February 17, 2013

You are here: Home / Archives for SLJ

Pick of the Day: Wild Horse Scientists

By on December 31, 2012 Leave a Comment
wild horse scientists

FRYDENBORG, Kay. Wild Horse Scientists. 80p. (Scientists in the Field Series Series). diags. further readig. glossary. index. maps. photos. reprods. websites. Houghton Harcourt. 2012. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-547-51831-2.
Gr 5 Up–Focusing on the wild horses of Assateague Island, Frydenborg effectively combines scientific facts such as coloration and size, as well as the actual definition of a wild animal, with a compelling narrative about several of the scientists who are working to protect and maintain the wild horse population there. A large [...]

Filed Under: Featured, Grades 5 & Up, Pick of the Day, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Pictures of the Week: “I Love My Librarian” Award

By on December 28, 2012 Leave a Comment
A group from Saugatuck Elementary School supports Rae Anne Locke who received the "I Love My Librarian" award on December 18 at the New York Times Center in Manhattan.

“I Love My Librarian” honoree Rae Anne Locke was supported by fellow faculty members from Saugatuck Elementary School.

Filed Under: Awards & Contests, Events, Librarians & Media Specialists Tagged With: , ,

SLJ Pick of the Day: Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie (CD)

By on December 28, 2012 Leave a Comment
little seed

Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie. CD. 29 min. with booklet. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. 2012. ISBN unavail. $11.98.
PreS-Gr 3–Twenty years after Elizabeth Mitchell first discovered Woody Guthrie’s album, Songs to Grow On for Mother and Child, she performs 13 of those numbers in her clear, smooth voice on this outstanding album that coincides with the Woody Guthrie Centennial. Husband Daniel Littleton, daughter Storey, and others join Mitchell on several of the songs. These mostly folk and bluegrass style [...]

Filed Under: Audio Reviews, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With: , ,

SLJ Pick of the Day: Creepy Crawly Love (CD)

By on December 27, 2012 Leave a Comment
Insect playing instrument

Creepy Crawly Love. CD. 30:47 min. CDBaby.com. 2012. ISBN unavail. $14.99.
PreS-Gr 3–In his first album for children, Duke Otherwise hits all of the right notes. Clever lyrics abound in this collection of 12 original songs about topics such as food, animals, and word play. Children will enjoy listening to each song and trying to figure out what the twist may be. From the tune about “my uncle who’s an ant” to a lion being given the advice that he would [...]

Filed Under: Audio Reviews, Featured, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey

By on December 26, 2012 Leave a Comment
blue greens to right, musician to left

GOLIO, Gary. Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey. illus. by Rudy Gutierrez. 48p. bibliog. discography. further reading. websites. Clarion. 2012. RTE $17.99. ISBN 978-0-547-23994-1.
Gr 4-6–A well-conceived marriage of art and text breathes life and passion into this picture biography. Swirling strokes of vibrant colors give the book an almost cinematic quality, animating Coltrane’s passionate journey from a joyous, nurturing early childhood with a loving extended family to the despair of losing too many loved ones in a short time. The [...]

Filed Under: Featured, Grades 5 & Up, Pick of the Day, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Pictures of the Week: Stuffed Animal Sleepover at Darien Public Library

By on December 21, 2012 Leave a Comment
dogbear

Librarians at the Darien Public Library organized a Stuffed Animal Sleepover. Children ages 2-6 left their toys at the library overnight and returned to see photographic evidence of the mischief that their stuffed companions wrought.

Filed Under: Public Libraries Tagged With: , , ,

Pick of the Day: Blue Clouds (CD)

By on December 21, 2012 Leave a Comment
A baby sitting on a red flower

Blue Clouds. CD. 39 min. with booklet. Smithsonian Folkways. 2012. ISBN unavail. $11.99.
PreS-Gr 3–Beautiful harmonies and Elizabeth Mitchell’s lovely, sweet voice are the hallmarks of this outstanding collection of traditional and original songs. She’s joined by her husband, Daniel Littleton, and daughter, Storey, as well as others. Mitchell has breathed new life into these traditional songs and has transformed several classic rock numbers into folk style with elegant and simple arrangements. In addition to the top-notch vocal performances, the band [...]

