Beastly, the movie!

Hey Beastly fans! Did you know that they turned Alex Flinn's retelling of Beauty and the Beast into a major motion picture?

Kyle is played by Alex Pettyfer and Lindy is played by Vanessa Hudgens, but the cast includes several other big names such as Neil Patrick Harris and Mary-Kate Olsen. IMDB has the full cast list, as well as other interesting movie facts.

Watch the official trailer below:



The movie is due out next week, on March 4th! And be sure to read the book before you see the movie! Put a copy on reserve by clicking here!

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical comes to New York!

Remember that blog post about Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale being performed as a musical in Washington DC?

Well it's been almost a year of performances for Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical and this weekend New Yorkers are finally going to get a chance to see the performance locally!

The NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts will be showing the Mo Willems' musical on Saturday, February 26, at 11:00am, 2:00pm, or 5:00pm or Sunday, February 27, at 11:00am, or 2:00pm.

Tickets range from $15 for children to $25 for adults and can be purchased on the Skirball Center box office website. The show is recommended for ages 2 and up and runs for 50 minutes.

And while you're there, why not stay after the Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical performances for a Post-Show Talk-Back with members of the cast!

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Mo!

Hey Mo Willems fans! Do you know what today is?

Here's a hint...

Give up? It's Mo Willems' birthday!

In celebration, why not read one of your favorite books by the award winning author? Here is a complete list of his works: http://pigeonpresents.com/books.aspx

Or visit his website: http://www.mowillems.com/

And while you're at it, why not try to learn how to draw Cat the Cat? Mo Willems will teach you how in the video below!

Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year begins on the first New Moon of the year.

Today, February 3, is that day!

Each new year is said to be ruled by one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. 2011 is the year of the rabbit, which is seen as a year of luck!

The Chinese New Year festival lasts until the first Full Moon of the year, which is 15 days later. This is an exciting celebration, traditionally marked by fireworks at midnight, which are believed to scare away the past year's old and evil spirits.

The way you spend the first day of the year is said to set the tone for the whole year. People are often careful not to argue or yell or cry... otherwise they might be arguing and yelling and crying for the whole year! So make sure it's a good day!

Celebrate the year of the rabbit traditionally today, by feasting on sticky sweet cakes called niango (to the left). "Nian" means "year." While these cakes are eaten, the Chinese people also burn a picture of the Kitchen God, with the belief that they are sending him up to heaven. This ritual is done in the hopes of "sweetening" the year to come.

There are all kinds of other traditions performed at this time each year. If you're interested in reading about them, here are a few books to get you started:

Chinese New Year by Carrie Gleason (I got most of my information for this blog post from this book).

Chinese New Year by Kate Marsico

Celebrate Chinese New Year by Elaine A. Kule

Hunger Games Movie Buzz

So it's been announced!!! The Hunger Games has gotten an official release date. And it's REALLY SOON. According to Entertainment Weekly, and IMDB, the highly anticipated adaptation of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games will be released on March 23, 2012.

That's eerily soon considering it doesn't even have a cast yet, isn't it?

There IS a significant amount of casting buzz floating around the Internet. YALSA's The Hub breaks down some casting possibilities for us.

Potential Peetas:

1. Liam Hemsworth (who, personally, would not be my pick ever, because he is a little too tough and dreamy looking.)

2. Alex Pettyfer (a lot closer to the Peeta I've been imagining, although still a bit old looking.)

3. Lucas Till (dingdingding! It's Peeta come to life!)

Now some potential Katniss':

1. Kaya Scodelario (I'm not sure if it's just because her hair looks messy in that picture or not, but she is almost exactly how I pictured Katniss, pretty but not perfect, effortless and thin, but wiry.)

2. Hailee Steinfeld (She wouldn't be my choice. She seems too perfect, too exotic looking without even trying.)

3. Chloe Moretz (I think The Hub expresses my sentiments exactly: "She’s blond and so young looking in her IMDb picture that it’s hard to picture her as Katniss – maybe as Prim!")

4. Lyndsy Fonseca (She would be perfect if she was just a little bit younger looking. But make up can do amazing things, right?)

Thoughts? I'm not completely in love with any of the casting options, but I'm sure the movie will be awesome no matter what. I'm desperate to hear some potential Gales though!

No matter what, there is only 1 year, 1 month, and 22 days until we find out EVERYTHING about The Hunger Games movie.

90 Second Newbery

Every year since 1922, the American Library Association has awarded the very prestigious Newbery Medal. Now that we've already learned of our 2011 winner, a quick calculation tells us that there are 89 Newbery Medal books in all! That's a lot! Have you read them all?

Me neither.

But wouldn't it be nice to say that you did? Well, it might not be exactly the same as reading the book, but check out a 90 second reenactment of the 1963 winner, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle:



Get it? Want to make your own? Check out: 90secondnewbery.com for more information about the program, which is run by teen author James Kennedy.

Happy acting!

2011 Award Winners!

What an exciting day for youth literature! This morning The American Library Assossiation announced the 2011 winners for 23 different youth literature awards, including the Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, and Printz Award!

And now for the big winners...

The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature goes to...

Moon over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool

Four Newbery Honor Books also were named:

Turtle in Paradise, by Jennifer L. Holm

Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night, by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen

One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults goes to...

Ship Breaker, written by Paolo Bacigalupi

Four Printz Honor Books also were named:

Stolen, by Lucy Christopher

Please Ignore Vera Dietz, by A.S. King

Revolver, by Marcus Sedgwick

Nothing, by Janne Teller

The Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children goes to...

A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead, written by Philip C. Stead

Two Caldecott Honor Books also were named:

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill

Interrupting Chicken, written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein

To view the complete list of awards and winners, click here!

And be sure to put this year's Newbury and Printz winners and honor books on reserve! Happy 2011!