September 18, 2013

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Pictures of the Week: Random House Authors; The 14th Annual Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators Conference

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Random House authors N.D. Wilson, Jeanne Birdsall, and Rebecca Stead have lunch with librarians to discuss writing for middle school students; Meg Rosoff and Sophie Blackall attend the 14th Annual Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Conference in NYC.

Review of the Day: Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

Liar & Spy
By Rebecca Stead
$15.99
ISBN: 978-0-385-73743-2
Ages 9-12
On shelves now.
Rebecca Stead is the M. Night Shyamalan of children’s literature, and I mean that in a good Sixth Sense way, not a lame The Happening one. It’s funny, but when I try to compare her other authors I find myself tongue-tied. Who else spends as much [...]

On the Radar: Top Picks from the Editors at Junior Library Guild: Middle School Readers—New Offerings from Favorite Authors

Book cover: Caught- green train

For our middle school readers, finding a favorite author can be a difficult task. They are at the age in which one day they’re still children, and the next they think they are adults. Kids are busy with activities, so this is also the time in their lives where we could lose them as readers if their choices are few. Thankfully in the last ten years, popular authors and series have increased for this group of tweens and early teens. For students in grades five to eight and those that teach them, fall releases will be a welcome sight.

Top 100 Children’s Novels #11: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

#11 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (2009)
102 points
I sell this to kids in the library by saying it’s a cross between Beverly Clearly and Lost. And I always say “the ending will BLOW YOUR MIND.” Because it does. – Sharon Ozimy
This is a book you can give to any kind of kid [...]

Video: ‘Middle School Snake Charmers’ Hold Forth at SLJ Day of Dialog

The prospect of working with adolescents may inspire fear in some, “but for a small, dedicated group of us, middle school is where it’s at,” said librarian Jennifer Hubert Swan, who gleaned some insight on engaging young readers from panelists Sharon Creech, Eoin Colfer, Rebecca Stead, Joan Bauer, and James Dashner at SLJ’s event held June 4 at the Javits Center in New York.

SLJ 2012 Day of Dialog: Keeping Middle Schoolers Engaged

From Left: Sharon Creech, Joan Bauer, Eoin Colfer, James Dashner, Jennifer Hubert Swain, Rebecca Stead

Middle school students are a “hormonally charged” bunch who are “full of complex contradictions” and just “want a voice,” say authors who participated in SLJ’s 2012 Day of Dialog on June 4 at New York’s Jacob Javits Convention Center.