The world's largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens
Monster On the Hill By Rob Harrell Top Shelf Productions $16.28 ISBN: 978-1-603090759 Ages 8-12 On shelves now See, people? *shakes book in the air* How hard is this, really? I stand beside thousands of children’s librarians who have, for years now, been in a bit of a pickle with the kiddos when it comes [...]
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. Hyperion. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Companion to Code Name Verity. The Plot: It’s summer of 1944 and Rose Moyer Justice is in England, a pilot in the Air Transport Auxiliary. She’s a pilot, and she’s an American, and she’s only 18, but she’s in the ATA because [...]
The National Book Awards are a wholly different award animal than, say, the Newbery Medal. Whereas the Newbery is selected by a 15 person panel of librarians, the Young People’s Literature category of the National Book Awards is decided by a small group of five authors. It’s always interesting to see which books come out [...]
I hope to see many of you tonight for Children’s Books Boston‘s opening gala (read: cash bar and hummus) at Simmons College this evening. Cathie Mercier wanted me to remind you not to drive unless you are rich (in which case CBB will expect you to buy drinks all around) because parking in the Simmons [...]
The post Take the T! appeared first on The Horn Book.
When MOON OVER MANIFEST won the Newbery Medal a couple of years back it took us by surprise. The book had three starred reviews, but it was a debut novel published in October. It definitely flew under our radar. I enjoyed the book very much and looked forward to Vanderpool’s sophomore effort to see whether [...]
Templar Written by Jordan Mechner Drawn by LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland First Second The mysterious Knights Templar have been the subject of a lot of literary speculation thanks to the works of authors like Dan Brown, Raymond Khoury, and Steve Berry. Pile on movies like National Treasure and games like Assassin’s Creed and the [...]
While technically this isn’t a proper press release, I think it’s worth noting. I once conducted a Children’s Literary Salon at NYPL about alternative children’s libraries in New York City. Libraries that are free and open to the public, but you have to know about them. The Children’s Book Council’s library was amongst those included. [...]
And now, a look back at what I reviewed in September 2009: The Squirrel’s Birthday by Toon Tellegen. Illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg. From my review: “Simple stories with the logic of childhood. Squirrel has a birthday; he invites people by writing invitations on beech bark. The wind delivers the invitations and the acceptances.” Letters to Anyone and Everyone by Toon [...]
Forgive me – after last week’s number crunching (So You Want to Win the Newbery Part I & Part II), I can’t seem to stop myself. Seriously, keep me off this page. But the questions keep coming. Such as: What percentage of Newbery Medal/Honor winners never won again? What percentage did? In figuring this out, [...]
Well, it’s taken me four and a half months, but I’ve finally managed to get together another post on poetry. I’m very excited about all four of the books we have for you today. Mei-mei Berssengbrugge and Gregory Orr are the same age (born 1947) and are both seasoned hands, with many poetry collections and [...]
She’s a fearless, reckless, globe-trotting, swashbuckling swordswoman, adventuress, and trouble magnet. He’s a fastidious functionary with a minor military job and a passion for blending, brewing, drinking, and sharing tea. Together they’re traveling companions. That’s the relationship at the heart of cartoonist Tony Cliff’s new original graphic novel Delilah Dirk and The Turkish Lieutenant, in [...]
Today I shall begin by ripping out your heart and stomping it into tiny shreds upon the floor. You may be aware that for years I have worked with the real Winnie-the-Pooh toys at NYPL. You may also know that the real Christopher Robin had a serious falling out with his father about the books. [...]
The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson. Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. 2013. Conclusion of The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (book one) and The Crown of Embers (book two). The Plot: Elisa, Godstone Bearer and Queen of Joya d’Arena, is running into the hand of her greatest enemy, the Invierne. In [...]
At Heavy Medal Jonathan and I strive for discussion of books within the confines of the Newbery criteria. Use in curriculum? Doesn’t matter. Breadth of popularity? Doesn’t matter. ”Importance” of theme or message? Uniqueness to the canon? Comparison to books of other years? Doesn’t, doesn’t, doesn’t matter. This is not to say these things [...]
EVERYTHING IS STARTING Snnniiiifffff! Ah, the smell of fall. Now that it’s September, thoughts begin to turn to Newbery and Caldecott medal contenders. Right on time, blogs Heavy Medal and Calling Caldecott are back in business taking a hard look at the books that might win the big awards come January. NEWBERY AND CALDECOTT WINNERS [...]
The Lucy Variations, Sara Zarr Little, Brown Books For Young Readers, May 2013 Reviewed from ARC If you stop doing the thing that defined you and made you special for most of your life, who are you and can you ever move on? The Lucy Variations is a meditation on the classic young adult themes of [...]
The Archie folks love to publish big, fat, colorful collections of their comics, and the latest one offers plenty of value for the money. The Archie 1000 Page Comics Extrvaganza, on sale tomorrow in comics shops and a bit later in bookstores, is a brick of a book filled with classic and newer Archie tales. [...]
Ah. I’ve been lax on my announcements here. Did I mention to you that this past Saturday I’d be hosting a Children’s Literary Salon at NYPL that was all about the Caldecott Award winning artist duo The Petershams? I did not. I have been lax. Thus, in the spirit of humble self-promotion I present my [...]
Libraries are embracing technology programming for kids and teens. Just in School Library Journal alone, there are articles about programs like ‘Can*TEEN’ Encourages Girls With STEM and Powerful Partnerships, Pi, and Python Behind the Success of Teen Tech Camp and Life With Raspberry Pi. Technology, coding, all good things. And, with women underrepresented in fields like computer science [...]
A few months back a video of the Seattle Public Library’s record-breaking book domino made the rounds. It was incredible: Well, now the Central Library in Cape Town, South Africa has bested Seattle’s record. As evidenced by the video below. I sincerely hope this book domino arms race continues. (Thanks to Book Patrol for the [...]
