Wonderstruck By Brian Selznick Scholastic Press $29.99 ISBN: 978-0545027892 Ages 9 and up On shelves September 13, 2011 Hype. What’s the point? A publisher believes that a book is going to be big so they crank up the old hype machine and do everything in their power to draw attention to it long before its […]
What Do You See? By Martine Perrin Albert Whitman & Co. $8.99 ISBN: 978-0-8075-6712-8 Ages 0-4 On shelves now. *Offspring Approved* I have always acknowledged the danger of having a child of my own. You see, as a children’s librarian I deal with parents that truly believe that if their kid does or does not […]
Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem By Rosalyn Schanzer National Geographic Children’s Books $16.95 ISBN: 978- 1426308697 Ages 10 and up On shelves September 13th Sometimes I wish I could sit down with my 10-year-old self and have a conversation. We’d chat about the improvements that will come to fashion someday (I […]
Jefferson’s Sons By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Dial (an imprint of Penguin) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-8037-3499-9 Ages 9-12 On shelves September 15th When I was in high school I started reading Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved on my own. At the time, my mother said something about the book that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever […]
Never Forgotten By Patricia C. McKissack Illustrated by Leon and Diane Dillon Schwartz & Wade $18.99 ISBN: 978-0-375-84384-6 Ages 4 and up On shelves October 11, 2011 The more I read children’s literature the more I come to realize that my favorite books for kids are the ones that can take disparate facts, elements, and […]
The Unforgotten Coat By Frank Cottrell Boyce Photographs by Carl Hunter and Clare Heney Candlewick Press $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-5729-1 Ages 9-12 On shelves September 13th. Contemporary Mongolia doesn’t have all that many English language children’s novels to its name. And if you asked me to name everything I knew about Mongolia today, I’d probably find […]
The No. 1 Car Spotter By Atinuke Illustrated by Warwick Johnson Cadwell Kane/Miller (a division of EDC Publishing) $5.99 ISBN: 978-1-61067-051-7 Ages 7-11 On shelves September 1st. When I discovered the amazing, remarkable, one-of-a-kind, never before seen Anna Hibiscus books by Atinuke last year I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It just didn’t […]
Hera: The Goddess and Her Glory By George O’Connor First Second (an imprint of Roaring Brook) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1596437241 Ages 9 and up On shelves now. Aw, phooey. Phooey and also consarn it. George O’Connor is making me break my usual rules about reviewing. Generally speaking, when I review the first book in a series […]
Though I mentioned it yesterday, I was pleased as punch to discover the recent winners of the Society of Illustrator’s Original Art. The Gold? It went to a plucky (and very good) little nonfiction title by the name of Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem, both written and illustrated by Rosalyn Schanzer. […]
The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred By Samantha R. Vamos Illustrated by Rafael Lopez Charlesbridge $17.95 ISBN: 978-1-58089-242-1 Ages 4-8 On shelves now I am lucky to work in a children’s room with a significantly sized bilingual section. The books you’ll find there cover a wide range of languages. Chinese, Arabic, Urdu, you name […]
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 […]
The Incredible Life of Balto By Meghan McCarthy Alfred A. Knopf (an imprint of Random House) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-375-84460-7 Ages 4 and up On shelves August 9th I’m not a dog person. Like ‘em fine. Don’t see much particular need to interact with them on a regular basis. Sometimes, though, I’ll feel like my life […]
Hidden By Helen Frost Frances Foster Books (Farrar Straus & Giroux) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-374-38221-6 Ages 10 and up On shelves now. If poems had been introduced to me as a child as puzzles, maybe I would have taken to them a little more. A poem is a kind of puzzle, isn’t it? Depending on the […]
Breadcrumbs By Anne Ursu Illustrated by Erin McGuire Walden Pond Press (an imprint of Harper Collins) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-201505-1 Ages 9-12 On shelves September 27, 2011 Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen is, let’s admit it, the world’s greatest puberty metaphor. A boy and girl are friends. Something happens and he grows cold […]
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