hamilton on science books.”

The final stretch for “Top 100 Picture Books.” Fuse #8’s picture-book countdown counts off #5 (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!), #6 (Make Way for Ducklings), #7 (Harold and the Purple Crayon), #8 (Madeline), #9 (Millions of Cats), and #10 (Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale).

Jeff Kinney makes the 2009 Time 100 list. The author and illustrator behind the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series was just named to Time’s annual list of the hundred people “who most impact our world.” The best part: Kinney’s write-up comes from a Bronx sixth-grader. (via 100 Scope Notes)

Bad Kitty Gets a Bath. Tea Cozy reviews Bad Kitty Gets a Bath, a book that hits an early reader sweet spot: “All too often, because beginning readers/early chapter books are about strengthening reader skills, they are simplistic, both in vocabulary and story. This book is perfect for that reader who is moving beyond basic readers, who wants something more interesting and entertaining, but who doesn’t want a long, text-heavy book. Yes, it’s all well and good that some kids are reading Chaucer in kindergarten; but the other kids deserve good stories, too.”

Mother’s Day round-up. The regular Sunday brunch at Collecting Children’s Books focused on Mother’s Day this week, with famous-mom-author anecdotes, morbid (but funny) mom bookmarks, and some favorite mom-related titles, including a particularly nice Ramona and Her Mother cover. (”Most paperback editions of this book feature a cover illustration of Ramona making a mess with a toothpaste tube, but I’ve always loved the dustjacket from the original hardcover, which captures a quiet moment between Mrs. Quimby and an unusually contemplative Ramona.”) –Paul