Tag: Children's Books (21-30 of 75)

Feb 21 2012 04:58 PM ET

Stephen Colbert to release a children's book about a pole

stephen-colbert

Image Credit: Martin Crook/Comedy Central

Stephen Colbert previewed his children’s book I Am a Pole (And So Can You!) during his hilarious Colbert Report interview with Maurice Sendak last month. The wonderfully blunt Sendak, author of the kids’ classic Where the Wild Things Are, called Colbert’s pseudo attempt at writing for young people “terribly ordinary” but also added, “The sad thing is, I like it.”

Earlier today, Grand Central Publishing officially announced the May 8 release of I Am a Pole, which follows a flag pole on his search for his life’s purpose. Is there hidden symbolism there? Probably not, as it’s meant to be Colbert’s send-up of a children’s book hastily written by a famous person. In a statement, Colbert said, “I hope the minutes you and your loved ones spend reading it are as fulfilling as the minutes I spent writing it.”

In October, Grand Central will also be releasing Colbert’s next book for adults, America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t.

Colbert returned to his Comedy Central series this week after a short hiatus to take care of his ailing mother.

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Read more:
The conclusion of Maurice Sendak’s brilliant appearance on ‘The Colbert Report’ — VIDEO
Bill O’Reilly book on JFK assassination coming this fall. A children’s book is also in the works

Feb 21 2012 11:26 AM ET

Reading the Oscars: 'Hugo' the book vs. the movie

Hugo

Image Credit: Jaap Buitendijk

Six out of the nine Best Picture Academy Award nominees this year were based on books: Hugo, War Horse, Moneyball, The Descendants, The Help, and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Prior to the ceremony on Feb. 26, Shelf Life will read or re-read each of these books, in addition to a few others that inspired nominees in different categories, and do a side-by-side with the film version. Today, we’ll take a look at Hugo, which is nominated for 11 Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay. Spoilers ahead. READ FULL STORY »

Feb 21 2012 10:16 AM ET

Gabrielle Giffords' husband is writing a children's book: 'Mousestronaut'

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Image Credit: Office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords/AP

Retired astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of former U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, is writing a children’s book about a mouse who ventures into space. Kelly previously collaborated with his wife on her memoir that spoke of Giffords’ incredible survival after suffering a gunshot to the head.

The inspiration for the story came from Kelly’s own experience: “On my first space shuttle flight, we had 18 mice on board as experiments,” he said in a press release. “And 17 of them, as soon as we got into zero gravity, stayed latched on to the side of the cage. But one of them seemed comfortable through the whole mission, like he was enjoying it.” Simon & Schuster will publish Kelly’s Mousestronaut: A Partially True Story in October of this year.

Read more:
Gabrielle Giffords and the healing power of music: A must-watch clip from last night’s ’20/20′
Gabrielle Giffords in her new memoir: ‘I will get stronger. I will return.’

Feb 15 2012 11:12 AM ET

'Charlotte's Web' tops list of '100 great books for kids'

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Scholastic Parent & Child magazine released a new list of 100 great books for kids and gave the top spot to Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White’s classic children’s novel about a girl and a talking spider who join forces to save a pig from slaughter. Charlotte’s Web edged out the ubiquitous picture book Goodnight Moon. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone represented J.K. Rowling’s entire series in the No. 6 spot, and The Hunger Games, one of the newer titles on the list, claimed No. 33. I do applaud the exclusion of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer — not all wildly popular franchises deserve to make the cut.

The list is meant to “generate controversy and conversation,” said Parent & Child editor-in-chief Nick Friedman, so if they’re inviting gripes, I have to complain about the placement of Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth (referred to as “Phantom T” on last night’s episode of New Girl) outside of the top 10 and the relative scarcity of Dr. Seuss. But mostly I appreciate being reminded of some great children’s books I haven’t thought about in a while, like Frog and Toad Are Friends and Hatchet.

Let’s “generate controversy and conversation!” What do you think of Scholastic’s list? Any surprise inclusions or exclusions?

