Go read a good children's book!

If you think you would be wasting your time reading a book written for children or young adults, you're missing some really wonderful experiences. The Golden Compass, my previous post, was written for YA's... I won't even mention "she who shall not be named" and her book/movie mania. Some of my favorite books in the world were written for YA's, like the two by Virginia Euwer Wolff, Make Lemonade and True Believer, or those by Deb Caletti, like Honey, Baby Sweetheart or The Nature of Jade. There are some absolutely brilliant picture books that stun you with their art and move you with their message. Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad, by Ellen Levine and illustrated by Kadir Nelson just won a Caldecott Honor and When Marian Sang, by Pam Munoz Ryan, is illustrated by Brian Selznick who just garnered the Caldecott Medal for his new work, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Written and illustrated by Selznick, Invention is clearly a labor of love. Weighing in at 530 pages and documented with source material, it can be finished in just a few hours since the creator has capitalized on the burgeoning graphic novel trend and included dozens of full page and double page illustrations. Sometimes, in true GN fashion, the story is conveyed by the B & W illustrations alone. Other times, the plot moves forward with the spare text. Illustrations vary from the vast panorama of a full moon over 1931 Paris, the setting of the story, to the detail of an anxious eye peering out from a hiding place behind the clock on the wall of the train station. You can read reviews about the book in a dozen places such as this collection by Powell's Books.
On a slightly different note, but not really, have a look at this funny/not so funny bit of invention in The Onion about some weird guy who read a whole book, under no apparent external pressure or duress, and actually enjoyed it! My friend Sara made me put this on my blog, probably because I rant so much to her and anyone who stands still long enough about how important reading is, but I must give credit to my colleague Loretta for pointing this one out to me.