Hope you all had a fantastic Mother’s Day yesterday! In honor of that big day, we’re giving away a stack of mommy lit - so you can read something other than Dr. Seuss in your, er, copious spare time. In the stack: Jill Kargman’s “Momzillas,” a comic tale of uber-competitive mothering on New York’s Upper East Side, Polly Williams’ “Yummy Mummy,” and Holly Peterson’s “The Manny” - a beach read about a Park Avenue mom and her hot male nanny. Hmmm, do you detect a trend here? Take one exhausted New York mom, add several pairs Manolo Blahniks and plenty of pop references. Publish. Ah well, here’s a little fun and froth to lighten the hours. And all you have to do to win them is click “comments” and tell us about your Mother’s Day. (Congrats, by the way, to Kelly Ann, who won last week’s dog-themed treasure trove!)

Summer vacation’s not far off … and with it, the challenge of keeping youngsters occupied and entertained on planes, trains and in the backseat. Or (shudder) in an airline terminal when your flight’s just been cancelled. So this week, we’re giving away a travel fun pack - Laura Krauss Melmed’s charming “New York, New York! The Big Apple From A to Z,” whose colorful pictures provide little glimpses of all the things to see at the Metropolitan Art Museum or aboard the Intrepid aircraft carrier (nuclear missile submarine tour, anyone?) … plus an American Girl craft book that includes kid-friendly activities perfect for either a kids’ craft sale or a little backseat entertainment. Big fun!

Here’s how to win ‘em. Simply click “comments” (we’ll draw a winner Sunday night — and congrats, by the way, to 1StopMom who won last week’s books!) and share your most memorable family travel tale. Spectacular settings, epic disasters, the great road trip diaper shortage, it’s all good.

Wait’ll you get a load of “My Beautiful Mommy,” the first picture book to tell the 4- to 7-year-old crowd all about Mommy’s tummy tuck, booby lift and nose job. The author, a Florida plastic surgeon and father of four, said the book is designed to reassure children about “mommy makeovers,” the plastic surgery that “fixes” all those saggy, wrinkly things that happen to your body after you give birth, breastfeed and, ya know, live with kids. Or just live.

“It is for the mom who has already booked her plastic surgery,” author Michael Salzhauer told Reuters reporters, “and now has to tell her kids why she is going to be in bed, why daddy is picking the kids up from school and all those other issues.”

As you might guess, the book, self-published through a vanity press, which is marvelously appropriate here, is igniting controversy … particularly the pages where the Saggy, Wrinkly Mommy says things like, “As I got older, my body stretched and I couldn’t fit into my clothes anymore. Dr Michael is going to help fix that and make me feel better.” Mommy won’t be different, “just prettier!”

We know, right? When we can’t fit into our clothes, we book an appointment in the OR, PDQ, ya know?
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If you’ve been following the lawsuit between JK Rowling and the founder of the Harry Potter Lexicon web site, you’ll want to check out the New York Times coverage of their day in court. It’s kinda adorable.

Previously… librarian Steven Jan Vander Ark, a man the NY Times describes as having the “mild-mannered demeanor of Ron Weasley, and the intelligence, charm — and haircut — of Harry Potter,” had taken the success of his HP Lexicon web site and turned it into a Potter encyclopedia. Rowling’s famous books lacked an index or glossary, reasoned Vander Ark and his partners, two other librarians and a Greek and Latin scholar. So why not create one? But Rowling, who had singled out the popular web site for praise, was not amused by the notion of a print version. It all came to a head yesterday as the librarian, now accused of plagiarism and copyright infringement, broke down in tears on the witness stand.

Our favorite part of the story?
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We spoke with Lafayette author Ying Compestine, author of the bestselling YA novel, “Revolution is Not a Dinner Party,” last week after her book about a 9-year-old during China’s Cultural Revolution hit its 19th award. Shortlisted for the Newbery, it went on to win spots on the ALA Best Books for Young Adults list and New York Public Library’s 100 Best Titles. (The interview is in today’s Times and Trib, along with an excerpt from the book.)

