The bulk of what I read in 2020 wasn’t funny. The bulk of what I LIVED in 2020 wasn’t funny. So hand this to the kind that desperately needs an end-of-year pick-me-up.
31 Days, 31 Lists: 2020 Children’s Poetry
December 16, 2020 by
Here is my list of some of the best, brightest, loveliest poetry of 2020. Do not let these books escape your notice! They are best read every month of the year (and not just April!). An ode to the 811s . . .
Review of the Day: Up Verses Down by Calef Brown
August 29, 2019 by
By my thinking you can never have enough nonsense taking up residence in a human brain. Calef Brown’s latest just proves it.
Review of the Day: I’m Just No Good at Rhyming by Chris Harris, ill. Lane Smith
November 10, 2017 by
I’m Just No Good at Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups By Chris Harris Illustrated by Lane Smith Little, Brown and Company $19.99 ISBN: 978-0-316-26657-4 Ages 7 and up On shelves now What exactly constitutes a celebrity children’s book these days? See, it all used to be so simple when it […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day 21 – 2016 Poetry Books for Kids
December 21, 2016 by
Fun Fact: The American Library Association does not currently give an award specifically to great works of children’s book poetry. Is not that strange? When I first discovered this to be true, I was perplexed. I’ve always been a bit of a rube when it comes to the poetic form. Placing stresses on syllables and […]
Review of the Day: Are You an Echo? by David Jacobson
October 6, 2016 by
Are You an Echo? The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko Narrative and Translation by David Jacobson, Sally Ito, and Michiko Tsuboi Illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri Chin Music Press $19.50 ISBN: 9781634059626 Ages 5 and up On shelves now Recently I was at a conference celebrating the creators of different kinds of children’s books. During one […]
Review of the Day: Hypnotize a Tiger by Calef Brown
August 7, 2015 by
Hypnotize a Tiger: Poems About Just About Everything By Calef Brown Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt (an imprint of Macmillan) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-8050-9928-7 For ages 9-12 Why do I do this to myself? Let me tell you something about how I review. Board books? Pshaw. I can take one and write a nine-paragraph review parsing […]
Review of the Day: Beastly Verse by Joohee Yoon
April 15, 2015 by
Beastly Verse By Joohee Yoon Enchanted Lion Books $18.95 ISBN: 978-1-59270-166-7 Ages 3 and up On shelves now Poetry. What’s the point? I say this as a woman who simultaneously gets poetry and doesn’t get it. I get that it’s important, of course. I only need to watch my three-year-old daughter come up with an […]
Review of the Day: God Got a Dog by Cynthia Rylant
August 16, 2013 by
God Got a Dog By Cynthia Rylant By Marla Frazee Beach Lane Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1-4424-6518-3 Ages 9 and up On shelves October 29th I’ve been thinking a lot lately about whom children’s books are really for. Kids, obviously. And parents that will have to (hopefully, potentially) read those […]
Review of the Day: Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky
February 1, 2013 by
Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems By Jack Prelutsky Illustrated by Carin Berger Greenwillow Books (an imprint of Harper Collins) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-201464-1 Ages 4-8 On shelves February 26th. To non-children’s librarians the statistics are baffling. Your average poetry book isn’t exactly a circ buster. It sits on the shelf for months […]
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