For the past several years, our seniors have looked forward to filling the library display case with some sort of artistic expression relating to their plans for next year. This year, we added another element to this tradition. We asked them for a memory card. It hasn’t caught on quite as well as the college [...]
This Week’s Comics: Ninja Tails
By on May 24, 2013
Prepare for the long Memorial Day weekend with some comics! Archie Comics releases the second volume of the series Sabrina The Teenage Witch: The Magic Within. BOOM! Studios doubles the adventure with new issues of Adventure Time and Adventure Time with Fionna and Cake, while DC Comics releases the second issue of the digital first [...]
Review: The Plantagenets
By on May 24, 2013
The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England by Dan Jones. Viking. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Vacation reads (aka, when I talk about books for grownups and post them before holidays.) It’s About: The designated heir of England dies in a shipwreck; England is plunged into civil war as descendants of [...]
BookExpo Preview 2013
By on May 24, 2013
BookExpo is next week! Here are some of the adult books with possible teen appeal that I’m excited to see on the show floor. In no particular order (and with the understanding that cover art and signing/appearance times & places are subject to change): Guests on Earth by Lee Smith (Algonquin, Oct.) begins in New [...]
One Star Review Guess Who (#6)
By on May 24, 2013
Can you guess the classic children’s book by its scathing one-star review on GoodReads or Amazon? There is NO PLOT. And I don’t mean that there’s a very simple plot, as would suit a children’s book, but there is ABSOLUTELY NO PLOT! There are no characters. There is no story. It’s just a collection of [...]
Help me share best practice with connectedlearningtv & YALSA
By on May 23, 2013
All this month, YALSA and ConnectedLearningTV has hosted a series of conversations around teens and the future of school & public libraries, part of the year-long National Forum on Libraries and Teens. The background: YALSA President H. Jack Martin and Crystle Martin, Postdoctoral Researcher for the Connected Learning Research Network, have been moderators the free virtual chats, which will look at the [...]
Review: Project: Boy Next Door
By on May 23, 2013
Project: Boy Next Door by L.K. Madigan. 2013. ARC provided for review. Available in ebook from ebook sellers. The Plot: Mel Pepper, sixteen, has worked up the courage to tell his dad, Dannie, two things: Mel has a part-time job at the local coffee place. Mel will be starting his junior year at the local [...]
Preview: Jinx, vol. 2: Little Miss Steps
By on May 23, 2013
Li’l Jinx started out as a gag comic that ran in different Archie Comics publications; the one-page stories revolved around the rather strong-willed Jinx, her father, and a small coterie of friends. The comics were funny but not particularly deep. In writing the teen-age Jinx stories, J. Torres has kept the humor but given the [...]
Top 10 Circulated Books of 2013: K-2nd Grade
By on May 23, 2013
Thinking about credibility and about Turnitin’s SEER: The Source Educational Evaluation Rubric
By on May 22, 2013
I’ve not been a huge fan of listy/form type evaluation tools. So much of the process of assessing credibility has to do with context. Black and white decisions and rules of thumb are far more fuzzy in a read/write, citizen journalist, open scholarship, media-rich web. Truth is, I often find value in casually published, unvetted [...]
Book Giveaway: Informational Text Par Excellence… ‘American Comic Book Chronicles’
By on May 22, 2013
Book Giveaway: Informational Text Par Excellence… ‘American Comic Book Chronicles’
By on May 22, 2013
Flashback May 2008
By on May 22, 2013
What I was reviewing in May 2008: Supernatural Rubber Chicken: Fowl Language by D.L. Garfinkle, illustrated by Ethan Long. From my review: “The best thing about some books is the title says it all: Supernatural. Rubber. Chicken. I mean, c’mon, it doesn’t get better than that, does it? OK, twins Nate and Lisa, 10, are [...]
Weekly Reviews: Under the Radar
By on May 22, 2013
Last week, Angela talked about buzz books–those books that everyone seems to be talking about; this week, I want to talk about the other end of the spectrum–books that no one is talking about. None of the three books reviewed below has been reviewed (yet) by a library journal, nor have I been able to [...]
Show Me the Awesome: Children’s Librarians Can Do Anything
By on May 22, 2013
If you traverse the interwebs on a regular basis then you may have spotted the catchy “Show Me the Awesome” posts that have been springing up hither and thither. Thither and yon. The initiative was started by Kelly Jensen, Sophie Brookover, and Liz Burns. Designer John LeMasney was, in turn, responsible for the kicky graphic [...]
Morning Notes: The Summer of Reading Edition
By on May 21, 2013
BERNARD WABER 1921-2013 Sad news. Bernard Waber, creator of Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, Ira Sleeps Over, and many others has passed away. Click here to read more at School Library Journal. ATTENTION: HIGH SHARE-ABILITY LEVELS The Horn Book has a summer reading list up at their site full of excellent new recommended titles – perfect for [...]
L.K. Madigan
By on May 21, 2013
In 2009, L.K. Madigan’s first book, Flash Burnout, was published. In late 2009, YALSA announced that Flash Burnout was a finalist for the 2010 William C. Morris Award. I interviewed her for the YALSA blog in early January 2010. Later that month, Flash Burnout was awarded the Morris Award. Madigan’s second book, The Mermaid’s Mirror, [...]
Links: Kevin Keller’s first kiss
By on May 21, 2013
Archie Comics’ openly gay character Kevin Keller gets his first kiss in August—and provokes the ire of a Riverdale mom, whose reaction Veronica catches on video. Archie writer and artist Dan Parent discusses the storyline at USA Today, and Archie co-CEO Jon Goldwater notes that the remarkable thing about Kevin’s kiss is not that he [...]
Press Release Fun: 2013 Carle Honors Honorees Announced
By on May 21, 2013
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Announces 2013 Carle Honors Honorees Eighth annual awards fête the individuals and organizations that provide creative vision and long-term dedication to the world of picture books (Amherst, MA –May 20, 2013) The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is pleased to announce the 2013 [...]
Guest Post: Leigh Woznick Shows The Awesome
By on May 20, 2013
Today, I’m pleased to say that I have a guest post for Show Me The Awesome. Give a warm welcome to Leigh Woznick! Leigh Woznick: I am a middle school librarian/media specialist, excited to participate in the “Show Me the Awesome” initiative by Kelly Jensen, Sophie Brookover, and Liz Burns. Thanks to designer John LeMasney [...]
