Author Gabriel Roth recently gave a “smartest guy in grad school” take-down of children’s read-aloud stories on Slate. First he condemned books such as Doc McStuffins as “garbage,” “worthless,” and “subliterary commodities.” Then he turned his critical eye on a different class of books, those that “exert an irresistible pull on adult consciousness but don’t reward it. They are malign presences on the bookshelf. They hurt.” What books are these, you ask? Janette Sebring Lowery’s The Poky Little Puppy (Little Golden Books; OverDrive Sample) is the central offender, causing Roth to wonder if Lowery “had no point in mind, was unconcerned with the ethics or pragmatics of pokiness, hoped only to borrow the fable form, with its weighty theme and didactic tone, and use it to disguise her lack of moral vision?”

Instead of ignoring Roth, Emily Temple, over at Flavorwire, decided to go one better and offer a list of “boring, or lame, or morally questionable kids’ books” and suggestions for replacements. Topping her list of books to ditch is, of course, The Poky Little Puppy. She suggests instead, Chris Van Allsburg’s The Sweetest Fig, (HMH, 1993)

Which book is moved up Amazon’s sales rankings, You guessed it, The Poky Little Puppy is currently #46 and rising.

The first teaser debuted today for the final movie in the series based on the YA titles by Suzanne Collins. The movie arrives November 20.

Also just released, a trailer for another post-apocalyptic science-fiction movie based on a YA novel often suggested as a readalike for Hunger Games, Z for Zachariah, the 1974 book by Robert C. O’Brien. The movie, a hit at the Sundance film Festival, arrives August 21.

Our Books to Movies & TV listing has updated information on over 400 adaptations in the works (for tie-ins, check our Edelweiss collection).

The Today Show no longer features the Newbery Caldecott Medalists, but that doesn’t mean they don’t cover children’s books (especially if they are by celebrity authors). Matt Lauer interviewed Jimmy Fallon this morning about his new picture book, Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA, illus. by Miguel Ordóñez (Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends; also available as a board book). Lauer observes that the book smacks of mind control, “a blatant attempt to make sure that the six-month-old’s first word is Dada and not Mama.”

Warning: Video contains cute overload and references to children’s terms for bodily functions. Viewer discretion is advised.

Joining the short list of Caldecott Medalists that have become full-length movies, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat (Hachette/Little, Brown Young Readers) is set to be adapted as an animated feature film.

DreamWorks has just announced Jason Reitman as the director. Although Reitman has never directed an animated feature, he has had experience with adaptations. His Up In The Air, based on the Walter Kirn novel, was nominated for an Oscar. He also adapted Joyce Maynard’s Labor Day and Christopher Buckley’s Thank You For Not Smoking.

At just 40 pages, however, Beekle is much shorter than the books Reitman has previously adapted and will present a challenge, requiring more story lines to fill ninety minutes.

If Beekle makes it to the screen, it’s likely to be a different Beekle.

In support of kid’s summer reading, librarian Nancy Pearl has been discussing books for young readers on her weekly radio show for Seattle’s NPR affiliate KUOW.

This week, however, she highlights a YA crossover she thinks adults will enjoy as well, Michelle Cooper’s A Brief History of Montmaray (RH/Knopf Books for Young Readers; 2011; OverDrive Sample).

Set in 1936 on a fictional island nation between France and Spain, it features the journals of Sophie FitzOsborne, a sixteen year-old member of an impoverished royal family. Europe is about to fall to war, a fact made clear when German officers arrive at the shores of Montmaray.

Nancy compares it in tone to I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

Unlike Smith’s standalone, A Brief History of Montmaray begins a trilogy. The other two books are The FitzOsbornes in Exile (RH/Knopf Books for Young Readers; 2012; OverDrive Sample) and The FitzOsbornes at War (RH/Knopf Books for Young Readers; 2012; OverDrive Sample).

Joining the chorus of voices championing YA books as crossovers, Nancy advises adults to browse the teen section when they are hunting for titles they would otherwise miss due to marketing and library classifications.

In that spirit, last week she talked about Edward Carey’s Heap House (Overlook Press; OverDrive Sample). Intended for 11-12 year-olds, it also appeals to adult fans who like weird, luxuriantly imagined fantasy. It too is the first in a trilogy. Foulsham (Overlook Press; OverDrive Sample), book two in the series, comes out in early July.

Chelsea Clinton will publish a book this September: It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going! (Penguin Young Readers/Philomel; Sept. 15; ISBN 978-0399176128).