Filed Under: Audio Reviews, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Pick of the Day: Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku (Audiobook)

By on December 20, 2012 Leave a Comment
Grey cat with blue eyes

Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. By Lee Wardlaw. cassette or CD. 15 min. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-4565-3, CD: ISBN 978-1-4640-4571-4: $15.75; hardcover book, ISBN 978-1-8050-8995-0: $16.99.
Gr 1-4–A cat sits in a shelter. There are other cats around him, yet he is alone. Will anyone choose him? Yes! But adjustments must be made…mostly by his new owners because, after all, he IS a cat. Wardlaw’s book (Holt, 2011) strikes just the right notes. Written in clever [...]

Filed Under: Audio Reviews, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With: , , ,

Pick of the Day: Abe Lincoln’s Dream

By on December 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
white house, lincoln flying over it

SMITH, Lane. Abe Lincoln’s Dream. illus. by author. 32p. Roaring Brook. 2012. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-608-4.
Gr 2-5–A picture book that transforms the 16th president from a seemingly austere, severe figure into a sympathetic character. A young African American girl named Quincy encounters the ghost of Abe Lincoln on a school tour of the White House. He tells the child about a recurring dream in which he is sailing a ship on a stormy sea, unsure of where he’s heading. (The [...]

Filed Under: Pick of the Day, Preschool to Grade 4, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Apply Now for the 2013 Innovations in Reading Prize

By on December 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
Innovations in Reading Prize

Each year, the National Book Foundation awards a number of prizes of up to $2,500 each to individuals and institutions—or partnerships between the two—that have developed innovative means of creating and sustaining a lifelong love of reading. This is the fifth year that the Foundation is offering the 2013 Innovations in Reading Prize, sponsored by Levenger. Wouldn’t you know it? One of the 2012 winners, Bookends (Poudre River Public Library District, CO), found out about the competition right here, in SLJTeen.

Filed Under: Awards & Contests, Industry News, Programs & Programming, Public Libraries, Publishing, Teens & YA Tagged With:

Pew & Berkman Report: Parents, Teens, and Online Privacy

By on December 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
Pew logo

The Pew Internet & American Life Project, in collaboration with the Berkman Center at Harvard University, has recently released “Parents, Teens, and Online Privacy”. The report—the first in a Pew/Berkman Pew logoseries with a focus on youth privacy issues—combines a number of quotes taken from focus group interviews conducted by Berkman’s Youth and Media team with Pew data from a nationally representative phone survey of parents and their teens, with a focus on the use of social networking sites. The report is fully downloadable, and may be searched online as well.

Filed Under: censorship, Industry News, Librarians & Media Specialists, Professional Reading, Research, Social Media, Teens & YA Tagged With:

2013 National Día Program Registry Now Open

By on December 18, 2012 Leave a Comment
Dia logo

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is inviting librarians to register for its 2013 El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) programs in the 2013 National Día Program Registry. By registering Día programs held throughout the year in the national registry, participating libraries contribute to a national database that showcases all types and sizes of Día programming. This allows other librarians and the public to learn more about Día programs happening around the country. Libraries that register will also receive Día stickers and bookmarks (while supplies last).

Filed Under: Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), Industry News, Libro por libro, Programs & Programming Tagged With:

Game and Music Reviews from Young Adults

By on December 18, 2012 Leave a Comment
Breaking Dawn Soundtrack 2

Want to save Middle-earth without getting off the couch? The new Lego Lord of the Rings videogame makes that completely possible. For those that never tire of zombie hunting, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will not disappoint. And it’s just possible that the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Motion Picture Soundtrack could provide appropriate background music for the zombie hunters, with its “soulful sound” and “a bit of wailing.”

Filed Under: Multimedia Reviews, Teens & YA, Video Games, YA reviews Tagged With:

Pick of the Day: See You at Harry’s (Audiobook)

By on December 18, 2012 Leave a Comment
Finished milkshake on blue checkered tablecloth

See You at Harry’s. By Jo Knowles. 5 CDs. 5:49 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-8958-7. $49.97.
Gr 7 Up–Twelve-year-old Fern is quiet and conciliatory, and often taken for granted. Left to take care of whatever the rest of the family members are too busy to deal with, she feels alone and resentful. Dad is constantly trying to boost business for the family restaurant, Mom is always escaping to meditate, Sarah is spending an embarrassing post-high school gap year working in [...]

