I fully admit that this may seem strange to many readers of this blog, but one of my favorite things to do after reading a historical novel is to read up about the facts of the history the novelist used. Similarly, if a novel I’m reading revolves around some particular subject–anthropology, math, whatever–I tend to [...]
Weekly Reviews: Portraying the Famous (and Infamous)
By on March 25, 2013
Today we review three novels with famous people as their subjects. The first is Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Teens continue to be fascinated by the Jazz Age and they read the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald, not only in literature classes but also for fun. (So I learned in a recent discussion with [...]
Weekly Reviews: Nonfiction
By on March 18, 2013
This is Sonia Sotomayor’s 8th week on the New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction Best Seller list, up to #4 from #5 last week. (Sandra Day O’Connor’s book, Out of Order, debuts at #11.) I am particularly excited to write about My Beloved World this week because I recently had a chance to booktalk it to a [...]
Author Visit: Reyna Grande
By on March 13, 2013
AB4T reviewer Connie Williams has been an enthusiastic supporter of Reyna Grande’s The Distance Between Us ever since she reviewed it here on AB4T last year. Recently, Connie hosted the author at her high school for what was a transformative experience for many of the teens in her community. I thought it would be inspiring to [...]
Weekly Reviews: Sequels
By on March 12, 2013
Making Contact With the Outside World
By on March 11, 2013
From Civil War Nurses to Young Filmmakers | Nonfiction Notes, March 2013
By on March 5, 2013 Leave a Comment
What’s publishing this month? Biographies, poetry, and more!
Phone Phreaks and Intellectual Property
By on February 27, 2013
On January 11, a young computer programmer and internet activist named Aaron Swartz was found dead of an apparent suicide. For those not familiar with him, Swartz, just 26 at his death, was involved in a huge array of groundbreaking information tools, such as RSS (which he helped design), Reddit, the Open Library, and the [...]
Review of the Day – Diego Rivera: An Artist for the People by Susan Goldman Rubin
By on February 16, 2013
Diego Rivera: An Artist for the People By Susan Goldman Rubin Abrams Books for Young Readers $21.95 ISBN: 978-0-8109-8411-0 Ages 10 and up On shelves now National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15th to October 15th. How many folks could tell you that off the top of their heads? Meanwhile, few awards are specifically [...]
What’s the Buzz? Nonfiction Books for Common Core
By on February 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET What are the best nonfiction Common Core books to stock with your shelves with? DK Publishing, Teacher Created Materials, Lerner Publishing and ReferencePoint Press are here to help fill your library’s nonfiction section by presenting their upcoming titles that fit perfectly into the new standards. This is a must-see resource for Common Core, featuring forthcoming books, nonfiction trends, and answers to your questions! Archive now available!
How to publish for the CCSS
By on February 13, 2013
Ha ha, not really. I hope everybody is getting some use out of our latest newsletter, Nonfiction Notes from the Horn Book. I’ve been thinking about NF a lot since ALA, where I spent two solid days talking to publishers about what they were planning for the coming year(s). Along with inflicting upon the world [...]
The post How to publish for the CCSS appeared first on The Horn Book.
SLJ Talks to Author Andrea Cheng: Her latest book, ‘Etched in Clay,’ charts the courageous life of Dave the potter | Under Cover
By on February 13, 2013 2 Comments
Author Andrea Cheng’s latest book, ‘Etched in Clay,’ charts the courageous life of Dave the potter, a 19th-century slave who became an accomplished artist.
Giveaway: Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack of BULLY
By on February 12, 2013
Young people need to understand the way that media texts position them—even with, or perhaps especially with, those texts whose content they are sympathetic to…
Thoughts on Alex: One Shot at Forever
By on February 12, 2013
Chris Ballard’s One Shot at Forever is one of the three books on the Alex Awards this year that we declined to review. In the comments of our Alex Reactions post, John Sexton explained why: I believe the last time a sports themed book received Alex recognition was in 2007 when the committee i served [...]
What’s the Buzz? New Books in Nonfiction
By on February 1, 2013 1 Comment
Wednesday, February 20, 2013, 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET Need helping choosing books this fall? Check out this webcast dedicated to what’s new in nonfiction! Hear John Peters, Series Made Simple contributor and children’s literature consultant, discuss the trends in nonfiction and what the publishers have to say about the future of the genre. Scholastic Library, DK Publishing, Capstone and Black Rabbit Books will share their forthcoming titles to let you know how to stock up your library this spring! This archive is no longer available
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 [...]
Weekly Reviews: Nonfiction for Browsing
By on January 30, 2013
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 [...]
Exploring Common Core’s Informational Text… with Violent Video Games
By on January 24, 2013
Weekly Reviews: Raiders! and Little Wolves
By on January 23, 2013
I am sharing two very different books today, which I can only tenuously connect thanks to the Alex Awards. (Thus the completely unimaginative title of this post!) Let’s begin on a light-hearted note. First, a review of Raiders!, which won a place on the Booklist Editors Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults, 2012. Our reviewer [...]
More on Nonfiction–Now With (possibly dubious) Statistics!
By on January 22, 2013
Back in December, I wrote a post in which I wondered why we don’t see more nonfiction books recognized in awards for teens, and in particular, why memoirs and biographies are so dominant among the nonfiction titles that do show up. Commenter Meghan suggested: My own experience as a public librarian has shown it’s easier [...]
