Hold Fast By Blue Balliett Scholastic $17.99 ISBN: 978-0545299886 Ages 9-12 I honestly don’t think you can be a reviewer without being honest about your own personal prejudices first. When I pick up a book for children I have to cut through a thick swath of issues infecting my brain that may have little to [...]
Review: The Chocolate War
By on May 17, 2013
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. Random House. 1974. (over the years, many reprints and imprints!) Library copy. The Plot: Trinity is a school ruled by an elite clique, The Vigils, and the person who runs that clique is Archie Costello. Archie creates “assignments” for his fellow students: various stunts and pranks. Jerry is a [...]
The Chocolate War: Read A Long Part 4
By on May 16, 2013
Now, the next part of my readalong of The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. Previously: Chapters One to Ten. Chapters Eleven to Twenty. Chapters Twenty One to Thirty. Chapter Thirty One Jerry recognizes the bullies and is confronted by Janza. And, wait, really? “You live in the closet.” This is the big insult? “He wanted [...]
Review: The Smurflings
By on May 14, 2013
The Smurflings By Peyo Papercutz The monotonous blue and white color scheme of the Smurf village gets broken up a bit in this fifteenth installment of Papercutz’s Smurfs reprints, which introduces a quartet of new characters to Smurf village, each of who eschew the white pants and hat ensemble that most Smurfs favor. [...]
Vine Review: Primates by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks
By on May 14, 2013
Has anyone done a book review via Vine yet? Let’s give this a shot… Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas By Jim Ottaviani Illustrated by Maris Wicks First Second ISBN: 9781596438651 $19.99 Grades 5 and Up In Stores Find it at: Schuler Books | Your Library (If you are [...]
Review: Benny Breakiron Vol. 1: The Red Taxis
By on May 13, 2013
Benny Breakiron Vol. 1: The Red Taxis By Peyo and Will Maltaite Papercutz American audiences have certainly embraced Belgian cartoonist Pierre “Peyo” Cuilliford’s most famous creation over the decades, with a successful cartoon series a cornerstone of 9 Saturday morning memories, 2011 live-action/CGI movie popular enough to generate a sequel and a series of [...]
Review of the Day: Take Me Out to the Yakyu by Aaron Meshon
By on May 13, 2013
Take Me Out to the Yakyu By Aaron Meshon Atheneum Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1442441774 Ages 3-7 On shelves now. Corner a children’s librarian. Say the words “Japan” and “baseball”. Ask for picture books that involve both topics. What will you get? If I were a betting [...]
Review: Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz
By on May 10, 2013
Zebra Forest By Adina Rishe Gerwirtz Performed by Kate Reinders Candlewick on Brilliance Audio $22.99 Grades 5-8 In Stores Find it at: Schuler Books | Your Library Is anything less exciting than talking about fundamentals? Allow me to wave my rickety can in the air when I say that in just about anything worth doing, [...]
Review: Hattie Ever After
By on May 9, 2013
Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson. Delacorte Press. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Sequel to Hattie Big Sky. The Plot: June 1919. Hattie Inez Brooks has a dream: she wants to be a reporter. She’s seventeen years old. She doesn’t have a high school diploma. She’s an orphan. She doesn’t have any money. She’s [...]
Review | The Hound of the Baskervilles
By on May 8, 2013
The Hound of the Baskervilles Adapted by Martin Powell; Drawn by Jamie Chase Dark Horse/Sequential Pulp; $14.99 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles isn’t just my favorite Sherlock Holmes story; it’s one of my favorite novels period. Combining murder mystery with gothic horror in a setting that feels as real as it [...]
Review: Doll Bones
By on May 7, 2013
Doll Bones by Holly Black. McElderry Books. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Zach, Poppy, and Alice get together nearly everyday to play an elaborate game with dolls, action figures, and stories that grow and twist and turn, all related to the “Great Queen” doll that Poppy’s mother keeps locked in a cabinet. [...]
Review of the Day: Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo by Nancy Bo Flood
By on May 7, 2013
Cowboy Up!: Ride the Navajo Rodeo By Nancy Bo Flood Photography by Jan Sonnenmair Wordsong (an imprint of Highlights) $17.95 ISBN: 978-1-59078-893-6 Ages 8-12 On shelves now Sometimes I think half my job simply consists of making lists. Not that I’m complaining. I love lists. I love making them, and checking them, and adding to [...]
BEA
By on May 6, 2013
I’ll be attending BEA later this month! Part of the reason I’m excited about attending BEA is that I haven’t been able to attend for the last three years because of various work commitments. Part of the reason I’m excited is, well, BEA! BEA has a whole page explaining why librarians and educators would be [...]
Flashback May 2011
By on May 3, 2013
Time to flashback to what I reviewed in May 2011! Real Live Boyfriends (Yes, boyfriends, plural. If my life weren’t complicated, I wouldn’t be Ruby Oliver) by E. Lockhart. From my review: “Ruby Oliver is now a senior and has a real! live! boyfriend! Everything is terrific, until Noel goes away to visit his brother [...]
Review: The Fifth Wave
By on May 2, 2013
The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Book website. First in a trilogy. The Plot: It is months after the aliens first came, the Others, and sixteen year old Cassie Sullivan is huddled in a tent, alone with just her baby [...]
Review of the Day: A Girl Called Problem by Katie Quirk
By on May 2, 2013
A Girl Called Problem By Katie Quirk Eerdmans Books for Young Readers $8.00 ISBN: 97800-8028-5404-9 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. Who says that mystery novels for kids all have to include the same tropes and settings? I tell you, half the time when a kid comes up to a reference desk asking for a mystery [...]
Review: Bean Dog and Nugget: The Ball by Charise Mericle Harper
By on May 1, 2013
Bean Dog and Nugget: The Ball By Charise Mericle Harper Alfred A. Knopf (Random House) ISBN: 9780307977076 $4.99 Grades K-3 In stores May 14, 2013 Find it at: Schuler Books | Your Library “I am a former child, and I haven’t forgotten a thing.” -Ursula Nordstrom, Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom Getting into [...]
Review: Chicagoland Detective Agency #5: The Bark in Space
By on April 30, 2013
Chicagoland Detective Agency #5: The Bark In Space By Trina Robbins and Tyler Page Lerner Publishing/Graphic Universe; $6.95 Meet the Chicagoland Detective Agency: Megan, tween goth who composes haiku out-loud on the spot, whenever she’s inspired; Raf, teenage genius and part-time employee of his parents’ pet food store; and Bradley, a talking dog. There’s no [...]
Review: 17 and Gone
By on April 30, 2013
Review: Superman Adventures
By on April 29, 2013
Superman Adventures: Men of Steel By Paul Dini, Rick Burchett and Terry Austin Superman Adventures: Distant Thunder By Scott McCloud, Rick Burchett and Terry Austin Captson/Stone Arch; $15.95 In looking for DC back issues to mine for hardcover reprints, Capstone stuck a particularly rich vein in Superman Adventures, the 1996-2002 series based on the [...]
