Visit Kidlitosphere Central by Jan Godown Annino, KID LIT HEROES

KID LIT HEROES: Visit Kidlitosphere Central by Jan Godown Annino

From my first clunky blue gray clam shells - empty, always empty 

is my method -  collected at the Jersey shore near Tom’s River, 
along the sands to my first brown dot junonia, empty, empty of 
animal, scooped up with a dance of joy on a sandbar near Captiva 
Island in Florida because the empty junonia cast ashore is a prize, 
I like to stumble upon shells.

No buying them in a trinket shop for me, no matter how glossy they look.

Of course in beach walks you might find what you will not take home, such as this expired whale, which our daughter & I found during a stroll where my dear college roomie, her godmother, lives close to the frequently rough surf, east coast of Florida. 

But on Gulf of Mexico walks, we more often find this haul.

The fresh-found baubles, did I say they are empty, are rinsed in the sea, brought home in a pail or bag & rinsed again, in city water on our patio table.  There they are sun dried & sorted. 

Next, they land here and there. 
Potential chime/mobile/ornament shells go hither. 
Yon I put small shells of like hues, added to glass containers that show them off.  Shells to put outside around the plants & in flower pots are hauled to a bin. Choice others are scattered  – under glass in a round table, on top of tables, in baskets & in my office.

In the same sort of meander of serendipity that miraculously brings me 
sea shells, I also like to wander into children’s literature gems, in bookstores, in libraries, or, online. 

A bit wayward here, off the beaten path there, by mistake ever so often.

But, this is a big week for the Kidlitosphere Central world. 

So I'm bending my process to look, in one swoopy snoop, at one of the shiniest online collections of librarians, authors, illustrators, editors, readers, art directors & illustrators, who share information about 
children's literature. 

This collection of Kid Lit Heroes who share is called the Kidlitosphere, a name credited by the group itself to author Melissa Wiley. The group explains itself:

“KidLitosphere” has become a valuable resource that celebrates fiction and nonfiction, poetry and prose, authors and illustrators, writing and reading. Bloggers cover everything from picture books to young adult titles, writing process to publishing success, personal news to national events."

For example, if  you’d like to take a gander at a list of  sites from editors 
& publishers, Kitlitosphere Central has it.

And if you’d like to know what titles are recommended so far in this year’s Kidlitosphere Central Oct. 1- to Oct. 15 nomination period, from readers, meaning us, for the annual Cybils Literary Awards, Kidlitosphere has 
that for you, too. 

The Cybils are honors bestowed upon a children's book, in several genre categories, nominated by readers, & judged by bloggers in the 
Cybils community. 

So you may want to take off your shoes, shashay along the Kidlitosphere beach, dip your toe in a children's literature page or three, & collect 
what glimmers. 

All in the warmth of your home. Without getting wet or seaweedy.