Publications about books for children and young adults
In Brian Selznick’s Caldecott Medal–winning novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, protagonist Hugo muses, “Machines never have any extra parts. They have the exact number and type of parts they need. So I figure if the entire world is a big machine, I have to be here for some reason. And that means you have [...]
With its ruby-slipper-red glitter cover, The Wizard of Oz: A Scanimation Book by Rufus Butler Seder (Workman, September) caught my eye. The book attempts to bring to life ten scenes from the 1939 movie. Scanimation might be best described as a modern-day flip book. Pictures are covered by finely striped plastic; when you tilt the [...]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two opened in theaters on Friday to the delight and trepidation of fans everywhere. Movie-goers be warned: there is no summary or introduction as in the previous films—they really did just split one long film into two—so it’s definitely worthwhile to re-watch Part One (review here) prior to [...]
Last night, like fans everywhere, I got gussied up in my best Hogwarts gear and went to see the final Harry Potter movie premiere at midnight. Despite the fact that I’m running on about 3 hours of sleep (yawn!) and lots of caffeine today, I’m so glad I was able to be a part of [...]
After posting last week about Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer movie tie-in books, I went to see how Judy translated to the big screen. I had already read some less-than-stellar reviews of the movie, and the novelization based on the screenplay didn’t live up to the original nine books. Even these warnings did [...]
Last Friday, Mr. Popper’s Penguins opened in movie theaters. It is very loosely based on the beloved 1938 novel by Richard and Florence Atwater, which focuses on an absent-minded house painter who longs to travel to the Poles. The novel’s Mr. Popper receives a gift of twelve penguins from Admiral Drake in response to a [...]
Get out your pink boa and sunglasses! This past Friday the movie Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, based on the bestselling book series by author Megan McDonald and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, opened in theaters. Whether or not you had a chance to see it in the theaters this past weekend, here are [...]
Jay Asher and his YA bestseller Thirteen Reasons Why are featured in the new Entertainment Weekly, just in time for the novel’s paperback release today. I read Thirteen Reasons Why shortly after it came out in 2007 and found it powerful; I’m not surprised that it has gained such a strong following. (I do have [...]
Ahoy, mates! In conjunction with today’s opening of the film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Disney Book Group just published a Pirates of the Caribbean novel titled The Price of Freedom. Written by A.C. Crispin, this 600-plus page yarn provides a back story for everyone’s favorite pirate: Captain Jack Sparrow. Twenty-five-year-old Jack has [...]
I have to admit that when I slipped Amy Holder’s debut novel The Lipstick Laws (HMH/Graphia, April) off the shelf, I was motivated mainly by the jacket summary’s similarity to Mean Girls. Packed with cliques, hot boys, revenge, and a tyrannical friendship pact sealed with a bright red kiss, The Lipstick Laws would be ripe [...]
