Publications about books for children and young adults
Three notable children’s-book illustrators bring their own histories to life. Marisabina Russo tells a story based on her mother’s experience in wartime Italy in I Will Come Back for You: A Family in Hiding During World War II. A young Jewish girl lives in Rome with her family until Italy joins forces with Nazi Germany [...]
An earlier picture book by Claire A. Nivola, Elisabeth, told about the true experience of her mother, Ruth, a Jewish child whose family fled Nazi Germany. In Orani: My Father’s Village, author-illustrator Nivola takes readers along on a remembrance of her childhood visits to the small Sardinian town where her father was born. 1. Tomie [...]
Oceanhouse Media’s Once upon a Potty app is true to the original. The focus is on the text and illustrations; digital enhancements are used sparingly and effectively. There are some polite potty sound effects and humor, and though I’m sure the urge was strong (get it?!) to make more of a splash (it’s too easy!), the producers wisely kept the intended audience in mind. The narrative’s reassuring tone, nonthreatening pictures, and unobtrusive music help distractible toddlers focus on the important information.
V O L U M E 4 , N U M B E R 8 • A U G U S T 2 0 1 1 In this issue Five questions for Marc Aronson • More new nonfiction • Dot-dot-dash — concept books with a twist • YA novels you’ve been waiting for • Of interest to adults • From the Editor For a list of books mentioned in this issue, see link below. Masthead art © by William Steig, used [...]
One of the things I love best about my work in children’s literature is how seamlessly it melds with my life as a mother. When I was elected to serve on the 2011 Caldecott committee, I wrote to family and friends, saying, “Thousands of picture books will come my way and I have just the [...]
by Patricia Lee Gauch My quest to track down the Newbery began a long way from this country. I had been asked to speak at the Mubarak Library in Cairo to a group of Egyptian writers on “The Heartbeat of Children’s Literature.” A gentleman named Yacoub el-Sharoni, one of Egypt’s most famous writers of children’s [...]
by Ashely Waring Life with my two young sons is a study in contrasts. Alden (almost five) is high-strung; Griffin (my two-year-old) is mellow. Alden couldn’t care less about food; Griffin lives to eat. Alden keeps to himself; Griffin never stops talking. Alden has autism; Griffin does not. That last contrast is a biggie, and [...]
By Janet Hamilton Google “best books for children,” and you’ll get lists of (mostly) fiction books characterized by imaginative writing and excellent pictures — great stories with captivating illustrations. Why should the elements of a good science book be any different? As far as engaging stories go, science writers have it made. Who could invent [...]
