Strollerderby : bookshelves of doom

New Harry Potter Book Will Kill Fewer Trees

Patti — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:35:00 GMT

At 784 pages and millions of preordered copies around the world, the seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter saga stands to destroy a lot of forests. But don't feel guilty about buying it: The first US edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be printed on recycled paper. This marks the single largest purchase of sustainably produced paper used in a single book printing--not so surprising, given that the first US print run will be twelve million books.

My kids are nowhere near old enough even to listen to these stories, so I have no excuse for how excited I am about this book. Maybe now I can chalk it up to my fierce devotion to environmental causes.

Of course, you can preorder the book at Amazon. You know, for your kids. And for the planet.

(via Naturemoms Blog)

Harry Potter Hype: New Cover Just Released

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:59:00 GMT

I stopped reading the Harry Potter series on book three, right before the big, fat one came out that you could pre-order on Amazon. Needless to say, I'm not up on my Potter, but those of you who are probably already know that the new cover for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (the heck is a "deathly hallow?") has just been released.

The cover is the first wraparound or continuous cover for the series and features a cloaked Harry reaching up for...let's guess! What do you think he's reaching for? My guess: Ron Weasley's quaffles (nudge, wink). Anyway, keep turning the cover and apparently a spooky image of Voldemort peers out at readers with glowing red eyes.

J.K. Rowling's wildly popular series has sold over 325 million copies worldwide. A first print run of 12 million copies has been ordered for this last book to ensure that all the sorcery geeks waiting outside bookstores at midnight on July 21, 2007 get their copies.

[photo credit: Scholastic]

"Scrotum Is Not A Dirty Word" - The T-Shirt!

Alisyn — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 19:35:00 GMT

The uproar over Susan Patron's Newberry Medal-winning children's book, "The Higher Power of Lucky" struck me as hilarious. (For those of you who missed it, the book has parents and librarians up in arms for using the word "scrotum" on the first page).

What is the deal? Do parents not want to explain to their sons and daughters what a scrotum is? Do librarians and school administrators object to the use of the word scrotum in fiction only - or in health and science texts as well? Is scrotum just not as funny as "boys" or "balls?"

It may be a loaded word (hah! pun intended!), but it's not a dirty word - or a dirty book. And now there's a t-shirt to champion its cause! Bookshelves of Doom is supporting "The Higher Power of Lucky" with "Scrotum Is Not A Dirty Word" t-shirts, available on a made-to-order basis. Other noteworthy literary-themed shirts over at B.O.D. include "Heathcliff Is A Prat" and "Trust Snape."

I love it!