News & Features

Like most people who have grown up in southern California, author Matt de la Peña has always feared the arrival of the “Big One”—a massive earthquake that would decimate the US West Coast. In his latest young adult novel, The Living, de la Peña explores issues of race, class, and identity, set against the backdrop of a cataclysmic event that hurls humanity into a fight for survival.

Little, Brown celebrated the art of Caldecott Medalist Jerry Pinkney at a special event on October 29. The Powerhouse Arena, home to art book publisher powerHouse Books, recently launched its brand-new children's imprint, POW! on October 25.

SLJ celebrated Trevelyn Jones, Book Review Editor, who retired after three decades, and more than 100,000 reviews under her helm. The event was held on October 29, and was attended by SLJ and Library Journal staff, representatives from several children’s publishers, and longtime friends and reviewers.

Animals with transparent guts! Fish that make their own light! An underwater bird? Booktalk audiences hungry for adventure and monsters can find both in remarkable books on marine mysteries. While the following titles are aimed at fourth grade and above, even younger readers will find the pictures irresistible.

This fall, HarperCollins will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of C. S. Lewis with a worldwide campaign that celebrates his legacy. Kicking off the commemoration is the redesign of both www.cslewis.com and www.narnia.com, and their expansion to offer C.S. Lewis ebooks.

London-based writer Katherine Rundell met with librarians and booksellers in New York City this week to chat about her middle grade novel, Rooftoopers. Illustrator Ian Schoenherr and Norwegian author Tone Almhjell celebrated the release of Almhjell's debut fantasy novel, The Twistrose Key.

Star Wars: Jedi Academy Written and drawn by Jeffrey Brown Scholastic, $12.99 Cartoonist Jeffrey Brown made a name for himself in the 2000s with a series of self-published black-and-white, highly confessional autobiographical graphic novels, like Clumsy, Unlikely and AEIOU. More recently, Brown has made many more fans with his Darth Vader & Son and Vader’s [...]

The Port Washington (NY) Public Library will host an exhibition of kid lit illustrators. Arizona State University wins REFORMA’s 2013 Mora Award. YALSA’s 2013 Teens’ Top Ten list is announced. The Gale Virtual Reference Library adds nearly 200 children’s Encyclopedia Britannica titles. Apply for a ALSC/Candlewick Press Grant. A research fellowship is available at the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi.

When kids have long outgrown the nightmare in their closet, they still clamor for a story that scares them into sleeping with the lights on. From zombies to murdering ghosts, the following new fiction titles, selected by the editors at Junior Library Guild will keep middle school readers looking over their shoulders.