Fiction

Have You Seen My Dragon? By Steve Light Candlewick Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-6648-4 Ages 2-6 On shelves April 8th When I grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan I would get this little thrill every time my city appeared in a children’s book. Which is to say, every time it was mentioned in Horton Hatches the Egg. [...]

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters. Amulet Books. 2013. Library copy. Morris Shortlist. The Plot: 1918. Mary Shelley Black, 16, has fled Portland, Oregon following her father’s arrest for treason. She is going to stay with her aunt, Eva, in San Diego. San Diego has changed since the last time she was there, [...]

Budding poets may particularly appreciate the main character's story, but there is certainly something for anyone looking for a good read with a strong, believable female lead

From a comically cosmic space adventure to a rip-roaring tall tale to several in-depth looks at the lives of fascinating American figures, the January Stars offer opportunities for readers to engage in joyful escapism or intensive close reading.

The Summer Prince, Alaya Dawn Johnson Arthur A. Levine (Scholastic), March 2013 Reviewed from ARC and finished ebook I’ve already gone on record saying that this is my personal frontrunner this year. It’s the book, above all other books, that worked for me as a reader and that I can support as a critic. If [...]

Laurie Halse Anderson's eagerly anticipated new novel, The Impossible Knife of Memory tops our Grades 9 & Up Fiction reviews and earns a Star. New titles by popular YA authors Francesca Lia Block, Marie Lu, and Rick Yansy also appear in our January issue.

Several eagerly anticipated sequels can be found in January's Grade 5-8 Fiction section including The Ghost of Tupelo Landing, Shelia Turnage's companion to the Newbery honor-winning Three Times Lucky; The Shadowhand Covenant, book 2 in Farrey's Vengekeep Prophecies series; Timmy Failure: Now Look What You've Done by Stephan Pastis; and James Ponti's Blue Moon (Book 2 in the Dead City series.)

A baby bear, several frogs, a mob of meerkats, plenty of penguins, and one rather large and smelly woolly mammoth are just a few of the varied creatures that appear in the Preschool to Grade 4 reviews this month.

Journey By Aaron Becker Candlewick Press ISBN: 978-0-7636-6053-6 $15.99 Ages 3-8 On shelves now. I’ve encountered something new and exciting at this late stage of the game. For years I’ve been reviewing picture books written for children. Working with them on almost a day-to-day basis as a children’s librarian, I did not doubt that my [...]