3
Sep
68 Tiny Distractions
Those rooms you breezed through just now… they’re miniature. Go ahead, scroll up, and take another looksie. Incredible, right? These pictures above are only a sampling of a permanent gallery of miniature rooms called The Thorne Rooms in the Art Institute of Chicago. A few weeks ago, I read The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone, a […]
8
Aug
Cardboard
Cardboard by Doug TenNapel Published: Scholastic, August, 2012 Recommended Age: 10 & up In a Nutshell: If you could make anything out of cardboard what would you make? What would you do if you later find what you made comes to life? Cardboard is an action-packed graphic novel about a boy and his father, a […]
6
May
Recent Kids Reads
The One and Only Ivan By Kathrine Applegate Recommended age: 8 & up In a Nutshell: I read this book in one sitting on the plane ride to New Orleans back in March. A heartfelt story in prose about Ivan, a Silverback gorilla who lives in lowly conditions as a feature of a highway attraction […]
27
Apr
Novels in Verse for Kids
This month, I’ve found that a great way to introduce poetry to the reluctant poetry reader is through novels in verse. With this confession… I actually had not read a children’s fiction novel in verse until more recently when I read the National Book Award Winner and Newbery Honor Medalist, Inside Out & Back Again. […]
10
Jan
Reading for Newbery
I mentioned a few days back that I was doing a large amount of reading in anticipation of the Kansas City Mock Newbery Awards. I finished with my “required reading” as of last night. And I read a book in between that wasn’t on the list. So what? And I skimmed a couple that I […]
17
Dec
End of Year Notable Reads
I’ve been extremely impressed with the last few books I’ve read. I mean.. a great book is hard to come by. Usually they are sprinkled here and there between a couple “okay books”, maybe one that bored you to tears, but you believed it “might get better”. And it never did. They come along only […]
8
Dec
Castles: Moving, Growing, and Forgotten
There has been a building trend in my reading recently. I’m repeatedly drawn to stories about castles. Completely coincidental and each book extremely different from the next. Well, except for the whole castle part. Howl’s Moving Castle By Diana Wynne Jones Recommended Reading Age: 10 & Up Published: April 1986, Eos Will has been trying […]
5
Nov
New Kids Fiction Must Reads
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making By: Caherynne M. Valente, Illustrations by Ana Juan Recommend Reading Age: 10 & up Published: May 2011, Feiwell & Friends “September is a girl who longs for adventure. When she is invited to Fairyland by a Green Wind and a Leopard, well, of […]
23
Sep
The End of Summer (Reading)
It’s official. Today is the first day of fall. Which also means summer reading has officially ended. (le sigh…) What did you read over the summer months? And f you have children, what did they enjoy reading? LBD and I did quite a bit of summer reading together, but I also manged to read about […]
13
May
Reading Together: Agate: What Good Is A Moose?
LBD and I picked this book up at the library last week. Feeling sorry for himself, Agate the moose feels all the other animals are far more unique than he. Each animal symbolizing a different gemstone, we learn of their shining traits, and the the reveal of Agates’s own extraordinary characteristics. A clever little story […]
