Just One Day by Gayle Forman. Dutton Books, a member of Penguin Books. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Allyson Healey is on a trip to Europe, a special present from her parents for having done so well in high school. She, along with her best friend, are on a Teen Tour, speeding [...]
Review: Batman is Brave and Superman Fights for Truth
By on September 16, 2013
Batman is Brave and Superman Fights for Truth Written by Donald Lemke, drawn by Ethen Beavers Picture Windows Books, $7.99 Given how dangerous being a superhero can be, I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone under the age of 18, and I don’t care what Robin says or does (If Robin jumped off the Gotham [...]
Review of the Day: Monster on the Hill by Rob Harrell
By on September 13, 2013
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 [...]
Review: Rose Under Fire
By on September 13, 2013
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 [...]
Review | Templar
By on September 12, 2013
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 [...]
Review: The Bitter Kingdom
By on September 11, 2013
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 [...]
Review of the Day: The Meanest Birthday Girl by Josh Schneider
By on September 9, 2013
The Meanest Birthday Girl By Josh Schneider Clarion Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) $14.99 ISBN: 978-0-547-83814-4 Ages 6-9 On shelves now. Life is easier when you can categorize it. When you can slot it in a distinct category and reduce everything to black and white terms. Gray is problematic and messy, after all. [...]
Review: Boxers and Saints
By on September 6, 2013
Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang. First Second. 2013. Review copy from publisher. Boxers & Saints, Volumes 1 & 2. The Plot: The story of the Boxer Rebellion is told through the eyes of a Boxer and a Christian. Each volume is a standalone; but it’s best to first read Boxers, then Saints, and [...]
Review: Saints
By on September 5, 2013
Review: Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller
By on September 5, 2013
Sophie’s Squash By Pat Zietlow Miller Illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf Schwartz & Wade (Random House) ISBN: 9780307978967 $18.99 Grades PreK-1 In Stores *Best New Book* Find it at: Schuler Books | Your Library Children are masters of personification. Rock, stick, spoon – they can turn just about anything into a sentient being. In terms of [...]
Multimedia Review | September 2013
By on September 3, 2013 Leave a Comment
The September Multimedia Review section features nearly70 reviews of DVDs, audiobooks, and children’s music CDs. Among the eight starred reviews are Constitution USA with Peter Sagal, a DVD that examines the document’s historical and contemporary contexts, and Nelson Mandela, Kadir Nelson’s evocative biography for elementary grade students.
Review: Boxers
By on September 3, 2013
Boxers by Gene Luen Yang. First Second. 2013. Review copy from publisher. Boxers & Saints, Volume 1. The Plot: In 1894, Little Bao is the youngest brother of three in Northern Shan-tung Province, China. He likes watching the traveling operas that visit the village in springtime; his older brothers tease him; he admires his father. [...]
Grades 5-8 Fiction | September 2013
By on September 2, 2013 Leave a Comment
Some spooky tales and a story about seafaring cats
Grade 9 & Up Fiction | September 2013
By on September 2, 2013 Leave a Comment
In a new series, sleuthing by teen heroines related to Sherlock Holmes and Bram Stoker (Gleason).
Preschool to Grade 4 Nonfiction | September 2013
By on September 2, 2013 Leave a Comment
An Islamic Snow White.
Review of the Day: Ben Rides On by Matt Davies
By on September 2, 2013
Ben Rides On By Matt Davies A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press (an imprint of Macmillan) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-59643-794-4 Ages 3-7 On shelves now. The cartoonist as great children’s book author is not a given. Consider the sad case of Berkeley Breathed, for example. He achieved levels of unattainable brilliance when he penned Bloom [...]
Review: Dragon Ball 3-in-1 Volume 1
By on August 30, 2013
Son Goku lives alone in the wilds, away from civilization, when he literally runs into Bulma, a girl on her summer vacation, searching for the 7 legendary Dragon Balls. If the balls are found and brought together, the dragon Shenlong will appear and grant one wish. Goku has one of the balls, but he’s not [...]
Review: Pain, Parties, Work
By on August 29, 2013
Pain, Parties, Work: Sylvia Plath in New York, Summer 1953 by Elizabeth Winder. HarperCollins. 2013. Personal Copy. Vacation reads — when I review not-teen books that people may be interested in reading! It’s About: In June, 1953, Sylvia Plath was a guest editor for the fashion magazine, Mademoiselle. The guest editor program was prestigious. The [...]
Review: Batman Beyond Universe #1
By on August 28, 2013
Batman Beyond Universe #1 Written by Kyle Higgins and Christos N. Gage Drawn by Thony Silas and Dan Coello DC Comics, $3.99 Rated T, for Teen Of all the Batman animated series to come and go from television since Batman: The Animated Series debuted in 1992, Batman Beyond was the shortest lived, at just 52 [...]
