Great places to keep up with YA and Children's Books!

So, what are the newest books out there?  How can I find book-alikes?  What about series books? As Mighty Mouse said, "Here I come to save the day!"Here are a few sites I'd like to share with you that were previously shared with me. I absolutely LOVE networking!! Another great network is #yalove, which is all about YA books from all publishers, genres, and librarian read-aholics from around the nation! http://www.yalovechat.wikispaces.com

NEW BOOKS

YA LIT:  http://yalit.com
With a simple interface, this is my go-to to find the newest releases for YA books.  This is an independent site created and updated by a librarian, Keri Adams and web developer Stefan Hayden.
The site opens to upcoming books being released as well as the release dates, but has a list of published books by month, from newest to oldest.

YALSA BOOKLISTS: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklistsbook
From the definitive machine on children's and young adult literature, go to this site not only to find out the most current lists, but also to look at the nominations lists to consider future titles you may want to purchase.  I always try to pick at least 10 winners on the nominations list from a personal POV :)

STATE BOOK LISTS: http://www.txla.org/groups/yart  and  http://www.txla.org/groups/CRT-awards
Call me biased, but I absolutely love the Texas Library Association's booklists for young adults.  Not only is the annotated current list available, but also the current nominations.  The different lists include Lonestar: middle/junior high schools; Maverick: graphic novels for YA; TAYSHAS: high school readers; and the Spirit of Texas book awards, celebrating the best authors from the state.  Texas also has booklists for children: the 2x2 for children aged two years old to second grade; and the Bluebonnet list: elementary school booklist.

A BOOK AND A HUG: http://www.abookandahug.com/index.php
I wasn't really sure where to put this site because it does SO MUCH!!  Created and updated by Barb Langridge, the site contains book reviews, What's New, searches by category, searching by reading levels and more - all for children's and young adult books.

WHAT TO READ NEXT

BOOK SEER: http://www.bookseer.com
This is a very simple fill in the blank question: I just finished ______________ by __________.What should I read next?  That's it...once you type in your book, it gives recommendations based on amazon recommendations.  Some of the recommendations may be skewed (Michael Northrop's newest book, Surrounded by Sharks and Diary of a Wimpy Kid??  Really?)  but it's fun nonetheless and does come up with some solid recommendations.

WHAT SHOULD I READ NEXT: http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com
Similar to Book Seer, you type in the title of a book or name of an author and the site gives you similar recommendations.  What is different about this one is that every book listed also has subjects as well, which could make searching the recommended list easier.  The info button takes you to....you got it... Amazon.  You can also join and create lists that you can add or delete from and also have the option to share your lists....hmmmmm....I like that!!

YOUR NEXT READ: http://www.yournextread.com
Ohhhhh....this is my dream site!  The front page takes you to featured booklists, but also has tabs, including children's books, a leaderboard of top readers, and a "My Map" tab that will simply blow your mind as they create an awesome map of recommendations and how they all tie in.  This site is affiliated with goodreads.com.  You can create your own sign in and get even more personalized (although this took awhile to get a confirmation email so be patient)

SERIES FINDERS

MID CONTINENT PUBLIC LIBRARY SERIES FINDER: http://www.mymcpl.org/books-movies-music/juvenile-series
Updated by real librarians, these is a VERY large collection of series titles and which books are in that particular series.  You can view four different ways: series title, subject, book title, and author.  I did a quick search of one of the newer series out there (Darren Shan's Zom-b series) and didn't find it on their database, but that doesn't mean I'm going to rule out this audacious series finder, which are few and far to come by!

MANGA PANDA: http://www.mangapanda.com/alphabetical
I admit defeat...there is NO way I could possibly keep up with this genre and I freely admit it.  So with that said, a student told me about this website and I'm so thankful!!  I'll never have to worry I have the latest or which ones are out - this list makes it EASY PEASY!

OLD SCHOOL IT

There are also others out there and you can go old-school by asking a friend or librarian.  In fact, that may be the best way yet because not only do you get great recommendations, but you also create relationships in a face-to-face environment, which we need more of.
All of these sites will satisfy any reader's thirst for more of the newest, brightest, best so stay thirsty, my friends :)