These links are waiting for you...and they're still hot.

It's a glittering extravaganza out there. Here's what's happening:

• PBS Parents has started a children's literature blog: Booklights. All there really is to say about that is it's about time. On a side note, a fellow member of the ALSC committee I'm on is one of the bloggers: Susan Kusel also blogs at Wizards Wireless. Thanks to Chicken Spaghetti for the info.
• Can't get a rezzie at Babbo? Cooked Books has the info on how you can recreate their dishes at home. I'm thinking of trying the Two-Minute Calamari Sicilian Lifeguard Style.
• 7th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational. Need I say more?
• New York Public Library is having another literary cafe this weekend: Fantasy in New York. It's on May 2nd at 2:00 p.m. at the new 42nd St. library. Once again, I will have to miss it - I haven't been to one yet! But check it out - there's a great line-up of authors: Katherine Marsh, Kirsten Miller, and Delia Sherman.
• Books of Wonder has a ton of events going on - in particular, I would love to see Kristin Cashore and Melissa Marr on Saturday, May 30th from 1-3 p.m. I might stop by and say hi (hi Kristin!). Also, this weekend - Sunday, May 3rd from 1-3 p.m. - there is a veritable who's who of picture book/graphic novel authors/illustrators: Peter Brown, Jason Chin, Shaun Tan, and Harry Bliss. WOW. In particular, I'd love to meet Jason Chin - I just received a review copy of Redwoods yesterday, and I now see what all the buzz-buzz is about.
• For all you baking type people, I'm hooking you up - again - with a recipe: Maple Walnut White Chocolate Chip Cookies. You're welcome.

In other news, I realized that yesterday's post was my 400th. Yowza! Just thinking about it makes me exhausted. And in six weeks from yesterday, I'll be starting culinary school. And in four weeks from tomorrow, I'll be on the SLJ Day of Dialog panel. All I need now is to get appointed to an awards committee and my life would officially be my bizarro life.

Eat, drink, and just go with the flow.

Thinking about the Honeysuckle Rouge...

It's that time of year. The time of year when I cease to get anything done and just start doing things for pleasure...or when I force myself to be idle for a change. My attention span is zero because there are just so many fun things to be doing and I want to do it all Now. With that in mind, here are a few of the things I've been looking at today:

- Let's start off with The One That Freaked Me Out. Apparently, my Biggest Phobia has come true. I got the link from Ananka's Diary (aka Kirsten Miller) butI can't bring myself to thank her for it. I'm terrified.

- Fuse #8 has a fantabulous review up for the new Sesame Street book, Street Gang: the Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis. I'm with Betsy: that title is awesome and I can't believe they got away with it. I'm adding this title to the top of my teetering reading list...or very near the top.

- Apparently there are places in the world where it is not 28 degrees with 45 mile-per-hour winds. It's called Australia and Justine Larbalestier is bragging about all the lovely produce she's getting this time of year in her homeland. I'm not so jealous now, as I'm still enamored with butternut squash, apples, and pears. But come March...I'll be revisiting her post and turning green with envy.

- Thought my what-to-drink-with-children's-literature post was the mumblings of a functioning alcoholic? Not so fast! The New Yorker has come up with a cocktail - Honeysuckle Rouge - inspired by Winnie the Pooh. Tequila, honey, red wine reduction...oh my! See, I'm not the only one who comes up with stuff like this!

- I've been staying out of this whole debate about the Newbery award for multiple reasons. However, I have to link to this article at Slate: "Captain Underpants Doesn't Need a Newbery Medal" by Erica S. Perl. Yeah, what she said.

And that has been my morning. More to come this afternoon!

Eat, drink, and try a Honeysuckle Rouge.

What alcoholic beverage pairs best with your favorite children's book?

Examiner.com came out with a few fantastically awesome (and spot-on) lists of books to read with alcohol: beer, wine, and hard liquor.  I went through an embarrassing Victoria Holt stage in high school so I got a particular laugh out of the recommendation to read her with a glass of white wine.  I also snickered over the recommended pairing of Budweiser/Miller with America (The Book) by Jon Stewart - it's the perfect antidote to my overdose on election coverage.

So what about children's literature?  And young adult?  Am I the only one that does imbibe (sometimes) while reading?  What are some pairings you would choose?  I mean, obviously, you have to pair a raspberry cordial with Anne of Green Gables - that's a no-brainer.  Any others?  Here's a short list off the top of my head:

Beer:

- Sammy Keyes series by Wendelin Van Draanen (is it just me or is she Stephanie Plum in training?)

- Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing Up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka (totally!)

- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (probably something cheap and domestic...they are in high school, after all)

Wine:

- Sweet Valley High and Sarah Dessen's books are white wine books (I mean NO disrespect to Sarah Dessen by pairing these together!!!!  If it helps at all, SVH is a white zin and The Truth About Forever is a complicated, rich Viognier)

- Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares (totally white wine fare)

- My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath and Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller (these are Pinot Noir books - warm, cozy, lovely, complex but not weighed down)

- The Giver by Lois Lowry is a Zinfandel - Before I Die by Jenny Downham is a Zin too.

- The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen is soooooo champagne perfect!

Hard Liquor/Cocktails:

- Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholson series is the perfect thing to read with a Cosmopolitan, anything pastel-colored, anything with -tini at the end of it.

- Whiskey neat: I think if Kiki Strike were to be an adult and a drinker, she'd go for a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails whiskey neat.  10 Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher is a whiskey neat too, given the speak-easy nature of the setting.

- Harry Potter is challenging, but I would have to choose the pumpkintini I've been dreaming about for two years...you know, they drink all that pumpkin juice...get it???

- Lastly, I don't know if I'm getting the time period right here but doesn't it seem like you should drink mead with Good Masters!  Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz?

Eat, drink, and read children's books while doing so.

Laura: A Week in the Life

So here has been my week:

Monday: Children’s Book Week kick-off breakfast, hosted by the Children’s Book Council. It was held in a bank. Really. Then I ran around NYU, trying to get registered for a Food Studies class in the fall as a non-matriculated student (I failed). In the afternoon, a preview at Little, Brown. That night, my last French class of the semester. Voila! Le fin!

Tuesday: Work. Homework. Dinner. Watch “Dancing with the Stars.”

Wednesday: Work. Homework. Dinner. Bath. Call Mom.

Thursday: Preview at Random House in morning. Back to work by 1:00 for meeting. Leave work at 3:00 to go to Kew Gardens Hills to see program with Kirsten Miller (she’s awesome). Come home. Make dinner. Homework.

Friday: Career Day at the kiddo’s school where I try to make Queens Library sound cooler than Google (Adam is representin’, too – I’m gonna smoke him!). Work. Dinner. Week over.

It’s been one of those weeks. And here was my dinner menu this week:

Monday: Adam flew by the seat of his pants while I was at French class.

Tuesday: Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe (thanks, Giada)

Wednesday: Grilled Shrimp and Spinach Salad with Honey Vinaigrette (courtesy of Cooking Light - some of the best-flavored shrimp I've had to date)

Thursday: Penne with Vodka Sauce (thanks again, Giada…I hadn’t cooked Giada in ages so I thought I’d revisit some of my old faves from when I was just starting to cook)

Friday: Friday is the one night a week we eat in front of the TV, and we uncreatively call it “TV Dinner Night” and it’s sort of become a family ritual. Not to mention that it’s become a fun challenge to design a dinner that can be eaten picnic-style in front of the TV. So this Friday, it’s nachos.

Stick a fork in me. I’m so done with this week.

Eat, drink, and rejoice in Friday