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Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under, featuring Punycorn and the Princess of Thieves from Clarion Books and Quinnelope and the Unicorn Untopia from Oni Press.
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In Kenny Ruiz's fun new manga, a young would-be hero first stumbles upon and then seeks to master the iconic weapon of the title...while on the run from The First Order.
The genre helped me rewrite the narrative of my own story. I was not a victim of the world around me, but girl who could save herself.
Newbery winner Rebecca Stead is our guest on the latest episode of The Yarn podcast. We go behind the scenes of Stead’s latest middle grade novel, The Experiment. We also talk about how this year’s Newbery winner, The First State of Being (by Erin Entrada Kelly), was in part inspired by Stead’s 2010 Newbery winner […]
These books have something to say to kids, and not only are they unafraid to say it, they do it in the best possible way.
Lives are validated not through what reviewers often see as ‘gritty’ but a very nuanced layering of Black classicism. Even though she provides a fictitious urban setting, these teen’s reality isn’t directly about racism, income, or gender. It’s about the balancing act they do to survive every day.
Registration is now open for our live Heavy Medal Webcast: "What's It Really Like? Join the 2026 Mock Newbery Live!" The free event is scheduled for Friday, January 23rd, at 1:00 pm EST.
Here's a look at the graphic novels that publishers have been acquiring, and when we can expect to see them.
In the kitchen, you’re a team. You have each other’s backs. No matter what happens, keep going. Knives out. Flames blazing. You are a band of wild pirates.
An interview with John Schu and Holly Hatam, and a cover reveal for their upcoming book, LILY-MAY'S JOYFUL DAY.
Books to inspire a love of reading? Sure. That's a thing. But a little math along the way couldn't hurt either.
I’d like to think that history is not a moral judgment on the contemporary individual but a record of human choices and their consequences. As such, it is a guide. History shows us how to make different choices, how to recognize old patterns appearing in new guises.
Kids have voted! And the winners of our 2026 Mock Caldecott are . . .
Beautiful books simultaneously released in more than one language are deserving of their own separate list. Wouldn't you agree?
It’s deeply personal for me that kids feel seen and connected. Books and schools are lifelines, and both failed me as a boy. Many still fail kids.
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under, featuring Star Wars Young Jedi Adventures The Training Sessions from Dark Horse Comics and ZOR Saves Christmas #1 from Keenspot Entertainment.
For every kid who feels like they think too hard or care too deeply: I see you. I was you. And I can’t wait for you to meet Sama and, maybe, to watch you build your own way to fly.
View the final nomination list of 71 Mock Newbery contenders and vote in a poll to help determine our final book list.
We delve into a Jon Agee work for the first time on the podcast, determining how efficient a sarcastic title can be on a book.
It’s time to take a look back at the year that was in children’s lit miscellanea.
A look at books that take a chance and tell their tales with quiet aplomb.
SLJ BLOG NETWORK
100 Scope Notes
Travis Jonker
A Fuse #8 Production
Elizabeth Bird
Good Comics for Kids
Brigid Alverson, Robin Brenner, Lori Henderson, Esther Keller, Michael May, J. Caleb Mozzocco, Mike Pawuk, Scott Robins, & Eva Volin
Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
Steven Engelfried, Sharon McKellar, & Roxanne Hsu Feldman
Neverending Search
Joyce Valenza
Pearl's & Ruby's
Edith Campbell
Teen Librarian Toolbox
Karen Jensen, Heather Booth, Robin Willis, & Amanda MacGregor
The Classroom Bookshelf
Mary Ann Cappiello, Erika Thulin Dawes, Grace Enriquez, & Katie Cunningham
The Yarn
Travis Jonker & Colby Sharp
NEWS & FEATURES
Rebecca Stead’s EXPERIMENT
Travis Jonker
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