Dead End in Norvelt

Title: Dead End in Norvelt Author: Jack Gantos ISBN: 9780374379933 Pages: 341 pages Publisher/Date: Farrar Straus Giroux, c2011. BLAM! The rifle fired off and violently kicked out of my grip. It flipped into the air before clattering down across the picnic table and sliding onto the ground. “Oh sweet cheeze-us!” I wailed, and dropped butt-first [...]

Heart and Soul

Title: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans Author/Illustrator: Kadir Nelson ISBN: 9780061730740 Pages: 108 pages Publisher/Date: Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, c2011. Awards: Won Coretta Scot King Author Award, 2012 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, 2012 Most folks my age and complexion don’t speak much about the past. Sometimes it’s [...]

One Crazy Summer

Title: One Crazy Summer Author: Rita Williams-Garcia ISBN: 97800607960885 Pages: 218 pages Publisher/Date: Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, c2010. “We were a block away from the green stucco house, chatting and laughing. Then we stopped walking. All three of us. There were three police cars parked outside of Cecile’s house. One in the driveway and [...]

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night

Title: Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night Author: Joyce Sidman Illustrator: Rick Allen ISBN: 9780547152288 Pages: 32 pages Publisher/Date: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, c2010. “To all of you who crawl and creep, who buzz and chirp and hoot and peep, who wake at dusk and throw off sleep: Welcome to the night.” [...]

Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix

Title: Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix Author: Gary Golio Illustrator: Javaka Steptoe ISBN: 9780618852796 Pages: 32 pages Publisher/Date: Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, c2010. The cover should give you a clue that this picture book just explodes with color! At times, the double page [...]

Fat Cat

Title: Fat Cat Author: Robin Brande ISBN: 9780375844492 Pages: 327 pages Publisher/Date: Alfred A. Knopf, c2009. That’s when I knew what I should do. I knew if I made this my project, I’d really have to take it seriously. I couldn’t back out. I couldn’t cheat. This would be for a grade and for the [...]

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

Title: The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg Author: Rodman Philbrick Narrator: William Dufris ISBN: 9780739372326 Pages: 224 pages Discs: 4 CDs, 5 hours 1 minute Publisher/Date: The Blue Sky Press, c2009. My name is Homer P. Figg, and these are my true adventures. I mean to write them down, every one, including all [...]

Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo

Title: Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo Author: Greg Leitich Smith ISBN: 0316011819 Pages: 188 pages Publisher/Date: Little, Brown and Company, c2003. I hung up the phone and ran upstairs. My dad was in his third-floor tower den, attacking his cello with the bow, looking like he was trying to slice its strings in two. When I [...]

ALA Awards

ALA announced the top books, audiobooks, and videos for children and young adults for 2010 on Monday. And here I thought we were just celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday! Silly Me. So, I’m obviously late in posting, but here are the highlights: John Newbery Medal Winner: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead Honor: [...]

Almost Astronauts

Title: Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream Author: Tanya Lee Stone ISBN: 9780763636111 Pages: 133 pages Publisher/Date: Candlewick Press, c2009. “Their original group was thirteen. [...] It was 1969 when they took their shot at being astronauts. Back then, women weren’t allowed to rent a car or take out a loan from the [...]