AlphaBETTER is AlphaBEST!

What do you call 1,000 children reading 100 books? Yes, that’s right… the Canadian Toy Testing Council’s Literacy Program.

These 1,000 smart kids chose Alphabetter as one of the top ten “Great Books” for 2007.

And really, how could a council of kids possibly be wrong?

Aurora Awards

Martin Springett’s Jousing with Jesters: An ABC for the Younger Dragon was nominated for the Prix Aurora Awards in the Best Work in English (other) category. Martin is also nominated for Artistic Accomplishment and Fan Achievement, for his fabulous filk (science fiction folk music). Learn more about Martin’s music and art at www.martinspringett.com.

The Auroras were awarded at VCON 32, an annual fan-run science-fiction, fantasy and gaming convention running in Vancouver.

YALSA Quick Pick Nomination

The following titles have been nominated for the 2008 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers List:

Nightwalker: The Warlocks of Talverdin, book one by K.V. Johansen
Bang, an Orca Soundings novel by Norah McClintock.

These two join ID, an Orca Soundings novel by Vicki Grant, as nominees for next year’s list. Titles are nominated throughout the year and the final list is voted on at ALA MidWinter in January.

CCBC Chooses

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Our Choice selections include 41 Orca titles this year. Six of those are starred, which means they’re exceptional!

These are the chosen ones:

Quid Pro Quo in the Garden State

Quid Pro Quo has been nominated for the New Jersey Library Association’s 2008 Garden State Teen Book Awards. New Jersey students vote to determine the winners, who will be announced in February 2008.

Quid Pro Quo has also been nominated for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Alan Poe award and was selected for the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age list.

Not your average legal thriller, Quid Pro Quo is about a thirteen-year-old whose legal knowledge comes in handy when his mother is kidnapped.