Booklist Online: More than 130,000 book reviews for librarians, book groups, and book lovers - from the trusted experts at the American Library Association

Lynn: When most of us describe Abraham Lincoln, “techie” is not one of the terms that comes to mind. Now, thanks to Thomas and Roger Allen’s absorbing book, I realize that in today’s parlance, Lincoln was an early adapter! Mr. Lincoln’s High-Tech War (National Geographic, 2009) begins with the startling observation that Lincoln was born [...]

Cindy and Lynn: Recently on YALSA-BK listserv there was a request for suggestions from a librarian who wanted a list of “Clean Vampire” novels. Now, we appreciate the efforts to satiate the Stephenie Meyer Twilight fans and are working hard to do that ourselves, but really, clean vampire stories? It’s our feeling that if you [...]

Lynn: In recent years we have seen several books centering on a narrator with a condition in the Asperger’s syndrome spectrum. The device allows commentary from a detached perspective on social interaction, language and the customs we take for granted. The risk is in creating a voice that does not sound authentic, but books such [...]

Cindy and Lynn: We first wrote about Swim the Fly (Candlewick, April 2009) back in November at our original blog site, and you can read the complete comments here. But this funny book has done laps in our brains since then and we wanted to reprise our enthusiasm for it now that its pub date [...]

Google’s home page today features this tribute to the 40th Anniversary of the publication of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We at Bookends beat them to the celebration a few weeks ago. If you missed our post about the new pop-up version of this children’s classic, you can catch up here. Happy Birthday VHC!

Cindy: Joy exudes from Words to My Life’s Song (Atheneum, 2009). The sun shines on the front cover, the reader is embraced by Bryan’s welcoming arms, and each page is a glimpse of wonder amid splashes of color. In one storyline of this autobiography, readers are sauntering around Maine’s Cranberry Island, careful where they step [...]

Cindy: The advance reader copy of Patricia Wrede’s new book, The Thirteenth Child (Scholastic, April 2009), arrived in a package yesterday with a publisher note that included this statement: “With wit and wonder, Patricia Wrede creates an alternate history of westward expansion that will delight fans of both J. K. Rowling and Laura Ingalls Wilder.” [...]

Lynn: Glancing out her classroom at St. Veronica’s Upper School, Sophie St. Pierre sees a ghostly face in the house next door. Before you can say Nancy Drew, Sophie and her three friends are deeply embroiled in a twenty-year-old mystery involving hidden clues, a missing treasure, blackmailing villains, at least one red herring and, oh [...]

The Bones You Own by Becky Baines (National Geographic, Feb. 2009) Lynn: The curiosity of children makes them enthusiastic readers of nonfiction but it is hard to find nonfiction geared to the K-2 set. So it has been a delight to find the Zigzag series designed especially for new readers. Big bold text on colorful [...]

Lynn: There are authors for whom I take off my reviewer’s hat and just sit back, read and enjoy. The voice or the story or the humor just works for me. Deb Caletti is one of those authors (there are several – full disclosure here). I love her humor, her off-beat characters and her inclusion [...]