October 27, 2013

Nighttime Ninja Nominated for Panda Award

Nighttime Ninja is one of the eight finalists for the Panda Book Awards, an honor given by international schools in China.
"The Panda Book Awards reading initiative promises to take our students on an exciting reading adventure and invites students from participating schools to vote for their favorite book published in 2011-2013. It encourages young people to read quality books selected by international librarians throughout China." The award will be given after Chinese New Year in 2014.

October 02, 2013

Nighttime Ninja Artist Ed Young's Lon Po Po Recognized

 Congratulations to Nighttime Ninja artist Ed Young, on having his book Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China  make the New York Public Library's 100 Great Children’s Books of the past century. Lon Po Po received many accolades, including the Caldecott Medal, which was published by Philomel, in 1989.
“The purpose of this list is to encourage discussion about what you think makes a good story,” [the library] added. “As you peruse these titles, what books would you have included? What qualities do you look for when seeking a good read?  And, most importantly, we hope these suggestions will introduce new generations of readers to stories which will engage their imaginations as they participate in that age-old practice of passing on stories they enjoy to their friends and families.“
The list includes classics, such as The Cat In the Hat by Dr. Seuss, Curious George by H.A. Rey, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, Stone Soup by Marcia Brown, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume, and others, as well as modern stories such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling, and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman."

August 08, 2013

Ninja at the Red Wing Celebration of Minnesota Children's Authors and Illustrators


Celebration of Minnesota Children's Authors and Illustrators
Join Nighttime Ninja author Barbara DaCosta at the 14th annual Celebration of Minnesota Children's Authors and Illustrators. This free event is great fun, with activities for children, book talks by authors and artists. In beautiful Red Wing, Minnesota, Saturday, September 21, at the Anderson Center. Don't miss it!
Barbara will be joined by Derek Anderson, Betsy Bowen, John Coy, Sid Farrar, Candace Fleming, Debra Frasier, Bruce Giebink, Bill Johnson, David LaRochelle, Debra Jo Larson, Mary Logue, Mary Losure, Shannon Pennefeather, Eric Rohmann, Lauren Stringer, Anne Ursu, Stephanie Watson, and Mike Wohnoutka.

June 13, 2013

Nighttime Ninja Goes for a Ride!

Nighttime Ninja went on its first trolley ride this week on the Excelsior Trolley, in Excelsior, Minnesota, on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. This handsome, wood-lined streetcar was originally built 106 years ago!
The ride-and-read storytime was run by the fabulous people of Minnesota Streetcar Museum and Excelsior Bay Books. The museum sponsors several rides like this each summer, and also on the Como-Harriet line by Lake Harriet in Minneapolis (cosponsored by Wild Rumpus Books).

May 15, 2013

Nighttime Ninja Wins Children's Choice!

Thank you, everyone! What an honor! From Publishers Weekly:

The winners of the sixth annual Children’s Choice Book Awards were announced May 13 at a ceremony in New York City hosted by the Children’s Book Council. Book of the Year awards went to: Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta, illus. by Ed Young (kindergarten to second grade); Bad Kitty for President by Nick Bruel (third to fourth grade); Dork Diaries 4: Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess by Rachel Renée Russell (fifth to sixth grade); and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (teen). Jeff Kinney was named author of the year for Diary of a Wimpy Kid 7: The Third Wheel, and Robin Preiss Glasser was named illustrator of the year for Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet, written by Jane O’Connor. Watch the ceremony here.

March 20, 2013

Nighttime Ninja Finalist for Children's Book Week Award!

 Vote for Nighttime Ninja for Children's Book Week Children's Choice award!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY — March 19, 2013 – The Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader have opened voting for the 6th annual Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards, the only national book awards program where the winning titles are selected by young readers of all ages, at www.bookweekonline.com. 30 finalists have been announced in six categories, representing kids’ and teens’ favorite books, authors, and illustrators of the year. Last year, almost 1,000,000 votes were cast, more than doubling votes from the previous year. Young readers can vote at www.bookweekonline.com or their votes may be tallied and entered by booksellers, librarians, and teachers into the group ballot at www.bookweekonline.com until May 9, 2013.
For the first time this year, the CBC has partnered with DOGObooks (www.dogobooks.com) to create free, embeddable voting widgets, expanding online voting opportunities for young readers everywhere. The widgets are available for publishers, librarians, teachers, and kid lit lovers at www.bookweekonline.com/widgets. DOGObooks will also promote the voting to millions of students and teachers through its award winning news site www.dogonews.com and through its partnerships with leading education platforms including Google Education, Edmodo and Edublogs. 
The Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards winners will be announced live at the 6th annual Children’s Choice Book Awards Gala on May 13 at the Liberty Theater in New York City. The gala is a charity event to benefit Every Child a Reader, and a hallmark event of Children’s Book Week (May 13-19, 2013), the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. The awards presentation will be videotaped and available for viewing by book lovers of all ages after the event at www.bookweekonline.com.

March 01, 2013

Read Kiddo Read: Vote for Nighttime Ninja!

Nighttime Ninja has the honor of being selected as a finalist for James Patterson's Read Kiddo Read literacy project. You can vote for Ninja and other books at the website.

February 01, 2013

Nighttime Ninja Selected as an ALA Notable Book


Nighttime Ninja selected for prestigious American Library Association "Notable Book" 2013!

And, for a fun video review of Nighttime Ninja by three young boys, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYEdG7Z_P4s