David Allender from Scholastic Reading Club shares the following about the passing of children's book author Charlotte Zolotow. Zolotow was 98 and died yesterday at her home in New York. She was the author of more than 70 books.

When I first began working on the same floor as Charlotte Zolotow in the late ‘80s, I didn’t know how lucky I was. At that time, the picture books I loved were Maurice Sendak’s dark psychological fantasies and William Steig’s emotionally rich adventures. Charlotte’s work was on a different planet.  She created books of lyrical realism—a tradition that she practically single-handedly invented but it wasn’t for me.

But then I saw the connection between her work and all great work for children: she could make you see the world with entirely fresh eyes. I learned this by hallway conversations, by the manuscripts she pressed on me to read.  As a writer and editor, Charlotte sought to capture moments of wonder and understanding that a child could have right in his or her own backyard. And in those moments, the world is suddenly transformed into something far more wondrous—all through the power of words.

Charlotte is celebrated for her realism. But I feel it’s more than that. There’s magic in her work as fantastic as wild things or donkeys turning into pebbles. She broadened my own understanding of what a children’s book can be and for that I feel very fortunate and very, very grateful.

Her work has touched and changed lives—including my own. Please drop everything and go read Mr Rabbit and the Lovely Present or William’s Doll or any of her other books right now. Charlotte saw the world in a grain of sand and she’ll share that wonder with you.

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” opens this week! Rejoice!

You read the book.

You already purchased your movie ticket.

You even watched the parodies (You go, Cookieness Evereat)!

So, what’s next? I am already in the early stages of Katniss withdrawal. 

Luckily, the reading experts at Scholastic came to my rescue and created an amazing list of “Must Reads for 'The Hunger Games' fans.” This will definitely help me discover new titles and authors as I eagerly await “Mockingjay” in 2014.

To me, the holiday shopping season is the real-life “Hunger Games,” so feel free to use this as a gift guide cheat-sheet for your family and friends.

Make note that these books are great for fans ages 12 and up. All books in the list are available at The Scholastic Store and book retailers nationwide.

See any of your favorites below? Feel free to add to our list in the comments section.

The Ultimate Must-Reads “The Hunger Games” Fan:

First and foremost, read… Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Inhuman By Kat Falls

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

The Darkest Path by Jeff Hirsch

The Bar Code Prophecy by Suzanne Weyn

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari

Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve

Green Heart by Alice Hoffman

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

Empty by Suzanne Weyn

Rootless by Chris Howard

Above by Leah Bobet

Something really nice happened.

Much like many New York residents who ride the subway to work (particularly the jam-packed 1 train), I spend the majority of my morning commute fending for my personal space, which requires me to push, nudge, duck, slither, crouch, wriggle, clamber, and in the case of the missing or inactive train, run.

This can make it quite difficult to read for periods longer than three-minute intervals, unless I find myself wedged in a corner that allows me few interruptions from my book. This morning I found such a corner, and was tearing through the last few chapters of Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland, when a woman tapped me on the shoulder. Without saying a word, she pulled something from her bag. It was her own copy of The Lowland, which she tapped lightly to mine, hardcover spine to hardcover spine, as if we were clinking champagne glasses at a party. "Cheers," she said. I smiled. 

I didn't get her name or her profession or any details whatsoever about her life. We didn't even ask how the other liked the book. This woman is completely unknown to me, except for as a fellow reader. And I thought, how nice it is to be having this moment with a stranger. With all the people coming and going, stuffing themselves through the closing doors, piling on top of each other, coughing, adjusting their bags, removing scarves, I was able to spend my twenty-minute ride downtown face to face with another person, sharing the experience of silently reading the same book. Ah, New York. 

When I heard it was National Game and Puzzle week, I jumped at the chance to write a post. I’ve always LOVED playing board games and doing puzzles. Growing up, I remember playing board games with my mom before I went off to school. Some favorites included: Chinese Checkers, Othello, Backgammon, Parcheesi, and Sorry!. My all-time favorite was Clue – I’d play it for hours on end with my cousin, my sister…anyone who would play it with me! And when relatives came to visit, we’d break the giant, 1000 piece puzzles – which was the perfect way to bond with my cousins (especially since they only spoke a little English.)

