It's 43 days to Christmas. Made your lists yet? Trying to figure out who's naughty and who's nice?
Should a good girl be rewarded with the latest Gossip Girls book or served with a stack of Austens? How about a subscription to Vogue? And what would Roger Sutton (left), editor-in-chief of The Horn Book magazine, say if you asked him?
By the way, I wouldn't say no to a subscription to The Horn Book Guide (I've already treated myself to the magazine).
I keep meaning to but forgetting to post about The Horn Book's podcasts. Yes! Now not only can you read Roger Sutton's essays and reviews online, you can also listen to him talk about children's books. Featured authors in the podcasts so far include Jon Scieszka [The Stinky Cheese Man] and M. T. Anderson [whose The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing won last year's National Book Award for young people's literature].
Can't afford the RM400 ticket to watch Ian McKellen play King Lear in Singapore's Esplanade Theatre? The next best thing (sort of) might be to listen to him read Michelle Paver's Wolf Brother.
Go to the Guardian Unlimited's podcasts of the first five episodes here.
There will be 13 episodes in all.
The Guardian's World Book Day programme ended with a seminar about reading for pleasure in secondary schools. The high point was a talk by Adele Geras on her own experiences writing for children.
You can listen to the podcast of this hilarious, interesting and enlightening talk here.
Geras' latest young adult novel Ithaka has been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
World Book Day was celebrated in the United Kingdom and Ireland yesterday (2 March 2006).
To mark the event, The Guardian Unlimited held an online survey about readers' tastes in endings in novels. The results show that most people prefer to close their books feeling happy, and Pride and Prejudice seems to be a big favourite when it comes to novels with happy endings.
Other World Book Day celebrations included children's authors entertaining kids in The Guardian's Newsroom Theatre. You can listen to Malachy Doyle reading his picture book The Dancing Tiger; Ian Whybrow singing songs; and many more.
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June 2008: Jenny Wagner (Author) & Ron Brooks (Illustrator): John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat
John Brown is an old English sheep dog. He belongs to Rose, an old widow, and is a deeply devoted companion. Says Rose, "We are all right, John Brown. Just the two of us. You and me." But one night, Rose notices a cat in the garden. A midnight cat. She is fascinated by the cat. John Brown doesn't approve. He tells the cat to leave. But Rose wants the cat. She longs for it. She leaves it milk in a bowl, which John Brown tips over. Finally, Rose takes to her bed and declares that she might stay there forever. John Brown is sad and decides that, because he loves Rose so much, he will put up with the midnight cat. This is a strange picture book - quite gloomy and sombre. The midnight cat is slightly sinister - could it be a symbol of death? When John Brown finally allows the cat into the cottage, is he really accepting Rose's death? Perhaps being a true friend includes being able to let go.
