MORE 'BEST-BOOKS-OF-2018' POSTS
My Hair Is a Garden By Cozbi A. Cabrera Albert Whitman & Co. $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8075-0923-4 Ages 4-7 On shelves now It is very limiting to get your supplemental education solely through children’s books when you’re an adult. Continuing education, in whatever form it takes, should be pursued through a variety of sources. Yet for […]
The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoefer and the Plot to Kill Hitler By John Hendrix Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-4197-2838-9 Ages 10 and up On shelves September 4th In this life, it can be difficult to find absolutes. Absolute good. Absolute evil. Absolute good in the face of absolute evil. For many […]
The Parker Inheritance By Varian Johnson Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-94617-9 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. The other day I was asked to come up with ten children’s book equivalents to Claudia Rankine’s book Citizen (which, should anybody ask you, is not for kids). To do this, I wanted […]
A House That Once Was By Julie Fogliano Illustrated by Lane Smith Roaring Brook Press (an imprint of Macmillan) $18.99 ISBN: 978-1-62672-314-6 Ages 4-7 On shelves May 1st When I was growing up there was an empty house across the street. A melancholy, haunted structure that seemed to wear its sadness like a badge. No […]
The Cardboard Kingdom Edited and Illustrated by Chad Sell Written by Jay Fuller, David DeMeo, Katie Schenkel, Kris Moore, Molly Muldoon, Vid Alliger, Manuel Betancourt, Michael Cole, Cloud Jacobs, and Barbara Perez Marquez Knopf (an imprint of Random House Children’s Books) $12.99 ISBN: 978-1-5247-1937-1 Ages 9-12 On shelves June 5th The other day I listened […]
When you think of the truly great picture books of all time, you realize pretty quickly that like all things famous, in order to achieve greatness the right parts had to be the right place at the right time. You have to have great art, marvelous writing (if, indeed, you have any writing at all), […]
The Book of Boy By Catherine Gilbert Murdock Illustrated by Ian Schoenherr Greenwillow (an imprint of Harper Collins) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-268620-6 Ages 9-12 On shelves now When you think about it, many authors of children must have something they’re afraid to write. Some book or idea or concept that tempts them but that they wouldn’t […]
It’s Springtime, Mr. Squirrel! By Sebastian Meschenmoser Translated by David Henry Wilson NorthSouth Books ISBN: 978-0-7358-4310-3 $18.95 Ages 4-7 On shelves now. There is an old joke here in America regarding the Germans and their sense of humor. Mainly, that they haven’t got one. I’ve heard everything from Patton Oswalt routines to old commercials that […]
Newbery / Caldecott 2019: Spring Prediction Edition
Best Books, Best Books of 2018, Newbery / Caldecott Predictions
|Happy decade-of-me-doing-this-weird-thing-I-do! That’s right, folks! I’m pleased as punch to announce that as of right now I’ve been making grossly incorrect predictions of the Newberys, Caldecotts, and other ALA Youth Media Awards for a good solid decade. That’s a decade I’ll never get back, by the way. Worth it. As per usual, let’s round-up how […]
Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing By Nancy Churnin Illustrated by James Rey Sanchez Creston Books $17.99 ISBN: 978-1-939547-44-6 Ages 4-9 On shelves May 1st Patriotism is subjective. Until recently I might have thought myself somewhat immune to its charms. I like my country quite a lot, but I’ve a low-tolerance for […]