Reviews+

The Funky Mama’s new album, Pickin’ in the Garden, presents 15 upbeat, lively songs in folk, country, rock Latin, bluegrass, ragtime, and funk musical styles. Don’t miss the review of their CD.

Introduce children to the day-to-day lives of kids around the globe with a group of handsome photo essays and picture books that celebrate our differences and commonalities. These titles will encourage students to explore a tapestry of world cultures as they foster understanding and steer children toward becoming responsible and informed citizens of a global community.

The task for educators is not to drain this sense of open-ended exploration from student-fans but rather to make sure that it is accompanied by the Jiminy Cricket-like voice of critical literacy...

In her latest screencast, School Library Journal contributor Linda W. Braun test drives Versu in an assessment that considers the potential of interactive platforms that blur the lines between reader and creator—a particularly compelling concept when it comes to kids and teens.

James Kochalka has a field day in Johnny Boo Does Something, his fifth Johnny Boo book, sending his ghostly main character off on a Boring Adventure, a maybe-birthday celebration, and the bottom of an ice cream hole. Kochalka, who won an Eisner Award last year for another young-readers book, Dragon Puncher Island, is back and [...]

National Poetry Month has landed, and we’re celebrating with book spine poetry. Three (maybe even four) cheers for everyone who gave it a shot. If you try book spine poetry in April, snap a picture, post it to your blog, or email it to me at scopenotes (at) gmail (dot) com. I’ll add to this [...]

Publishers are already thinking about their summer book releases. Fortunately, they seek to share that enthusiasm with the library community through special book preview events, where librarians and children's book reviewers get to join their peers for an early insider peek at the upcoming books. In this first of a series, School Library Journal shares these peeks with our readers, highlighting which titles especially got our attention.

From haiku to animal poems to riffs on classic tales, this season's new poetry titles open readers to the world around them—and some exquisite wordplay.

The arrival of migrant birds is a welcome harbinger of spring. Share these new titles with your patrons as we celebrate the homecoming of our feathered friends.