Her name is Clara Lee .. "first and last. It just sounds better that way. Like peanut butter and jelly, like trick-or-treat, or fairy and princess, those words just go together. Just like me, Clara Lee." She's the newest – and first Korean American! – heroine from...
Sometimes even the saddest tragedies can eventually lead to happy new beginnings ...
Long, long ago, the Eight Noble Sages helped a noble warrior found the ancient great nation of Saiunkoku, "the country of the coloured clouds," and eventually "brought about the dawning of the Age of Man." Therein lies the problem, of course ...
Every new year seems to begin with a fervent prayer/wish/hope for true PEACE. So far in my own lifetime, worldwide peace hasn't been achieved. Still, I have a few more years left in me and surely enough stubbornness to believe peace can truly happen before...
Martha Boyle opens her front door one day to find the mother of her dead classmate, Olive Barstow, with what seems to be almost a message from beyond. Olive, a girl too new in...
This one starts with a mini-dilemma of choice ...
If you had any expectations from seeing Mark Haddon's name on the cover that this might be a deeply thoughtful novel about family relations, you'd be rather surprised. This is not Haddon's 2003 breakout title, A...
When I hear "collateral damage," one thing I've never thought of before (I know, shame on me!) are the animals! And how much more tragic are the animals trapped in cages ...
This time of the year, in spite of my higher-than-usual crank factor with all the commercial hubbub, I do enjoy escaping into mushy, happy books. Here's one to add to the holiday list,...
Living in the "Village of Orphans," Utsuho is constantly in trouble. He doesn't do his chores, he disappears when needed, but worst of all, he lies. "Lying is the worst thing ...
As much as this time of the year makes me sooooo cranky with too much focus on the frantic buy-buy-buy messages all around us, it also makes me a total mushpot for...
His name is Leonardo, he'll answer to Leo, but he's most often called "sardine" by his nearest and dearest because several years ago, "Leo got squashed in a corner and cried ...
Checking my inbox yesterday, I received quite a flurry of emails highlighting the latest announcement that Chinese students are outscoring all other students in international standardized testing, with their U.S. counterparts ranked 23 or...
Given the somber subject matter of this title, I realize this probably verges on sacrilegious, but no disrespect is intended in any way ...
Alas, tragic headlines continue to repeat over and over: The front page of today's New York Times reports, "Iraq's Ills Lead Former Exiles to Flee Again." [An online version of the article is available...
Yes, President Obama's first picture book is, of course, a gorgeous gift to his two young daughters. But it's also quite a legacy for every child anywhere as it reminds us that...
I fully admit that had Mockingbird not won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature last week, I probably wouldn't have read it. I'll also tell you that by page 9, I...
We've all heard the stories of palate-adventurers willing to go to extreme lengths to try some of the most ...
At 14, Moritaka Mashiro figures he's "just going to live a normal life." For a teenager, that translates into "getting into a good high school, a good college and a good company to work...
Whether a soldier or a civilian, no one ever escapes the consequences of war. While those on the fighting front face the greatest risks, those left behind have excruciating challenges, as well. Two-time Newbery...
