We have a huge backlog of wonderful reviews right now, so this week we’re giving you even more weekly reviews. The great film reviewer Jonathan Rosenbaum once commented that “it’s pretty safe to say that there are more serial killers in movies than there are in real life” and puzzled over why so many viewers [...]
No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Nelson Carolrhoda Books/Lerner
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate HarperCollins
Judged by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
What does a self-educated radical bookseller have to do with a depressed 35-year-old strip-mall gorilla? More than it would appear. Both suffer violent childhoods and initially muddle through adulthood. Both grow to identify the oppression around them and decide to challenge it. Both rely on words, and the power of words, to seek justice. Both ultimately make a huge impact. And both No Crystal Stair and The One and Only Ivan, while fiction, are based on real-life tales of perseverance and victory.
No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller is written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, the great-niece of Lewis Michaux. Lewis Michaux’s story requires this “documentary novel” format rather than a typical non-fiction biography, as so much of his life was fabricated, mysterious, or now unknown — beginning with the date of his birth (sometime between 1884 and 1895) and his name (William Lonnell or Lewis H.; some family members use the name Micheaux, with an e). As a child, he was publicly lashed for stealing a sack of peanuts, and as a young man spent time on a chain gang for theft. At some point in the 1930s, he decided to open a bookstore in Harlem because “the so-called Negro needs to hear and learn from the voices of black men and women.” By …
Among the latest offerings from Capstone’s fruitful relationship with DC Comics are a line of hardcovers reprinting some of the latter’s kid-friendly comics. Not collections of groups of comics, but single-issue reprints, differentiated from the original comics only by their hard, sturdy covers and spines—actual comic books never seem to last long in libraries, no [...]
If you’ve received your latest edition of Horn Book Magazine then you may see that Roger and Co. had the clever notion to ask a bunch of folks what their favorite weirdo children’s books were. And as luck would have it, I was asked too. You can see my choice here if you like. If [...]
Author and illustrator Tomie dePaola's exuberance and unrestrained creativity were evident this week as he joined Pratt Institute for an evening modeled after Inside the Actors Studio to discuss with moderator Pat Cummings his artistic process, his childhood, and his most notable works.
Don Freeman is the author of many titles beloved by children, now out of print. Lucky for this generation of picture book fans, Auryn is bringing back the author's works in digital format.
Get ready for a busy April with National Bookmobile Day, author/illustrator Patricia Polacco discussing bullying via Skype, and the deadline for submission for the Library of Congress’s new Literacy Awards. Check out these stories and more in News Bites.
When it comes to reaching out to teen library patrons, partnerships between public and school libraries are absolutely key—but how to make them successful is an ongoing challenge, agreed those library staff and stakeholders who gathered in a virtual town hall yesterday hosted by YALSA.
Alyssa Victoria Gardner is a 16-year-old skateboarder, artist, devoted child, and the great-great-great granddaughter of Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll in 1865. Her mother, Alison, has spent the last decade in Soul’s Asylum, where she eats only food served in teacups and spends her time talking to flowers and insects. Alyssa also hears insects talking, but has not told anyone—since she doesn't want to follow the same path as her mother. After a visit to Soul’s Asylum that's particularly disturbing, Alyssa starts to put disparate clues together and realizes that the only way to save her mother and her own sanity is to find the rabbit hole and put Wonderland back together again. In Splintered, which SLJTeen calls “satisfyingly sensual, delightfully dark, and absolutely riveting,” YA debut author A.G. Howard puts a modern-day twist on Carroll's classic.
