Seventh Carnival of Children's Literature

Thanks for coming to help with the harvest. The apples are turning red and the wheat is ripe in the field. It's time for the Fall harvest, and it looks like a good crop of children's literature!

Before the harvest, the crops had to be planted, and luckily we have a host of great writers and illustrators planting the seeds of children's literature:

• On Kat's Eye, Kim Winters learns a lesson on writing from gardening.
  
• On the other hand, Gregory K. draws his lessons on writing from...sewers?
  
• Chris Barton gets inspiration from No Child Left Behind.
  
• Grace Lin learns patience from a fan.
  
• The Disco Mermaids talk about the challenges in creating a algebra comic book.
  
• The Blue Rose Girls remind us of the unsung heroes of children's literature: the illustrators, and talk about the quiet births of books.
  
• E. Lockhart shares her literary crushes. No, it's not the romantic kind of crush - it's more of an author admiration kind of thing.
  
• O.R. Melling was kind enough to take the time to talk to Wands and Worlds in July, and gave a lot of background information about writing her The Chronicles of Faerie.
  

As we harvest the fields, we feel closer to the Earth and are reminded of the beauty of nature all around us:

• At "the imponderabilia of actual life," Sandy lists her favorite nature books for kids.
  
• Elizabeth Foss shares her list of nature books in her autumn reading list on Real Learning.
  
• Loree Griffin Burns reviews Baby Whale Rescue
  
• It looks like the Bluedorns have nature inside their house - and it can read!
  

We're almost done the harvest, and the children are running around enjoying the freedom and the autumn air.

• Tasha Saecker reviews Nothing to Do by Douglas Wood, and sings the praises of free time for children.
  
• While Christine M at The Simple and the Ordinary argues that there never has been a perfect golden age for childhood.
  
• Kelly Herold of Big A little a reviews Bringing Asha Home, an adoption story by Uma Krishnaswami.
  

Now it's time to bring in the harvest, and what a harvest it is! Look at this great crop of children's literature:

• Cristin gives a great list of "the books that changed my life" in middle school
  
• Chicken Spaghetti's Susan Thomsen shares her wish list of great books that she's read about on the blogs.
  
• Jen Robinson lists her Top Picks for 2006 (So Far)
  
• Raising WEG shares the list of books they checked out of the library, and which ones worked and which ones didn't.
  

As we bring in the last of the harvest, be sure to leave the last of the grain to make a corn dolly to house the spirit of the grain until next year.

Now that the harvest is in, it's time to give thanks for the bountiful harvest, and think about our lives and our values:

• carfreeinconnecticut Libby Koponen muses on hope and the human spirit in children's literature.
  
• alvina at bloomabilities talks about the importance of diversity in children's literature and suggests that we are influenced more than we realize by the prevailing images around us.
  

And as we give thanks for the abundance of the harvest, we should think about helping those in need:

• Carnival organizer Melissa Wiley posts about Kids in Need–Books in Deed, a charity that brings books and author visits to kids in need.
  

It's time to build the bonfire and celebrate! And there's nothing like good stories told around the bonfire. Several children's lit bloggers share their favorites:

• Michele reviews Star Dancer by Beth Webb on Scholar's Blog, and Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett on her Spoiler Zone. Both books deal with women whose power is acknowledged by mistake, when a boy is expected. Do I detect a pattern?
  
• The not your mother's bookclub reviews The Astonishing Life of OCTAVIAN NOTHING, Traitor to the Nation and finds it to be too good for adults.
  
• Sherry reviews 1928 Newbery winner Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji at Semicolon.
  
• Liz B reviews Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City at A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy.
  
• The Common Room reviews two mystery stories about nature by Wilson Gage, which is a pen name of Mary Q. Steele.
  

The stories are over, the children are asleep, and now it's time for dancing around the bonfire:

• I hope I get a turn to dance with Fuse #8's Hot Men of Children's Literature: Part 25. He's hot and I love the video!
  
• We all know who MotherReader will be dancing with: it's gotta be Mo!
  

As we wind back to our homes, I'd like to thank everyone for coming and for sharing their harvest. It's been really fun reading all the submissions. Next month, the eighth carnival will be hosted on Scholar's Blog, so be sure to get your submissions in! Submissions are due on October 15.

Technorati tags: young adult books | children's books | blog carnival | children's literature