What’s noteworthy here is that “Revolution” has struck a chord not just with tweens and teens, but adults too. Teachers in Texas, New York, California and other states are assigning it to their classes because it makes history come alive — and it’s a particular slice of history that we, at least, never really got in school. Don’t know about you, but all the mental images we had of book burning, dictators and the kind of environment in which neighbors turned in neighbors - and children turned in their parents - for anti-government thoughts hails from the Hitler era… and Indiana Jones movies. Our history books just ignored the other side of the world. So this was not only a compelling read, but an eye-opening one.
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The Danville, San Ramon and Dougherty Station libraries are celebrating KidsReads 2008 this month, starting with a massive all-city (cities?) read. Pick up your free copy of “Hooray, a Pinata!” a colorful picture book by Bay Area author Elisa Kleven, at any of those libraries, and join in the fun – special events, a young writers challenge and a visit with Kleven on May 3 at 2 p.m. For more info, call the library (Danville Library at 925-837-4889, San Ramon Library at 925-973-2850, Dougherty Station Library at 925-973-3380) or visit the library web site. (And thanks, Target, for the free books.)

Oprah, he’s not. But the Today Show’s Al Roker launched a Kids’ Book Club last spring, and it’s pretty darn cool. The club site includes interviews with each author, a Q&A section and a spot so fourth and fifth grade teachers can submit their students’ questions too. A lot of what they’re reading will sound very familiar to you book lovers - “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” “Swordbird” and “Bud, Not Buddy” - but others were new to us. How did we miss the “Sisters Grimm“? And we love the audio clips and sample chapters. Interested in joining? Pick up a copy of “Chasing Vermeer,” Blue Balliett’s whodunit, and dig in!

 We loved last week’s blast of nostalgia as you guys reminisced about Gumby, Romper Room and other childhood faves. That Gumby DVD is heading out to our winner, Steve, now, and we’re ready to launch this week’s giveaway. This time, it’s irresistible books: Chuck Murphy’s intricate pop-up “Great Bunnyville Easter Egg Hunt” and Dawn Bentley’s adorable “Ten Rubber Duckies” … with tiny rubber duckies that actually squeak. Too cute for words, and oh so appropriate for spring.

So here’s this week’s question. Click “comments” to enter (we’ll draw a winner’s name this weekend), and tell us: What do you put in your little darling’s Easter basket? (Or, if you don’t do Easter, tell us how you celebrate the arrival of spring.)

Hear a Who? A green-egg-and-ham eating, book-reading Who, perhaps? Today’s “Read Across America” day - the National Education Association’s salute to literacy and Dr. Seuss‘ birthday fest all rolled into one. (Well, Seuss’ birthday was actually yesterday, March 2, but this is a school celebration, so bear with us here.) “Guest readers” and local celebs are reading Dr. Seuss’ famous books in classrooms cross country, and kids are digging into platters of green eggs and ham this very minute.

If you’re looking for a little green breakfast inspiration of your own, you might want to check out this striking photo, then dish up a few emerald-tinged scrambles of your own, courtesy of the Seussville web site. Or make a few Whos (thank you, Family Fun) to wile away the time till the new “Horton Hears a Who” movie comes out on the 14th.

Any “Reading Rainbow” fans out there? The wonderful PBS kids show about great children’s books is hosting its annual “Young Authors and Illustrators Contest.” If you’ve got a budding writer or artist at home, check it out. For information on Bay Area entries in particular, click here. Some 900 Bay Area kids entered the contest last year - each got a certificate signed by host LeVar Burton (pictured, left), and winners partied at KQED-TV. Pretty cool.

Speaking of books, don’t forget to tune in this Sunday, when the Childhood Matters radio show tackles the topic of “Reading with Your Child” - how, why and what. 9 a.m. 98.1 KISS-FM and 105.1 KOCN-FM. Listen live or download the podcast afterward.