MORE '2011-REVIEWS' POSTS
Orani: My Father’s Village By Claire A. Nivola Frances Foster Books (Farrar Straus Giroux) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-374-35657-6 Ages 4-8 On shelves July 19th The personal family history as picture book is an interesting little subgenre. It’s been in the American picture book roster for years, dating back at least as far as Robert Lawson’s 1940 […]
The Incredible Life of Balto By Meghan McCarthy Alfred A. Knopf (an imprint of Random House) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-375-84460-7 Ages 4 and up On shelves August 9th I’m not a dog person. Like ‘em fine. Don’t see much particular need to interact with them on a regular basis. Sometimes, though, I’ll feel like my life […]
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes By Jonathan Auxier Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams) $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-4197-0025-5 Ages 9-12 On shelves August 1st. What is the most telling difference between those works of children’s literature written long ago and those written today? Pose this question to a room full of children’s librarians and I […]
My Name Is Elizabeth By Annika Dunklee Illustrated by Matthew Forsythe Kids Can Press $14.95 ISBN: 978-1-55453-560-6 Ages 4-8 On shelves September 1, 2011 The human capacity to garble a first name, even a simple or common one, is without limit. I should know. My name is Elizabeth. My preferred nickname is “Betsy”, which is […]
Hidden By Helen Frost Frances Foster Books (Farrar Straus & Giroux) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-374-38221-6 Ages 10 and up On shelves now. If poems had been introduced to me as a child as puzzles, maybe I would have taken to them a little more. A poem is a kind of puzzle, isn’t it? Depending on the […]
Breadcrumbs By Anne Ursu Illustrated by Erin McGuire Walden Pond Press (an imprint of Harper Collins) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-201505-1 Ages 9-12 On shelves September 27, 2011 Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen is, let’s admit it, the world’s greatest puberty metaphor. A boy and girl are friends. Something happens and he grows cold […]
Lola’s Fandango By Anna Witte Illustrated by Micha Archer Narrated by The Amador Family Barefoot Books $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-84686-174-1 Ages 4-8 On shelves September 1, 2011 In my children’s room at the library the requests I receive at the reference desk from kids and their parents vary widely. On the subject of dance there’s a […]
Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds By Ann McCallum Illustrated by Leeza Hernandez Charlesbridge $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-57091-779-0 Ages 7-11 On shelves July 1st. Cooking. Math. Not the usual subject matter for a kid browsing the library shelves (though I’ve admittedly had more than one kid ask me for cookbooks, so there’s that). Still […]
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales By Chris Van Allsburg and more Houghton Mifflin Harcourt $24.99 ISBN: 978-0547548104 Ages 9-12 On shelves October 25, 2011 Chris Van Allsburg has always been the Rod Serling of the children’s literary world. Of that there can be no question. With no other author, […]
Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? By Susan A. Shea Illustrated by Tom Slaughter Blue Apple Books $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-60905-062-7 Ages 4-8 On shelves now Because I’m a librarian I like to slot books into distinct categories. Alphabet book. Concept book. Emotions book. So on. Other people like it too. That’s why I keep […]