In the old days I used to separate out my Easy Book lists from my Early Chapter Book ones. This year, I may regret not doing that. So many good books!
Review of the Day: Too Small Tola by Atinuke, ill. Onyinye Iwu
July 30, 2021 by
In the new chapter book series Too Small Tola, Atinuke has turned her book into a small masterpiece. Read these books, ye other mighty authors, and despair.
Review of the Day: J.D. and the Great Barber Battle by J. Dillard, ill. Akeem S. Roberts
May 22, 2021 by
The story of a boy subjected to an egregious home haircut and who takes that problem as an opportunity to not only learn new skills but also grow his own business . . . well, now that’s the kind of story I think we all need more of right now.
Review of the Day: Jo Jo Makoons by Dawn Quigley, ill. Tara Audibert
March 12, 2021 by
Funny and smart, with a sly sense of humor that’s entirely its own, prepare for a series that you’ll want to see much more of in the future.
31 Days, 31 Lists: 2020 Easy Books and Early Chapter Books
December 18, 2020 by
Easy Books might have been scant in 2020 but Early Chapter Books abounded. We take a look at the titles that fill a very real, ever present need.
Review of the Day: Planet Omar – Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian, ill. Nasaya Mafaridik
September 11, 2020 by
Let’s hand Omar to as many kinds as we can name. Because as far as I’m concerned, funny books that also prove to be smart and socially conscious (not to mention anti-racist) might help us get out of the mess this world is in.
31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Early Chapter Books
December 18, 2019 by
Today, I consider a slew of different books that all fall into the no man’s land of literature. Without them, we would lose so many kids. Let us tip our caps then to the books that do our dirty work, and rarely get the thanks they deserve.
Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books: Some of the Best of 2019
July 2, 2019 by
Meet the most necessary and least loved age range of children’s books.I have been carefully combing through every last easy book and early chapter book I could get my grubby little hands on and, with the help of my co-workers, I’ve come up with a good, if imperfect, list.
31 Days, 31 Books: 2018 Early Chapter Books
December 19, 2018 by
Older than easy but not yet novels. The fact of the matter is that while Easy Books are hard to write, Early Chapter Books are hard to categorize. They’re also ideal bedtime books for older children, which means that with the European imports you get a lot of experimentation. American early chapter books are pretty much just written to please. Here then are the books written with 6-9 year olds in mind.
Contemporary Issues and a New Role for Early Chapter Books
October 30, 2018 by
I’ve heard them called any number of things. Junior chapter books. Young readers. Early chapter books. Just plain old “chapter books”. They’re the transitional readers you hand a child when they’ve graduated from easy books but aren’t ready yet for, say, Harry Potter. And like any book, they have a wide range of reading levels. […]
Review of the Day: Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin
January 11, 2018 by
Baby Monkey, Private Eye By Brian Selznick and David Serlin Illustrated by Brian Selznick Scholastic Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-338-18061-9 Ages 3 and up On shelves February 27th Brian Selznick. Honey. We’ve got to talk. Now look, it was all well and good when you started getting a little crazy and shaking up notions of what […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Nineteen – Early Chapter Books of 2017
December 19, 2017 by
I almost feel as though early chapter books are the Part Two to yesterday’s easy books. If one gently guides kids on the path towards self-sufficient reading, the other certainly drills home how capable child readers have become. And, like easy books, there’s a wide range of reading levels at play here. Some of these […]
Coyote Tales by Thomas King, ill. Byron Eggenschwiler
November 3, 2017 by
Coyote Tales By Thomas King Groundwood Books $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-55498-833-4 Ages 7 to 12 On shelves now The older I get the more I like tricksters. I can’t think why that might be. By rights tricksters fall into the strict purview of children. Think of Bugs Bunny and Pippi Longstocking and R2-D2. I could make […]
Review of the Day: Charlie & Mouse by Laurel Snyder, ill. Emily Hughes
March 13, 2017 by
Charlie & Mouse By Laurel Snyder Illustrated by Emily Hughes Chronicle Books $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-4521-3153-5 Ages 6-9 On shelves April 11th Only the jaded should write reviews of children’s books. Oh, it makes sense! Think about it. Children’s books are where the saccharine and overblown and overbearing go to die. Things that wouldn’t cut it […]
Review of the Day: Princess Cora and the Crocodile by Laura Amy Schlitz, ill. Brian Floca
January 20, 2017 by
Princess Cora and the Crocodile By Laura Amy Schlitz Illustrated by Brian Floca Candlewick Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-4822-0 Early Chapter Book On shelves March 28th What if. What if Good Night Moon had been illustrated by someone other than Clement Hurd? What if. What if Charlotte’s Web had had an artist who wasn’t Garth Williams? […]
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