Authors & Illustrators

Earlier this fall, Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy in Avondale, Louisiana welcomed seasoned authors, Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian, who came to speak to all the sophomores and juniors about their newest book, Fire with Fire, the second title in the Burn for Burn series. After the authors’ presentation, the two sat down with two fans for an intimate interview.

Our friends at Macmillan want to give you a chance to share in the hilarity of From Nowhere to Norvelt, but you have to work for it. Remember Miss Volker's obituary writing and penchant for history? Be prepared to share what would be your town's "This Day in History?" and enter to win a visit from the ever-charming Jack Gantos. You'll be glad you did.

A sequel to The Peculiar (Bachmann), a first novel reminiscent of works by Kate DiCamillo and E. B. White (Pennell), and Book 3 in the “Ashtown Burials Series” (Wilson)

Kristin Elizabeth Clark recently sat down with her mentor, Ellen Hopkins, to talk about writing, her transition from middle grade to young adult lit, and just how her book Freakboy was born.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, Matthew Quick Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, August 2013 Reviewed from ARC True confession: I had never heard of Matthew Quick until Silver Linings Playbook became an Oscar contender last fall, but then Sophie reviewed Boy 21 for the blog, and then in true Baader-Meinhof fashion, the ARC for Forgive [...]

She’s not a teacher or a librarian but, during the more than 25 years that Sesame Street’s Sonia Manzano has spent talking about kindness with Big Bird, letting the Count number her toes, and singing about trash to Oscar the Grouch, she has observed quite a bit about how kids learn. The actress, education advocate, and children’s book author was presented with the Américas Award in Washington, D.C., on September 23, given annually by the Consortium for Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP).

Boxers & Saints By Gene Luen Yang Colored by Lark Pien First Second American Born Chinese creator Gene Luen Yang’s two new graphic novels can be read separately from each other, but that doesn’t mean that they should be. Boxers and its companion volume, Saints, tell individual stories about two young people during China’s Boxer [...]

Two Boys Kissing, David Levithan Alfred A. Knopf. August 2013 Reviewed from ARC Sometimes a book packs such an emotional whammy that every other aspect becomes irrelevant to 99.9% of the readers. Two Boys Kissing is seriously packing. Before I go any further, a disclaimer: I just read this for the first time last week. [...]

The exciting news this week was that I got to host a couple panels regarding Banned Books (it being the week of ‘em and all).  The first was at the Brooklyn Book Festival with David Levithan, Francesca Lia Block, and Lauren Myracle.  I then cannibalized my own questions and used them in this, a Google+ [...]