This month, YA readers are in for a treat: veteran middle grade author Michael Buckley takes a step into YA with great results. Undertow is not to be missed. And check out the latest from Pete Hautman, Cori McCarthy, and others.
This month’s offerings for younger readers present a variety of families, from a family of bunnies who adopt a wolf to some poignant father-daughter picture books.
Today, we review two books that examine the environmental destruction of small towns, and the ensuing fallout in the community at large. In Rene Steinke’s Friendswood, the eponymous town has been the victim of chemical leaks from a nearby oil refinery. Most of the town seems ready to move on once the EPA has cleared [...]
The 2015 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction goes to Dash, by Kirby Larson, published by Scholastic Press. While Mitsi is going to miss spending time with her beloved dog Dash now that Christmas vacation is over, she is looking forward to seeing her best buds Mags and Judy. Mitsy thought the trio would always […]
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Mr. Squirrel and the Moon By Sebastian Meschenmoser NorthSouth $18.95 ISBN: 978-0-7358-4156-7 Ages 3-6 On shelves now Here in America 2015 is turning out to be a great year in terms of children’s literary imports. Authors and artists that I haven’t seen gracing the shores of our fair nation for years are suddenly returning en [...]
Next up in our countdown to the Pyrite: a conversation on science fiction, dystopias, big ideas, rancid politics, and the girls who have just about had enough — girls who chart the world’s meltdown. Taking a look at a dirty and distressing near future, we’ve got A.S. King’s Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future paired [...]
Today, let’s revisit two of our Pyrite 11 that both have at their cores events that forever change their protagonists. I am, of course, talking about Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun and Andrew Smith’s 100 Sideways Miles. When Joy first covered I’ll Give You the Sun, she praised the dual narration (duality of [...]
We’ve got another round up here and this time, it’s all about the complexities and frustrations and amazing moments related to gender, sex, identity, hook ups, heartbreak, and true love. And who couldn’t use a little love at this time of year, amirite? Well, to be honest, these three books aren’t all about wuv (twue [...]
Here we have a new kind of apocalypse, one in which humans are at war with ants, joined later by cats, dogs, and more. Just what is going on?? Robert Repino’s debut lands somewhere between Animal Farm and those B-movie sci-fi thrillers with giant, mutated insects. Give this to teens looking for something different. Maybe Grasshopper Jungle fans [...]