We have some big plans for the summer, which Emily will share tomorrow. For today, here are some great picture books that tie in with some of the themes we’re going to explore. Such as TRAVEL The Not-for-Parents Travel Book, Lonely Planet Publications, 2011, 207 pages. Age/interest level: 6-up. Australians are probably the greatest travelers [...]
Chasing Jupiter, by Rachel Coker. Zondervan, 2012, 221 pages. Age/interest level: 12-up. Our story begins in small-town Georgia, 1969—but 16-year-old Scarlett’s world seems even smaller than the town. Since her rebellious older sister Juli is sneaking out at all hours, so much responsibility falls on Scarlett that there’s no time for friends or extra-curricular activities. [...]
The False Prince (2012) and The Runaway King (2013), by Jennifer A. Nielson. Scholastic, about 350 pages each. Age/interest level: 10-up. When we first encounter the orphan known as Sage, he’s running full-tilt with a cleaver-waving butcher at his back and a stolen beef roast clutched in his arms. It seemed like a good idea [...]
It’s a philosophical tangle that goes back to the beginning of recorded history: who or what controls our lives? Do we, or does some mysterious force called fate, or destiny, or God? Or is it a little of both? The historical consensus has always leaned toward the mysterious force, mainly because so much of life [...]
This post should have gone up during March Madness, but even if the NCAA tournament is over this weekend, the NBA has few months to run. And we have new basketball books, from the history of the game to the joy of playing! H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination, by Christopher Meyer. Edgemont, 2012, [...]
Last Tuesday we looked at a range of new Bible storybooks and early reader “Bibles.” On Friday, we picked our way through the field of Bible translations and compared the most popular for accuracy and readability. Today we’re ready to get down to the meat and bones: just how to you choose a Bible for [...]
My mother-in-law once observed how different life would be if we didn’t have to eat. She might have been having a bad day, because in the context she meant different for the better: no shopping, penny-pinching, scrounging; no cooking (cooking was not her forte), no fighting with the kids over eating their liver—most of all, [...]
These three books have nothing in common except their general category and the fact that the first two won honors in the ALA Youth Media awards for nonfiction this year. The fact that both Titanic and Moonbird won in two age categories–middle-grade readers and young adults–makes me wonder if there’s not that much quality nonfiction [...]
It’s what every child has to do, and they accomplish it with varying degrees of success. In a sense, “growing up” is the theme of every children’s book, either obviously or not so much. The best of them show the main character or characters changing in some significant way, usually through conflict. What the character [...]
One month ago was “Oscar night for Librarians,” when the American Library Association announced their “best of” picks for children’s literature. We’ve given some space to reporting on some of these awards, while waiting for the winners I reserved at my local library to trickle in. The oldest and most coveted award is the Newbery, [...]
When did history get so complicated? Not too long ago, “The father of his country” was a monumental figure deserving nothing but praise. Now, depending on who you talk to or read, he’s either the “Indispensable Man” or a wealthy slave-owner (of the 1%, no less) who used his influence to his own advantage. History [...]
Subscribe to our biweekly email newsletter
Sorting Out the Children’s Bible Market
Toddling into the Word: First Bible Storybooks and Early-Reader Bibles
Tricksters and Fools
Church Literacy, Part One: Interview with Mom of a Dyslexic Child
Hail and Farewell: Maurice Sendak
Hayley: This is such an interesting post, Janie! I do nee...
Emily: That's funny, Jess! I actually really disliked G...
Janie: That's the great thing about literature, Jessalyn...
Jessalyn: We LOVE Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site!!!...
Jessalyn: I've read this book twice now... Once in high sch...
Recent Comments