Featured Posts
Earth Day 2019
Today (as every day should be!) is Earth Day, and this year's theme is: "Protect Our Species." The books below celebrate our precious planet, educate about the crises it faces, and offer age-appropriate models for environmental activism. The list … [Read More...]
Week in Review, April 15th – 19th
This week on hbook.com… David Elliott Talks with Roger about Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc Reviews of the Week: Picture Book: Carl and the Meaning of Life by Deborah Freedman Fiction: The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by … [Read More...]
Whatcha up to this weekend?
Whether you and your loved ones are observing Passover, celebrating Easter, or just spending a (hopefully sunny, but probably not; sigh) spring weekend together, enjoy! We think every occasion is made better with books, so here are some booklists … [Read More...]
Peeps and People
Debbie Reese's Arbuthnot Lecture is up if you want to give a look and listen; I haven't listened yet but will; the lecture will also be published in a forthcoming issue of ALSC's Children and … [Read More...]
Order your copy NOW.
We are just dotting the is of the May/June issue celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Awards. Phew! I don't think we've published an issue with quite so many moving parts. I speak literally, figuratively, and emotively. I … [Read More...]
Blogs
Peeps and People
Debbie Reese's Arbuthnot Lecture is up if you want to give a look and listen; I haven't listened yet but will; the lecture will also be published in a forthcoming issue of ALSC's Children and … [Read More...]
Earth Day 2019
Today (as every day should be!) is Earth Day, and this year's theme is: "Protect Our Species." The books below celebrate our precious planet, educate about the crises it faces, and offer age-appropriate models for environmental activism. The list … [Read More...]
Haiku: A Small Poem with Great Potential
snow melting the village brimming over… with children! --Issa (1763-1828) (translated by David Lanoue) Yes, I was taught that a haiku, a short poem that originated in Japan centuries ago, was supposed to consist of three lines of five, seven, … [Read More...]
The 2019 Robin Smith Picture Book Prize
Perched on her rocking chair (brightly painted by her students with Alabama outsider artist Chris Clark), teacher Robin Smith would launch with glee and gusto into a beloved picture book, her second graders in a semicircle at her feet. Every day for … [Read More...]
Review of the Week
Review of Dealing in Dreams
Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera High School Simon 328 pp. g 3/19 978-1-4814-7214-2 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-4814-7216-6 $10.99 Rivera (The Education of Margot Sanchez) presents an action-filled dystopian novel about loyalty, power, and losing and finding oneself. Nalah, a.k.a. Chief Rocka, is the leader of the all-girl gang Las Mal Criadas, which owns the streets of Mega City. Worn out from a life of gang fights, nights at “boydega” clubs, and trading sueños (an … [Read More...]
App Review of the Week
Sesame Street app review
Can you tell me how to get to…tons of wonderful educational videos and games for preschoolers? Just like the neighborhood itself, the Sesame Street companion app (Sesame Workshop, 2014; iOS and Android) is the place to be: a free account gives a child access to a large selection of games as well as new and classic (ad-free) video clips from the television show. The home screen offers a handful of featured videos and games. Below that, large icons link to additional videos organized by topic … [Read More...]
Recommended Books
Review of Dealing in Dreams
Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera High School Simon 328 pp. g 3/19 978-1-4814-7214-2 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-4814-7216-6 $10.99 Rivera (The Education of Margot Sanchez) … [Read More...]
Earth Day 2019
Today (as every day should be!) is Earth Day, and this year's theme is: "Protect Our Species." The books below celebrate our precious planet, educate about the crises it faces, and offer … [Read More...]
Review of Poetree
Poetree by Shauna LaVoy Reynolds; illus. by Shahrzad Maydani Primary Dial 32 pp. g 3/19 978-0-399-53912-1 $17.99 To celebrate the end of winter, young poetry lover Sylvia writes a … [Read More...]
Review of The Undefeated
The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander; illus. by Kadir Nelson Primary, Intermediate, Middle School Versify/Houghton 40 pp. g 4/19 978-1-328-78096-6 $17.99 e-book ed. … [Read More...]
Review of Two Brothers, Four Hands: The Artists Alberto and Diego Giacometti
Two Brothers, Four Hands: The Artists Alberto and Diego Giacometti by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan; illus. by Hadley Hooper Primary, Intermediate Porter/Holiday 64 pp. g 4/19 … [Read More...]
Interviews
David Elliott Talks with Roger
Talks with Roger is a sponsored supplement to our free monthly e-newsletter, Notes from the Horn Book. To receive Notes, sign up here. Sponsored by In 2017's Bull, poet David Elliott … [Read More...]
Five questions for Raúl the Third
There's so much to see in Raúl the Third's comics-influenced picture book ¡Vamos!: Let's Go to the Market! (Versify/Houghton, 5–8 years). The story takes place in and around the bustling Mercado … [Read More...]
Five questions for Christian Robinson
Another (Atheneum, 3–7 years) is the debut of acclaimed illustrator Christian Robinson working as both author and illustrator…in a wordless, sci-fi picture book about cats, wormholes (or maybe … [Read More...]
Five questions for Laurie Halse Anderson
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Laurie Halse Anderson’s landmark novel Speak (Farrar, 12–16 years), about Melinda, a teenage rape victim who reclaims her voice. Now in SHOUT (Viking, 14 … [Read More...]
Five questions for Claire Hartfield
With painstaking historical detail, Claire Hartfield’s nonfiction book A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 (Clarion, 12–16 years) recounts the week of violence in 1919 Chicago that left … [Read More...]
