Just a Lucky So and So: The Story of Louis Armstrong by Lesa Cline-Ransome; illus. by James Ransome Primary Holiday 40 pp. 4/16 978-0-8234-3428-2 $16.95 e-book ed. 978-0-8234-3598-2 $16.95 Today’s child may know Louis Armstrong only as the trumpeter of “What a Wonderful World” or as a character in an old movie; the Ransomes’ newest […]
Archives for June 2016
Review of Grayling’s Song
Grayling’s Song by Karen Cushman Intermediate Clarion 210 pp. 6/16 978-0-544-30180-1 $16.99 g Cushman’s previous works (The Midwife’s Apprentice, rev. 7/95; Will Sparrow’s Road, rev. 11/12; etc.) fall into the realm of historical fiction; this novel is historically based but a fantasy, set in a culture inspired by, but not wedded to, medieval Europe. It’s […]
Back from ALA
I’m back from ALA, but I hope that before Conference gets too far behind us that everybody takes a few minutes to read Christopher Myers’ meditation on the killings in Orlando that happened earlier this month. Chris proposed this piece to me last Tuesday night via email and got it to me Thursday morning; we […]
Review of The Moon’s Almost Here
The Moon’s Almost Here by Patricia MacLachlan; illus. by Tomie dePaola Primary McElderry 32 pp. 6/16 978-1-4814-2062-4 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-4814-2063-1 $10.99 MacLachlan’s lyrical text combines with ethereal illustrations by dePaola in this simultaneously nostalgic and fresh bedtime book. A generous trim size gives dePaola ample space for the sky under which his characters, the […]