Happy 280th birthday to George Washington today, even if his official federal holiday (since 1879 by an Act of Congress!) always falls on a non-birthdate: by the Julian calendar, GW was born February 11, on the Gregorian February 22 [those colonials changed calendars in 1752], but...
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is one of those mega-award-winning Canadian authors (with more than a dozen titles) who hasn't crossed over our shared border (just yet!) with the same success. She's best known for her historical novels for younger readers about what must be one of...
The award-winning wife-and-husband children's book team of Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome capture Frederick Douglass' early years from his slave birth to his first escape attempt as a teenager. Using Douglass' autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, American Slave and pulling quotes directly from Douglass' own memories, author Cline-Ransome...
Take a careful look at this book cover ...
Houston, 1968 is a tough place to be different. The Long family has just moved from San Antonio to a Houston suburb where Jack Long has taken a new job as "the race reporter" for a local television station. At home, his wife watches the...
Remember the title of Katherine Boo’s new book Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, because you will see it on upcoming nominee lists for the next round of Very Important Literary Prizes. That Boo won the Pulitzer in 2000,...
If you're an American of a certain age, and went to public school when music class was still considered relevant and mandatory, you'll most likely recognize this historical song. Here's the link to legendary folk singer Pete Seeger's rendition. "What's going on here?" the front book...
Can anyone really understand such a number: 5,400,000. The death of a single loved one can leave you staggering and lost ...
Surely this is one of the most dramatic before-and-after reading experiences I've ever had: I read Mountains last fall when it first landed on my desk and then again just recently after I landed back from East Africa. What a difference a few thousands of miles...
Trust me on this one: Debut author Glenda Armand’s Love Twelve Miles Long is THE perfect book to share today. "This was a special night," the story begins, "Mama had come to visit ...
On his deathbed, Irena Sendler's father taught her the lesson that would guide her life. At age 7, she internalized his dying words: "...
Yu Hua is a grand master of subversion. Just as his title – China In Ten Words – promises, Yu “compress[es] the endless chatter of China today into ten simple words ...
I swear this it not a spoiler because it's on the dedication page: Dwayne dies. His dates are right there before the book even starts: "1968-2009." Which is really quite sad, because inherited employee Dwayne Wright is one of the two most colorful Characters (capital...
What formative experiences make a great children’s book illustrator? In the case of Allen Say and Ed Young, both Caldecott medalists, the journey begins with unusual childhoods in wartime Asia. Connecting the dots from those beginnings to what would become long and successful careers, Drawing...
On a long flight to Korea, I took the Park Sisters along to sweeten the tedious ride. I was barreling my way toward an international children’s literature festival where I was scheduled to talk about Korean American literature and, of course, the sisters and their...
Luis Alberto Urrea's 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for General Nonfiction reads like a heart-thumping thriller, complete with big cars and big guns, desperate men and boys, waiting women, and an enormous body count. That the story is true instantly turns it into a modern tragedy of epic...
Before you open Somaly Mam's astonishing memoir, you need to be prepared to bear witness to some of the most horrific acts a human being can commit against another, especially helpless young girls. Once you begin, the frank, unmitigated writing will not allow you to...
In case you needed another reminder, Banned Books Week continues for a couple more days ...
Melissa Fay Greene first arrived last spring in my mailbox via her latest book, No Biking in the House Without a Helmet, and made me cry. But she also left me tickled with joyous laughter at the antics of her sprawling, multiplying, multi-ethnic family. While Biking made me...
Cleopatra: "Serpent of the Nile" by Mary Fisk Pack, illustrated by Peter Malone Agrippina: "Atrocious and Ferocious" by Shirin Yim Bridges, illustrated by Peter Malone Mary Tudor: "Bloody Mary" by Gretchen Maurer, illustrated by Peter Malone Catherine de' Medici: "The Black Queen" by Janie Havemeyer, illustrated by Peter Malone Marie...