I started thinking of games in books:

• Ron teaches Harry to play Wizard Chess Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (and Wizard Chess plays an important part later in the book!) Other popular wizard games include Exploding Snap and Gobstones.
• Percy teams up with his Cyclops half-brother Tyson and his friend Annabeth in a chariot race in Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters.
• The card game War plays an important part in the book From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg. When Claudia and Jamie Kincaid run away to The Museum of Natural History, they use the money Jamie has saved from playing War on the school bus every day (although he cheats!)
• The ladies play various card games in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Sometimes, an entire book (or book series) can be about a game:

• In The Hunger Games, the tributes are forced to play in the annual Hunger Games. Besides being a physical game, it’s also part mental. Before they enter the Arena, Katniss wonders if Peeta is playing a game to trick her.
• In Maggie Steifvater’s book The Scorpio Races, Puck enters the Scorpio Races, which take place every November. The rules are fairly simple: riders must stay on their water horses and make it across the finish line.
• In The 39 Clues books, Amy and Dan Cahill are part of a scavenger hunt.
• Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg is a picture book about a jungle adventure game that comes to life. Judy and Peter deal with a stampede, a monsoon, and an explorer – until they finally reach the end and Judy yells out “Jumanji!”

There are so many fun ways to celebrate puzzles and games this week! Play one of the word games Maggie McGuire suggested from this guest OOM post. Try a kit from Klutz, like the Book of Impossible Objects, Coin Blaster Arcade, The World According to Klutz, or Battery Science.) See if you can finish the crossword puzzle or Sudoku in your newspaper.  Challenge your family members to a game of Scrabble or Monopoly. Or, read a book about a game!

Here at Scholastic, we think it's critically important to Read Every Day, but weekends are definitely prime time for catching up on the material we didn't have a chance to tackle during the week. On Twitter, people often share the names of the books they're reading using the hashtag #weekendreads, which got us thinking: what if what you read this weekend wasn't a book at all?

Inspired by Grub Street's "Grub Street Diet" series (which features a name of note answering the question, "What did you eat this week?") we took to the hallways of Scholastic to ask employees a similar question: "What three things did you read this weekend?" The answers were awesome. Below, a round-up of some of our favorites.

Tell us: what three things did YOU read this weekend? Share in the comments below!

Cassandra Pelham (Editor, Scholastic Press & Graphix):

1. The first draft of a manuscript written by one of the authors I work with.
2. A couple chapters in the Game of Thrones book I’m slowly reading.
3. A recipe for roasted carrots. (Basic, I know. Please don’t judge me.)

Michael Strouse (General Manager, The Scholastic Store):

1. The playbill of a local high school's production of Shrek the Musical.
2. Yet another great review of one of our spring books, Snicker of Magic. I have no idea why I haven't read this yet!
3. The words "Ho, Ho, Ho!" On top of one of my mother's music boxes. Their emergence is the official start of the holidays for the Strouse family! (Thank goodness our Elf on the Shelf waits a few more weeks...)

Katie Brickner (Senior Editor, Scholastic ART Magazine):

1. Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingslover.
2. Directions while on a road trip.
3. The menu at the Light Horse Tavern in Jersey City.

Jessie Lyons (Director, Government Relations):

1. The New York Times online while I had my first cup of coffee and listened to Morning Joe.
2. Elle Décor on the subway while wishing I had a bigger apartment (and more money!)
3. Countless emails and education publications upon arrival at work. Happy Monday!

Courtney Buckland (Associate Manager, Communications & External Relations for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards):

1. A haiku my boyfriend’s niece sent me in response to a drawing I had mailed her.
2. A Barefoot Contessa recipe for a saffron butternut squash risotto which I made last night.
3. The at-home instructions for my physical therapy.

Tyler Reed (Director, Corporate Communications):

1. This Coq au Vin recipe (which I made on Sunday).
2. This review of A Bed and A Chair (which I saw on Saturday).
3. The MTA's handy bus time app, which makes it possible to catch the B61 without waiting AGES outside.

Kate Goodin (Digital Editor, Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine):

1. I'm currently reading Gone With the Wind (and am dying to talk about it!)
2. I read (and baked!) a recipe for chocolate chip cookies.
3. I also read the first chapter of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--I downloaded a Kindle sample to read because I'm not sure if I can handle the grittiness yet.

