Can I really call Jeannette Walls’ The Silver Star a debut novel? After all, everyone knows The Glass Castle. And Half-Broke Horses was a novel, wasn’t it? Well, yes, but it was a fictionalization of her grandmother’s life. The Silver Star is Walls’ first work of pure fiction. It touches on many of the same themes [...]
SLJ Blogs
- 100 Scope Notes Travis Jonker
- Adult Books 4 Teens Angela Carstensen
- A Chair, A Fireplace & a Tea Cozy Elizabeth Burns
- Connect the Pop Peter Gutierrez
- A Fuse #8 Production Betsy Bird
- Good Comics for Kids Brigid Alverson, Robin Brenner, Lori Henderson, Esther Keller, Michael May, J. Caleb Mozzocco, Mike Pawuk, Scott Robins, & Eva Volin
- Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog Jonathan Hunt & Nina Lindsay
- Neverending Search Joyce Valenza
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Review: Spongebob Annual-Size Super-Giant Swimtacular #1
By on June 18, 2013
SpongeBob Annual-Size Super-Giant Swimtacular #1 Written by Derek Drymon, Scott Roberts, James Kochalka and Chuck Dixon, and drawn by Drymon, Vince DePorter, Ramona Fradon, Kochalka, Hilary Barta Jacob Chabot and others United Plankton Pictures, $4.99 Comic book publishers used to release annuals—bigger, costlier versions of their monthly comics—during the summer, when kids had more [...]
Review: The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden
By on June 18, 2013
The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen. Grand Central Publishing. 2013. Personal copy. The Plot: Callie and Kayden grew up in the same small town, but weren’t what you’d call friends. Kayden was the popular football player; Callie was the outcast with no friends. One early summer night, Callie sees Kayden’s father hit [...]
Weekly Reviews: Boarding Schools & Sports
By on June 17, 2013
Today we review two notable debut novels featuring teen protagonists who are talented at the sports they love — riding and rowing. There are a surprising number of similarities between these books. Both take place in elite boarding schools, and feature teens who are new kids among long-time classmates, less wealthy outsiders struggling for the [...]
Newbery/Caldecott 2014: The Summer Prediction Edition
By on June 17, 2013
And then it was summer. When you put out a spring prediction list you can rest safe and sure in the knowledge that there’s an entire second half of the year you haven’t seen. Now we’re in the thick of summer and while I’ve seen a good-sized chunk of the coming year, there are certainly [...]
Video Sunday: “… drawing and doodling is a form of physicalized empathy” – Mo Willems
By on June 16, 2013
Oh, like I was going to start off with anything else this week. Dahl was robbed! During BEA, one of the women of the hour was our own Monica Edinger (who blogged about the experience here). Her upcoming book Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad is so remarkable that it is physically [...]
Link Du Jour: 2014 Newbery Hopefuls (According to Goodreads)
By on June 16, 2013
June is the time of year when the Mock Newbery favorites on Goodreads start taking shape. Let’s pull up the top five, and you can click here to see the entire list. While it’s far from a lock, the Goodreads list can be a good indicator of books that might end up in the Newbery discussion. [...]
Cover Reveal: Archie’s Even Funnier Kids’ Joke Book
By on June 15, 2013
If you liked Archie’s Giant Kids’ Joke Book, well, we have good news for you: Archie’s Even Funnier Kids’ Joke Book will be out in October, and we have the first look at the cover, as well as all the solicit information. Read on! ARCHIE’S EVEN FUNNIER KIDS’ JOKE BOOK Get ready for even more [...]
Infolit, the music video playlist (& some on reading and librarians too)
By on June 15, 2013
I recently discovered a couple of wonderful information literacy-inspired song parodies. Chad Bauman wrote and produced a sweet, clever, slightly goofy song on the CRAPtest mnemonic many of us recommend for evaluating sources. Although I would advise kids about thinking a little more contextually about their sources, it’s a very cool way to open the conversation [...]
Nonfiction Graphic Novels – A Continuing Discussion
By on June 14, 2013
Back in January, we had a conversation (in reference to Derf Backderf’s Alex Award-winning My Friend Dahmer) about what makes a graphic novel “nonfiction” and the rigidity of categories like “fiction” and “nonfiction.” A couple of new comments have been added to that thread, so please head over to the above link to read the whole chain, but [...]
This Week’s Comics: That Cat’s Got Some Big Claws
By on June 14, 2013
June is busting out all over with some ongoing titles you won’t want to miss. The next leg in Archie’s Mega Man/Sonic the Hedgehog mega crossover starts this week with the new Mega Man #26. BOOM! Studios continues chronicling the adventures of the Bravest Warriors with issue #9, and IDW Publishing finishes the My Little [...]
Fusenews: “At 13 Bad Literature . . .”
By on June 14, 2013
Things are wet in NYC these days. We’ve been experiencing a great deal of rainfall this past spring, a fact that gives me a strange sense of comfort. I can’t help but think this might be my first year here in town where all the fountains are on in all the parks this summer. I [...]
Review: Sticks and Stones
By on June 14, 2013
Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy by Emily Bazelon. Random House 2013. Random House Audio 2013. Reviewed from borrowed copy of audiobook. Making this part of my “vacation reads” series, figuring most of my readers who work in schools are on vacation now or soon [...]
One Star Review Guess Who? (#7)
By on June 14, 2013
Can you guess the classic children’s book by its scathing one-star review on GoodReads or Amazon? I came to this book with a relatively open mind, but I must say, this book wastes ink–literally. The pages are all framed with black, and at the end of each chapter, there is a blank, black page. The [...]
Interview: Dan Parent
By on June 13, 2013
On Wednesday, July 11 through Sunday, July 15, while attending the Comic-Con International 2012 in San Diego, I ran around to as many of my favorite kids comics creators as I could and asked them all the exact same questions. Keep in mind, comic book conventions are crazy loud and crazy busy, so there is [...]
Press Release Fun – The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter
By on June 13, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013 through Sunday, March 23, 2014 Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Gottesman Exhibition Hall (Map and directions) New York Public Library The ABC of It is an examination of why children’s books are important: what and how do they teach children, and what do they reveal about the societies that produced them? Through [...]
ALA
By on June 13, 2013
ALA Annual is just around the corner, which means, OH NO SO MUCH TO DO. The highlights of my schedule, so far: Saturday, June 29th All About ARCs: The Ins and Outs of Requesting, Using and Abusing Advanced Reading Copies, where I’m co-presenting with Kelly Jensen and Kristi Chadwick. 10:30 to 11:30, McCormick Place Convention [...]
What did your edtech year look like?
By on June 12, 2013
Dearest readers, What did your edtech year look like? Let’s create a snapshot. As this school year comes to a close, I’d like to call on you to share your discoveries and your wisdom and to help me reflect. Which edtech goodies, tools, apps, platforms, and strategies worked so well for you in 2012/2013 that [...]
Weekly Reviews: Science & Knots
By on June 12, 2013
In both of today’s nonfiction titles, the authors speak directly to their readers. Both have the potential to become favorites with the right teen reader. First up, Edward O. Wilson’s passionate and inspiring Letters to a Young Scientist. Maybe it’s the time of year, but I can’t help thinking that this would make a terrific graduation [...]
Review: X-Men #1
By on June 12, 2013
X-Men #1 Written by Brian Wood, penciled by Olivier Coipel, inked by Mark Morales and Coipel Marvel Entertainment, $3.99 Rated T+, for ages 12 and up Given the fact that the older Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, John Byrne, and company’s X-Men comics have long been a breeding ground of Marvel’s best-known superheroines—Marvel never had [...]
