Maybe it’s Common Core. Maybe not. I’m not always quite certain how far to place the blame in these cases. However you look at it, children’s nonfiction bios are getting weird these days. In some ways it’s quite remarkable. I’m the first one to say that nonfiction for kids is better now than it has [...]
The Madman of Piney Woods By Christopher Paul Curtis Scholastic ISBN: 978-0-545-63376-5 $16.99 Ages 9-12 On shelves September 30th No author hits it out of the park every time. No matter how talented or clever a writer might be, if their heart isn’t in a project it shows. In the case of Christopher Paul Curtis, [...]
The Dumbest Idea Ever By Jimmy Gownley GRAPHIX (an imprint of Scholastic) $12.00 ISBN: 9780545453479 Ages 9 and up On shelves now. Is it or is it not a good idea to tell young people that they are special and unique? It’s a legitimate question. When I was growing up the emphasis in school was [...]
The Great Greene Heist By Varian Johnson Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-52552-7 Ages 10 and up On shelves May 27th What is the ultimate child fantasy? I’m not talking bubble gum sheets or wizards that tell you you’re “the chosen one”. Let’s think a little more realistically here. When [...]
Rules of Summer By Shaun Tan Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic) $18.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-63912-5 Ages 4 and up On shelves April 29th When I was a young teen my favorite book was Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. Steeped in Bradbury’s nostalgia for his youth, I was in the throes of adolescence, probably on [...]
Hi, Koo! A Year of Seasons By Jon J. Muth Scholastic $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-16668-3 Ages 4-8 On shelves February 25th I have a colleague who is mighty careful when regarding haiku. She’s Japanese-American herself, and one thing she simply cannot stand is when someone takes a set of words, slaps them into five/seven/five syllable lines, [...]
The Silver Six By A.J. Lieberman Illustrated by Darren Rawlings Graphix (an imprint of Scholastic) $22.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-37097-4 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Ambition. It’s not a term I usually associate with children’s graphic novels. Your average everyday children’s comic is not particularly ambitious. There are so few of them out there that you can’t [...]
Hold Fast By Blue Balliett Scholastic $17.99 ISBN: 978-0545299886 Ages 9-12 I honestly don’t think you can be a reviewer without being honest about your own personal prejudices first. When I pick up a book for children I have to cut through a thick swath of issues infecting my brain that may have little to [...]
Okay, let’s do this thing. I’ve had a remarkably busy week and I’m itching to discuss it alongside all the other newsworthy schtoof floating about in the atmosphere. First up . . . That Linda Epstein gal, that Linda Epstain gal, I do I LIKE that Linda Epstein gal (can you tell I’ve been reading [...]
The False Prince By Jennifer A. Nielsen Scholastic $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-28413-4 Ages 10 and up. On shelves April 1st Notes Jotted Down While Reading This Book: Note #1: “Really fantastic first page. Authors take note.” Note #2: “I’m only four pages in and already I like what I see.” Let it be known that as [...]
Drawing from Memory By Allen Say Scholastic Press $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-17686-6 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. I am happy to report that there has been an uptick in options for those children handed the standard “You Must Read an Autobiography” assignment in school. Which is to say, more and more people are writing their autobiographies [...]
The Romeo and Juliet Code By Phoebe Stone Arthur A. Levine (an imprint of Scholastic) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-21511-4 Ages 9-12 On shelves now It seems unfair that my attention was first drawn to The Romeo and Juliet Code because of its cover. No book deserves to be held responsible for its misleading jacket and Phoebe [...]
Icefall By Matthew J. Kirby Scholastic $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-27424-1 Ages 9-14 On shelves now. There’s a certain breed of middle grade fiction novel for kids that defies easy categorization. Call them fantasies without fantasy. These strange little novels pop up from time to time encouraging readers to believe that they are reading about something fantastical [...]
Marty McGuire By Kate Messner Illustrated by Brian Floca Scholastic $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-14244-1 Ages 5-9 On shelves now It’s high time “tomboys” rescued their term from its negative connotations. One very rarely runs across parents who use the word with pride. It happens, sure, but more often than not it’s paired with a complaint. Same [...]
I’ve been asked in the past why it is that I don’t write up the online librarian previews by folks like those at Scholastic. The reason is simple. I figure that if you have access to the online previews you don’t need a recap from someone like me. You can see them for yourself! That [...]
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