The Cat in the Hat comes back again, this time in the very first in a new line of graphic novels starring Dr. Seuss' characters and created by cartoonists working in their own distinct styles.
Teen librarian Karen Jensen discusses learning to do sublimation and what works, and what you might want to think twice about, in a library makerspace
In 1999, almost everyone was worried about a computer flaw or bug nicknamed Y2K for year 2000. Now Erin Entrada Kelly has put the subject in a middle grade novel, The First State of Being.
Should it stay or should it go?
What do The Joy Luck Club and Holes have in common? Both inspired Nedda Lewers' newest MG Egyptian-American inspired fantasy series for kids!
Teen librarian Rachel Strolle shares a look at some of the new YA coming out in May 2024
Teen librarian Cindy Shutts shares her recent Among Us themed escape room
Where have all the ninja books gone?
This month kicks off a celebration of books featuring or by Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders. I am excited to shine a spotlight on the Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander portion of that lengthy acronym.
"Ryan is a young alligator, not the buddha." Bob Shea is our guest today and he's talking up the sequel to his highly beloved Chez Bob.
The latest volume of the InvestiGators spinoff is a hit with all ages in the Keller household!
I can't wait for young readers to get to discover this awesome new series!
The bar and bat mitzvah—or, to use the modern gender-neutral term, bnei mitzvah—occurs at such a perfect, middle gradey moment. And new stories grounded in bnei mitzvah are being told all the time.
Three of my favorite posts from the last month.
Have you missed hearing the voice of the ineffable Christopher Paul Curtis recently? Then read his incredible essay-response to my interview questions and bask in his words once more.
As more students take advantage of dual enrollment programs during a time when more states are adopting restrictive laws about access, academic freedom, and the right to read, we need new policy-focused partnerships between high school and academic libraries that will support student success and maintain institutional integrity.
COLBY: When I first heard about the new series The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class, I had a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept. Seventeen authors each writing a book about the kids in one third grade classroom seemed impossible. Then I started to read the list of writers that would be contributing […]
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under, featuring Unhappy Camper from Harper Alley and Dr. Seuss Cat Out Of Water from Random House Graphic.
As an author, how do I approach the potential for pain in the lines I write? How, as a reader, do we make these mostly well-intended but sometimes trivial-feeling statements actually hold meaning for us?
52 (!!!) new and forthcoming books to build your TBR ever taller!
Rounding up 2024 books from past Printz Medal and Honor winners!
"If you love worms, this is the book for you." Inspired by LeVar Burton we take a look at an old Reading Rainbow book to see how it holds up.
Look at the jaw-dropping art and stellar storytelling inside, and this book may serve to upend everything you thought you knew about moving day picture books.
A wrap up of the North Texas Teen Book Festival 2024 with an emphasis on some of the cool thrillers and horror being written for tweens and teens today
Big news for Svetlana Chmakova fans: JY will publish the second volume of The Weirn Books in October 2024.
These kinds of books are a great way to "taste" stories from a bunch of authors and discover new favorites!
I hope my work will encourage others to think about disability in a broader context, whether that’s rethinking how disabled characters are portrayed or creating more opportunities for disabled writers to tell their own stories.
It's an all 2024 Award Winners edition of Name That LEGO Book Cover!
The First Amendment is a crucial defense against book bans, particularly those targeting LGBTQ+ stories, critical race theory, and BIPOC authors. However, schools often navigate around these protections through "educational discretion." Beyond the First Amendment, the Education Amendments to the Civil Rights Act's Title VI and IX provide avenues to challenge bans based on race and sex discrimination. A notable case in Georgia's Forsyth County School District demonstrates how these civil rights statutes can combat bans, offering a more direct path to restoring banned books. This approach highlights the importance of considering discriminatory impacts over intent in the fight against book bans, providing a potentially more effective strategy for upholding students' rights to information.
Young adult readers will be able to relate to this story of a boy who constantly gets in trouble through no fault of his own, even if they don't catch the allusions to Kafka.
Book lovers can't help but feel enchanted upon walking into The Curious Reader. After my first visit several years ago, I got the same magical feeling as seeing The Shop Around the Corner in You’ve Got Mail.
