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Best Books of 2011

January 2, 2012 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon

All the Water in the World By George Ella Lyon Illustrated by Katherine Tillotson A Richard Jackson Book, Atheneum (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-4169-7130-6 Ages 4-8 On shelves now The role of the public library has changed so often over the last century or so that its latest incarnation as a […]

December 29, 2011 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: A House in the Woods by Inga Moore

A House in the Woods By Inga Moore Candlewick Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-5277-7 Ages 4-8 On shelves now When I ask adults what their favorite picture books were when they were children, their answers tend to fall into two categories. Either they’ll name a famous classic (a Where the Wild Things Are or a Goodnight […]

December 27, 2011 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Drawing from Memory by Allen Say

Drawing from Memory By Allen Say Scholastic Press $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-17686-6 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. I am happy to report that there has been an uptick in options for those children handed the standard “You Must Read an Autobiography” assignment in school. Which is to say, more and more people are writing their autobiographies […]

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100 Magnificent Children’s Books of 2011

December 23, 2011 by Betsy Bird

I had a good time coming up with this list last year, so I figured I’d give it a shot again.  So here you go. If you had a horribly limited library budget and you could only buy 100 children’s books from the year 2011, here are the hundred I would insist you get.  Cutting […]

Review of the Day: Toys Come Home by Emily Jenkins

December 16, 2011 by Betsy Bird

Toys Come Home: Being the Early Experiences of an Intelligent Stingray, a Brave Buffalo, and a Brand-New Someone Called Plastic By Emily Jenkins Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky Schwartz & Wade $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-375-86200-7 Ages 5-10 On shelves now I’m feeling tetchy. Let’s set out some rules when it comes to prequels of children’s books […]

Review of the Day: The Princess and the Pig by Jonathan Emmett

December 13, 2011 by Betsy Bird

The Princess and the Pig By Jonathan Emmett Illustrated by Poly Bernatene Walker & Co. (a division of Bloomsbury) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8027-2334-5 Ages 4-8 On shelves now The princess craze is a relatively new phenomenon. I’m sure that little girls have pretended to be princesses for as long as the occupation has existed, but the […]

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Review of the Day: The Luck of the Buttons by Anne Ylvisaker

December 7, 2011 by Betsy Bird

The Luck of the Buttons By Anne Ylvisaker Candlewick Press $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-5066-7 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. There are kids out there that like historical fiction. I know that there are. I’ve met them. They come into my library and curl their lips in disgust at the covers with the shiny dragons and sparkly […]

Review of the Day: Coral Reefs by Jason Chin

November 29, 2011 by Betsy Bird

Coral Reefs By Jason Chin Roaring Brook (an imprint of Macmillan) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-59643-563-6 Ages 5 and up On shelves now First things first. Let’s just get something out the way here before I go any further. I am not exactly a disinterested party when it comes to this book. No, I don’t know the […]

Review of the Day: The Trouble with May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm

November 22, 2011 by Betsy Bird

The Trouble with May Amelia By Jennifer L. Holm Illustrated by Adam Gustavson Atheneum (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-4169-1373-3 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Reviewing a Jennifer L. Holm book is a bit redundant. Telling anyone that the woman can write is like pointing out that the sky is blue. It’s […]

Review of the Day: Everything Goes on Land by Brian Biggs

November 19, 2011 by Betsy Bird

Everything Goes on Land By Brian Biggs Balzer & Bray (an imprint of Harper Collins) $14.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-195809-0 Ages 3 and up On shelves now There is much to be said for simplicity. The elegant understated picture book that contains peaceful moments of serenity with the idea that a child might get lost in the […]

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