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Wolf Hollow
***SPOILER WARNING*** This review and subsequent comments are sure to spoil the ending of this book as well as various plot points throughout. If you don’t like spoilers and haven’t read it yet, read...
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PW’s Best Books of 2016
As the end of the year approaches, Best Of lists appear! Publisher Weekly’s list came out today and it shares a lot of titles in common with this blog. Their list is divided into Picture Books,...
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Verse Novel Roundup
We’ve already said it’s been an exceptionally strong year for poetry, and if you include novels in verse (not to mention FREE VERSE, a novel that celebrates and incorporates poetry, but is not a verse...
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The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Yes. There is a witch in the woods. There has always been a witch. Will you stop fidgeting for once? My stars! I have never seen such a fidgety child. No, sweetheart. I have not seen her. No one...
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When the Sea Turned to Silver
First, a confession. I haven’t read the previous Grace Lin books in this series! Unforgivable, maybe, but I think that makes it easier for me to try to read and evaluate her new novel without...
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The Inquisitor’s Tale
I like this book very much, and I can easily see the committee discussing it very seriously. It’s strong in virtually every single element that pertains to it–plot, character, setting, style, theme,...
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Ms. Bixby’s Last Day
This blog may be as divided as our nation is when it comes to this book, but I gave MS. BIXBY’S LAST DAY a read and it just doesn’t rise to the top for me. Don’t get me wrong, I like this book very...
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Chapter Book Roundup
Now it’s time to discuss an underappreciated body of literature for children, what are often called chapter books. Since I think that term is still fairly vague, I’d call them transitional chapter...
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Top Five
We used to check in with our readership several times a year about their top choices, mimicking the nomination process that the real committee experiences wherein they nominate three books in October,...
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Black Power!
“In the midst of the human ugliness of racism, there is the human beauty in the resistance to racism.” Ibram X. Kendi The National Book Awards had a bit of a 2015 ALA Midwinter moment with African...
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The Best Man
We are heading towards picking our final list and I’m feeling the pressure. There are just so many amazing books, and so little time! So for today, THE BEST MAN. It came up in a couple of people’s...
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2017 Heavy Medal Shortlist!
We have settled on the shortlist for our mock Newberys (and we will release specific details and dates and times once we have arranged them). We typically chose 8 titles, but have occasionally...
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Samurai Rising
Having reread SAMURAI RISING, I can say that it has unequivocally secured a place on my ballot, and depending on the will and disposition of my hypothetical committee, I could even spend my first place...
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Makoons
MAKOONS by Louise Erdrich is the fifth book in this cycle, but only the second one about this new generation in the family. I have to admit that I am not a natural reader for this series, that the...
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Russell Freedman
Russell Freedman–like Jason Reynolds–actually has two strong Newbery contenders: WE WILL NOT BE SILENT (five starred reviews plus Kirkus Prize shortlist) and VIETNAM (four starred reviews). Both of...
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When Green Becomes Tomatoes
I was pleasantly surprised to see WHEN GREEN BECOMES TOMATOES tied with WOLF HOLLOW atop our recent Top Five tally. We liked Fogliano’s previous books, AND THEN IT’S SPRING and IF YOU WANT TO SEE A...
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Underdogs?
We’ve often worried that we create a bit of an echo chamber effect here, picking a shortlist to focus on at the expense of many other wonderful titles. Previously recognized authors along with highly...
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Hour of the Bees
HOUR OF THE BEES has been mentioned a couple of times in our comments section, but hasn’t gotten as much love as maybe it should. It is definitely a book that has stuck with me over the months and one...
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Oakland Mock Newbery
Hi everyone! I’m excited to announce that we have a date, time and location for the Oakland in-person Mock Newbery. It will be on Sunday, January 15th at the Rockridge Branch of the Oakland Public...
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Full of Beans
Look here, Mac. I’m gonna give it to you straight: grown-ups lie. Sure, they like to say that kids make things up and that we don’t tell the truth. But they’re the lying liars. Take President...
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