Her debut effort is aimed at younger readers in the tween and teen set. “That’s the age when I started tuning in more to issues I cared about and trying to make a difference,” Clinton tells People magazine, “I loved the book 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth and remember wishing there were books like that on other issues I cared about. This book is my attempt to do that for kids today.”

Penguin Young Readers has created a dedicated web page for the book, including a “Letter from Chelsea” that further describes the idea behind the book:

In It’s Your World, I try to explain what I think are some of the biggest challenges facing our world today, particularly for young people … I also explore some of the solutions to those challenges and share stories of inspiring kids and teenagers doing amazing work to help people and our planet have brighter and healthier futures. My hope is that the book will inspire readers to realize that they can start making a difference now, in their own way, for their family, their community, and our world.

Director Todd Haynes is currently the toast of Cannes, where the director’s movie Carol, based on the book by Patricia Highsmith, is expected to win the Palme d”Or.

So attention is turning to his next projects. Screen Daily reports that, for one of them, he will again turn to books, a childrens book this time, Brian Selznick’s Wonderstruck (Scholastic, 2011).

If it comes to pass, this will be Selznick’s second book to be adapted by a celebrated director, after Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning Hugo, based on The Invention Of Hugo Cabret.

Don’t hold your breath though, Haynes has some other projects on his plate, including a biopic about Peggy Lee starring Reese Witherspoon as well as a new TV series (he directed the 2011 HBO series Mildred Pierce).

Closer on the horizon is Selznick’s next book, The Marvels (Scholastic), set for publication on 9/15/15. There are no reviews yet. The following is from the publishers’ description:

Two seemingly unrelated stories — one in words, the other in pictures — come together … The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy Marvel, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family of actors over five generations. The prose story opens in 1990 and follows Joseph, who has run away from school to an estranged uncle’s puzzling house in London, where he, along with the reader, must piece together many mysteries.

The first trailer for the second in the Maze Runner series, based James Dasher’s The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials, (RH/Delaccorte) has just been released.

MTV is excited. So is New York magazine. As is Entertainment Weekly.

The movie is set for release on Sept., 18, the tie-in for August in  hardcover and in trade pbk.

Almost instantly joining a group of writers that includes Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins, YA author Sabaa Tahir is having a great few months.

Her debut An Ember in the Ashes (Penguin/Razorbill; Listening Library; OverDrive Sample) came out on April 28^th and hit the NYT Best Seller list the week of May 17^th at the no. 2 spot sandwiched between two John Green novels. Tough as it is to break through the John Green logjam, which has dominated the top three spots for month, it is even more so for a debut. This week established YA best sellers Sarah Maas and Sarah Dessen managed to hit #2 and #3, moving Tahir’s novel to #6.

Now comes news, reported bythe NYT that Penguin has acquired a sequel from Tahir, due out sometime in 2016.

Tahir’s fantasy got rave reviews, most often stressing its strong storytelling and worldbuilding.

Bradley Campbell of Public Radio International (PRI) compares the book to both Hunger Games and JK Rowling in a radio interview, saying:

Her new book kept me up at night. I couldn’t put the book down. I’m not the only one. It seems as though anyone who touches the book cannot stop reading until the story ends. It has the addictive quality of The Hunger Games combined with the fantasy of Harry Potter and the brutality of Game of Thrones.

Laura M. Bell of The Huffington Post offers:

One thing I can say for sure: this is a page-turner. There comes a moment when it’s impossible to put it down. Sabaa Tahir is a strong writer, but most of all, she’s a great storyteller…Even when the story is squarely anchored in traditional YA dystopian tropes, many of the twists and turns are difficult to predict. The story is complex, encompassing political scheming, betrayal, and supernatural forces, and the different threads entwine effectively.

Author Marie Rutkoski, writing for the NYT Book Review, says:

The novel thrusts its readers into a world marred by violence and oppression, yet does so with simple prose that can offer moments of loveliness in its clarity. This complexity makes “Ember” a worthy novel — and one as brave as its characters.

Holds are currently steady on moderate ordering but this one is worth keeping your eye on.

The Daytime Emmys for children’s programming are usually the provence of PBS. This year, however, some new players got nods, including Netflix, Youtube and Amazon Studios which won five awards for their original stop-motion adventure series for preschoolers, Tumble Leaf, tying with the perennial winner, Sesame Street.

