A smartly plotted dip into the Gullah-Geechee culture of early 60s rural South Carolina, this book weaves family, history, and spooky stuff together like a braid.
31 Days, 31 Lists: Great Middle Grade Novels of 2020
December 30, 2020 by
The penultimate list. Maybe, with lists like this one, we can all try to end 2020 on a slightly less terrible note.
31 Days, 31 Lists: 2020 Fantasy Books for Kids
December 22, 2020 by
Here are the books I read in 2020 that I thought were just stand up and cheer great. Please bear in mind, though, that I missed a LOT of middle grade books this year. This is just a sampling of what was on offer . . .
Review of the Day: The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf
October 6, 2020 by
A book that shows in the most eloquent way possible how family trauma lives on, from generation to generation, taking shape, forming us one way or another. The elements that make a great novel for children aren’t difficult to understand. Hanna Alkaf has laid them out for you.
Review of the Day: The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
June 5, 2018 by
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge By M.T. Anderson Illustrated by Eugene Yelchin Candlewick Press $24.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-9822-5 Ages 10 and up On shelves September 25th In my job I read a lot of books written for kids and middle schoolers. To guide this reading I take into account a lot of professional reviews from sources […]
Review of the Day: Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders
November 14, 2016 by
Five Children on the Western Front By Kate Saunders Delacorte Press (an imprint of Random House) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-553-49793-9 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Anytime someone writes a new prequel or sequel to an old children’s literary classic, the first question you have to ask is, “Was this necessary?” And nine times out of ten, […]
Review of the Day: The Mighty Odds by Amy Ignatow
July 22, 2016 by
The Mighty Odds By Amy Ignatow Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams) $15.95 ISBN: 978-1-4197-1271-5 Ages 10 and up On shelves September 13th If you could have one weird superpower, what would it be? Not a normal one, mind you. We’re not doing a flight vs. invisibility discussion here. The power would have to be […]
Review of the Day: The Magic Mirror by Susan Hill Long
February 22, 2016 by
The Magic Mirror: Concerning a Lonely Princess, a Foundling Girl, a Scheming King, and a Pickpocket Squirrel By Susan Hill Long Knopf (an imprint of Penguin Random House) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-553-51134-2 Ages 9-12 On shelves May 10th What do you want from a fairy tale? Magic? Romance? Derring-do? Despicable villainy? Academics and scholars have puzzled […]
Review of the Day: Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer
June 1, 2015 by
Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer By Kelly Jones Illustrated by Katie Kath Alfred A. Knopf (an imprint of Random House Children’s Books) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-385-75552-8 On shelves now The epistolary novel has a long and storied history. At least when it comes to books written for adults. So too does it exist in […]
Review of the Day: The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
April 28, 2015 by
The Jumbies By Tracey Baptiste Algonquin Young Readers $15.95 ISBN: 9781616204143 Ages 9-12 On shelves now “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” So sayeth Leo Tolstoy (at least in theory). Regardless of whether or not it’s actually true, it is fun […]
Review of the Day: Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
April 9, 2015 by
Castle Hangnail By Ursula Vernon Dial (an imprint of Penguin Group) ISBN: 978-0803741294 Ages 8-11 On shelves April 21st These are dark times for children’s fantasy. Dark times indeed. Which is to say, when I pick up a fantasy novel for kids, more often than not I find the books filled with torture, violence, bloody […]
Review of the Day: Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge
January 13, 2015 by
Cuckoo Song By Frances Hardinge Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams) $17.95 ISBN: 978-1419714801 Ages 10 and up On shelves May 12, 2015 I was watching the third Hobbit movie the other day (bear with me – I’m going somewhere with this) with no particular pleasure. There are few things in life more painful to […]
Review of the Day: Boys of Blur by N.D. Wilson
April 15, 2014 by
Boys of Blur By N.D. Wilson Random House Books for Young Readers $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-449-81673-8 Ages 9-12 On shelves April 8th. I like a kid’s book with ambition. It’s all well and good to write one about magic candy shops or goofy uncles or simpering unicorns or what have you. The world is big and […]
Review of the Day: The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
March 12, 2014 by
The Night Gardener By Jonathan Auxier Illustrated by Patrick Arrasmith Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams) $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-4197-1144-2 Ages 10 and up On shelves May 20th For whatever reason, 2014 is a dark year in children’s middle grade fiction. I speak from experience. Fantasy in particular has been steeped in a kind of thoughtful […]
Review of the Day: Rose by Holly Webb
November 12, 2013 by
Rose By Holly Webb Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.) $6.99 ISBN: 978-1-4022-8581-3 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. Like a bullet whizzing past your ear, I shudder when I consider how close I came to never hearing about Holly Webb’s mesmerizing, charming, purely delightful Rose. It’s an innocuous little book. Doesn’t draw a lot […]
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