February 16, 2013

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Pick of the Day: We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart (Audiobook)

By on February 5, 2013 Leave a Comment
Close up of Statue of Liberty

We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart. By Walter Dean Myers. CD. 33:51 min. with hardcover book. Live Oak Media. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4301-1112-2. $29.95.
Gr 3 Up–The sweeping scope of Myers’s free verse poems (HarperCollins, 2011) is captured beautifully and interpreted dramatically on this CD by a diverse cast of narrators. This eminently patriotic book celebrates free expression and attempts to paint with word pictures the depth and breadth of the varied American experience. Rarely are all ethnicities given voice [...]

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Pick of the Day: A Trip to the Bottom of the World

By on February 4, 2013 Leave a Comment
small ship in large sea

VIVA, Frank. A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse. illus. by author. 40p. Toon Bks. 2012. RTE $12.95. ISBN 978-1-935179-19-1. LC 2011049499.
PreS-Gr 2–From the endpapers, Mouse asks the timeless question of many young travelers, “Are we there yet?” Inspired by Viva’s experiences traveling to Antarctica aboard a Russian research ship, the oblong picture book offers basic facts about the region (it is cold and penguins live there, for instance), while Mouse tries to figure out when it [...]

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An Alternative Search Tool for Your Tablet

By on February 4, 2013
An Alternative Search Tool for Your Tablet

A new app for the iPad and Android devices uses a highly visual format to provide a different search experience for the tablet user. More than just a pretty interface, Izik—which debuted last month as the top reference app in iTunes—is based on Blekko, the search engine that boasts higher quality results based on human curation.

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Weekly Reviews: New Look Snow White

By on February 4, 2013

Today we have two brief books, each a “fractured fairy tale” version of Snow White.  First up, Catherynne Valente’s Six-Gun Snow White shares connections with a couple of recent posts on this site.  As the first half of the title should make clear, it shares with Six-Gun Tarot a Western setting, but also partakes of the same intense genre-blending [...]

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Adult Books 4 Teens: February 2013

By on February 1, 2013 Leave a Comment

FICTION

BLOCK, Francesca Lia. The Elementals. 320p. St. Martin’s. 2012. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-1-250-00549-6. LC 2012028277.
Adult/High School–Block’s latest is a perfect example of the “new adult” trend. While she is best known for Weetzie Bat (Harper, 1989) and its sequels, which won her the Margaret A. Edwards award, she has also written adult novels throughout her career, and this book straddles both age groups. Ariel and her friend Jeni had planed on attending UC Berkeley together, but when Ariel can’t [...]

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Pick of the Day: Show Way (DVD)

By on February 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
Illustration of Show Way DVD

Show Way. DVD. 12 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-47811-3. 59.95. CD, ISBN 978-0-545-47810-6: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0545-47827-4: $29.95.
Gr 2-5–A Show Way was a quilt that had messages stitched into it showing the family’s journey North to freedom, offering hope and a guide for slaves in the South. That theme of “leading the way” is a thread running through Jacqueline Woodson’s carefully woven story (Putnam, 2005). Soonie’s great-grandma was only a child when she was sold away [...]

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Reference Book Reviews | February 2013

By on February 1, 2013 1 Comment

Check out SLJ’s latest reference reviews.

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Book Review: Grades 5 & Up | February 2013

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Check out SLJ’s more than 100 reviews for grades 5 and up.

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Book Review: Professional Reading | February 2013

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Check out SLJ’s professional reading reviews.

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Book Review: Preschool to Grade 4 | February 2013

By on February 1, 2013 1 Comment

Check out SLJ’s more than 100 reviews for preschool through grade 4.

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Best of Apps & Enhanced Books | February 2013

By on February 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
Tomb from - Pyramids 3D, Touch Press ©2012 Sandro Vannini.

BiblioBoard and Pyramids 3D, check out these App reviews.

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Book/Multimedia Review Stars List: February 2013

By on February 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
Exclamation Mark (Rosenthal) ©2013 by Tom Lichtenheld

Check out this month’s listing of stars! WOW!

Filed Under: Grades 5 & Up, Multimedia Reviews, Preschool to Grade 4, Reference reviews, Reviews Tagged With: ,

Multimedia Reviews: February 2013

By on February 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
Image from Hi! Fly Guy (Weston Woods) ©2005 by Tedd Arnold

Be sure to check out School Library Journal’s February 2013 DVD and audio reviews, including 12 starred reviews.

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On Stage with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra | Touch and Go

By on January 31, 2013 Leave a Comment
cover

Touch Press’s extraordinary new app, ‘The Orchestra” brings readers and listeners on stage with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra.

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Pick of the Day: The Titanic Inquiry (DVD)

By on January 31, 2013 Leave a Comment
DVD cover of newspaper with Titanic news

The Titanic Inquiry. DVD. 59 min. Prod. by Network Ireland. Dist. by MVD Entertainment Group. 2011, 2012 release. ISBN unavail. $59.97.
Gr 9 Up–The fate of steamship Titanic is probably one of the best-known incidents of the 20th century. There was just one inquiry into the cause of the ship’s sinking. This absorbing dramatic recreation focuses on the question of whether the death toll might have been reduced—or eliminated—if help had come from a nearby ship, the Californian. Based on the [...]

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Thoughts on Alex: My Friend Dahmer

By on January 31, 2013

We review a lot of graphic novels around here (thanks in large part to super-reviewer Francisca Goldsmith) so, as we said on Monday, Angela and I were very happy to see a GN on the Alex Awards list this year.  As I somewhat embarrassingly indicated, though, I hadn’t read Derf Backderf’s My Friend Dahmer, so I [...]

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Pick of the Day: Peanut

By on January 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
blue cover with single peanut in center

HALLIDAY, Ayun. Peanut. illus. by Paul Hoppe. 216p. Random/Schwartz and Wade. Jan. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86590-9; PLB $18.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96590-6.
Gr 7 Up–Worried about transferring to a new school, Sadie comes up with the idea of faking a peanut allergy. She thinks that pretending to have a life-threatening condition will draw attention to her and generate sympathy. Her predictions come true, and she makes several new friends and even attracts a boyfriend. But as time passes, Sadie finds it harder [...]

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Weekly Reviews: Nonfiction for Browsing

By on January 30, 2013
Weekly Reviews: Nonfiction for Browsing

Teen behavior in libraries includes a lot of browsing. I have two different display spaces in my small high school library. Fortunately, one of them is right in front of my desk, so I often get the chance to watch students check out the latest books (surreptitiously, lest I scare them away!). Some will just [...]

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Pick of the Day: Balloons Over Broadway: The Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade (Audiobook)

By on January 29, 2013 Leave a Comment
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons

Balloons Over Broadway: The Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade. By Melissa Sweet. cassette or CD. 15 min. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-4703-2922-8, CD: ISBN 978-1-4703-2921-1. $15.75; hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-5471-9945-9: $16.99.
K-Gr 3–The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is a holiday tradition. But where did those big balloons begin? With puppeteer Tony Sarg, of course! The informative, enthusiastic text of Sweet’s Robert F. Siebert Medal picture-book biography (Houghton Mifflin, 2011) tells a little about Sarg’s life and his career [...]

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Alex Award Reactions

By on January 28, 2013
Alex Award Reactions

MARK: Congratulations to all of the 2013 Alex Award winners, and to the wonderful committee.  Later this week, Angela and I will probably be dissecting the list in a little more detail, but for now, we just want to get up some first reactions.   First, and most importantly to me, in your face, Angela! I [...]

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