MORE 'BEST-BOOKS-OF-2016' POSTS
The Inquisitor’s Tale or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog By Adam Gidwitz Illuminated by Hatem Aly Dutton Children’s Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-525-42616-5 Ages 9 and up On shelves September 27th God’s hot this year. To be fair, God has had some fairly strong supporters for quite […]
Freedom Over Me: Eleven slaves, their lives and dreams brought to life By Ashley Bryan Atheneum (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1481456906 Ages 9 and up On shelves September 13th Who gives voice to the voiceless? What are your credentials when you do so? When I was a teen I used to […]
Coyote Moon By Maria Gianferrari Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline Roaring Brook Press (an imprint of Macmillan) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1-62672-041-1 Ages 4-7 On shelves July 19th I feel as if there was less nature out there when I was a kid. Crazy, right? But seriously, as I grew to be an adult I was appalled at […]
Gabe: A Story of Me, My Dog, and the 1970s By Shelley Gill Illustrated by Marc Scheff Charlesbridge $12.95 ISBN: 978-1-57091-354-9 Ages 10 and up On shelves now The older I get the more I like children’s books that don’t slot easily into neat little categories. Gone are the days when every book you read […]
The Wild Robot By Peter Brown Little, Brown & Company $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-316-38199-4 Ages 9-12 On shelves now There are far fewer robot middle grade books out there than you might expect. This is probably because, as a general rule, robots fall into the Data from Star Trek trap. Their sole purpose in any narrative […]
King of Kazoo By Norm Feuti Graphix (an imprint of Scholastic) $22.99 ISBN: 978-0545770880 Ages 9-12 On shelves July 26th When I used to run a children’s book club for 9-12 year-olds, I’d regularly let them choose the next book we’d discuss. In time, after some trial and error, I learned that the best way […]
Wolf Hollow By Lauren Wolk Dutton Children’s Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1101994825 Ages 10 and up On shelves now. I am not what you might call a very brave reader. This is probably why I primarily consume children’s literature. I might puff myself up with a defense that lists the […]
One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree By Daniel Bernstrom Illustrated by Brendan Wenzel Katherine Tegen Books (an imprint of Harper Collins) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-235485-3 Ages 3-6 On shelves May 3rd Like any children’s librarian, I like to assess each picture book that crosses by my eyeballs for readaloud potential. While every picture book (even […]
Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune By Pamela S. Turner Illustrated by Gareth Hinds Charlesbridge $16.95 ISBN: 9781580895842 Ages 10 and up On shelves now When you read enough children’s books published in a single year, folks tend to believe that you’ve an ability to spot trends in the general literature. Trend-spotting is […]
Raymie Nightingale By Kate DiCamillo Candlewick Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-8117-3 Ages 9-12 On shelves now My relationship to Kate DiCamillo’s books is one built entirely on meaning. Which is to say, the less emotional and meaningful they are, the better I like ‘em. Spaghetti loving horses and girls that live in tree houses? Right up […]