Elizabeth Bird, Jul 13, 2018

Harbor Me By Jacqueline Woodson Nancy Paulsen Books (an imprint of Penguin) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-399-25252-5 Ages 9-12 On shelves August 28th A good book, whether it’s written for a nine-year-old, a nineteen-year-old, or a ninety-year-old can tilt your perspective, if only momentarily. Consider the concept of the “happy ending” and what it’s supposed to resemble. […]

Elizabeth Bird, Jul 11, 2018

I don’t like to pick favorites but the ten books featured on the list today might well be my favorite board book run of this series. I mean, where else are you going to find animals of the Native Northwest, imports, picture book adaptations, high contrast titles, and books with removable components? The list:   […]

Elizabeth Bird, Jul 10, 2018

I have a lot of “things” that I particularly like. Nonfiction that doesn’t contain fake dialogue. Translated children’s books from overseas. Comics. Math. I guess Poetry could fall into that category as well. Works of children’s poetry are always of interest to me, and it seems like this year there’s a whole slew of them […]

Elizabeth Bird, Jul 10, 2018

It’s getting down to the wire, but we’ve still a ways to go until the Top 20. Today’s listing of contenders has a certain level of sophistication at work. New names appear on the list, like Lane Smith and Marla Frazee, while others solidify their status (Boynton, Katz, Oxenbury, etc.). The oldest book on today’s […]

Elizabeth Bird, Jul 09, 2018

Hope you like Kathleen Turner, because in this long delayed episode I’m clearly doing my best rendition of her. Apologies for the gap in the episodes. Fortunately, we’re back in style. This week we discuss a book that has a complicated history. It would be easier if this were a more straightforward case of racism. […]

Elizabeth Bird, Jul 05, 2018

The overriding theme of today’s release of the Top 100 Board Books Poll results is currency. So many of the books on today’s list were published for the first time in the last five or so years). I myself have seen a distinct uptick during that time of quality (as well as quantity). Read your […]

Elizabeth Bird, Jul 03, 2018

Let me tell you a little something about reveals. They slot neatly into two categories: Cover Reveals and Book Trailer Reveals. Now Cover Reveals are pretty doggone easy. You just say you’ll show the book jacket of a book, even though you have the sneaking suspicion that somebody on Netgalley or edelweiss has probably already […]

Elizabeth Bird, Jul 03, 2018

The poll results continue. Yesterday we got off to a slambang start with a whole host of worthy titles. How will the next round stand up in comparison? See for yourself: #90 – Elephants Spray by Rebecca Glaser (2016)   “Another title where I wish I could vote for the entire series! I love the […]

Elizabeth Bird, Jul 02, 2018

Did you think I had forgotten? Fear not, lovely readers! The time has come to start the newest countdown! What books did you all vote on in our online poll? The results begin today. To recap, in the past I’ve conducted polls of Top 100 Picture Books and Top 100 Children’s Novels. This year SLJ […]