What an honor -- and let's keep the celebration going

What a way to start the week!  Big grins here as I received a Prolific Blogger Award from Rebecca Fabian from Afterthoughts.  Here's some background on the award from the original post at Words World and wings. 

And here's a bit of background on Rebecca:  she's the Children's Department Manager for the Odyssey Bookshop, an independent bookstore in South Hadley, an MFA Grad student in the Simmons College Master of Fine Arts for Writing Children's Literature program, and as she says a "Full-time reader. Part-time traveler."  She shares her thoughts on reading and books (and children's books in particular) with posts that make me take a deeper look at books and what goes into them, like this one on Mixed-Media Artists.  So if you're in western MA, drop into the Odyssey and say hi to Rebecca -- and, if not, visit her at Afterthoughts.

As every winner of the Prolific Blogger is to pass on the award to at least seven other deserving bloggers, it's my time to pay it forward, so let's celebrate:

a. Mitali Perkins, author of books for young people with strong characters trying to bridge different cultures, and her blog Mitali's Fire Escape, a "safe place to chat about books between the cultures."  Mitali is a giver extraordinaire and you'll always learn something new at her place.

b. Ann Kingman and Michael Kindness of Books on the Nightstand, bringing you great book recommendations, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the world of books, bookstores and publishing through their weekly podcasts (and sometimes videocasts) and blog posts.
c. Bowllan's Blog from Amy Bowllan via School Library Journal, a blog on libraries, learning and technology. I'm a huge fan of her "Writers Against Racism" series.

d. I.N.K.(that is, Interesting Nonfiction for Kids), where you'll discover 25 writers whose words are presenting nonfiction in a whole new way.  Learn how these writers practice their craft and rethink nonfiction for kids.

e. Susan Thomsen's Chicken Spaghetti, named after a favorite Southern casserole and "on books for children and the rest of us, too!"  (PS:  in a recent post about Cybils Awards winners, you'll see a few Picnic Basket favorite titles.  Wahoo!)

f. Planet Esme:  The Best New Children's Books from Esme's Shelf, by Esme Raji Codell, whose "book-a-day plan" is for "anyone who would like to play a supporting character in a child's reading life story."
g. and Cynsations from Cynthia Leitisch Smith, an author of fiction for young readers and faculty member at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.  Cynsations is chock-full of interviews, book give-aways, links, lists, and more.

To all ye Prolific Bloggers, per the rules of the game, I ask that you:  

1. link to the blog from which you've received the award.

2. link back to This Post, which explains the origins and motivation for the award.

3. visit this post and say hi (via post a comment), so that we all can get to know the other winners.

Know that I could have added many others as I'm also a big fan of Elizabeth Bird's Fuse #8 Production via School Library Journal, where she offers "tidbits, news, reviews, and oh-so shiny points of interest regarding anything and everything kidlit related;" Elizabeth Bluemle and Josie Leavitt, owners of The Flying Pig Bookstore and their ShelfTalker:  A Children's Booksellers' Blog via Publishers Weekly; and Chris Brogan and Malcolm Gladwell's blogs, to keep me thinking about things beyond the children's book world, to name just a few.

Congratulations to everyone who received this award! And be sure to visit these sites -- worthwhile trips indeed!  Plus, Picnic Basket readers, I'm curious:  what's on your blog reading list?