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

Cindy: It’s very exciting to have had an early peek at Catching Fire (Scholastic, Sept. 1, 2009) but that just means the wait for book three will seem even longer! One thing I know for sure, it will be worth the wait, whether you are a lucky soul in the same boat, or if you [...]

Cindy: It’s fabulous to have a mandate to expand my reading to include preschool and elementary level after years of reading primarily for middle school. Now, when a review for a book with a title like this one, Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted to be Noticed (Viking, 2009) catches my eye, I feel it’s my [...]

Lynn: When Smithsonian scientist Dr. Douglas Owsley asked Sally Walker if she would be interested in writing a children’s book about the colonial settlers of the Chesapeake, she jumped at the idea. The result is a completely fascinating book that introduces and explains the processes of forensic anthropology while also painting a vivid picture of [...]

Cindy: I’ve been lusting after this book, since hearing the title, Let’s Do Nothing (Candlewick, 2009) announced at ALA Midwinter in Denver! Like most adults, my days are over-filled with responsibilities and chores and I long for time to “do nothing.” My teen daughter gave me a quote card this year that says “Doing nothing [...]

Lynn: Sometimes you just fall in love with a book and that is the case with The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Holt, May 2009) for me. I read it under trying circumstances too. I was suffering from a really horrendous case of poison ivy. (Yes, yes, I know about shiny leaves of three but who [...]

Lynn: “Bluebirds rock,” says award-winning photographer/author Pamela Kirby and it takes only a few pages of her glorious intimate pictures to agree with her. Kirby’s stunning photographs chronicle a pair of Eastern bluebirds as they raise five chicks in the nesting box in her backyard. Simple clear text provides fascinating information that is ideal for [...]

Lynn: Rich Wallace is a favorite author of mine. I can’t tell you how many 9th grade boys decided reading wasn’t so bad after they tried Wrestling Sturbridge or Shots on Goal. I also love books about chess so Wallace’s newest called out to me from the moment I saw it. Start with two brothers. [...]

Cindy: Today is the anniversary of Paul Zindel’s birthday, and since someone mentioned him in our last post about books on our “shelf of shame,” I thought we should celebrate today with some of his words of wisdom. If you haven’t read The Pigman & Me, you should. It starts with this warning to his [...]

Cindy: Okay, I admitted to not having read Nancy Werlin’s Edgar Adward-winning, multiple-starred-review novel Killer’s Cousin until just recently. What childrens or YA title is on your “shelf of shame?” Some of us spent waaaay too much time reading Nancy Drew books as a teen and missed out on some classics. A few years ago [...]

Cindy & Lynn: Happy Mother’s Day! Mother Poems (Henry Holt, 2009) is an emotional journey through grief and healing after a young girl loses her mother too soon. To honor the extraordinary powers of mothers everywhere, we’d like to share the celebratory poem that accompanies Smith’s collage illustration seen on the front cover. We’ve known [...]