Filed Under: Audio Reviews, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With: , , ,

A Visit from Sarah Beth Durst

By Donna Rosenblum, librarian, Floral Park (NY) Memorial High School on December 17, 2012 1 Comment
Sarah Best Durst

Donna Rosenblum, librarian, Floral Park (NY) Memorial High School, does everything she can to get her teens engaged in reading and writing, and author visits are always on her mind. Local YA author Sarah Beth Durst was already scheduled for a visit when Superstorm Sandy came whipping in. Undaunted, Rosenblum bumped the date forward to early December. That’s when Durst spoke at the Floral Park Memorial High School (FPM) library. The appearance was the sixth installment of the FPM’s READS program, which Rosenblum initiated to bring students, staff and parents together for author visits.

Filed Under: Author Interview, Authors & Illustrators, Programs & Programming, Teens & YA Tagged With:

Why Did It Happen? Books to Help Kids Cope with Tragedy

By on December 17, 2012 12 Comments
Black Rabbit on paint drizzled background

While there are no books that specifically address the events that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, there are a few titles that will ease young fears and offer listeners hope. Here you’ll find a few recommendations from School Library Journal’s Book Review staff.

Filed Under: Books & Media, Collection Development, Collective Book List, Featured, Reviews Tagged With: , ,

Pick of the Day: Mice

By on December 17, 2012 Leave a Comment
mice

FYLEMAN, Rose. Mice. illus. by Lois Ehlert. 40p. S & S/Beach Lane. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5684-6; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5686-0. LC 2011020555.
PreS-Gr 1–This storytime winner brings a new twist to the classic poem. The simple verse describes mousey attributes: “their tails are long,/their faces small,/they haven’t any chins at all.” Ehlert’s quirky, handmade paper-collage rodents (resplendent with hot pink circle ears, big front teeth, and string limbs) demonstrate by holding up a ruler, crafting a self-portrait, and peering into [...]

Filed Under: Featured, Pick of the Day, Picture Books, Preschool to Grade 4, Reviews Tagged With: , ,

Pictures of the Week: BookUp Program Participants Visit NYPL; Author Shirley Glubok Attends Ezra Jack Keats’s Celebration

By on December 14, 2012 Leave a Comment
Participants of the National Book Foundation’s BookUp program, an after-school reading program led by writers, will visit the "Lunch Hour" exhibition at the New York Public Library as part of the program’s monthly field trip to literary sites around New York City.

Participants in the National Book Foundation’s BookUp Program took a field trip to the New York Public Library, and author Shirley Glubok attended a 50th Anniversary Celebration for Ezra Jack Keats’s “A Snowy Day.”

Filed Under: Authors & Illustrators, Public Libraries Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Pick of the Day: The Diviners (Audiobook)

By on December 14, 2012 Leave a Comment
Blue cover with eye

The Diviners. By Libba Bray. 15 CDs. 15:15 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-80875-7. $60.
Gr 10 Up–Printz winner Libba Bray’s latest literary masterpiece (Little, Brown, 2012) is stunning, suspenseful, and sure to leave listeners utterly breathless. Thoroughly modern flapper Evie O’Neill’s psychic ability to divine secrets from inanimate objects gets her exiled from her stuffy Ohio town. Sent to stay with her Uncle Will in Prohibition-era New York City, the last thing [...]

Filed Under: Audio Reviews, Featured, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Pick of the Day: Crush: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Love (CD)

By on December 13, 2012 Leave a Comment
Illus of boy holding crushed bouquet behind his back

Crush: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Love. By Gary Paulsen. 2 CDs. 2:28 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-0311-9. $39.97.
Gr 5-8–Once again, Kevin Spencer (Liar, Liar and Flat Broke) tackles the problems of his world, this time with careful, scientific logic, and no lies. Kevin still has a crush on Tina Zabinski,. He’s sure that he is her perfect match, but he won’t approach her until he’s 100 percent positive that he can win her heart. This doesn’t [...]

Filed Under: Audio Reviews, Multimedia Reviews, Pick of the Day Tagged With: , , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »