So Long to Weekly Deadlines

Bonnie Fowler, the weekly children's-book columnist at the Winston-Salem Journal,  is stepping down after nearly twenty years.  Meanwhile, one of her colleagues has penned a lovely tribute.

"My goal was to acquaint my readers with the best of what was available, which is sometimes not the same as what you see pushed in bookstores. I tried to make them aware of new trends ... and to educate people so they could be better at choosing books themselves," [Bonnie Fowler] said recently.


James Haskins, 1941-2005

James Haskins, the author of more than 100 non-fiction books for children, died last week. His first book, Diary of a Harlem Schoolteacher, segued into a career of writing for young people and documenting the lives of prominent African-Americans. The obituary of the former "outside rabble-rous[ing]" student at Alabama State and later University of Florida professor is in today's New York Times. (Registration required.)