Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye. Penguin Books. 2012. Personal copy. Vacation reads, a series of adult books reviewed before holidays for your vacation reading. The Plot: Christian has returned home, returned from the United States to Germany, to a place that is no longer the dark, small town [...]
List O Mania – Asian Pacific American Awards for Literature
By on February 14, 2013
Back to the lists! Thanks to Lessa Pelayo-Lozada for reminding me about the Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature. As explained at the website for the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, “The goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and [...]
Flashback February 2010
By on February 13, 2013
A flashback to what I was reading in February 2010: Dream Life by Lauren Mechling. From my review: “Claire Voyante has a gift: psychic abilities that help her solve mysteries. Naturally, it’s not something she shares with her fellow students at Henry Hudson High School.” One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. From my review: “1968. [...]
Reality Ali
By on February 12, 2013
Reality Ali by Christine Marciniak. Zumaya Thresholds, 2012. Personal copy. From the publisher’s website: “The only thing real about reality TV is the camera. “Fourteen-year-old Ali Caldwell’s father keeps her privacy so secure none of the kids at boarding school believe she has a movie star for a mom. Sick of hiding in the wings, [...]
List O Mania – Fab Films
By on February 11, 2013
In addition to the Awards announced at the ALA Youth Media Awards, during Midwinter a number of committees work very hard to put together lists. Here, the list I worked on for Fab Films. The theme? Survival. (The photos are our official meeting room!) Hope you enjoy it; YALSA has decided to end this committee [...]
List O Mania – Notables
By on February 10, 2013
ALSC and it’s lists and awards include books for readers up to age fourteen; so ALSC’s Notables list is always a good list to look at for young teens. It’s also always interesting to see what titles are included in both ALSC and YALSA lists. The full list of 2013 Notable Children’s Book includes notes about [...]
List O Mania – Rainbow List
By on February 9, 2013
More and more lists! From the Rainbow Book List website: “The Rainbow Book List is a joint project of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table and the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association. The Rainbow Book List presents an annual bibliography of quality books with significant and authentic GLBTQ content, which [...]
Speak Up, Already!
By on February 8, 2013
List O Mania – Amelia Bloomer
By on February 8, 2013
Some lists that come out of ALA are not from ALSC or YALSA. Take, for example, the 2013 Amelia Bloomer List from the Amelia Bloomer Project, a product of the ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table’s (SRRT) Feminist Taskforce, announced the 2013 Amelia Bloomer List at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, held Jan. 25-29, 2013. From [...]
List O Mania – BFYA
By on February 7, 2013
As you can see, I am trying to include all the various lists that have come out recently! I am sure I am not the only list obsessed reader out there, right? Best Fiction for Young Adult (which sort-of kinda used to be Best Books for Young Adults) includes several top titles; Angela Frederick has [...]
List O Mania – Audiobooks and Quick Picks
By on February 6, 2013
Some more YALSA lists! Amazing Audiobooks is all about audiobooks, fiction and nonfiction. Anyone who has listened to a book knows that the narration and direction can make or break a book; here is the list of 2013 Amazing Audiobooks. I’ve listened to exactly none of them. Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers is a terrific list, [...]
Review: Ask the Passengers
By on February 5, 2013
Ask the Passengers by A.S. King. Little, Brown. 2012. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Astrid lives in a small town where everyone knows, or thinks they know, everyone’s business. Everyone judges. So Astrid keeps some things to herself: like that her father is smoking pot. Like how she and her younger sister Ellis are [...]
Brown Bookshelf: 28 Days Later
By on February 4, 2013
It’s Black History Month, and you know what that means! The Brown Bookshelf is celebrating children’s literature with 28 Days Later. From the website: “To celebrate children’s authors and illustrators of color, during the twenty-eight days of Black History Month we’ll profile a different artist. Vanguard artists are those who have paved the way for [...]
Someone is wrong on the Internet….
By on February 3, 2013
And haters gonna hate. Conversation online (and by conversation I include both articles and posts as well as social media) can be tricky. We’ve all seen “someone being wrong,” and snark, and hurt feelings, and “that’s not what I said” and “haters gonna hate.” It’s tricky and it’s complex. I know I’ve written things that [...]
List O Mania – Popular Paperbacks and Graphic Novels
By on February 3, 2013
In addition to the Awards announced at the ALA Youth Media Awards, during Midwinter a number of committees work very hard to put together lists. Popular Paperbacks is four themed lists. Those themes this year: Boarding Schools to Summer Camps: “Leaving home to find”; Gowns, Greasepaint and Guitars: “Not the same old song and dance,” I’m New Here Myself: [...]
American Indian Youth Literature Award
By on February 2, 2013
The American Indian Youth Literature Award is on a two-year cycle. It was announced last year, but because a, I didn’t blog about it then, and b, I’m blogging about Awards and lists now, I’m posting about it now. An explanation from the American Indian Library Association website: “The American Indian Library Association announces the [...]
Sydney Taylor Book Awards
By on February 1, 2013
The 2013 Sydney Taylor Book Awards have been announced! “The Sydney Taylor Book Award honors new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. The award memorializes Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All- of-a-Kind Family series.” The Association of Jewish Libraries website has the full lists. [...]
New Adult Readers
By on January 31, 2013
And the Winners Are….
By on January 30, 2013
Many terrific announcements at the ALA Youth Media Awards! One of the great things about being able to attend the ALA Midwinter Meeting is being able to go, in person, to the Youth Media Awards. It’s so exciting, being in a room full of people who are excited about the awards, about what books, audiobooks, [...]
Reader’s Advisory Challenge
By on January 29, 2013
As you may remember, Kelly Jensen, Sophie Brookover and myself have a Readers’ Advisory chat on Twitter. The Readers’ Advisory chat uses the hashtag #ReadAdv; it takes place the first and third Thursdays of the month, at 8 PM EST and lasts an hour. The topic in February will be using awards and lists, such as [...]
