Itsuwaribito (vol. 1) by Yuuki Iinuma
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 ...
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...
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 ...
Ando, now in 11th grade, is more or less going through the motions of fitting in: "If I said I didn't feel empty inside for putting up an act ...
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...
Having grown up Catholic (I'm still in recovery), nothing works better than leftover Catholic guilt to get me to do something I'm whinge-ing about. The supreme irony about my former Catholicism is...
The simplicity of Australian author/artist Jeannie Baker's latest title makes it simply stupendous. Open the book and you have two halves on either side, the left which begins in English, and right which...
The title – Indivisible – the editors explain, is "a word taken from the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance." Through the 49 diverse American voices represented here with roots in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and...
Teru Kurebayashi is pretty much all alone in the world. Her parents are gone, and her beloved older brother is dead … but before his tragic too-early passing, he left her with a...
Inspired by three years of living in Thailand with her family and visiting refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border, Mitali Perkins’ latest novel follows the lives of two boys on...
The final title of Caroline B. Cooney's award-winning Janie Johnson quartet begins with a newspaper article that marks the anniversary of the "Missing Child Milk Carton Campaign" that – for better...
If you haven’t read the first two titles of the Janie Johnson quartet, then skip this post for sure … no fun knowing too much! And, as the third volume proves, knowing...
Award-winning author Caroline Cooney never intended to write a sequel to The Face on the Milk Carton, which she ends with an uncertain telephone call: "I wanted you...
Delighted guffawing is inevitable as soon as you open the pages. And most especially fitting if you are a proud, obstinate Luddite like me! Move over Kindles, Nooks, iPads, Vooks, and whatever other...
As today is Halloween, here's a story that promises to scare, chill, and thrill you ...
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...