Me and Mama and Big John by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by William Low Mama has a new job working in a big fancy church in New York City called Big John. She and others have been trained as stonecutters in conjunction with an apprentice program that the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine offered… Read more »
October 2013
The Kite That Bridged Two Nations
The Kite That Bridged Two Nations by Alexis O’Neill, illustrated by Terry Widener (Calkins Creek, 2013) On January 31, 1848, against tremendous odds, young Homan Walsh flew his kite across the Niagara River, two and half miles north of Niagara Falls. The half-inch cord attached to Homan’s kite became the first line connecting the United States… Read more »
Radio Girl by Carol Brendler
Author Carol Brender’s debut novel Radio Girl, set in 1938, is the cat’s meow. In it, she has captured the lively spirit of Cece Maloney, a young woman destined to become a radio broadcast celebrity. Cece will have nothing of the boring, hum-drum life that her mother and older sister lead. Instead she’s determined to… Read more »
The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, The Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel by Deborah Hopkinson
In a setting reminiscent of Dicken’s Oliver Twist, Deborah Hopkinson’s The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, The Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2013) is a gripping tale about a community stricken with a horrid plague and the brilliant doctor who discovered the source of trouble. The story is… Read more »
THE MATCHBOX DIARY
THE MATCHBOX DIARY by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline Choose one. Great-grandfather asks his great-granddaughter to pick “what you like the most. Then I’ll tell you its story.” What will she choose? An old jewelry box … a case of fine fountain pens … a mirror? The young girl makes an unusual choice –… Read more »
Ode to Halloween!
Halloween is the perfect time of year to shower young people with ghoushily fun books. Instead of cracking open a bag of candy, hit your local bookstore and discover all kinds of haunting treats to drop into young readers’ bags. In the theme of Halloween, we’re highlighting two books but there are scads of scary… Read more »
Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad
AFRICA IS MY HOME: A CHILD OF THE AMISTAD (Candlewick, 2103) by Monica Edinger, illustrated by Robert Byrd Monica Edinger skillfully – and delightfully – tells an extraordinary story through the voice of a young girl who experiences an extraordinary journey. Illustrator Robert Byrd fills the pages with detailed images that expand the text to further engage and… Read more »
