by Kate Etue | Books for Kids
Our local bookstore has a kids’ section that’s a swath of red and green right now. But books like Clifford’s Christmas or It’s a SpongeBob Christmas are not my first choices. (You guys, I totally just made up those titles in my head,...
by Kate Etue | Books for Kids
Over the last few months I’ve received a stack of advance review novels that’s now literally taller than I am. But from the pile of books, three great middle-grade novels in particular have caught my attention. Each explores themes of justice, activism,...
by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Kids
I’m not going to pull punches here; like a lot of parents, I’m concerned about so many American kids growing up in an age where the normalization of a lot of really awful stuff — hatred, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, mass shootings — is part...
by Caroline Siegrist | Books for Kids
Let’s be honest, middle school sucks in more ways than we can count. Which is probably why so many of us relate to the plight of outsider-turned-insider-turned-outsider-again heroines like Cady Haron of Mean Girls, Heathers’ Veronica Sawyer, or Laney Boggs...
by Kate Etue | Books for Kids
I’m lucky to have a job that allows me to the opportunity to preview countless kids’ books each year. But admittedly, it often feels like a neverending stream of the same-old. However recently, I’ve noticed a trend of well-designed, beautifully...
by Georgette Gilmore | Books for Kids
The 2017 National Book Awards have just been announced, in time for those crisp autumn nights cuddling up with a good book. And while you should check out all the finalists in the fiction and nonfiction categories, we’re sharing the Young People’s...
by Georgette Gilmore | Books for Kids
Plenty of comic fans and geeks of all kinds are counting down the days until November 8. That’s they day you can get your hands on the much buzzed-about Blessing in Disguise by award-winning Nigerian-American writer Nnedi Okorafor. It’s an 8-page comic in...
by Georgette Gilmore | Books for Kids
We’re always on the lookout for children’s books that feature diverse characters, depict positive gender-neutral roles, and inspire. So I was pretty excited to discover this Kickstarter project for Seeing is Believing, a personalized picture book showing...
by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Kids
Earlier this week, I was introduced to the story of Cambridge, MA librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro, who graciously and thoughtfully declined to accept a box of Dr. Seuss books sent to her by Melania Trump as they were to a number of other high-achieving schools. I admit my...
by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Kids
Issues concerning civil rights and racial justice in America have never stopped being news. At least if you’re paying attention. However over the past few years, they’ve really become front and center in a more widespread way, thanks to the Black Lives...
by Caroline Siegrist | Books for Kids
The moment The Force Awakens movie introduced me to Rey, I wanted to know more. Who was this young brave scavenger? Where was her family? What is in that green portion bread she’s eating? Luckily for fans like me, there’s a new Star Wars Adventures comic...
by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Kids
Back when I first discovered Dave Eggers, I never would have thought that he’d turn out to be one of the beloved children’s authors on my kids’ bookshelves. But he’s certainly cemented that honor with the new Her Right Foot, an equally powerful...