Reviews+
I almost feel as though early chapter books are the Part Two to yesterday’s easy books. If one gently guides kids on the path towards self-sufficient reading, the other certainly drills home how capable child readers have become. And, like easy books, there’s a wide range of reading levels at play here. Some of these […]
It’s haiku. It’s poetry. It’s harder than original Twitter. Creating a quality easy book, whatever the reading level, is an art. Today, I’m throwing them all into a pile. The easy books that use only the simplest of words. The ones ones that veer closer to early chapter books (a category we’ll explore further tomorrow). […]
Here we are, here we are – it’s the end of the year and time to start making some predictions. Last year I hit on two of my four Geisel picks – allowing me to puff out my chest out with just enough foolish confidence to give it another go. And if you’re into the […]
P-p-p-poetry! Motto: It’s not just for April anymore. In a given year I tend to run out of poetry books for kids to review. I’ll find five or six spectacular ones, and then a handful of hundrum okay-but-not-great titles to fill in the gaps. 2017 changed the rules on me. Suddenly I found myself with […]
Keep Children’s Literature Weird. There. There’s your rallying cry for the day. Now Travis Jonker has been nice and consistent on this front, producing his lists of The Most Astonishingly Unconventional Children’s Books every year since 2012. You’re bound to see some overlap with this list, but I’ve a couple of my own particular favorites […]
#20-16 | #15-11 | #10-6 | #5-1 5. Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia, illustrated by Frank Morrison [Amistad | Grades 3-7] Because it contains 176 perfect pages. -John Click here for additional resources from Watch. Connect. Read. 4. All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson [Dial | Grades 4-7] Because even if your family re-enacts […]
Ah! One of my favorite lists. Not a long one, to be sure, but beloved. As I’m sure you’ve heard me say far too many times, in the history of children’s librarianship there was once a plethora of folktales and fairytales published every single year. Some of them were great, some them were hugely problematic, […]
#20-16 | #15-11 | #10-6 | #5-1 10. Why Am I Me? by Paige Britt, illustrated by Selina Alko and Sean Qualls [Scholastic Press | Grades Pre-K-3] Because it celebrates curiosity, a hard-to-answer question, diversity, you, and me in a beautiful and genuine way. -John Click here for additional resources from Watch. Connect. Read. 9. The Good for […]
Well, folks, I’m sick. Sick as a dog. Sick as a dog on a log in a bog (I think I’ve been writing up picture books too long). Fortunately, and by complete coincidence, today’s post is going to be an easy one. Folks that know me well are aware that there was a time when, […]
4,848 articles
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LOG IN
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LOG IN
Thank you for visiting.
We’ve noticed you are using a private browser. To continue, please log in or create an account.
