As today is Halloween, here's a story that promises to scare, chill, and thrill you ...
David, age 9, and Primrose, age 13, make for strange friends, especially with the rate at which they seem to enjoy exchanging "I hate you!"-moments! But David is new to own, living with his grandmother since his mother suddenly died last year from a freak...
Growing up in Seattle, Washington, young Jimi Hendrix first made music on a one-string ukulele. He drew, he told funny stories, he hung out at the local record store with his friends "who never teased him about his worn-out clothes and wild hair ...
When the local San Francisco public school denied Mamie Tape admission solely based on her Chinese heritage, her parents sued the city's Board of Education in what became the landmark 1885 case, Tape vs. Hurley. Mamie was seven years old, the American-born child of middle-class Chinese...
Heads up for DC-area locals … mark your calendars: you can meet Jacqueline Woodson on November 9, 2010 at Fairfax County Government Center, Fairfax, Virginia! Click here for details! And now through October 31, 2010, a play version of Locomotion is up at the Kennedy Center...
Given the sheer number of books that arrive in the mailbox, I rarely pick up a title and start reading immediately. But something about Migritude (debuting from fabulous indie publisher Kaya Press: 'Smokin' Hot Books'!!) demanded 'read me NOW!' Once opened, I could hardly put...
Since all of earth has been declared a nature preserve, mankind now inhabits a "giant apartment complex," which orbits 35,000 meters above the deserted planet. Society is literally stratified, with the upper level residents afforded greater privileges while the basement dwellers live with limited resources. Five...
Parents, don't let your kids grow up to be football players! If ever you needed convincing, read this book ...
How cool is this? You can read the serialized version of this manga by clicking here. Or, you can watch the anime version online by clicking here. Although, I'll have to admit that I much prefer having it all right here in one book (the first...
I admit that when one of my favorite friends told me she voluntarily gave up enjoying the blooming delights on a family trip through Death Valley in order to finish The Help, I picked up the book for a second time, determined to find out...
If you had any doubts before, pick up some of Laurie Halse Anderson's titles – her now-classic Speak and Wintergirls, to start – and you can't help but realize that today's high schools can be utter hell. [You could also go check out the new...
Most teenagers seem to go through that 'I-hate-my-parents'-phase ...
To better appreciate this biography of tennis legend Arthur Ashe – first-ever African American Grand Slam champion, #1 tennis champion in the world – read it backwards. That is, turn to the back and first read the "Author's Note" on the last page. Why? Because author Crystal Hubbard...
Through 11 dovetailing stories that begin in the 1980s and move toward today, Angie Chau's absorbing debut collection, Quiet As They Come, follows three branches of an extended family that has miraculously escaped the Vietnam War. The 12 refugees attempt to adapt and survive the...
Who knew blood and gore could fly off a printed page? The opening three-volume compendium of this international bestseller showcases some of the most graphic (pardon the pun) violence in pen and ink … don’t read this alone at night. Those unblinking corpses hacked to...
Censored in China, the latest novel in English translation from Yan Lianke (Serve the People!) is a brutal morality tale of a country undergoing transition; the citizens are mere “dogs, or chickens, or ants crushed underfoot” in a larger-than-life tragedy. China’s plan to fill its...
Here's a solid piece of history ...
The versatile Jane Yolen – apparently she hates the word "prolific" according to a recent interview – debuts her 300th title bearing her good name over the half century she's been writing! No, that's not a typo. Yes, truly 300 books! No wonder she's been called...
Family and friends from all over are arriving to celebrate Grandma's 70th birthday. Together they gather to eat and laugh ...
I'm not so sure about my tween son reading this sooner than later (it's part of his English curriculum this school year) ...
