realistic fiction

Tag: realistic fiction

February 3, 2022 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Different Kinds of Fruit by Kyle Lukoff

I review the latest from Kyle Lukoff and, yes, there will be spoilers. A brave title for a time when we need brave books for kids more than ever.

June 10, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Losers at the Center of the Galaxy by Mary Winn Heider

In an era of information overload, Mary Winn Heider is the author who will lead us through the pandemonium into the light. Hand this to the kid that wants something smart and funny with a side order of turmoil for spice.

May 28, 2020 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Wink by Rob Harrell

They say, write what you know. And if what you know is how to lie on a steel table, your head screwed into place, a laser pointed at your face, that might be a good place to start. We live in dark times. How dark are they? SO dark that a book about a kid with a potentially deadly eye cancer is the bit of lighthearted levity we all need and crave.

Review of the Day: Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

May 7, 2020 by Betsy Bird

Not every 12-year-old is going to be ready for the abuse and pain addressed in Bradley’s latest. But for those kids that want a book can be honest with them about the world, written at their age-level, with funny parts and a happy ending where things get better, this is that book. It ain’t easy but it’s there for you.

Review of the Day: The Usual Suspects by Maurice Broaddus

October 5, 2019 by Betsy Bird

You know why you haven’t heard more people talking about this book? Because nobody knows how to sell it. Well, sorry folks, but the secret is out now. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read for kids, and maybe the best school rated children’s novel I’ve encountered period. This, right here, is the book of our times.

Review of the Day: A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée

July 5, 2019 by Betsy Bird

Lisa Moore Ramée has taken the complexity of the real world, with all its police shootings and racism and destructive tendencies and made it personal for young readers. I don’t care what kid you hand this book to. Every single one of them will understand what’s going on here and, maybe, what’s going on in the wider world. The new required reading.

Review of the Day: The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle by Christina Uss

November 2, 2018 by Betsy Bird

The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle By Christina Uss Margaret Ferguson Books (an imprint of Holiday House) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8234-4007-8 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. The term “quirky” has gotten a bad rap recently. I blamed forced quirk. Have you ever read or watched something where the book or movie is just trying too […]

Review of the Day: The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish

May 29, 2017 by Betsy Bird

The Ethan I Was Before By Ali Standish Harper (an imprint of Harper Collins) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-243340-4 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Southern Gothic children’s literature. Sounds crazy, no? But as weird as it might sound it’s a legitimate genre. You may think it’s all Flannery and Faulkner but kids have a delightful range to […]

Review of the Day: Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

March 19, 2015 by Betsy Bird

Goodbye Stranger By Rebecca Stead Wendy Lamb Books (an imprint of Random House Children’s Books) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-385-74317-4 Ages 10-14 On shelves August 4th After much consideration, I think I’m going to begin this review with what has to be the hoity toity-est opening I have ever come up with. Gird thy loins, mes amies. […]

Review of the Day: Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

July 8, 2014 by Betsy Bird

Absolutely Almost By Lisa Graff Philomel (an imprint of Penguin) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-399-16405-7 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. In the stage musical of Matilda, lyricist Tim Minchin begins the show with the following lines about the state of children today: “Specialness is de rigueur. / Above average is average. Go fig-ueur! / Is it some […]