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Tag: American fantasy

December 22, 2024 by Betsy Bird

31 Days, 31 Lists: 2024 Fantasy Books for Kids

Here are some books with a distinctive fantasy feel that stood out to me in 2024. Read 'em! Enjoy 'em! Love 'em!

April 9, 2015 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon

Castle Hangnail By Ursula Vernon Dial (an imprint of Penguin Group) ISBN: 978-0803741294 Ages 8-11 On shelves April 21st These are dark times for children’s fantasy. Dark times indeed. Which is to say, when I pick up a fantasy novel for kids, more often than not I find the books filled with torture, violence, bloody […]

February 3, 2014 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: The Riverman by Aaron Starmer

The Riverman By Aaron Starmer Farrar Straus & Giroux (an imprint of Macmillan) $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-374-36309-3 Ages 11 and up On shelves March 18th When a book has worked its way into your cranium and is making a home for itself within the darker recesses of your very soul, the natural inclination is to talk […]

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Review of the Day: Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

July 8, 2011 by Betsy Bird

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 […]

Review of the Day: Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

June 28, 2011 by Betsy Bird

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 […]

Review of the Day: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente

June 1, 2011 by Betsy Bird

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making By Catherynne M. Valente Illustrations by Ana Juan Feiwel and Friends (an imprint of Macmillan) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-312-64961-6 On shelves now. Well devil if I know what to do with it. Never complain that you are bored, ladies and gentlemen. Say such a […]

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Review of the Day: The Boneshaker by Kate Milford

April 29, 2010 by Betsy Bird

The Boneshaker By Kate Milford Clarion Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) $17.00 ISBN: 978-0-547-24187-6 Ages 10 and up On shelves May 24th It seems that no successful book is an island. Or, to put it another way, no successful genre of book. In the children’s book world Harry Potter does well and suddenly […]

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