Publications about books for children and young adults
I love everything about William Goldman’s The Princess Bride. I love the book, first published in 1973 by Harcourt Brace, with its romance, humor, and snark. It manages to be self-aware and meta — that guy never broke character — while still being entirely earnest and somehow avoiding the sap (how is that possible?). The [...]
Folktale lovers needn’t give up on the genre when their reading interests turn toward young adult concerns. Here are four new folklore-inspired books—three novels and a poetry collection—for those who like their tales sophisticated and dark. Ron Koertge retells, in free verse and from various points of view, twenty-three familiar tales (mostly Grimm, Andersen, and [...]
California high school English teacher Ann Camacho challenged her students (current and past) to “Find a quote from ANY book you’ve read…and use it as the foundation or seed to developing your personal philosophy about how you live your life.” Fifty of the students’ short essays come together in Bookmarked: Teen Essays on Life and [...]
While perusing the introduction to Paris: The Collected Traveler, An Inspired Companion Guide, edited by Barrie Kerper (Vintage Books, 2011 edition), Horn Book readers may be gratified (also surprised? we were!) to find the following passage. (Katie, our resident Nancy Drew, tracked its source to the April 2010 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.) [...]
Graphic novels have been steadily expanding their scope — and their readership. No longer focused squarely on reluctant-reader boys, today’s graphic novels run the gamut from action to drama, comedy, and even some romance. In Doug TenNapel’s Cardboard, Cam Howerton’s out-of-work father is so broke, the best he can do for Cam’s birthday is an [...]
We are saddened to learn about the passing of Margaret Mahy, New Zealand’s Grande Dame of children’s literature. Ms. Mahy’s many awards and accolades include the Hans Christian Andersen Medal (2006); Carnegie Medals for The Haunting (1982) and The Changeover (1984); and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Bubble Trouble (2009), illustrated by Polly Dunbar, [...]
I recently took A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness out of the library; soon after, a paperback version of it (and its sequel, Shadow of Night) magically arrived in our office. (“Coincidence? Or psychic phenomenon?” Anyone remember that TV commercial?) I’d been enjoying this smart story of Diana, a brilliant thirty-something Oxford scholar and [...]
For those suffering from ALA withdrawal—or envy!—here’s the Horn Book’s take on this year’s events. For even more, check out the July/August 2012 issue of The Horn Book Magazine. Roger Sutton’s Live Five interviews and blog posts about them—videos coming soon! (We’ll let you know when they’re up.) Profile of Newbery Award winner Jack Gantos [...]
