Making movies.
Pick of the Day: The Adventures of South Pole Pig
By on September 2, 2013 Leave a Comment
Flora, a pig, dreams of going to Antarctica and becoming a sled pig.
One Star Review Guess Who? (#12)
By on August 31, 2013
Can you guess the classic children’s book by its scathing one-star review on GoodReads or Amazon? The cover is very cute but the contents is incredibly snoozesome, and I’m not so interested in reading about yucky pigs and gross spiders (I’ve had a spider hatch eggs in my room; it was not a pleasant experience. [...]
Book/Multimedia Review Stars | September 2013
By on August 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
About words and writing.
Pick of the Day: Janie Face to Face (Audio)
By on August 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
In Janie Face to Face, Caroline B. Cooney wraps up her popular thriller romance series that debuted more than 20 years ago about a young girl who discovers her face on a milk carton, setting in motion a series of rollercoaster events that affected many lives. Read the review of the audiobook narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan.
Powerful Partnerships, Pi, and Python Behind the Success of Teen Tech Camp
By on August 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
Imagine a day in your library devoted to the basics of coding in Python and sending a roomful of teens home with computers they can keep. Now imagine doing this for about $30! It’s completely possible, because it happened at Southwest Regional Library, a regional branch of the Durham County Library system in Durham, North Carolina.
Page to Screen: From YA Bestsellers to Big-Screen Blockbusters
By on August 29, 2013 Leave a Comment
While the jury is still out on the big screen adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones, reviewers are raving about the surprise indie hit The Spectacular Now, based on Tim Tharp’s young adult novel. Children’s books continue to be Hollywood’s go-to source for inspiration, and librarians couldn’t be happier. As readers and movie fans await the book-to-film entries coming this fall, such as Suzanne Collins’s Catching Fire and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, SLJ looks ahead to future releases in this latest installment of Page to Screen.
A Summer App Recap | Touch and Go
By on August 29, 2013 Leave a Comment
For those of you who have been sitting under a shady tree or on a beach these past two months—and we hope that’s most of you—we’re offering a summary of the app reviews published over the summer. The list includes picture books, poetry, music, a reference guide or two, and some beloved characters and timeless stories. These are titles you want to load onto your school devices ASAP.
Bouncing Back to School: Great Books for Easing First Day Jitters
By on August 29, 2013 Leave a Comment
From what to wear to following rules to making friends, these engaging picture books address common beginning-of-the-year concerns with solid storytelling, genuine empathy, and upbeat resolutions. Selected from the vast array of offerings available on the topic, the list includes titles both new and tried-and-true that will reassure youngsters that their apprehensions are shared by others.
Pick of the Day: Orphan Train Rider (Audio)
By on August 29, 2013 Leave a Comment
In Orphan Train Rider: One Boy’s True Story, Andrea Warren tells about the amazing and often tragic westward journey of more than 200,000 children between 1854 and 1930 in search of families. Be sure to read the review of the audiobook narrated by Laura Hicks.
Civil Rights Legend Congressman John Lewis Tells His Story in ‘March’ Graphic Novel
By on August 28, 2013 Leave a Comment
In time for the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, John Lewis—former chairman of SNCC and now Congressman—collaborated with his comics-obsessed staffer Andrew Aydin and veteran graphic novelist Nate Powell on a powerful new graphic novel memoir, March.
Manzano Wins Americas Award; Celebrate International Dot Day | News Bites
By on August 28, 2013 Leave a Comment
Sesame Street’s “Maria,” Sonia Manzano, received top honors in the 2013 Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature for her The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano. Celebrate International Dot Day with its creator, author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA, on September 15.
All in the Family
By on August 28, 2013
Today we look at three historical novels about very strange families. Taking things chronologically, first up is Sarah Dunant’s Blood & Beauty, about the very real, and very twisted Borgias of Renaissance Italy. Wikipedia lists among their crimes “adultery, simony, theft, bribery, and murder (especially by arsenic poisoning).” I quite like that parenthetical at the [...]
Pick of the Day: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
By on August 28, 2013 Leave a Comment
Leonard Peacock has big plans for his 18th birthday….to kill Asher Beal and then commit suicide….This is a difficult, yet powerful, book. Quick’s use of flashbacks, internal dialogue, and interpersonal communication is brilliant.
Kid Lit Marks 2013 Anniversaries with Celebrations, Special Editions
By on August 27, 2013 Leave a Comment
It is hard to believe that 15 years ago muggle and quidditch didn’t exist in our vocabulary. But thanks to J. K. Rowling, the words are now found in the Oxford English Dictionary—and have become a permanent part of our culture. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is just one of several now-classic books marking anniversaries in 2013 with celebrations and special editions.
Choldenko and Haddix Deliver Satisfying Sequels | JLG’s On the Radar
By on August 27, 2013 Leave a Comment
The following shelf-worthy additions selected by the editors of Junior Library Guild offer readers hard-to-put-down follow-ups by Newbery-winning and NY Times-bestselling authors. From the conclusion of Gennifer Choldenko’s “Al Capone” series and the latest title in Margaret Peterson Haddix’s “The Missing” books, these choices will be a slam dunk for kids and librarians.
Connections That Count: Audiobooks that Highlight Kids’ Meaningful Relationships | Listen In
By on August 27, 2013 Leave a Comment
With another school year on the horizon, the focus of August’s Listen In column is on the relationships that children and teens make—with other kids and with adults—to help them navigate the stormy waters of growing up. The ten audiobooks featured are excellent for group listening and for generating discussions about what’s happening to the young people in the stories, from the poignant depiction of friendship in The Other Side to the real drama wrought by abuse in Eleanor and Park.
Pick of the Day: Darius & Twig (Audio)
By on August 27, 2013 Leave a Comment
Darius and Twig both dream of leaving their poor neighborhood for better and safer lives. Narrator Brandon Gill does a great job differentiating between the two boys as they make their way through the obstacles set before them. Be sure to read the review of the audiobook version of Walter Dean Myers’s novel.
Nonfiction Book Buzz
By on August 26, 2013 Leave a Comment
Wednesday, September 25, 2013, 3:00-4:00 PM ET With the new school year here its time to restock those nonfiction collections!
Join us for our Nonfiction Book Buzz webcast to be sure you have the latest releases ready for your readers. Our featured panelists from Lerner Publishing Group, Scholastic Library Publishing and Black Rabbit Books will discuss the trends in nonfiction, hot new releases, and upcoming titles. Register Now!
Hot title alert: The Bone Season
By on August 26, 2013
The Bone Season is the first in a projected seven-book fantasy series by 21-year-old Samanatha Shannon. Last week it was announced as the first TODAY book club selection. There is a great deal of buzz around this book, and I believe teens will be asking for it. Shannon wrote the book while a student at Oxford. I [...]
