2014 Horn Book at Simmons Colloquium
Join us on October 10–11, 2014, for the 2014 Horn Book at Simmons Colloquium,
MIND THE GAPS, a memorable two-day event celebrating the best in
children’s and young adult literature.
Featured Posts
Reading about WWI
One hundred years ago today, the first shots of World War I were fired. These books about the WWI era — fiction and nonfiction for a range of ages — are all recommended by The Horn Book Magazine and The Horn Book Guide. Picture Books The text of … [Read More...]
Why Can’t the English?
We saw Dawn of the Planet of the Apes last night--ehh. Some the intra- and inter-species encounters were quite moving and dramatic but the plot was on automatic and the fabulously watchable Judy Greer was wasted (she could have been completely blotto … [Read More...]
He must have been pissed.
In hunting down a quote in the June 1972 issue of the Magazine, I happened upon a note that resonates with the recent debate over the ALA awards and confidentiality. Under "Staff Notes," in the Hunt Breakfast (yesteryear's Impromptu column) the … [Read More...]
Blogs & Opinions
Why Can’t the English?
We saw Dawn of the Planet of the Apes last night--ehh. Some the intra- and inter-species encounters were quite moving and dramatic but the plot was on automatic and the fabulously watchable Judy Greer was wasted (she could have been completely blotto … [Read More...]
Reading about WWI
One hundred years ago today, the first shots of World War I were fired. These books about the WWI era — fiction and nonfiction for a range of ages — are all recommended by The Horn Book Magazine and The Horn Book Guide. Picture Books The text of … [Read More...]
Books in Spanish: A problem of access?
When working as an elementary teacher in the United States, I found it hard to find original children’s literature in Spanish language — books originally published in Spanish, that is. As a fourth-grade public school teacher in a dual-immersion … [Read More...]
From the Editor — July 2014
We lost two significant pioneers of YA literature this past month. When Nancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind was published in 1982, the possibilities for GLBTQ characters in teen fiction changed forever. The book said to gay kids: you are not going … [Read More...]
Review of the Week
Review of I Can Do It Myself
I Can Do It Myself by Valorie Fisher; photos by the author Preschool, Primary Schwartz & Wade/Random 40 pp. 7/14 978-0-449-81593-9 $17.99 g Tiny poseable dolls help young children celebrate the many concepts they need to learn. Fisher (Everything I Need to Know Before I’m Five, rev. 7/11) includes the basics for preschoolers and kindergartners: left and right; how to hold a pencil; writing numbers and letters; counting; recognizing shapes, colors, and patterns; and the … [Read More...]
App Review of the Week
Shout Science! app review
Shout Science! (Scott Dubois, 2013) is a comic-style nonfiction app that tells three stories of figures from the European Scientific Revolution. The first biography follows Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717), a watercolor painter and insect collector in Frankfurt, Germany. Merian observed the life cycle of butterflies, including metamorphosis, and documented it in two books she wrote and illustrated (1679 and 1705). She traveled to Suriname to study indigenous insects and collect specimens … [Read More...]
Summer Reading
The editors of The Horn Book spotlight the books kids — and you, too — will enjoy as part of the season’s leisure, every bit as delicious as ice cream.
Recommended Books
Reading about WWI
One hundred years ago today, the first shots of World War I were fired. These books about the WWI era — fiction and nonfiction for a range of ages — are all recommended by The Horn Book Magazine and … [Read More...]
Review of I Can Do It Myself
I Can Do It Myself by Valorie Fisher; photos by the author Preschool, Primary Schwartz & Wade/Random 40 pp. 7/14 978-0-449-81593-9 $17.99 g Tiny poseable dolls help young … [Read More...]
Frog Fridays booklist
Leapin' lizards! (Oh, wait.) Here are some nonfiction books and picture books about our "phavorite" amphibians. Nonfiction Arnosky, Jim All About Frogs 32 pp. Scholastic 2002. ISBN … [Read More...]
Review of Little Roja Riding Hood
Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Middleton Elya; illus. by Susan Guevara Primary Putnam 32 pp. 4/14 978-0-399-24767-5 $16.99 g Little Red rides an ATV to deliver la canasta … [Read More...]
Board Book Roundup: Summer 2014 Edition
This column is part of a series of recommended board book roundups, formerly published twice a year, now published every season. You can find the previous installments here. Don’t miss Viki Ash’s … [Read More...]
Interviews
Candace Fleming on The Family Romanov
In the July/August 2014 Horn Book Magazine, reviewer Jonathan Hunt asked author Candace Fleming about her intimate portrait of the last Imperial family of Russia, The Family Romanov. Read the starred … [Read More...]
Five questions for Varian Johnson
Varian Johnson (who was co-valedictorian, with his twin brother, of his high school class, thank you very much) enjoys two careers: as an author and an engineer. It's not surprising, then, that his … [Read More...]
Cathleen Daly on Emily’s Blue Period
In the July/August 2014 Horn Book Magazine, reviewer Martha Parravano asked Emily's Blue Period author Cathleen Daly about the dual focus of this innovative picture book. Read the starred review of … [Read More...]
Five questions for K. T. Horning on The Jackson 5
In her profile of Rita Williams-Garcia, K. T. Horning discusses the mutual love she and Rita have for The Jackson 5 — a love Rita infuses into her 2014 CSK Author Award–winning novel P.S. Be Eleven. … [Read More...]
Angela Johnson on All Different Now
On this day in 1865 — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued — abolition was finally announced in Texas, the last stronghold of slavery. In the May/June 2014 Horn Book … [Read More...]
