Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, February 2013) is a love song, and a lifeline, to every kid who has ever dreamed of Broadway while navigating the mean streets of Hometown, USA.…
Category: Out of the Mainstream: Gender, Ethnicity, and Disability
Politics Comes to Town: A Review of The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano
Fifteen-year-old Evelyn Serrano sees herself as an ordinary girl living in El Barrio, Spanish Harlem in 1969. She has just started a new job in a department store and is proud of her ability to earn money for herself and…
WRITTEN IN STONE
WRITTEN IN STONE by Rosanne Parry is a story about the struggles of one girl, Pearl, to help her family, her people, her Native culture survive. Many phrases will continue to echo in your heart: “I could raise him…
Wild Awake: The voice of mania while coming of age
Wild Awake (Katherine Tegan Books/HarperCollins) by Hilary T. Smith, $17.99. Hilary T. Smith creates an absorbing coming-of-age story with this debut novel depicting a world turned manic when a stranger calls 17-year old Kiri Byrd and…
Review: If You Could Be Mine
I’ve heard it said that good books mirror for readers their experiences of our world and open windows through which readers can share the experience of others. That is how we find solace, find ourselves, grow, learn, build empathy, and…
Human Trafficking in Space: A Review of The Color of Rain
When people think of books for children and teens that address social justice issues, contemporary and historical fiction and nonfiction are the genres that come to mind. Rarely do we think of speculative fiction as inherently political, though dystopian novels…
This summer read is layered with substance
The Secret Ingredient (Delacorte Books for Young Readers) by Stewart Lewis, $17.99 As with every good summer read, this novel brings a girl, sixteen-year-old Olivia, together with a gorgeous guy named Theo, who works at her dad’s restaurant, only…
Childhood Meets the Real World: A Review of P.S. Be Eleven
In Portugal last fall I was struck by the lengths to which parents would go to shelter their children from the hardships of the economic crisis. When I visited the malls and department stores to practice my Portuguese vocabulary, I…
CLA / NCTE: Notable Children’s Books in Language Arts
WALKING ON EARTH AND TOUCHING THE SKY is part of a bouquet of beautiful books selected each year by CLA / NCTE: Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts. One of my favorites of the several poetry titles is: WALKING…
A Silver Anniversary and the 2013 Skipping Stones Honor Awards
This year marks a big milestone for the non-profit multicultural children’s magazine Skipping Stones. Founded in 1988 by educator Arun Toke, Skipping Stones is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The magazine offers articles for children from the elementary level and up,…