Featured Posts
The Day You Begin
When you feel different, the world around you can tell. It shows in the fear on your face, the slump in your shoulders, the distance between you and others in your class. And the children around you will remind you how different you are with their … [Read More...]
Native American Heritage Month 2018
November is Native American Heritage Month, a celebration of the many varied Native American cultures. Check out the official website for more information and lots of resources. Here are some additional articles and links from The Horn Book's … [Read More...]
Make a Circle
Children’s books are better today than they were when my own children were small. At least, I think they are. It’s possible that good books existed in the late- to mid-1970s and 1980s, and I lacked the leisure to find them on the shelves. Going to … [Read More...]
Week in Review, November 12th – 16th
This week on hbook.com… From the November/December 2018 issue of The Horn Book Magazine: "The CCBC’s Diversity Statistics: Spotlight on LGBTQ+ Stories" by Madeline Tyner From The Guide: "We Need Middle-Grade LGBTQ+ Books" November's Notes … [Read More...]
RIP William Goldman
There’s a history in this office of Feelings about The Princess Bride. Some Horn Bookers find it irritating how often people quote it. (I can’t imagine why.) And others believe that this story within a story is a dweam wiffin a dweam. That “Fencing. … [Read More...]
Blogs
CaldeNOTT
On Saturday, December 1, Horn Book reviewer and all around Great Guy Thom Barthelmess is going to be leading his annual CaldeNOTT Award discussion here at Simmons, sponsored by the Horn Book and the Center for the Study of Children's Literature. The … [Read More...]
Native American Heritage Month 2018
November is Native American Heritage Month, a celebration of the many varied Native American cultures. Check out the official website for more information and lots of resources. Here are some additional articles and links from The Horn Book's … [Read More...]
Haiku: A Small Poem with Great Potential
snow melting the village brimming over… with children! --Issa (1763-1828) (translated by David Lanoue) Yes, I was taught that a haiku, a short poem that originated in Japan centuries ago, was supposed to consist of three lines of five, seven, … [Read More...]
The Day You Begin
When you feel different, the world around you can tell. It shows in the fear on your face, the slump in your shoulders, the distance between you and others in your class. And the children around you will remind you how different you are with their … [Read More...]
Review of the Week
Review of Fangsgiving
Fangsgiving by Ethan Long; illus. by the author Primary Bloomsbury 32 pp. 9/18 978-1-68119-825-5 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-68119-826-2 $11.89 The Fright Club (rev. 9/15) monsters are cooking up a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, from sweet potato casserole to turkey. But what to do when vampire Vladimir’s family shows up unexpectedly? Invite them in — the more the merrier! Except…Aunt Bessy complains about garlic mashed potatoes (because vampire), Uncle Gus electrocutes the … [Read More...]
App Review of the Week
Sesame Street app review
Can you tell me how to get to…tons of wonderful educational videos and games for preschoolers? Just like the neighborhood itself, the Sesame Street companion app (Sesame Workshop, 2014; iOS and Android) is the place to be: a free account gives a child access to a large selection of games as well as new and classic (ad-free) video clips from the television show. The home screen offers a handful of featured videos and games. Below that, large icons link to additional videos organized by topic … [Read More...]
Recommended Books
Review of Fangsgiving
Fangsgiving by Ethan Long; illus. by the author Primary Bloomsbury 32 pp. 9/18 978-1-68119-825-5 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-68119-826-2 $11.89 The Fright Club (rev. 9/15) monsters … [Read More...]
Review of Piecing Me Together audiobook
Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson; read by the author Middle School, High School Recorded Books Rev. 7/17 5 CDs 5.5 hrs 978-1-5019-9779-2 $51.75 Watson (winner of the 2018 … [Read More...]
From The Guide: We Need Middle-Grade LGBTQ+ Books
Publishers take note. According to Madeline Tyner’s article “The CCBC’s Diversity Statistics: Spotlight on LGBTQ+ Stories”: “We received very little LGBTQ+ fiction for middle-grade readers [in … [Read More...]
Review of What Do You Do with a Voice like That?: The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan
What Do You Do with a Voice like That?: The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan by Chris Barton; illus. by Ekua Holmes Primary, Intermediate Beach Lane/Simon 48 pp. 9/18 … [Read More...]
Books mentioned in the November 2018 issue of Notes from the Horn Book
Five questions for Traci Sorell and Frané Lessac We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, illus. by Frané Lessac, Charlesbridge, 5–8 years. Noticing nature's cycles They Say Blue by Jillian … [Read More...]
Interviews
Five questions for Traci Sorell and Frané Lessac
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lessac (Charlesbridge, 5–8 years), is a lushly illustrated, through-the-seasons look at a contemporary Cherokee community's daily … [Read More...]
Erin Entrada Kelly Talks with Roger
Talks with Roger is a sponsored supplement to our free monthly e-newsletter, Notes from the Horn Book. To receive Notes, sign up here. Sponsored by In You Go First, 2018 Newbery medalist … [Read More...]
Five questions for Kate DiCamillo
Fans of Kate DiCamillo’s Raymie Nightingale will remember Louisiana Elefante as the perceptive friend (and orphaned daughter of trapeze artists) who reassures the others: “We’ll rescue each other.” In … [Read More...]
Kiersten White Talks with Roger
Talks with Roger is a sponsored supplement to our free monthly e-newsletter, Notes from the Horn Book. To receive Notes, sign up here. Sponsored by You might not remember Elizabeth … [Read More...]
Jennifer A. Nielsen Talks with Roger
Talks with Roger is a sponsored supplement to our free monthly e-newsletter, Notes from the Horn Book. To receive Notes, sign up here. Sponsored by Although Jennifer A. Nielsen has … [Read More...]
