I am writing this on the Sunday evening of a weekend during which the movie “Insidious: Chapter 2″ made $41 million dollars at the box office. Tomorrow evening “Sleepy Hollow” premieres on Fox and CBS airs the finale of the first season of “Under the Dome”. “The Walking Dead” is on the cover of this [...]
Weekly Reviews: Monster Thrillers
By on July 30, 2013
Benjamin Percy’s Red Moon is a political thriller as much as werewolf horror novel, in the same way that World War Z is about military strategy. Red Moon reflects the current state of our world, in particular terrorism, persecuted minorities, and the importance of energy sources in today’s political decision-making. In fact, Justin Cronin (author of The [...]
Fanfiction: What Educators Really Need to Know
By on July 17, 2013
Do young fanfiction authors seek the kind of feedback that educators would find “useful” in K-12 settings, and are fanfiction communities really the nurturing environments of peer-critique that some make them out to be?
‘World War Z’ At the Movies: Some Critical Thinking Questions
By on June 23, 2013
Media literacy discussion points covering novel-to-film adaptations, marketing, genre, screen violence, and more.
Why Are Zombies So Good for Libraries?
By on June 21, 2013
More than just a craze, the interest in zombies points the way towards a new kind of literacy engagement.
Two Books, Two Stars
By on May 1, 2013
Two magical books topped off our April reading, both earning starred reviews. The Golem and the Jinni is a mash-up of Jewish and Arab folklore, historical fiction and fantasy, new and old world sensibilities. Helene Wecker’s debut seems destined to be among the best of the year. The publisher has certainly gone all-out. The physical package is richly [...]
Review: Midwinterblood
By on April 23, 2013
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick. Roaring Brook Press. 2013. Review copy from publisher. The Plot: Always, there is an Eric and a Merle; a hare and a loss; and the island of Blessed. These are the constants. What changes in the seven stories of Midwinterblood is the time, starting in the future, 2073, and going back [...]
Review: Scowler
By on April 11, 2013
Scowler by Daniel Kraus. Delacorte Press, Random House. 2013. Review copy from publisher. The Plot: August, 1981. Changes are coming; Ry Burke, 19, knows this. The family farm is dying and he, his mother, Jo Beth, and his eleven year old sister Sarah, will have to leave. Sarah hunts the sky for changes of a [...]
Contemplating Horror
By on March 27, 2013
I’ve been thinking about horror fiction lately. What are the secrets of its appeal? Why are teens so drawn to it? How can we know which adult horror novels will appeal to teens and which won’t? One of the reasons I’ve been thinking about this lately is because I enjoyed The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper [...]
Weekly Reviews: Speculative Fiction
By on February 25, 2013
Today we review three thrillingly original works of speculative fiction. Let’s start with a post-apocalyptic, dystopian debut novel. The Office of Mercy is being marketed as a Hunger Games readalike. (I’ve also seen comparisons to recent Alex Award winner, Pure). However, debut author Djanikian is more concerned with ethical questions than fast-paced action. The Alphas had good intentions [...]
Review: Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone
By on February 15, 2013
Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye. Penguin Books. 2012. Personal copy. Vacation reads, a series of adult books reviewed before holidays for your vacation reading. The Plot: Christian has returned home, returned from the United States to Germany, to a place that is no longer the dark, small town [...]
The Six-Gun Tarot
By on January 25, 2013
Pick of the Day: R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, Vol. 1 & 2 (DVD)
By on November 9, 2012 Leave a Comment
R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, Vol. 1 & 2. 2 DVDs. approx. 2 hrs. ea. Shout!Factory. 2012. ISBN 978-1-60399-841-3/ ISBN 978-1-60399-842-0. $14.97 ea.
Gr 4-9–Each volume in “R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour” series, currently airing on The Hub TV Network, features five 20-minute episodes from the first season that combine creepy, spine-thrilling adventures with problems children face. In the two-part episode, “Really You,” in the first volume, a spoiled child learns a valuable lesson about love when her doll [...]
Just-For-Fun Giveaway: Zombie Cupcakes Book
By on October 21, 2012