You know what is a terrible term? Sandwich Generation. Because I like sandwiches, but I for sure do NOT like being part of the Sandwich Generation. Yes, this is related to this post. Bear with me. This post has LOTS of post-it reviews because I have spent LOTS of time at my mom’s helping care […]
You know what is a terrible term? Sandwich Generation. Because I like sandwiches, but I for sure do NOT like being part of the Sandwich Generation. Yes, this is related to this post. Bear with me. This post has LOTS of post-it reviews because I have spent LOTS of time at my mom’s helping care […]
Is it weird that we torture Grover during the course of this book?
Iran's first superstar, Googoosh, at last gets her first picture book biography and I'm on hand to interview author/artist Azadeh Westergaard about what writing such a book entails.
In the book, Claire, Billie, Raelynn, and Tasha are the leftovers. The kids no one else wants to associate with. They are, for me, a celebration of the kids who got me through middle school. And high school. And honestly, who still help me today.
It’s crucial to empower teens to find their voice and their community while advocating for their rights. It’s just as crucial to highlight queer joy and friendship, especially when readers are coming of age during turbulent times.
"A country needs ideas from everywhere, just like mushroom rhizomes help the forest to grow. Below the surface." Today we celebrate the life of a great artist, now gone.
Author Brittany N. Williams talks about audacity and her new book, SAINT-SEDUCING GOLD
The classic children's book Winnie-The-Pooh, now in the public domain, gets a reverent, high-quality comics adaptation by cartoonist Travis Dandro.
So here’s my challenge: I dare you to get outside, in your community. Connect with your neighbors. Make a project out of it — get some extra credit or community service hours in.
All the 2024 books from previous Pura Belpré author and illustrator medal and honor winners.
Crafting a “mirrors” and a “windows” book all at once can be tricky but just in time for Passover this year we've an anthology from three great writers. Check out what they have to say about it!
Author Kristin L. Gray shares middle grade books about saving planet Earth
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under featuring Team Unihorn and Woolly Volume 1 Attack of the Krill from Harper Alley and King Arthur and the Knights of Justice from Maverick - Mad Cave Studios.
In Finally Fitz, I wanted to write a mental health representation that felt true to my experience, one where the symptoms aren’t so obvious in a culture that conflates perfectionism with ambition.
My mission is to create stories that teens can see themselves in and be entertained by so I can help them find a way through life despite what may have happened to them so far.
Mr. Schu is our guest for the latest episode.
"Some cookies just want to watch the world burn." Violence and murder and a cookie all come together in this latest podcast episode.
Riley will turn 22 this year. She is the reason we are Taylor Swift fans in our house. Taylor launched right around the time that Riley started listening to music. And I have raised 2 daughters now with Taylor Swift as the soundtrack of our lives. On Friday, Taylor Swift released her 11th album, The […]
Funny and hopeful, realistic and wistful, this is a book to inspire dreamers and scientists alike. A book you simply won’t want to miss.
The Hex Vets are back in a third volume of magical veterinary adventures, this one featuring giant magical otters!
What a wonderful world we live in to see so much great representation in middle grade.
Can you guess the children’s book by its scathing one-star review on Goodreads?
Here's a look at the next two graphic novels in Papercutz' Geronimo Stilton series!
Bear and Olivia show us that with small changes in our lives, we can and should protect these animals and our small corner of the world.
Today is Poem in Your Pocket Day!
What do Rashomon, knitting, and Richard Scarry's boat hooks have in common? You'll find them all in Tao Nyeu's incredibly clever, reversible latest.
In Family Style, Thien Pham uses food as the lens through which he tells the story of his family's journey both to America and to becoming American.
Author and psychologist Dana Klisanin discusses Eco Anxiety and middle grade readers as we approach Earth Day 2024 (April 22)
You know, what we’re really talking about is empowerment—feeling like even the smallest parts of us have power and worth. That could be super important to a middle school kid.
Full of supportive, well-rounded secondary characters (who, importantly don't just support Grace but challenge her and help her see her way through things), this look at identity, relationships, and goals is a great read with the important reminder that you are more than just your accomplishments.
With today's Q&A, I hope you're looking for a discussion of tarot, roller derby, Buffy the Vampire slayer and a LOT more!
Author Christina Matula discusses the newest book in her Holly-Mei series, The Not-So-Simple Question
East meets West in Maple Lam's charming Monkey King and the World of Myths, when Sun Wukong is enlisted to take on the Minotaur in the labyrinth.
