FAIRY TALE FASHION CONTEST! Did you ever wish for a contest where everybody wins? In honor of the release of the funny and fantastic DIARY OF A FAIRY GODMOTHER, we invite Esme's readers and admirers of illustrator Drazen Kozjan to design a wand-erful dress worthy of a party that Auntie Malice would attend! Use any medium to create a picture of a head-turning get-up designed for a winsome witch, fetching fairy or dapper devil. Entries should not exceed 9x12 inches. Submit entries to: PlanetEsme Attention: Hunky Dory P.O Box 6225 Evanston, IL 60201 All entries must be accompanied by an entry from (click here). Teachers and youth leaders, please let kids know! One winner will recieve an autographed copy of DIARY OF A FAIRY GODMOTHER and a surprise selection of other bewitching titles. But don't worry that your entry will turn into a pumpkin… a winner will be chosen with each new moon, and every entrant will recieve a bewitching surprise, while supplies last ! Allow up to 8 weeks for delivery.

Read the real-life diary of a first year of teaching in a public school!

Winner of the International Reading Association Children's Book Award!

Become an expert in children's lit using this perfect follow-up to Educating Esme for teachers and parents !

This wand-erful girl-power fairy tale grants your fondest reading wish!

The kosher Christmas Carol! Great Jewish-American history with a holiday twist!

For your laughing pleasure! Great journaling springboard!

Are you a first-year teacher, or a veteran? Are you a school librarian? Are you a homeschooler? Do you like to use themes in your teaching? Do you like to read aloud? Are you a parent? Are you a book lover? Are you a fun lover? THIS SITE IS FOR YOU! Click the buttons above, or scroll and click through the complete index to the left to begin your journey into Madame Esmé's world of children's literature. This site exists with the goal of getting great children's books into the hands of great children. Enjoy your visit and please come again! Visit the many moons of Planet Esmé: The Best Kids Book Site, a website that's true to its name! Great place to go for crafts that match the books we love. Bibliofind.com , Addall.com and Half.com are where I direct people who ask me, "I had this great book when I was a child, but I can't find it anywhere..." Maybe you'll be reunited through these superior out-of-print and used book sources! BookAdventure, an on-line reading motivation program where parents and teachers can choose how to reward the children! BookSense, the hub of independent booksellers, this is the place to go to shop for great children's books and support local business at the same time! Check out The Children's Booksense 76 to see what's flying off the shelves! Children'sLit.com, where you can find out the skinny on your favorite authors and illustrators! Children's Literature Web Guide, an Aladdin's cave of resources for anyone interested in children's literature, including up-to-date news, library links and author and publisher links. Cynthia Leitich Smith's website is where to visit for the best in multicultural children's literature. Free Spirit Publishing has several titles that can help children with special needs or in difficult stages achieve at school . Kidsreads is where young bookworms wiggle for the latest book reviews, polls, links and more K-6 reading fun. Kidstamps, an oustanding and unique source for literature-based rubberstamps and products. PlanetEsme, your favorite place in cyberspace now has a storefront space! Chicago area booklovers, check out the latest events and membership details. Reading Headlines Daily, current events from the world of literacy brought to you by the International Reading Association! You may want to set your browser to open to this page! Richie's Picks, the hottest spot for reviews for young adult literature! Susan Taylor Brown's website has an invaluable database of online teaching guides for children's books! What a resource! Teachers Helping Teachers, where you can find lots of great ideas for the classroom, or make special requests on a dynamic bulletin board. Teachers.Net Chatboard Network, where you can connect with real live teachers from all over the country and share ideas and experiences on over 30 chatboards. The ultimate in teacher support! Read my column about children's literature in the site's monthly Gazette, or enjoy many more teacher-designed links on the Teachers.Net Webring! Trelease on Reading, a web site brimming with outstanding recommendations and research regarding read-aloud! Teachingbooks.net brings children's literature into the 21st century, using online videos and other multimedia, connecting kids to the authors and illustrators that they love best! Beats cable any day .

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ORDER one of Esmé's books, please click the book cover to the right for ordering info and reviews, or visit the Booksense site to find the independent bookseller near you. (Note: Educating Esmé is a journal of experiences in an inner-city school which makes many references to integrating children's literature in the classroom. How to Get Your Child To Love Reading is the definitive guide to children's literature for both parents and teachers, and a great accompaniment to this website. Sahara Special is a book about a little girl who loves to write, and is appropriate for ages 10 and up [teacher's guide available]. Sing a Song of Tuna Fish is a memoir about growing up in Chicago in the 1970's, and is appropriate for ages 9 and up [teacher's guide available] . Diary of a Fairy Godmother features an unconventional little witch girl who pursues her dream of becoming a fairy godmother in a fairy tale world, just right for 9 and up. And Hanukkah Shmanukkah uses a Dickensian structure to tell a holiday story of Jewish-American immigrants at the turn of the 20th century making their way through the holiday. Can Scroogemacher handle the wisdom of the rabbis of Hanukkah past, present and future? 7 and up. )

PUBLISHERS AND AUTHORS/ILLUSTRATORS, if you have galley or bound copies of mass market trade books relating to children's literature (birth through 6th grade) you would like to submit for consideration for inclusion on Planet Esmé, please query. Publishers, catalogs with accompanying checklists are preferred. Submissions will not be returned. Sectarian literature, self-published material and e-books are not currently being considered. Planet Esmé reserves the right to accept or reject material for inclusion on this site.

JOIN THE CLUB! Please let me know if you would like to receive site updates and special invitations by clicking here. Regretfully, my time constraints and commitments are such that I cannot offer evaluations on unpublished manuscripts or school assignments, offer publishing advice outside of this site or "pen-pal."

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE: You have permission to copy for your own classroom use or for distribution at teacher or librarian inservices or for homeschooling purposes. You may not distribute, copy, or otherwise reproduce the contents of this website for sale or commercial use without written permission from the author. Special permission was granted for use of the children's artwork for this site only. "Madame Esmé," "Storytime Central," "Russell's Book Basket," "Reading Resuscitation" "Teacher tested, kid approved" and "Planet Esmé" are trademarks. Educating Esmé copyright 1999, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, How to Get Your Child to Love Reading copyright 2003, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill Sahara Special copyright 2003, Hyperion Books for Children. All rights reserved.

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