Heather Scott (Assitant Director, Merchandising & Social Media, Scholastic Reading Club):

1. Purgatory, the latest violent/funny/origina/suspenseful mystery from Irish author Ken Bruen (I even Instagrammed a favorite sentence!)
2. An article from The Atlantic Wire about how we (as an audience) have "failed Holly Hunter".
3. The brunch menu at Prime Meats -- sometimes everything sounds so good you resort to rock-paper-scissors to order brunch.

Joseph Argabrite (Senior Production Coordinator, Event Management Group):

1. Catching Fire (in anticipation of the film this week).
2. The brunch menu at Malthouse.
3. The Huffington Post.

Image via austinevan

Our celebration of The Art of Read Every Day continues! This week, we're highligting the artwork of LeUyen Pham and the companion videos and discussion guides that coincide with her gorgeous art.

LeUyen Pham is the author/illustrator of 50 books for children, including the bestselling Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio, Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne Moore, and Shoe-La-La! by Karen Beaumont. As seen in her Art of Read Every Day artwork, her illustrations are always playful and lively and always attempt to capture the spirit of childhood. In this particular work, we see children reading in a tree, which she reminds us is a symbol of knowledge. Pham wanted the children to represent a varitey of countries, something she is always mindful of in her work, as her father is Vietnamese and her mother is half Vietnamese, half French. She even included her two young sons at the base of the tree.  

Visit The Art of Read Every Day collection and you can dowload the artwork and discussion a variety of resources, including:

• an interview with Pham where she discusses the importance of conveying emotion in her work, how she focuses (she likes to work with the television or music on), and why she always tried to "go with the flow."
• a video of Pham reading aloud from 
• Common Core-ready discussion guides 

We'll be sharing the above resources throughout the week, so keep an eye on our social media channels. 

The holidays are speeding our way, and it's time once again to think about holiday shopping (kudos to you if you've already started!). To make things a little easier this year, Scholastic Parent & Child magazine put together their first-ever Gold Star Toy Awards! The editors reviewed thousands of products and sent the best ones out to parents to test at home. The 24 winning toys are those that met the following criteria: innovative and cool; magnetic and engaging for the child; mind-expanding or educational; and an excellent value to the consumer.

You may recognize some of the toys, but we're sure that you'll find some new and exciting gifting ideas as well. To make things even simpler, the December/January issue of the magazine is completely shoppable! Readers can scan a digitally watermarked photo with the Digimarc Discover mobile app in the print edition of the magazine with their tablet, smart phone, or mobile device to be directed to the ShopAdvisor product page for the item. The page shows you a price comparison at different stores and lets users sign up for price tracking notifications or click through to buy!

You can view the full list of winners with photos at www.scholastic.com/goldstar.

The winners of the Scholastic Parent & Child magazine 2014 Gold Star Toy Awards are:  

• Bébé Bath Girl, Corolle, $40, Ages 1 and up.
• Big Hugs Elmo, Hasbro, $60, Ages 18 months and up.
• The Book of Impossible Objects, Klutz, $20, Ages 8 and up.
• Busy Bus, Alex Jr, $44, Ages 10 and up.
• Doc McStuffins Get Better Checkup Center, Just Play, $80, Ages 3 and up.
• Duplo My First Circus, Lego, $35, Ages 2 to 6.
• Gears & Puzzles, PlanToys, $25, Ages 2 and up.
• Go! Go! Smart Wheels Train Station Playset, VTech, $50, Ages 1 to 3.
• Hot Wheels Car Maker, Mattel, $50, Ages 8 and up.
• LeapPad Ultra, LeapFrog, $150, Ages 4 to 9.
• Lottie Dolls, Arklu, $20, Ages 3 and up.
• Marker Maker, Crayola, $26, Ages 8 and up.
• Multi-Solution Shape Puzzle, P’kolino, $20, Ages 2 to 6.
• Nancy B’s Science Club MoonScope, Educational Insights, $50, Ages 8 and up.
• NFL Game Day, Fremont Die, $20, Ages 9 and up.
• Octonauts Octopod Playset, Fisher-Price, $35, Ages 3 and up.
• Octopal Squirters, TOMY, $20, Ages 1 and up.
• RC Extreme Hero, EB Brands, $80, Ages 8 and up.
• Rocket, Green Toys, $25, Ages 2 and up.
• R.V. Seeing You Camper, Battat, $60, Ages 3 and up.
• Showcam, Hasbro, $60, Ages 3 to 7.
• Trikke E2, Razor USA, $140, Ages 8 and up.
• Wooden Musical Train, Boikido, $40, Ages 1 and up.
• Ziggle, Radio Flyer, $50, Ages 3 to 8.

