Mr. Squirrel and the Moon By Sebastian Meschenmoser NorthSouth $18.95 ISBN: 978-0-7358-4156-7 Ages 3-6 On shelves now Here in America 2015 is turning out to be a great year in terms of children’s literary imports. Authors and artists that I haven’t seen gracing the shores of our fair nation for years are suddenly returning en [...]
I was watching Gone Girl for the first time with friends the other day because occasionally I like to remember that there are literary adaptations out there of books for people above the legal drinking age. Mind you, when you’ve a one track mind like my own, every mega-adult hit has a children’s literature connection. [...]
Bet you didn’t know that there was a nonfiction conference for children, did you? There is, and it’s still relatively new. This year they invited me to take part with them, then whipped up this nifty little press release. Come and attend! Particularly if you’re here in NYC. It’s just a day and it’s not [...]
We’re experiencing that time of the year when the mail comes fast and loose and continual. Every day it seems like there’s something interesting to see. So while it lasts, let’s have another round of Morning Mailbag where I highlight some of the more interesting items that have cropped up in my office this week. [...]
Hi-ho, folks. As the Newbery draws nigh thoughts of winners and legitimacy surface. Consider the case of Cece Bell’s El Deafo, a graphic novel that is also a great joy. Does it have a chance? Monica Edinger at educating alice makes a strong case in its favor. Another debate was held over at Heavy Medal [...]
Over the Hills and Far Away: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes Collected by Elizabeth Hammill Illustrations by Various Candlewick Press $21.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-7729-9 Ages : All On shelves March 10th Not all nursery rhyme collections are created equal. That is something you discover when you have small children. A parent, even a children’s librarian type [...]
I like comics. I like ‘em a lot. Always have, and as a librarian I’ve watched with interest the changing mores in my profession concerning their presence in a library setting. Who has two thumbs and a copy of Seduction of the Innocent on her bedroom bookshelf? This guy, that’s who! So with the turn [...]
Over Christmas break I got to go to an Alamo Drafthouse in Kalamazoo to see Into the Woods. The theater? Remarkably fun! The show? Um . . . well there were some problems with it. Enjoyable, sure, but . . . some problems. Problems that I suspect would not be replicated in this fabulous pared [...]
In a given day I dive through gobs of mail. Boxes of books from publishers for myself, my current co-workers, my former co-workers, this blog, you name it. And since I pay attention to what’s being buzzed, I notice oddities. In this new series I’ll show you some of the more interesting fare. The items [...]
I didn’t really plan it this way, but this week is basically just wall to wall videos of me yammering till the cows come home. Fortunately, in the case of the latest episode of Fuse #8 TV I’m at least joined by the lovely and infinitely talented graphic novelist Victoria Jamieson. In this, the latest [...]
This falls directly into the category of “Me Stuff”. That said, some of you may be aware of the presence of Kidlit TV out there. Just to recap, it’s the closest thing we have right now to an all-children’s literature related blog channel. The brainchild of Julie Gribble with host Rocco Staino and a whole [...]
Cuckoo Song By Frances Hardinge Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams) $17.95 ISBN: 978-1419714801 Ages 10 and up On shelves May 12, 2015 I was watching the third Hobbit movie the other day (bear with me – I’m going somewhere with this) with no particular pleasure. There are few things in life more painful to [...]
2014 marked a distinct increase in attention spent on children’s books with diverse characters. However, this is not to say that all books with diverse characters got the same amount of attention. Take, for example, Saving Baby Doe by Danette Vigilante. It was one of the only middle grade books in 2014 to sport a [...]
Some me stuff to start us off. NYPL turned its handy dandy little 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2014 list into an interactive bit of gorgeousness. So as to help it along, I wrote a blog post on the library’s website (I have two blogs, if you want to get technical about it, but [...]
This past Saturday I hosted a Children’s Literary Salon at the main branch of NYPL that discussed the topic of middle grade science fiction for children, its history and future. Consisting of a panel of editor Andrew Harwell, author Jason Fry (of the “Jupiter Pirates” series), and librarian Stephanie Whelan (who gave a fantastic encapsulation [...]
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