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Yarn bomb!

Yarn bomb bench at the Arnold Arboretum.

While walking in the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain this weekend, I finally witnessed what Mac Barnett was talking about in his 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Picture Book Award speech for Extra Yarn. (BTW, the 2013 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards announcement is coming up!) And here’s a view of the city of Boston from Peters [...]

Even Monsters Get Sick app review

monsters menu

Harry’s got a new pet monster named Zub, and it only cost him three stickers, two sticks of gum, and one skateboard. Problem is, it seems like a bad trade: all Zub does is sit around, gurgle, and drip green goo everywhere. It’s not until after Zub sneezes that Harry realizes his monster isn’t lazy [...]

A whole bunch of questions for Lucy Knisley

relish

In her adult graphic-novel memoir Relish: My Life in the Kitchen (First Second, April 2013), Lucy Knisley portrays specific periods of her life and their associated “taste-memories” in a series of witty, touching vignettes. Relish begins with Lucy’s early childhood in New York City, growing up in a family of foodies with great faith in [...]

2013 Summer Reading from The Horn Book

The Horn Book Summer Reading Recommendations

We’re super-psyched to present our annual Summer Reading List, complete with free downloadable PDF sampler. These new books, published 2012-2013, have been hand-selected for kids of all ages, from preschoolers to teenagers. There’s (more than one) something for everyone! So hop on a hammock, sprawl on a beach — and don’t forget to bring a [...]

Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer on The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny)

beatles photo

In the May/June 2013 Horn Book Magazine, reviewer Robin Smith asked Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer, authors of The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny), about the Beatles’ music in their own lives. Read Robin’s review here. Robin L. Smith: What was the first Beatles song you memorized? Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer: The [...]

Beatrix Potter and the Horn Book

Emma Thompson's new Peter Rabbit adventure next to Beatrix Potter's original.

We just posted “Peter Rabbit and the Tale of the Fierce Bad Publisher,” Caroline Fraser’s excellent article about Emma Thompson’s The Further Adventures of Peter Rabbit and Frederick Warne’s methods for getting around copyright laws in order to keep protecting its cash cow. Or bunny. (Cash bunny? Buck bunny?) As someone who occasionally needs to [...]

YA mother-daughter reading recommendations

girl in the mirror

Last summer, website mom.me asked us to contribute to their feature “Books to Read With Your Teen Daughter.” Here are our recommendations from that article — plus a few new ones! — to get you ready for Mother’s Day. What YA book would you recommend for a mother-daughter read? Cindy: Cinder (Feiwel, 2012), the first [...]

Little Red Riding Hood app review

little red riding hood menu

All signs point to happily-ever-after in this interactive picture book app of the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood (Nosy Crow, April 2013). Vibrant, cheery colors set a lighthearted tone for wide-eyed and well-freckled Red’s familiar adventure through the woods to Grandma’s house. Unlike other, more gruesome renditions which often include an ax-wielding woodsman, [...]

May Notes from the Horn Book out today

may notes

In May’s Notes from the Horn Book, I chat with Emily Jenkins (yay!) about her new picture book Water in the Park, people-watching, and quirky pet names. Also in this issue: – more picture books about outdoor play – biographies of sports heroes – heroines of historical fiction – YA adventure stories on audio Subscribers to [...]

Eye-catching

Doll Bones by Holly Black

It was the little black velvet drawstring purse that caught my eye. The strip of antique-y eyelet cloth on which it sat was a quaint touch, to be sure, but the purse was what beckoned me. The purse, its mysterious contents, and cloth were secured with a black grosgrain ribbon around Holly Black’s newest book, [...]