Mossy Trees, Ornate Houses, and the Occasional Murder: It’s a Ghost in the Night Q&A with Tiffany D. Jackson
What better book to discuss on Juneteenth than one that's a ton of fun? It's Jackson's middle grade follow-up to her smash hit Blood on the Water and we are HERE for it!
Recent Posts
Try Not to Die: It’s a Choose Your Own Adventure (Now in Stereo!)
"If you’re not dying tragically on your first read-through, then you’re doing something wrong." We're talking today with the producers of the new Choose Your Own Adventure audiobooks on how exactly such a thing comes to be.
Publisher Preview: Enchanted Lion (Fall 2026)
We've another full crop of highly interesting and original titles coming to you today. Look for international bookstores, Mongolian dream crafters, errant watermelons, and more.
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Book Reviews
Review of the Day: Twelve Daring Grays by Nora Nickum, ill. Elly MacKay
Illustrator Elly MacKay’s incredible cut paper artistry and Nora Nickum’s smart text highlight the risk, the bravery, and the ingenuity of massive creatures facing a difficult world.
Review of the Day: The Genie Game by Jordan Ifueko
You want a hilarious middle grade full of action, social commentary, a Black girl heroine with wits, smarts, and humor, and an alternate world scarily close to our own? This way please.
Review of the Day: While We’re Here by Anne Wynter, ill. Micha Archer
Thoughts on gatekeeping, children's books, diverse voices, and how you can create a picture book that somehow, remarkably, gets everything right, all at once.
More Recent Posts
Newbery/Caldecott 2027: Summer Prediction Edition
A new batch of contenders and a couple old standbys make up today's predictions. We're halfway through the year. What's beginning to rise to the top of considerations? Read on and see!
Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
The sole Frog and Toad title to win a Newbery Honor (NOT a Caldecott) and we're gonna discuss it today. Are these their strongest stories? Is there a dud in the batch? We talk it over.
Publisher Preview: Tapioca Stories (Spring & Fall 2026)
If you'd like titles from Spanish-speaking countries that AREN'T Spain, Tapioca Stories is one of the only games in town. Check out three highly original, one-of-a-kind tales in this vein.
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Heist + World Cup = “an unforgiving deadline”: It’s a Mystery of the Stolen World Cup Trophy Q&A with Angela Cervantes
When you discover an unsolved 1983 heist of a World Cup Trophy, what do you do? If you're Angela Cervantes, you write a middle grade mystery. Today with talk with her about her well-timed latest.
Puffins and Pufflings Without Puffery: A Discussion with the Teams Behind PUFFLINGS FLY FREE and PUFFINS!
I have the pleasure of speaking on camera with Colleen Paeff and Linda Ólafsdóttir of PUFFLINGS FLY FREE with Maria Gianferrari and Maris Wicks of PUFFINS to discuss Iceland, how these books complement one another, the Northern Lights, and much much more.
Just Your Average Cosmic Struggle with Humanity at Stake: A QUETZAL’S LABYRINTH Talk with Karla Valenti
Valenti discusses her fall release. Such highlights of this talk include a discussion of how the Aztec myths were distorted by the Spanish, using Katherine Rundell's books as mentor texts, and why the Greek Gods get all the attention.
Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Sheep in a Jeep and Sheep in a Shop by Nancy Shaw, ill. Margot Apple
Today, Kate and I delve into two of the most notable of the sheep books to truly declare whether they deserve a bit of classic status to keep them in the mix, or if they should be discounted and lost to the sands of time.
From the Archives (2020)
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Jun 18, 2026
Daniel Meyer on Try Not to Die: It’s a Choose Your Own Adventure (Now in Stereo!)
"Everyone knows it’s spelled abonimabull (or in Great Britain, abonimabooll). ..."
Jun 17, 2026
Jenny Arch on Newbery/Caldecott 2027: Summer Prediction Edition
"Micha Archer's art is always Caldecott-worthy, and WHILE WE'RE HERE had a moment that made me actually gasp out loud the ..."
Jun 17, 2026
Betsy Bird on Newbery/Caldecott 2027: Summer Prediction Edition
"On my To Be Read pile. ..."
Jun 17, 2026
Mary Hoskinson-Dean on Newbery/Caldecott 2027: Summer Prediction Edition
"For a Newbery....Styx and Stones by Schmidt and Koertge ..."
Jun 16, 2026
Betsy Bird on Publisher Preview: Tapioca Stories (Spring & Fall 2026)
"Do you mean in terms of acquiring them for collections or advocating for their reviews? ..."
Jun 16, 2026
Betsy Bird on Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
"Welp, I'm reading THAT on the next recording. And personally I agree with you 100% ..."
Jun 16, 2026
Betsy Bird on Newbery/Caldecott 2027: Summer Prediction Edition
"That's a fascinating one. Frazee's art reminded me a lot of the work she did years ago on Mrs. Biddlebox: Her Bad Day an ..."
Jun 16, 2026
Betsy Bird on Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
"YOU FOUND IT! I thank you, sir. ..."
Jun 16, 2026
Betsy Bird on Newbery/Caldecott 2027: Summer Prediction Edition
"It's a fascinating piece. So Zagarenski adapts her style in a different direction... almost. She just can't resist keepi ..."
Jun 16, 2026
Jerrold Connors on Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
"Is this the quote you're looking for? I found it in an old blog post by Jon Klassen titled "I found a pdf of an old inte ..."
Jun 16, 2026
Diane T on Newbery/Caldecott 2027: Summer Prediction Edition
"Have you seen "The Not So Quiet Life of Marcel Marceau" by Jenn Bailey and Sherry Bushue? The illustrations by Pamela Za ..."
Jun 16, 2026
Serafina on Newbery/Caldecott 2027: Summer Prediction Edition
"For the Caldecott my vote goes to Because of a Shoe by Marla Frazee and Julie Fogliano. ..."
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