The world's largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens
Meet Isol. Incredibly badass Isol. The fact that you may not know her name instantly is a crime. We Americans are fairly . . . how to put this . . . screamingly awful about paying attention to authors and illustrators from other countries. Isol won the most recent Astrid Lindgren Award, but she’s hardly [...]
Rutherford B., Who Was He? Poems About Our Presidents By Marilyn Singer Illustrated by John Hendrix Hyperion Books for Children $17.99 ISBN: 978-142317100-3 Ages 7 and up On shelves December 17th There is a brief moment of doubt when you first cast eyes upon the title of this book. It’s partly the design of the [...]
Obviously I can’t read everything in a given year for the kiddos. Someday SOMEDAY this will change. I shall sit upon a velvet cushion while faithful servants serve me peeled grapes as I devour all the books published in the current year. And I’ll have a pony! I mean, while we’re dreaming. In the meantime [...]
Well a tip of the hat and an apology to Mr. Schu. Looks like he in the guise of Babymouse came to visit me at The Children’s Center at 42nd Street located in the main branch of NYPL. Alas, I am no longer in that location, having been picked up and dropped off in Long [...]
The Year of Billy Miller By Kevin Henkes Greenwillow (an imprint of Harper Collins) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-226812-9 Ages 6-10 On shelves September 17th I don’t readily compare books to Ramona (now THERE’S a sentence opener, ladies and gentlemen). To compare any children’s book to Beverly Cleary’s classic series just leaves one wide open to ridicule. [...]
Family Program A Very Special Storytime—The Museum Saturday, July 27, 1:00–2:15 p.m. Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education Show location on map The Metropolitan Museum of Art When you see a work of art, does something happen in your heart? Join author Susan Verde and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds for an exciting artistic adventure as [...]
I don’t think I’ll shock anyone out there when I reveal that I adore webcomic artist Kate Beaton’s work more than life itself. This past Christmas my husband and I exchanged identical gifts that both turned out to be Hark, A Vagrant! calendars for the coming year. The fact that I ever got a chance [...]
Battle Bunny By Mac Barnett and Jon Scieszka Illustrated by Matthew Myers Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers $14.99 ISBN: 978- 1442446731 Ages 4-8 On shelves October 22nd Remember Duck Amuck? I am referring of course to that old Looney Tunes short where Daffy Duck came to the realization that his fourth wall is [...]
In which our heroine discovers the true price of donning the outwear of men and takes horrendous advantage of a blood relation Saturday morning bloomed bright and clear. The perfect weather for lugging yourself out of bed at an ungodly hour. At past ALAs I’ve eschewed publishers’ breakfasts since they have a tendency to occur [...]
Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers By Tanya Lee Stone Candlewick Press $24.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-5117-6 Ages 10 and up On shelves now If I were able to sit down with my small, childhood self to render advice about the world, I’d probably just hand myself a [...]
Howdy. Well, by this point we’ve all settled back into our daily routines just in time to take a day off for July 4th. What better opportunity than now to finally tackle the question of “How was ALA?”. AL Direct recently released their Top Ten tweets of the ALA conference. I was mighty pleased to [...]
A Song for Bijou By Josh Farrar Walker Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Bloomsbury) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8027-3394-8 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Now let us discuss the middle school book. It is, arguably, the most forgotten book of its kind on a library and/or bookstore shelf. The book written for your average everyday [...]
It is a truth universally acknowledged that when you have easy access to amazing things the relative value you place upon those things diminishes significantly after a surprisingly short amount of time. Case in Point: When I worked across the street from the MOMA for several years it was apparently too difficult for me, even [...]
As you read this I am winging my way to Chicago, IL. Land of Great Lakes, windy winds, and hot dogs that carry unconscionable stigmas for logical edible combinations (ketchup ONLY works on hot dogs, people). Blogging, if my schedule is to be believed, is due to be a bit spotty for the next few [...]
This isn’t going to be quite as comprehensive as it might be, but I tried to put together a little info sheet for folks trying to figure out what’s going on where in the children’s literary realm at this week’s American Library Association conference in Chicago. Here’s something I’ve cobbled together, though it’s missing a [...]
Yesterday I spent the bulk of my working day engaged in an activity that I suspect many of my fellow librarians deal with each and every summer. As the summer reading lists start walking into my branches I’ve been encouraging my librarians and information specialists to copy these little beauties and send me copies of [...]
Nino Wrestles the World By Yuyi Morales Neal Porter Books – Roaring Brook Press (an imprint of Macmillan) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-59643-604-6 Ages 3-7 On shelves now If there is any topic on the lips and minds of librarians, teachers, and other gatekeepers it is the state of multicultural literature for kids today. Seems a week [...]
