Nonfiction

At a recent New York Public Library panel on Ethics and Nonfiction, four popular juvenile nonfiction authors discussed the challenges of writing entertaining and enlightening works for kids while adhering to the facts.

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by Cynthia Levinson, Peachtree Publishers 2012. Review copy from publisher. Finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award. It’s About: In May, 1963, African Americans marched for freedom in Birmingham, Alabama. The marchers were school children. Just as with adult protesters,  they were met with police resistance; [...]

Thinking about this idea of “New Adult” books (which Angela discussed here on Thursday), over on my personal blog I took a look at the Modern Library’s list of the 100 best books of the 20th Century, and found that half of the books on the list fit into one or another definition of New Adult. [...]

My First Day: What Animals Do on Day One By Steve Jenkins and Robin Page Illustrated by Steve Jenkins Houghton Mifflin ISBN: 9780547738512 $16.99 Grades K-2 In Stores Jan 8, 2013 Find it at: Schuler Books | Your Library The capabilities of newborn animals are, for the most part, a mystery. While you can’t walk [...]

Guest blogger Joy Piedmont is back (and I think we’ll be taking advantage of her at least once more before the season is done!), covering another major nonfiction title of 2012. Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon, Steve Sheinkin Flash Point, September 2012 Reviewed from final copy When I say, “World [...]

New Year, new category. Today I am weighing in on New Adult books. This post could be considered a response or addition to Liz Burns’s excellent work over on the Tea Cozy blog. She published three posts on this topic over the weekend, and I recommend that you read at least the first before continuing [...]

With nonfiction and informational text at the forefront of the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS), there are new demands and opportunities for reading, writing, speaking and listening for students.Hear directly from some of today’s leading children’s and young adult nonfiction authors as they speak about their work and the specific ways nonfiction and informational texts can be used by librarians and teachers to help their students become better readers. This panel will also explore the ways in which the following focus points connect to the Common Core State Standards for Reading and Writing. Archive now available!

Listening for Madeleine: A Portrait of Madeleine L’Engle in Many Voices by Leonard S. Marcus. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2012. Review copy from publisher. It’s About: Madeleine L’Engle, beloved author of A Wrinkle In Time (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1962). The Good: How to write a biography of Madeleine L’Engle, especially when so many people [...]

Little did Tom Trelawney know that after accidentally burning down his family’s shed he would embark on the adventure of a lifetime...