Fighting Crime and Famished Fifth-Graders
Just before the holidays, author Jarrett Krosoczka revealed the winners of a photo contest that he launched last September. The contest, in support of Krosoczka’s Lunch Lady series about a cafeteria worker/secret agent, invited real-life lunch ladies to submit photographic evidence of their own superheroics (illustrators Matthew Holm, Eleanor Davis, and Eric Wight served as judges). The grand prize winner, shown here, was from Stenwood Elementary School in Vienna, Va. The third book in the series, Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta, went on sale from Knopf on December 22.
Lanie Lands: The Newest American Girl
Since 2001, American Girl has introduced a new contemporary girl annually in its Girl of the Year line, in addition to its popular line of historical dolls (and their corresponding books and related products). The recently unveiled 2010 Girl of the Year is nature-loving Lanie, a 10-year-old living in Cambridge, Mass. Author Jane Kurtz has written two books about the girl, and an 18-inch doll, accessories, and outfits are also available. In keeping with the character’s outdoorsy inclinations, American Girl is sponsoring a nature-themed photo contest and offering downloadable curriculum materials and activities about habitats for grades 3-5 (more information is available here).
