BookMentors, a nonprofit book donation organization, is hosting a National Poetry Month celebration.

To participate, you can write a poem that endorses a book of poetry. You can submit your poem to the organization’s social media platforms (including Google+, Facebook, or Tumblr). Check it out:

we are celebrating #NationalPoetryMonth with daily poems mimicking the style of our favorite poetry books! Post your own poem about your favorite book of poetry or like one of the poems that has already been posted. BookMentors will donate the book featured in the post that gets the most “likes.” Get creative!

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Here are some literary events to pencil in your calendar. To get your event posted on our calendar, visit our Facebook Your Literary Event page. Please post your event at least one week prior to its date.

Celebrate the fourth anniversary of the Franklin Park Reading Series at their bash! Party it up on Monday, March 11th at the Franklin Park Bar & Beer Garden starting at 8 p.m. (Brooklyn, NY)

The next installment of the Pen Parentis Literary Salon will take place at Andaz Wall Street. Join in on Tuesday, March 12th starting 7 p.m. (New York, NY)

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In the early 1960s, the great agent Sterling Lord began to work with Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain, helping the couple sell a new children’s book to Beginner Books.

The Random House imprint was founded by Theodor Geisel (who wrote under the legendary pen name, Dr. Seuss). In his new Lord of Publishing memoir, the literary agent recalled how Dr. Seuss dissected the entire first draft in front of the aspiring writers.

We’ve collected Dr. Seuss’ advice below–this draft eventually became the classic kid’s book, The Big Honey Hunt.

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The literary world mourned the passing of Jan Berenstain this year, but a new book trailer (video embedded above) features the co-creator of the Berenstain Bears talking about a new book.

After listening to some advice from their then-editor Theodor Seuss Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss), the husband-and-wife writing duo Stan and Jan Berenstain wrote a picture book about penguins. The manuscript for Nothing Ever Happens in the South Pole was “put on the back burner” for decades, but HarperCollins released it this year to celebrate The Berenstain Bears‘ 50th anniversary.

The video features Jan and her son Mike Berenstain (who helped to illustrate the project) discussing the book.

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Pinocchio’s Children’s Bookstore, a Tennessee-based bookseller, will close up shop after 35 years of business.

At this point the two owners, Miriam Epstein (age 73) and Judy Korones (age 80), have reached an advanced age where running the day-to-day operations of the bookstore has become difficult. Owners Judy Korones and Miriam Epstein posted this message on Facebook:

After thirty-five wonderfully satisfying years, we have decided that we will be retiring this fall. We want to reward you for your patronage and support; thus we are announcing that all items in our shop will be 40% off as of Thursday, September 27. We look forward to seeing you at Pinocchio’s and reminiscing about the “good ol’ days”! In the meantime, KEEP READING–BOOKS!! (via Publishers Weekly)

Random House posted a 64 percent increase in operating profit for the first half of 2012. According to Variety, the publisher also boasted a 20 percent increase in revenue–rising to $1.2 billion.

Here’s more from the article: “The titillating [50 Shades of Grey] trilogy sold more than 30 million copies between March and June, with sales evenly divided between the trade paperback and e-book editions. The Social Network producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti are producing the big-screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey the first book in the trilogy, for Universal Pictures and Focus Features.”

Random House also credited the growth in eBook sales and the popularity of some of their biggest bestselling authors including George R.R. Martin  (A Song of Ice and Fire series), John Grisham (Calico Joe), Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) and Dr. Seuss (The Lorax).

Random House Children’s Books has released a digital coloring book app from the Dr. Seuss collection.

The Dr. Suess’ Cat in the Hat Color & Create app features classic Dr. Suess characters like the Cat in the Hat, Sally, Nick and Fish. With the app,  young readers can digitally color, take photos, throw digital confetti and create effects. The new activity app is currently on sale for $1.99.

Dr. Seuss apps have done well in iTunes. Digital publisher Oceanhouse Media has released a number of eBook versions of the classic kids books, many of which have ranked on iTunes top list. According to data from AppData, Oceanhouse Media’s The Cat in the Hat eBook app is currently the No. 49 top free app in the books genre and the No. 31 top free iPad app in the books genre.

A bronze statue of The Lorax has been stolen from the grounds of the late Dr. Seuss‘ San Diego estate. The statue reportedly weighs 300 pounds and stands three feet tall.

The San Diego Union Tribune reports that Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, Seuss’ step-daughter and the sculptor who created the art piece, wants “very badly to get our little Lorax back home where he belongs.” Dimond-Cates made two Lorax statues; one for the San Diego estate and one for the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden (pictured).

In an interview with Reuters, San Diego police lieutenant Andra Brown revealed that the police have not yet determined whether this is a prank or a theft. The police have observed that the ”evidence at the scene suggests that the thieves rolled the statue down the hill to an adjacent property, where it was likely loaded onto a waiting vehicle.”

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The marketing team behind film adaptation of Dr. Seuss‘ The Lorax have made more than 70 deals for promotional product tie-ins.

Comedian Stephen Colbert gave a sarcastic pitch (written in verse) asking for more: “I’m demanding more branding of Loraxian stuff!” The pitch included suggestions such as Lorax-themed SUV’s, oil drills and McDonald’s meals.

Follow this link for a full transcript of Colbert’s ranting rhyme and click here to watch the video. What do you think?

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The Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert interviewed Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak this week. Follow these links to watch part one and part two of the interview.

According to Shelf Awareness, Colbert “turned [to Sendak] for advice on becoming a celebrity children’s author, pitched his sequel idea for Where the Wild Things Are 2: Still Wildin’ (featuring action star Vin Diesel) and generally let the wild rumpus begin.”

During the interview, some of the “rumpus” that emerged included Sendak’s opinion on the current state of children’s literature; he finds it “abysmal” and thinks that “most books for children are very bad.”

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