September 2016

DIVE! World War II Stories of Sailors & Submarines in the Pacific

DIVE! World War II Stories of Sailors & Submarines in the Pacific: The Incredible Story of U.S. Submarines in WWII (Scholastic Press, 2016) Day of Infamy – the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States declared war on Japan. How many naval submarines were ready for battle when war was declared? 44 subs, total. Most of… Read more »

Strange, Unusual, Gross & Cool Animals by Charles Ghigna

  In just a few days, children’s author and poet, Charles Ghigna (who also goes by the name, Father Goose) welcomes his newest book – a collection of some of the world’s interesting creatures and animal oddities. Things like the blob fish, the mata mata, and the red-eyed crocodile skink. These STRANGE, UNUSUAL, GROSS & COOL ANIMALS will entice your… Read more »

Books that can change the world – #MGGetsReal

TODAY ReaderKidZ welcomes Shannon Wiersbitzky in a guest post about #MGGetsReal: “…there’s always a kid, sitting on a log, dealing with something tough …write for the kid on the log.” Show up. Sit down on the log too and maybe, just maybe, you’ll change the world…”    Gary Schmidt, two-time Newbery winner. As children, we all read books that talked… Read more »

Applesauce Weather by Helen Frost, illustrated by Amy June Bates

  The weather’s changing and Faith is waiting for the first apple to fall from Aunt Lucy’s tree. That tree, in front of what used to be Aunt Lucy’s house, is now the house where Faith and her brother, Peter, live with their parents. Every year, Faith and Peter anticipate their aunt and uncle’s arrival.  But this… Read more »

How This Book Was Made by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex

  Kids love getting the inside scoop. The story behind the story.  HOW THIS BOOK WAS MADE by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex is just that, and more.  This is a book classroom teachers and school librarians will want to add to their collections, not only because its deadpan humor and over-the-top hyperbole invite kids (and adult readers-aloud) into… Read more »

HUNDRED PERCENT, a perfect book for a middle-grade reader

Recently, I was in the grocery store choosing peaches and standing next to another mom who was also shopping. Beside her stood a very bored, very impatient daughter with braces shining on her teeth, a few powdered-over pimples, and a BIG frown. She was not a happy camper until… a sweaty boy in a soccer uniform sauntered by…. Read more »

Nanobots, Gizmos, and Moving Machines

NANOBOTS by Chris Gall Nano + (ro)bot = Nanobot … a machine or robot built on the nanoscale. (That’s very very very very small!) As imagined by Chris Gall, creator of the illustrated children’s books turned Netflix animation series, Dinotrux, NanoBots are not just tiny robots created “late one night, deep down in a musty… Read more »