Here's a dilemma: If you knew how much a book series might deteriorate by its final title, would you read all the way through to the bitter end? As contrary as I am, I probably would ...
As her name suggests, Wild Rose is no wallflower. She's too busy running through the meadow spooking the sheep, avoiding lightning, whirling in the wind, splashing in the rain's leftover rivers, to answer her grandmother's call to come learn to weave. While Wild Rose enjoys...
Ever since the fabulous audible version of No More Dead Dogs kept my then-backseated young 'uns highly entertained through many a traffic jam, Gordon Korman holds special favor on the contraptions that have taken over their now-teenage ears. [Pop, by the way, earned a double rave.] Oldster me is still laughing along...
Being in the throes of adolescence, my two teenagers have little they agree on ...
Short shorts (of the literary variety, ahem!) are not particularly new. Hemingway (no, I'm not a fan) probably gave the genre its biggest boost with his exemplary six-word version: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Given our overloaded 21st-century mental circuits, short shorts seem to be just...
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 ...
From the genius creator of It's a Book (still my personal battle cry!) comes another delightful low-tech celebration of things that don't require electricity! "He was born a really long time ago," the tale begins, "before computers or cell phones or television." Imagine that sort...
It's another weekend ...
Quick: Growing up, how many kids did you know who carried epi-pens? I can't think of a single child (I'm dating myself, I'm sure), except for silly me, but mine were for bee stings. That certainly is not the case now! Our daughter was always...
A magician, his dog, their groceries come home and settle in to relax, eventually drifting off for a nap. Meanwhile, a rabbit peeks out from the magician’s hat, sees the snoozing man and dog, notices the carrot on the counter, and decides he must have...
Let me know if you’ve heard this one before – a poor man gets rich, gets greedy, not to mention careless and lazy, and loses everything. No … I’m actually not referring to the latest Wall Street headlines! This playful new version gets retold by peripatetic...
Today's theme, I've decided, is families that come together in unexpected ways. I have good reason – I'm moderating an event at the Library of Congress on transracial adoption at noon (eek!) – and I have a gorgeous debut novel I must share (it's always about a...
For parents of a certain generation, Raffi was like the Pied Piper: he sang, kids listened, they often fell asleep. Back then, that was the mark of a miraculous, massively talented performer. In our house, Thing 1 had a serious preference for "Baby Beluga" at bedtime,...
I think someone clearly pushed the 'fast-forward' button and jammed it ...
For those who missed the perennial chart-topper on the list of “Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2010” during the recent Banned Books Week 2011, feel free to click here. That's your eyebrow-raised warning right up front that even though these two delightful protagonists both have families, one...
All is definitely not fair in love and war ...
In case you needed another reminder, Banned Books Week continues for a couple more days ...
Since Craig Thompson's Habibi hit shelves last week (official release date was last Tuesday, September 20), I guess the secret of its magnificence is out ...
