Heavy Medal
Tag: 2011 middle grade fiction
Review of the Day: The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
The Apothecary By Maile Meloy Illustrated by Ian Schoenherr G.P. Putnam’s Sons (an imprint of Penguin) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-399-25627-1 Ages 10 and up On shelves now I can be a very smug librarian sometimes. It can get me into trouble. Take my reaction to the cover of Maile Meloy’s The Apothecary, for instance. Here we […]
Review of the Day: The Dead Gentleman by Matthew Cody
The Dead Gentleman By Matthew Cody Alfred A. Knopf $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-375-85596-2 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Steampunk will never supplant some of the better known genres out there in the hearts and minds of children. Kids walk into my library every day asking for fantasy, mysteries, funny books, scary books, and what have you. […]
Review of the Day: The Luck of the Buttons by Anne Ylvisaker
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 […]
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Review of the Day: The Trouble with May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm
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: The Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone
The Romeo and Juliet Code By Phoebe Stone Arthur A. Levine (an imprint of Scholastic) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-21511-4 Ages 9-12 On shelves now It seems unfair that my attention was first drawn to The Romeo and Juliet Code because of its cover. No book deserves to be held responsible for its misleading jacket and Phoebe […]
Review of the Day: Dragon Castle by Joseph Bruchac
Dragon Castle By Joseph Bruchac Dial Books (an imprint of Penguin) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8037-33767-3 Ages 10-14 On shelves now. “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the […]
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Review of the Day: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
A Monster Calls By Patrick Ness Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd Illustrated by Jim Kay Candlewick Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-5559-4 Ages 11 and up On shelves now I don’t mind metaphors as much as I might. I think that generally I’m supposed to hate them when they show up in children’s literature. I […]
Review of the Day: Icefall by Matthew Kirby
Icefall By Matthew J. Kirby Scholastic $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-27424-1 Ages 9-14 On shelves now. There’s a certain breed of middle grade fiction novel for kids that defies easy categorization. Call them fantasies without fantasy. These strange little novels pop up from time to time encouraging readers to believe that they are reading about something fantastical […]
Review of the Day: Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri
Ghetto Cowboy By G. Neri Illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson Candlewick Press $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-4922-7 Ages 10 and up. On shelves now. Fun Fact: Parents these days speak in code. As a New York children’s librarian I had to learn this the hard way. Let’s say they want a folktale about a girl outwitting a […]
Review of the Day: Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald
Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading By Tommy Greenwald Illustrated by J.P. Coovert Roaring Brook (Macmillan) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-59643-691-6 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. The unreliable narrator. It’s a staple of adult literature, and a relative newcomer to the world of children’s lit. Even books for teens are more likely to sport these first […]
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