Earlier this week we announced that we have stopped shipment on Thea Stilton and the Blue Scarab Hunt and are revising and reprinting. Today we have further updates to share.

First, the updated map is now available here (opens in .pdf; be sure to print at 100% and check "actual size" so the page will fit your book exactly). The fictional story is about trip by three mice to Egypt; the map is intended to give information to young readers about various locations in Egypt. We corrected the map to accurately reflect the borders of areas surrounding Egypt.

Reprints are beginning immediately and begin shipping in approximately 8 to 10 weeks.

Customers who have purchased this book at a retail store, online store, or through Scholastic Reading Club or Book Fairs and wish to receive a replacement can print this form, fill it out and mail it along with your book to Scholastic using the shipping label on the form. We will send you a new copy of this book when it is available along with an additional free title in the Thea Stilton series. In addition, we've set up phone lines and an email address if you have further questions. Please call 1-800-724-4809 from Monday-Friday, 6am-11pm CT, or email scholasticCS@scholastic.com.

Readers who wish to keep their copy of the book can download and affix the updated page over the original page.

If you downloaded the Storia eBook version of this title, your current book will be automatically updated with a corrected version on your Storia bookshelf in about 4 to 6 weeks. Once the new version is available, all you’ll have to do is sign into your Reading Manager for the update.

Finally, for those who asked, we are pleased to report that the Italian publisher who originally published the title is also making the appropriate corrections for the global market. Like us, they have stopped shipments and will be replacing the books.

We appreciate your feedback and patience and look forward to continuing to serve you. Thank you.

I was reminded recently that it has been quite a while since I have written a librarian’s news round up.  So, here are some of the topics that have stood out to me lately.

The other day I was sent a link to a Scholastic Administrator article called Are librarians still important.  Reading through the article - which I highly recommend even if like myself you are not a school administrator – it struck me that it’s possible in many schools that the librarian could be one of the most underused resources available to teachers and students.

Libraries aren’t only important when you are in school.  Seemingly answering the previous article’s question, in the United Kingdom The Guardian newspaper posted an article entitled, Conservative party deletes archive of speeches from internet.  If you are looking for the speeches and other material that has seemingly been removed, head down to the British Library.  They have it.

Finally, I bring you a reminder that librarians as a profession have been doing what they do for a very long time.  Library Journal posted the editorial, Into the wilds: A history of cutting edge outreach.  It’s the story of one librarian’s idea to get books to a remote lumber camp.  No one knew if it would work because no one had tried before.

Those are some of the articles that I found interesting this week. What about you?

Every Friday, we share a handful of links we found interesting, provocative, funny — or just plain cool. We call it In Our Feeds. Have a great weekend!

Man, it's been quite a week. In just five days we covered a lot of ground: Tim Gunn and Diane Von Furstenberg schooled us on the importance of math in the fashion industry, our Trade division released their online book preivew for the spring (38 books in 38 minutes!), AND our Storia App was featured on Jeopardy last night. 

On top of all that, add the anticipation for the release of the Catching Fire film (Seven. More. Days!!!!)

Needless to say, we're in near hysterics over here. So let's take five and distract ourselves with some links, shall we?

Worth a watch: here's Jeffrey Wright (Beetee) on Good Morning America —he chats about The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and shares a clip.

Lia sent over this article from The New York Times about hotels becoming more bookish. Apparenly hotel libraries are popping up all over the place. Lia has also enlisted in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and updates us on her progress (you can do it, Lia!). These 14 published novels were actually written during NaNoWriMo, so there's hope! 

Mike shared this lovely round up of 26 books that will change the way you see the world (and yes, Harry Potter series is included. Holler). 

Speaking of Harry Potter, Kristen has uncovered the secret for how to order Butterbeer at Starbucks. There's one very close to our office which means I'll be testing this out in about an hour.

I love this cartoon from Michael that illustrates how parents change after one year of parenting. Direct your attention to the last panel—so sweet.

Brittany blew my mind with this article by Fast Company, which explores the latest tech experiement out of MIT's Media Lab: a shapeshifting display you can reach through (kind of like "living clay").

And finally, wouldn't it be great if you could manage your personal collection of books from your iPhone? Nadia found this list of the five apps that help you do just that. 

Happy weekend!