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: A fat little red teddy bear is left behind on a train by his beloved Stevie who, says Red Ted, “loves me as much as she loves cheese.” A man in a hat places Red Ted on a shelf in a room housing other lost things, including a dejected crocodile who has been there [...]

Cindy: There’s nothing more fun than catching the first snowflake on your tongue or admiring one on your mitten, unless it’s reading The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder (Chronicle, 2009). Cassino provides clear text explaining the formation of snow crystals and snowflakes with stunning photographs of nature’s creation. Elementary teachers will delight [...]

Lynn: I have confessed here before about the flaw in my character – I am not a huge fan of poetry and I mostly dislike verse novels. Therefore I hope, gentle readers, that you will pay special attention to a verse novel that I love. Crossing Stones (Farrar/Frances Foster 2009) is extraordinary. First of all [...]

Lynn: There are so many wonderful elements in Where in the Wild (Tricycle Press 2007) and this year’s follow up Where Else in the Wild (Tricycle Press 2009) that it is hard to know where to start! Lovely poetry, gorgeous photography, skillful book design and well done factual material combine to make books that are [...]

Cindy: This might be the most fun graphic novel I’ve ever read and a good one to share with teachers who are still not sure about the format’s place in school. Julian Calendar is a nerd. When his family moves to a new school he sets out to have a fresh chance at popularity by [...]

Cindy: We have a pair of books today about building community nature projects (in the midst of Michigan winter we both like to think about gardening even if it will be months before we need our trowels again). A Summer of Silk Moths (Flux, 2009) is set in author Margaret Willey’s southwestern Michigan landscape and [...]

Lynn: Murphy opens Truce (Scholastic 2009) with a quote from Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, “What would happen, I wonder, if the armies suddenly and simultaneously went on strike and said some other method must be found of settling the dispute?” In the course of his research on The Great War, Murphy [...]

Cindy: Full disclosure. I’m a big-time gingerbread fan. My kitchen is decorated with them and I bake masses of them every year. So, it was only natural for me to want to taste The Gingerbread Pirates (Candlewick, 2009) and I’m happy to report that the book is a real treat! Jim and his mother are [...]

Lynn: I’ve been aching to read this book and when Cindy’s vendor order finally came in she brought Leviathan (S&S/Simon Pulse) straight to me. Talk about friendship! There is a lot to enjoy in just having the book in your hands. The cover and size of the book are attractive before you ever open the [...]

Lynn: Biologist David Ginsburg had a dilemma. He was researching in Antarctica where it was summer. How could he celebrate Hanukkah when it never got dark? As David dove into the dark freezing water to study the sea urchins he was there to research, that question stayed in his mind. Just before he had to [...]