During May 1, 2, and 3, there is an online campaign to promote diverse children's books. Everyone is welcome to participate! Here's what the organizers have to say: "Recently, there’s been a groundswell of discontent over the lack of diversity in children’s literature. The issue is...
I’ve been reading quite a bit of children’s fiction recently. Here are three recent and one older title that I’ve enjoyed. The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes: This marvelous early chapter book was one of the Newbery Honor winners this year. Told over the...
Did you know that February 24th is Fairy Tale Day? I love fairy tales and their retellings; here are some of my favorites! Fairy tale collections and picture books Fairy Tales by Jan Pienkowski The Princess and the Lion by Laurel Long Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang Sleeping Beauty...
In my last post here, I talked about some of my favorite books from 2013. Today I wanted to mention some of the things I'm looking forward to in 2014! Middle grade books Emilie and the Sky World by Martha Wells: I didn't love the first book...
The New York Times, Kirkus--it seems like everyone has a Best of 2013 list out. Here are some of my top books from the past year. Picture books Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos and Joy Ang: Billy was born with a mustache. But will it be a...
The movie Ender's Game, based on the book by Orson Scott Card, is opening this weekend. If you've seen it or read it and are looking for some other science fiction books to try, here's a list for you! The Old Man's War series by John...
Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day! Although real life pirates were pretty nasty, Talk Like a Pirate Day is a chance to be a silly pirate for a day. Here are a few of my favorite pirate related things. Books Victricia Malicia the Book Loving Buccaneer...
Most of the time, I’m really a fantasy reader (or, to be fancy, ‘speculative fiction’), but every now and then I do enjoy a really satisfying realistic YA book. Fortunately, we’re in a golden age of YA publishing right now and...
Did you know that November has been declared Picture Book Month? This is great news here in the Children's Room because we love picture books of all types. Here are a few of my personal favorites—feel free to chime in with yours!Caps for Sale by...
Fifty years ago, long before the Lemony Snicket books were written, Joan Aiken published the first in her Wolves Chronicles series. Set in an alternate England where James III rules and wolves roam the countryside, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase has a wonderful combination of...