September 18, 2013

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New Titles for Fans of Holly Black, Chris Crutcher, and More | JLG’s Teen On the Radar

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Four favorite YA authors―Holly Black, Chris Crutcher, Nancy Farmer, and Neal Shusterman―have new titles out, and fans will be clamoring for them. From a study room that’s run like Las Vegas to the cruise of a lifetime gone bad, you’ll find suspense, humor, horror, and thrills in this selection from the editors at Junior Library Guild.

Pick of the Day: That’s a Possibility! A Book About What Might Happen

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Using a question/answer format, Goldstone explains the concepts of possibility, impossibility, probability, improbability, and certainty.

NYC’s Bank Street Center to Host Free Kid Lit Panels Ahead of 4th Annual BookFest

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Later this month, the Bank Street College of Education’s Center for Children’s Literature (CCL) will begin a series of three free panel discussions moderated by Leonard Marcus, curator of “The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter,” the critically acclaimed exhibition currently on view at the New York Public Library. The series will be followed by CCL’s 4th annual BookFest @ Bank Street on October 19, featuring the award-winning Kate DiCamillo as keynote speaker.

Welcome Back to Heavy Medal, Someday My Printz Will Come Blogs

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Labor Day has come and gone, and this week marks the start of a new school year and the return of millions of students. Here at School Library Journal, we’re also celebrating two triumphant returns this week: those of our popular blogs Heavy Medal and Someday My Printz Will Come.

A Minecraft Library Scores Big: Mattituck, NY, Branch Is a Hit with Kids

A Minecraft Library Scores Big: Mattituck, NY, Branch Is a Hit with Kids

Inspired by the experiences of Connecticut librarian Sarah Ludwig’s Minecraft library club, Elizabeth Grohoski and Karen Letteriello of the Mattituck-Laurel Library (NY) are now using a virtual Minecraft library to attract young patrons. The game allows users to build in a 3-D virtual world with cubes similar to Legos—but without any proscriptive kits and manuals.

Gaiman’s ‘Fortunately, the Milk’ and Other Fun Fiction | JLG’s On the Radar

Fortunately the Milk

New baby sisters, substitute teachers, and friends (even if it’s a bowling ball) are frequent themes in short novels for young readers. Favorite authors such as Karen English and Andrea Cheng deliver new titles in popular series, while Neil Gaiman and Mal Peet (who usually write for older readers) provide humor and thought-provoking storytelling for kids who are getting comfortable reading on their own. The following titles selected by the editors of Junior Library Guild are just the ticket.

Teens Review ‘Crash My Party’, ‘The Civil Wars’ | Music

The Civil Wars

Both Luke Bryan and The Civil Wars are award-winning country western artists. After all, what’s not to like about an album titled Crash My Party? But a mid-tour breakup has fans wondering if The Civil Wars will ever make another album. SLJ’s teen reviewers weigh in.

Multimedia Review | September 2013

Nelson Mandela, Kadir Nelson’s evocative biography for elementary grade students

The September Multimedia Review section features nearly70 reviews of DVDs, audiobooks, and children’s music CDs. Among the eight starred reviews are Constitution USA with Peter Sagal, a DVD that examines the document’s historical and contemporary contexts, and Nelson Mandela, Kadir Nelson’s evocative biography for elementary grade students.

Pick of the Day: Constitution USA with Peter Sagal | DVD

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Constitution USA with Peter Sagal broadly examines our Constitution in both historical and contemporary contexts in a manner that will transfix viewers. Check out the starred review.

The Assassination of JFK: Revisiting an American Tragedy | Media Mania

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Joy Fleishhacker, our media maniac, looks ahead to the October release of the motion picture Parkland, based on the 2007 book Four Days in November which examines the goings-on at Parkland Hospital following the shooting of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. She’s put together a selection of nonfiction and fiction titles which will can help middle grade and teen readers get the facts surrounding the event as well as the feelings of those young people who experienced it.

Tattoos, a Funeral Home, and a Cat Named Bob

Three new memoirs make the most of teen-friendly subject matter. First, a celebrity memoir by Don Ed Hardy, the man who helped bring tattoo art into the mainstream. Hardy knew from the age of 10, when he was using colored pencils to give his friends “tattoos,” what he wanted to do with his life. He [...]

Teens Review Damico’s ‘Rogue’, Rowell’s ‘Fangirl’, and Douglas’s ‘After Eden’

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Gina Damico wraps up her Croak series in “cracktastic” style with the fall release of ​Rogue. If you loved ​Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, it’s a good bet you’ll be smitten with ​Fangirl, “written by a writer writing about a writer writing.” The question posed in ​After Eden​, from Helen Douglas, circles around when it is or isn’t right to keep a secret, especially when a loyal friend and a whole planet depend on it.

Best of Apps & Enhanced Books | September 2013

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Poetry and nature feature strongly in our selections this month, perhaps because we’ve been spending more time outdoors of late?

Preschool to Grade 4 Fiction | September 2013

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Autumn shapes (Chernesky), a new version of “The Little Red Hen” (Finch), and a “Stella and Sam” story (Gay)

Grades 5-8 Fiction | September 2013

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Some spooky tales and a story about seafaring cats

Grade 9 & Up Fiction | September 2013

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In a new series, sleuthing by teen heroines related to Sherlock Holmes and Bram Stoker (Gleason).

Graphic Novel Reviews | September 2013

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Check out John Lewis and Andrew Aydin’s March

Preschool to Grade 4 Nonfiction | September 2013

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An Islamic Snow White.

Grades 5 & Up Nonfiction | September 2013

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Making movies.

Pick of the Day: The Adventures of South Pole Pig

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Flora, a pig, dreams of going to Antarctica and becoming a sled pig.