LIVE OAK MEDIA WINS INAUGURAL ODYSSEY AWARD FOR JAZZ

The very first Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production has been given to Jazz, written by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Christopher Myers and produced by Arnie Cardillo - original music was composed for each poem and performed by a live jazz ensemble, while two outstanding jazz vocalists alternate with narration and song. Booklist gave Jazz a starred review, and Audiofile Magazine said "The narration lifts the words off the page and asks them to dance." The Odyssey Award is jointly administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of ALA, and is sponsored by Booklist magazine.

PREVIEW FOR 2008

• Diary of a Fly, the next book in the series that includes Diary of a Worm and Diary of a Spider, will be available this spring
• Earl the Squirrel, a never-before published picture book from the beloved creator of Corduroy, Don Freeman
• Mack Made Movies, by Don Brown, will be both a readalong and a DVD with extras; coming in May
• New Live Oak Music Maker: Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa will spice up our list in May
• Beginning Readers: a new series by Denys Cazet, Grandpa Spanielson, will be telling tales in March; another Rotten Ralph reader will be released and Minnie and Moo have yet another hilarious adventure

AVAILABLE NOW

• The first in a series of books by the wonderful Jean Craighead George is available now. Narrated by Wendell Minor, whose glorious artwork provides the visual element, LUCK is the fascinating story of a young sandhill crane's migration north.
• Shredderman - all four titles in this excellent series for newly-independent readers are now available!
• Don't all you librarians out there wonder what it would be like to have a lion loose in your library?! LIBRARY LION, the story of a winsome lion who makes himself comfortably at home in a library, has been winning the hearts of readers and reviewers - and with the audio will be available for an even larger audience to enjoy.
• New on DVD! New titles available as individual titles on DVD: Anansi and the Talking Melon, Art Dog, and Too Many Pumpkins. More titles will be converted to DVD in coming months.