Reviews+

“Audio is a great doorway to a love of literature,” says Katherine Kellgren, award-winning young adult audiobook narrator, lifelong audiobook listener, and supporter of a SYNC, the free YA audiobooks program. SLJ caught up with Kellgren for a candid chat about her start in the field, the joys—and challenges—of narrating YA literature, the importance of audio in boosting kids’ literacy, and her upcoming projects. Kellgren even stopped by our offices to record a few video segments.

Quick, what do these have in common... the 'dingy basements' in 'Fight Club' (the film), the video game Flower, a couple of novels by Harumi Murakami and E.L. Konigsburg, the bathroom in HBO’s 'Girls,' Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’s 'Empire State of Mind,' and Homer's 'The Odyssey'?

Check out the starred review of Deep Down: A Story form the Heart of Coal Country, a DVD from New Day Films that explores the controversial topic of mountaintop removal mining.

From rock icon David Bowie to relative newcomers, Paramore, music lovers can look forward to good summer listening and lots of choice in styles of music. Longtime fans of Luigi, Mario's oft-maligned brother, will be happy to see that he finally gets to demonstrate his mojo in ​Nintendo's ​new addition to the franchise, ​Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon​.

The winners of the Audie Awards, the audiobook industry’s equivalent of the Oscars, were announced at the 18th Annual Audies Gala held at The New York Historical Society in New York City on May 30, 2013 and hosted by Daniel Handler (author of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” series written under the name Lemony Snicket). The awards, sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association (APA), recognize distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment.

Novels by Holly Black, Cynthia Kadohata, Rita Williams-Garcia, and others.

From the "fierce and fascinating beauty of our natural world" to a huge, Alaska-size, floating garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean," this month's featured apps draw attention to both the wondrous and fragile state of our planet.

Be sure to check out the nine starred DVD and audio reviews in SLJ’s June issue, and log into Book Verdict for 60 additional reviews.

Gr 6 Up—In the 1800s, potatoes were the staple food and source of income for the Irish...