100 Scope Notes
January 1, 2014 by Betsy Bird
The Other Side of Free By Krista Russell Peachtree Publishers $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-56145-710-6 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Have you ever read the adult book How I Became a Famous Novelist? Bear with me for a second here, I know what I’m doing. You see, in the title the author decides that he wants to become […]
December 4, 2013 by Betsy Bird
Written in Stone By Rosanne Parry Random House $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-375-86971-6 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Finding books of historical fiction for kids about Native Americans is an oddly limited proposition. Basically, it boils down to Pilgrims, the Trail of Tears, the occasional 1900s storyline (thank God for Louise Erdrich), and . . . yeah, […]
November 12, 2013 by Betsy Bird
Rose By Holly Webb Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.) $6.99 ISBN: 978-1-4022-8581-3 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. Like a bullet whizzing past your ear, I shudder when I consider how close I came to never hearing about Holly Webb’s mesmerizing, charming, purely delightful Rose. It’s an innocuous little book. Doesn’t draw a lot […]
September 26, 2013 by Betsy Bird
The Real Boy By Anne Ursu Illustrated by Erin McGuire Walden Pond Press (an imprint of Harper Collins) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-201507-5 Ages 9-12 On shelves now My two-year-old is dealing with the concept of personhood. Lately she’s taken to proclaiming proudly “I’m a person!” when she has successfully mastered something. By the same token, failure […]
August 23, 2013 by Betsy Bird
Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad By Monica Edinger Illustrated by Robert Byrd Candlewick Press $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-5038-4 Ages 9-12 On shelves October 8th It’s no secret that nonfiction in children’s literature is the buzzword of the day. Thanks to the rise of interest in the Core Curriculum State Standards, kids are […]
August 12, 2013 by Betsy Bird
Lockwood & Company: The Screaming Staircase By Jonathan Stroud Hyperion Books for Children $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3 Ages 10 and up On shelves September 17th I’m sick of historical fiction. I’m sick of contemporary fiction. I’m sick of realism and science fiction. Fantasy I watch with a wary eye. I don’t always feel this way but […]
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July 26, 2013 by Betsy Bird
The Center of Everything By Linda Urban Harcourt Children’s Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-547-76348-4 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. There are only two things I require from life: Donuts and good books. Obviously that statement is false, but it sure sounds good. I like donuts. I like good books. And […]
July 13, 2013 by Betsy Bird
The Year of Billy Miller By Kevin Henkes Greenwillow (an imprint of Harper Collins) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-226812-9 Ages 6-10 On shelves September 17th I don’t readily compare books to Ramona (now THERE’S a sentence opener, ladies and gentlemen). To compare any children’s book to Beverly Cleary’s classic series just leaves one wide open to ridicule. […]
July 2, 2013 by Betsy Bird
A Song for Bijou By Josh Farrar Walker Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Bloomsbury) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8027-3394-8 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Now let us discuss the middle school book. It is, arguably, the most forgotten book of its kind on a library and/or bookstore shelf. The book written for your average everyday […]
June 10, 2013 by Betsy Bird
Flora and Ulysses By Kate DiCamillo Illustrated by K.G. Campbell Candlewick Press ISBN: 978-0-7636-6742-5 $17.99 Ages 9-12 On shelves September 24th I like a bit of subtlety with my “meaning”. What I mean by that is that when I pick up a book for kids, it’s tough on me, as a reader, to go through […]
Teen Librarian Toolbox
by Rachel Strolle
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by John Chrastka
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