I’m on vacation so while I’m away it appears that James Kennedy has hijacked my blog! Not to worry. He’s done it for a very worthy cause. Observe!
Review of the Day: Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds
August 15, 2019 by 1 Comment
Good news. I know exactly what to do with this particular middle school book. You need to weigh it down with awards, so many that it can no longer stand under its own weight and is forced to stagger to the display unit that stands front and center in the library where all the best books go. Then, and only then, will it have found its true home.
Unexpected Jolts of Children’s Literature
August 14, 2019 by Leave a Comment
As you may know, my day job is as a librarian but not, as it happens, a librarian of children’s literature specifically. A lot of days I spend my time sorting through all the new releases for adults (horrors!). But since my heart is firmly ensconced in the world of books for kids, I always note when a book has some connection to literature for the young. Today, I’d like to introduce you to six 2019 titles that may be worth noting.
Cover Reveal and Interviews: Talking with Nina Crews and Angela Johnson
August 13, 2019 by 1 Comment
Angela Johnson has more than forty books to her name and she can write the gamut from board books to YA. This year, she’s giving us a poem-turned-book called A Girl Like Me, with illustrated photography by Nina Crews. Naturally I’d like to show you the cover, but first I had some questions for the creators.
Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Dinosaurs Divorce by Laurene Krasny Brown, ill. Marc Brown
August 12, 2019 by 1 Comment
This week’s challenge from Kate: Deliver unto her a “classic picture book about divorce”. So I conferred with my fellow librarians and we all agreed that there is really only one that would fit the bill: A little number from 1986. So how has it aged over the years?
Review of the Day: Pokko and the Drum by Matthew Forsythe
August 9, 2019 by 3 Comments
There’s something going on in this book. A wry, whipsmart, funny tale that actually may have a thing or two to say about female empowerment. Or not? It’s easy to read too much into this book, but I’d say it’s also just as easy to read into it everything that you need it to be. Intelligent writing for kids that will not just appeal but engage and entice.
The Best So Far: 2019 Picture Book Biographies Done Exceedingly Well
August 7, 2019 by 10 Comments
How have I not done this round-up yet?!? It’s baffling that I’ve waited this long, particularly when you take into account the sheer overwhelming number of picture book bios of exceeding beauty and charm we’ve been privy to in 2019. Here then, are some of the titles that have caught my eye (so far) this year.
Guest Post: What to Do When Disaster Destroys Your Books and How to Harness Social Media for Good
August 6, 2019 by Leave a Comment
How many of us prepare for what to do if an act of nature claims our materials, our space, even our jobs? Together, teacher Stacey Beam and author April Henry have penned an article on what happened when the worst hit too close to home and what you can do if it happens to you.
Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman
August 5, 2019 by Leave a Comment
I’d been meaning to do this, Eastman’s third most famous easy book, and the first one he ever did on his own, for a while. Now, for years I’ve believed that Eastman has illustrated “night” better than most artists. After this recording I feel justified in having felt this way.
Review of the Day: Magic Ramen by Andrea Wang, ill. Kana Urbanowicz
August 1, 2019 by 9 Comments
Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando looks like a simple tale about the man who invented instant ramen, but look closer and you’ll see that what the book truly is is a paean to the necessity of failure, the beauty of persistence, and the pleasure that comes after messing up 99 times only to get it right on the 100th.
Like My Co-Writer? I Made ’em!
July 31, 2019 by 7 Comments
It’s just kind of neat watching a grown child collaborate with their parent, don’t you think? Periodically we’ve seen it done with different pairings over the years. Who are your favorites?
Book Trailer Premiere: Cape by Kate Hannigan
July 30, 2019 by Leave a Comment
In author Kate Hannigan’s latest novel, the author switches gears a bit with Cape. It’s launching a series called “The League of Secret Heroes” and publishing with Simon & Schuster/Aladdin on August 6th. Kate was kind enough to share with me some background to the book. Get ready for Wonder Woman meets The Imitation Game.
Fuse 8 n’ Kate: George and Martha by James Marshall
July 29, 2019 by 4 Comments
Is Martha the better hippo? Hard to determine with a single George and Martha book, but we have some serious opinions on the matter. This week we discuss methods of hiding food you don’t want to eat (when you’re a grown-up), how “The Tub” was a pre-#MeToo story, and why Rev. Buck McTooth is truly a Doctor of Divinity.
Cover Reveal + Interview: Amphibian Acrobats with Leslie Bulion and Robert Meganck
July 26, 2019 by Leave a Comment
The starry-eyed montane tree frog. The mutable rain frog that goes from smooth to spiny. The pebble toad that has a unique method of escaping predators. All this and more I discuss with my special guests, even as I reveal their latest book jacket.
Review of the Day: Vasilisa the Wise and Other Tales of Brave Young Women retold by Kate Forsyth, ill. Lorena Carrington
July 25, 2019 by 3 Comments
Why not crank things up a notch and hand a kid a collection of fairy tales full of strong, clever, wily female characters that have to use their brains? If you’ve waited for such a collection, brimming over with strange stories and illustrated with even stranger art, this is the book you didn’t know you deserved until it arrived. Fairytale feminism, old school style.
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