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Two new apps feature terrific artwork and engaging characters, but will viewers be inclined to return for repeat visits? Our reviewers weigh in.

Amazon Kindle’s FreeTime Unlimited, a subscription service geared for parents, has added 1,000 books, games, educational apps, movies, and TV shows to its offerings for children since its launch six months ago.

Later this week, kid lit fans in New York will finally be able to view “The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter,” a fascinating new exhibit at the New York Public Library curated by children’s book historian Leonard S. Marcus. Marcus was given access to the library’s vast collection of artifacts, from which he culled 250 items—including the copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that belonged to Alice Liddell, the girl for whom Lewis Carroll wrote the book.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) is offering a library amendment to the immigration bill that the Senate is considering this week. The amendment, #1223, would make public libraries eligible for funding for English language instruction and civics education, and would also add Susan Hildreth, the director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to the Task Force on New Americans. The American Library Association (ALA) is asking its members to call their Senators in support of Reed’s amendment.

Andrew Carle, a technology educator at Flint High School in Northern Virginia, scurries about the classroom, rearranging desks and chairs, strategically sprinkling around wires, batteries, transistors, and clocks—all the while a video camera whirs in the background. A few seconds later, 10 seventh graders saunter in and the room becomes a hive of activity. Students [...]

Sara Grajek Campbell, our former From the Trenches columnist, got married while writing for SLJTeen. She gave up working on the column in order to pursue another project. Here's a glimpse of what that "project" looks like.

I’m chatting today with Edith Donnell, the Youth/Teen Librarian for the Chelsea District Library. For the last five years she has been one of the driving forces behind the all-ages Kids Read Comics event, which is held at the Ann Arbor District Library – 343 S 5th Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This year the [...]

Though the reviews of the recently released film, The Great Gatsby, are remarkably mixed, the soundtrack gets high praise from our teen reviewer. It's hard not to like Lady Antebellum, with their sweet sounds and finely wrought lyrics on love and heartbreak, on their latest album Golden. What happens to Star Trek when it just becomes a shoot-em-up and logic goes by the wayside? Read on for our reviewer's take on Star Trek: The Video Game.

Libraries can win a Harry Potter party pack to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the U.S. publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, complete with new paperback editions of the beloved series, illustrated by Kazu Kabushi. Entries are due July 17. Latinas for Latino Literature has launched a Summer Reading Program for summer camps, youth groups, and cultural centers serving Latino students and families, running through August 12.