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: Did you know that craft books work for Mystery Month too? They do when they are Sneaky Art projects. Jocelyn’s creative ideas for creating and hiding mystery “sneaky” art in public spaces will leave the recipients wondering “whodunit?” Sneaky Art: Crafty Suprises to Hide in Plain Sight (Candlewick 2013) is full of fun ideas, [...]

Lynn:  It’s pretty exciting when a new baby first comes home but for a toddler, that magic often diminishes as reality sets in and the baby gets a lot of attention.  Phoebe & Digger (Candlewick 2013) is a wonderfully funny, nuanced look at that common situation from the toddler’s point of view.  In our story [...]

Lynn:  Most mystery fans love sequels.  We fall in love with a character and can’t wait to read along as he or she takes on a new case.  I’m in that camp and I love nothing more than another installment of my favorite sleuth.  So for our continuing celebration of Mystery Month, here are two [...]

Lynn:  The lives of artists are often a challenge to write about for children and none more so than Diego Rivera.  Controversial in almost all aspects of  his life, Diego Rivera was also a towering figure in the art world (and in stature) and his work remains incredibly powerful today. Susan Goldman Rubin’s new book, [...]

Lynn:  For so many children, milk is something that is found in large white bottles at the local store.  They know it comes from cows but how it gets from cows to store is pretty vague.  It’s Milking Time (Random 2013) provides an exploration of that process using a surprising amount of detail while doing [...]

Cindy: Sometimes the biggest mystery about a book is the cover art! When Lynn and I worked together in the library we did tandem booktalking a lot. It was good for the students since we each had our own genre strengths and preferences (hers were science fiction and mystery and I favored horror and sad [...]

Cindy: Some books grow on you in surprising ways. I read On a Beam of Light (Chronicle 2013), liked it, and set it aside to take to school to show my 6th grade science teachers but I wasn’t planning to write a blog post about it. But overnight its messages haunted me.  One of my [...]

Mystery Month is underway at Booklist and there is a lot of fun ahead. If you like your mystery served up with a heavy dose of fantasy, you will enjoy puzzling out the many mysteries woven into Sage Blackwood’s stellar novel. Cindy: It’s a good day when you find a new fantasy that reminds you [...]

Lynn:  Cooking is a hot topic these days.  I remember the days when cooking was the stay-at-home-mom’s sole province but not only has American cooking changed markedly from the Campbell’s soup and casseroles days but men are often the major cooks in the family.  My oldest son is a far better cook than I am [...]

Lynn:  Count me as one who never tires of immigration stories!  They are the heart and soul of who we are as a nation and each one brings a new version of the experience.  There are so many good ones but Paul Fleischman and Bagram Ibatoulline have teamed up to give us something special in [...]