Amazon Studios is now turning to adaptations. Of the six pilots offered in January, four got series orders, including the two that are based on childrens books.

The Stinky & Dirty Show
Based on the award winning series that began with I Stink! by Kate and Jim McMullan (HarperCollins Childrens), Amazon’s adaptation is expected to debut in 2016. EarlyWord Kids Correspondent, Lisa Von Drasek is a looking forward to it, saying, “The pilot episode is brilliant, high production values and a great story.”

Just Add Magic
Based on the book by Cindy Callaghan (S&S/Aladdin, 2010).

Amazon also announced that they have ordered six more pilots for kids, three of them based on books. Following their now-established process, Amazon will debut the pilots this summer for  customers to review and vote on their favorites.

The Kicks
Based on the middle-grade book series about four soccer players by US Olympic Gold Medalist Alex Morgan The Kicks, which began with Saving the Team (S&S Books for Young Readers).  The fifth in the series, Hat Trick, is set for publication next month. The adaptation will be directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum (Ramona & Beezus).

Bear in Underwear
Based on the books by Todd Goldman, (Blue Apple Books)

Lily the Unicorn
Based on the book by Dallas Clayton (HarperCollins, 2014) and produced by the Jim Henson Company.

Ever since the French trailer for animated movie The Little Prince was released in December, fans have been salivating for more. In anticipation of the Cannes Film Festival, where it will premiere, an English language trailer was just released, but there’s still no news on when the film will open in the U.S..

Featuring the voices of Jeff Bridges, Mackenzie Foy, Rachel McAdams, James Franco, Marion Cotillard, Benicio del Toro, Paul Giamatti, Paul Rudd, Budd Cort, Ricky Gervais, and Albert Brooks, it is directed by Mark Osborn (Kung Fu Panda).

Although it is based on the beloved book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, it also introduces the story-within-a story of a modern day young girl learning about the book through a neighbor, the now aged Aviator (Jeff Bridges).

Tie-ins have not been announced, but HMH is releasing a new translation in hardcover in October as well as several Little Prince board books,

Published last year, The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antione de Saint-Exupery, written and illustrated by Peter Sis (Macmillan/FSG/Frances Foster) was on several best children’s books lists, including the New York Times 10 Best Illustrated books and EarlyWord Kids Contributor Lisa Von Drasek’s list of best informational books.

Author/illustrator Sis talks about his inspiration in the following video:

In what may be the first press release written in rhyme, Netflix announces that they are adapting Green Eggs and Ham as a 13-episode animated series.

We’d love to share some happy news
based on the rhymes of Dr. Seuss.
Green Eggs and Ham will become a show
and you’re among the first to know … [more]

Executive producer Ellen DeGeneres contributes her own rhyme in the video below.

Coming in 2018, she promises the series will use cutting edge animation

Take heart, YA series fans. If a book doesn’t succeed as a movie adaptation, it may go to TV, and vice versa.

The CW network played a game of on again, off again with their plans to develop a series based on Kiera Cass’s YA title, The Selection (HarperTeen, 2012), finally abandoning the idea after two tries, each going as far as the pilot stage. Now, according to Deadline, Warner Bros. has won the film rights and has a screen writer set to adapt it for the big screen.

The fourth novel in the series, The Heir (HarperTeen), arrives next week.

On the other hand, the movie based on The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones, the first in the Y.A. urban fantasy series by Cassandra Clare, made it to the screen, but plans to turn it into a franchise died along with the box office receipts. ABC Family now plans to create a spin-off TV series, titled Shadowhunters, and has just announced that Dominic Sherwood (Vampire Academy) has won the male lead.

New trade paperback editions of the six titles in the series as well as of the 3-part prequel series, Infernal Devices are coming in September.

Nearly a year after acquiring the film rights to We Were Liars, E. Lockhart, (RH/Delacorte; Listening Library), Imperative Entertainment announces they have hired a screenwriter.

The newly formed company won the rights in competitive auction prior to the book’s publication,

One of the LibraryReads Top Ten favorites the book was on most of the year’s childrens and YA best books lists.

Audio sample:

Back in November of 2012, months after it began its slow and steady climb up the NYT Children’s Best Sellers list, Lionsgate bought the film rights to Wonder by R.J. Palacio, (RH/ Knopf Young Readers).

After announcing a director just this past fall, Lionsgate has a new one in place, Paddington director Paul King. The  book is #1 on the NYT Children’s Middle Grade best seller list after 125 weeks.