
Heavy Medal
January 7, 2011 by Betsy Bird
Windblowne By Stephen Messer Random House $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-375-86195-6 Ages 9-12 On shelves now 2010 was not a great year for fantasies. Sure, there were plenty of books that contained small fantastical elements, but titles that plunged the reader into entirely different worlds with their own set of rules and understandings? Few and far between. […]
December 24, 2010 by Betsy Bird
The Adventures of Nanny Piggins By R.A. Spratt Illustrated by Dan Santat Little Brown and Company $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-316-06819-2 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. Don’t judge a book by its cover, they say. To heck with that, say I. When it comes to books for kids, nine times out of ten you’re going to end […]
December 11, 2010 by Betsy Bird
The Clockwork Three By Matthew Kirby Scholastic Press $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-20337-1 Ages 9-12 On shelves now I’m in a weird position. I’m tired of Steampunk, and yet if I say that word to most kids that walk into my library they’ll give me a blank stare followed by an immediate, “What’s Steampunk?” I’d explain to […]
November 30, 2010 by Betsy Bird
Crunch By Leslie Connor Katherine Tegan Books (an imprint of Harper Collins) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-169229-1 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. Leslie Connor forgive me; I sometimes forget how awesome you are. It’s nice to rely on an author. To know that you can trust them to write book after book that isn’t crap. That’s true […]
November 4, 2010 by Betsy Bird
Sugar and Ice By Kate Messner Walker & Company (a division of Bloomsbury) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8027-2081-8 Ages 9-12 On shelves December 9th They say to write what you know. We’ve all heard that line. It’s bounced about countless writing groups. But there’s an unspoken rule amongst children that’s as pervasive as it is harmful: Read […]
October 26, 2010 by Betsy Bird
Mockingbird By Kathryn Erskine Philomel (a division of Penguin) $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-399-25264-8 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. Children’s librarians read quite a few books for kids and the result is that we tend to want to discuss them with one another. Unlucky librarians are surrounded solely by people who agree with their opinions. You’re much […]
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October 13, 2010 by Betsy Bird
Departure Time By Truus Matti Translated by Nancy Forest-Flier namelos $18.95 ISBN: 978-1-60898-009-3 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. Translated children’s novels have a tough row to hoe. In my experience as a children’s librarian I’ll often find that folks react to them in a variety of different ways. Sometimes they like them, but often they’ll […]
October 1, 2010 by Betsy Bird
The Death (and Further Adventures) of Silas Winterbottom: The Body Thief By Stephen M. Giles Sourcebooks Jabberwocky $12.99 ISBN: 978- 1-4022-4090-4 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets The Mysterious Benedict Society. If those words are mere gobblety-gook to you and don’t mean a thing, don’t worry. You can rectify that […]
September 22, 2010 by Betsy Bird
Where the Streets Had a Name By Randa Abdel-Fattah Scholastic $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-17292-9 Ages 9 and up On shelves November 1, 2010 When I was a child I had a very vague sense of global conflicts in other countries. Because of my Bloom County comics I knew a bit about apartheid in South Africa. Later […]
August 20, 2010 by Betsy Bird
Bamboo People By Mitali Perkins Charlesbridge $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-58089-328-2 Ages 10-14 On shelves now. There is a perception that many children acquire over the course of their education that learning and fun are mutually exclusive ideas. If a book has so much as a smidgen of a fact in it then it’s no good to […]
Heavy Medal
by Emily Mroczek-Bayci
The Classroom Bookshelf
by Erika Thulin Dawes
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