Jan 18 2012 03:30 PM ET

Chris Colfer's children's book 'The Land of Stories' gets a cover and an earlier release date! -- EXCLUSIVE

Chris-Colfer

Image Credit: Dan Busta

Gleeks already know that Chris Colfer can take us to magical places with his voice, and now he’s using words and pictures to create a fantasy world in his upcoming children’s book The Land of Stories, illustrated by Brandon Dorman. Kurt fans who’ve been anxiously awaiting the book, originally slated for an Aug. 7 release, won’t have to wait as long as they’d thought. A rep for Little Brown said, “Chris’s writing talents, his efficiency with deadlines, and the eagerness from his fans has all combined to allow us to move the date up to July 17th!”

Described as a “modern-day fairy tale,” the book will focus on twins Alex and Conner, who leave the real world behind and find themselves in a land where they come face-to-face with the fairy-tale characters — witches, goblins, trolls — they’ve always read about. Colfer says the book’s illustrator “made every detail come to life. He went above and beyond the crayon and colored pencil drawings I used to make of it as a kid.” Check out the very first peek at the cover of The Land of Stories below!

READ FULL STORY »

Jan 10 2012 03:05 PM ET

Oprah gifts children's books to Beyonce and Jay-Z's new baby. What should Blue Ivy be reading?

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Image Credit: Marc Piasecki/FilmMagic.com

What do you give to the girl who will grow up having everything? Well, the lifelong gift of reading is a great choice. Aunt Oprah reportedly sent Jay-Z and Beyonce’s daughter a trunk full of children’s books.

Sure, some kids might be disappointed with books as gifts, but when they come from Oprah, they deserve a special spot in your 2,200-square foot nursery. We can only hope little Blue Ivy Carter will eventually treasure her books even more than the $5,200 Swarovski crystal bathtub from Aunt Kelly Rowland — I guess it’s understandable if she doesn’t — but Oprah no doubt picked some of the best children’s titles. Here are our guesses and hopes for which books Oprah chose for Blue Ivy’s growing library: READ FULL STORY »

Dec 16 2011 07:30 AM ET

Best of 2011: Top-selling books

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He dominated tech, and he dominated the publishing industry. Steve Jobs left a legacy that will not soon be forgotten — one part of which was the year’s top-selling book. Elsewhere, George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire set, a World War II story from the author of Seabiscuit, and the ever-scrappy Katniss Everdeen landed in the top 10. Jobs was equally powerful in eBooks, joined by the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Liz Lemon, and Jaycee Dugard, and Edward Cullen. Who else landed the top shelf? Click through to see 2011′s most popular books. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 16 2011 10:52 AM ET

'A Hero for WondLa' cover reveal -- EXCLUSIVE

The Spiderwick Chronicles author Tony DiTerlizzi kicked off another mega-bestselling franchise in 2010 with The Search for WondLa, a children’s adventure series that centers on Eva, a girl believed to be the last human left in a pollution-ravaged world. While the first installment is currently in development for film at Paramount, the second book in the series, A Hero for WondLa, is set to come out May 8, 2012. EW has the cover for the upcoming novel exclusively. Check it out below! READ FULL STORY »

Nov 15 2011 07:56 AM ET

'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever': Genuinely funny

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Cabin Fever, the sixth installment (available today) of Jeff Kinney’s massively popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, won’t disappoint fans of Greg Heffley and his misadventures. Like the five volumes that came before, Cabin Fever is a smart, thoroughly enjoyable read densely packed with laugh-out-loud gags for the kids and keen insights for the parents.

I’ll throw up a light spoiler alert for those of you who want to know absolutely nothing about Cabin Fever before you read it yourselves. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 4 2011 10:00 AM ET

'Marcel the Shell with Shoes On' book -- EXCLUSIVE video preview

Marcel-The-Shell

Marcel the Shell, the itty-bitty star of 2010′s most adorable YouTube sensation, has a beautifully illustrated book out now called Marcel the Shell with Shoes On: Things About Me. The little dude, who seems alternately amazed and saddened by his own tiny existence, also has a television show in development, according to a Jezebel interview with creators Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp.

EW caught up with Slate and Fleischer-Camp to get the scoop on how Marcel’s handling his growing fame; also, check out an exclusive video preview of the Marcel app, which is available now on iTunes!: READ FULL STORY »

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