There was another sad loss to the children's book world today when we learned the news that Jean Craighead George had passed away at 92 years of age.  She had an amazing career, publishing over 100 books, winning the Newbery award for Julie of the Wolves and the Newbery honor for My Side of the Mountain, and inspiring generations of children.  She will be dearly missed.  School Library Journal has posted an obituary worth reading here.  If you would like to remind yourself what made her so special, or to discover her work for the first time, check our catalog here.

The Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year! Nominators are members of teen book groups in sixteen school and public libraries around the country.  Now that the nominations are posted, it's your turn to read these books and decide which are the best of the best!  Voting will take place starting in August.

It's official - Sony really is going to make movies out of The Mortal Instruments series, with the first one hitting theaters next August.  Find out more about the movie here.  Lilly Collins will be playing Clary, but no one has been picked for Jace yet.  Who would you choose?

If you haven't read the books yet, now is a good time to start!  They're action-packed stories full of demons, werewolves, vampires, and even some romance.  Also check out the prequel series The Infernal Devices.

The Mortal Instruments:

This weekend is St. Patrick's day which means that everybody gets to share in the luck o' the Irish for one great day.  And just like you never want to be caught not wearing green on St. Patty's day, you never want to be stuck without something good to read.  So, indulge your inner leprechaun and check out one of these books set in Ireland! 

The beloved co-creator of the Berenstain Bears, Jan Berenstain, has passed away at the age of 88.  She and her husband Stan wrote hundreds of books for children featuring the beloved bears.  Their son, Mike Berenstain, plans to continue writing and illustrating future Berenstain Bears books.

Fifty years ago today, John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in the space capsule Friendship 7.  To   celebrate that historic event, take a look at some of these picture books about space.

We've added more YA Staff favorites to our Pinterest page.  These books, both old and new, are ones that we've recently read and loved.  We hope you like them too!

Each book links back to our website, so if you're interested in checking it out all you need to do is click on the image of the book cover.

Looking for love this Valentine's day?  Look no further than your library!  Our shelves are full of great love stories.  If you've already read all of these, our Book Hunters can find you more!

February is Black History Month and picture books can provide a great conversation starter for families.  Check out some of these this month!

Every year, the Caldecott Medal is awarded to "the most distinguished American picture book for children."  This morning the 2012 winners were announced, so be sure to check out these amazing picture books.

2012 Winner:

A Ball for Daisy written and illustrated by Chris Raschka

2012 Honor Books: