Publications about books for children and young adults
Hard-boiled nursery rhymes, a one-that-got-away big-fish tale, and more. These four folklore-inspired picture books offer humorous shakeups of beloved story types and the characters who inhabit them. David Levinthal recasts the events of fairyland as crimes (“The Three Bears” is a breaking-and-entering case; “Snow White” is an attempted murder) in Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?: And [...]
This afternoon, the inaugural issue of our new quarterly e-newsletter Nonfiction Notes from the Horn Book went out to subscribers of our long-running monthly newsletter Notes from the Horn Book. Each issue will offer Horn Book Guide reviews of recommended informational books, grouped by subject, that we believe will be useful for schools adhering to [...]
Writing to our younger, naive selves with words of wisdom? It’s a simple concept that’s presented brilliantly on DearTeenMe.com and in the paperback anthology Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves (Zest Books, October 2012), edited by E. Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kenneally. Big name YA authors address their teenage versions on [...]
A middle-school mystery full of spies and intrigue (or is it?); a mash-up of sci-fi/fantasy and realistic family drama; an all-consuming-first-love story; and middle-grade-humor-done-right: these four novels you’ve been waiting for from favorite authors have arrived with a bang. In Newbery and Boston Globe Horn Book Award–winner Rebecca Stead’s new novel Liar & Spy, Brooklyn [...]
With friendship drama, summer flings, exotic locales, and even suspense, these novels offer teen readers of all tastes compelling summertime diversions. Kekla Magoon’s 37 Things I Love (in no particular order) takes place during the last few days of sophomore year before summer vacation begins for Ellis. Along with typical high school issues—friends, dating, etc.—Ellis [...]
Boy21 by Matthew Quick High School Little, Brown 252 pp. 3/12 978-0-316-12797-4 $17.99 When Russ moves to decrepit, race-torn, Irish-mob-ruled Bellmont after his parents’ brutal murder, the school’s basketball coach (a family friend) turns to team leader Finley to help him acclimate, but also to convince former-phenom Russ to play ball again; since the tragedy [...]
Summer is the season for recreational reading, outdoor activities, fun, sports, and, this year, the Summer Olympics. In The Horn Book Guide, there’s never a shortage of sports-themed books, from high-interest bait for reluctant readers to entertaining diversions for voracious ones. The following sports-books-done-right for upper-elementary and middle-grade readers are all recommended in recent or [...]
The following novels show that puzzles can be solved by detectives both seasoned and green. These four sleuth stories — action-packed, suspenseful, and sometimes goofy — will lure in mystery-lovers. Caroline Lawrence’s The Case of the Deadly Desperados is a bang-up series starter told in flashback by young P.K. Pinkerton. P.K.’s story opens when a [...]
The submission deadline for 2012 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards is less than a month away and the judges are eager to see more of the best that’s out there. Books must be published in the United States between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012 and will not be accepted after May 15. Head to [...]
From the celebrity dirt of tabloids to government conspiracies, crimes that shook the world, and ethical outrages, Hallie Fryd’s Scandalous!: 50 Shocking Events You Should Know About (So You Can Impress Your Friends) (Zest Books, February) offers a delicious dish of infamous gossip from twentieth century for rumor-loving teens. The fifty highlighted events, presented in [...]
Newbery, Printz & Caldecott