Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind

The most notable children's books of the year include Allen Say's Drawing from Memory and: Level Up , written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Thien Pham (First Second Books)

The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 10 January 2012) My other blog crush, Ari of Reading In Color, is waiting for this to be released. A half Indian, half Jewish American protagonist? I'm waiting with you, Ari!

School Library Journal named their picks for the Best Books of 2011 , and they include: The House Baba Built: An Artist's Childhood in China by Ed Young (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) Dear Ed Young, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. . . The Twins' Blanket by Hyewon Yum (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers)

Editors Dean Francis Alfar (publisher of the Philippine Speculative Fiction anthologies) and Kenneth Yu (publisher of Philippine Genre Stories) announce a call for short fiction submissions for HORROR: Fantastic Filipino Fiction for Young Adults. Fantastic Filipino Fiction for Young Adults is a new annual anthology series, with the first volume focusing on horror, and launching in mid-2012. Submissions must be: 1. in the horror genre or contain strong horror elements 2. written with the young adult reader in mind (from 10 – 18 years old) and feature a young adult character (or characters) 3. cognizant of the themes and concerns of young adult fiction (coming of age, identity, belonging, a sense of wonder, a love for adventure, angst, concerns over school, challenges of youth, family issues, relationships to authority figures, sexuality, experimentation, peer pressure, bullying, among many others) – without being didactic and/or boring 4. written in English 5. authored by Filipinos or t...

Here are some of the Best Teen Books of 2011 !!! I.M. Pei: Architect of Time, Place and Purpose by Jill Rubalcaba (Marshall Cavendish Corp/Ccb) Island's End by Padma Venkatraman (Putnam Juvenile) Mangaman , written by Barry Lyga and illustrated by Colleen Doran (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children)

Happy Book Birthday to You. . . Happy Book Birthday, Happy Book Birthday. . . Happy Book Birthday to You! In Bon Bibi’s Forest , written by Sandhya Rao and illustrated by Proiti Roy (Tulika Books) "When the quiet villages of Sundarban are terrorised by Dokkhin Rai, a monster with wild eyes, sharp teeth, striped skin and pointed nails, Bon Bibi has to step in to look after the people. That’s when she realises that Dokkhin Rai himself needs protection – as do the forests that are his home." The Magic Feather by Roma Singh (Tulika Books) "An owl drops a purple feather in a forest. A little girl picks it up and there begins a journey into magical lands..." Ack! The illustrations for these two books look gorgeous!

Congratulations for being named some of the Best Children's Books of 2011 ! Coral Reefs by Jason Chin (Flash Point) Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (HarperCollins) Drawing From Memory by Allen Say (Scholastic Press)