Teen Librarian Karen Jensen shares a variety of DIY craft ideas to display photos
These books all share anxiety as a theme, but in conversation with each other they feel like they are capturing something essential about the power of middle grade books.
Rounding up all the 2024 books by past Coretta Scott King Medal and Honor winners.
A deep dive into a paean to mangos and all they can mean to folks. Bonus: Three mango facts I guarantee you've never heard before.
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under, featuring Double Booking Volume 1 The Tail of the Mummy Cat from Papercutz and Surviving The Wild: Rainbow the Koala from Henry Holt.
Teen Librarian Karen Jensen outlines a poetry themed album release party for Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department
Teen Librarian Karen Jensen outlines a poetry themed album release party for Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department
At the end of 2023, I established a 501©3 organization called A Book of My Own. There are so many things out of our control in this ever-challenging world - but getting books to kids who need them? That is something I can do.
The American Library Association has released their annual list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books.
My husband Matt Bird joins us for the very first time for one of the most obscure Dr. Seuss titles ever conceived. Like Candide? Then this is for you.
Librarian Angela Frederick discusses graphic novels perfect for foodies and those who like to cook, or eat, food
Time for some Sunday funnies with an Archie preview that includes a full Little Archie story by famed creator Bob Bolling.
John Schu takes us behind the scenes of LOUDER THAN HUNGER
Thanks to Slugfest, Korman has penned a book so enticing, so fun, so downright enjoyable, and so unapologetically sportsy, that it is impossible to resist. The book, quite frankly, that we’ve all been waiting for.
The sequel to Go With the Flow introduces romance to the four girl friends.
The First Amendment's Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses create a constitutional balance: the government cannot establish a state religion nor impede individual religious practices. This delicate equilibrium has posed challenges for public schools, which must remain religiously neutral while not infringing upon personal religious expression. Historical Supreme Court rulings have defined this balance by prohibiting school-led religious activities, while recent decisions have leaned towards protecting individual religious expressions, such as personal prayer, even in public school settings.
Just in time for National Poetry Month, check out these novels in verse!
Let’s take a look at twelve titles that deserve an encore.
Rounding up 2024 poetry books.
With rich character development and a fast pace, this book was a great read built around a world (mariachi) I knew nothing about. Just beware: know where your local panaderia is and be ready to get some treats to keep you company as you read!
It's been an embarrassment of podcast riches over on The Yarn recently. Here are five recent episodes for your listening pleasure.
"You can cut everything except the feeling." Nicholas Day is here to discuss the process of writing nonfiction for kids, using the youngest of formats.
Teen Librarian Karen Jensen reviews the upcoming April Henry wilderness survival thriller STAY DEAD
A snapshot of the K-6th grade books with the most starred reviews so far this year.
A girl leaves her grief-stricken family behind to take a bus tour to a magical lake in this complex story of friendship, grief, and healing.
This well-developed mystery is a solid read with a satisfying conclusion. Here's to hoping Simon, who has had plenty of adventure just while in their new city, finally gets the stable and permanent home he longs for!
The award winning author has a new book on the horizon and we're getting the info early. It's a deep dive into libraries, Kalamazoo, writing by the seat of your pants, and more.
BOOM! Studios is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Lumberjanes with a Kickstarter to fund a new Library Edition.
Two children bounce through history, from the plague to the crusades to Einstein and relativity, in this new volume collecting three of the Magical History Tour stories.
When we listen to each other’s poems and stories, our minds grow wings. We visit each other’s worlds. We begin to understand each other. We become neighbors instead of strangers.
The Newbery Honor-winning author joins us today to discuss writing in the voices of boys, verse novels and their challenges, and more.
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under, featuring Blood City Rollers from Labyrinth Road and Cupcake Diaries Volume 5 Katie Batter Up from Simon Spotlight.
Librarian, bookseller and author Kristin Nilsen shares her tips for killer booktalks
Our Heavy Medal list of Mock Newbery suggestions now includes 21 recommended kids' books, with characters ranging from ghosts and spies to time travelers and typewriters.
Isabel in Bloom will be my fourth middle grade novel (my first one in verse). When I began writing it, a few intriguing images had come to me: a girl on a plane, a dried-up school garden, and a balikbayan box.
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