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Lynn: “I have used these things to say what is to me the wideness and wonder of the world.” – Georgia O’Keeffe.  Rubin has chosen this most appropo of quotations for the title of her latest biography, Wideness and Wonder:  The Life and Art of Georgia O’Keeffee (Chronicle 2011).  It is an absorbing book and [...]

Cindy: Alex Flinn’s Beastly and A Kiss in Time are very popular in my middle school libraries and her latest romance featuring lesser known fairy tales, Cloaked (HarperTeen 2011) is sure to be as well. Let’s start with The Elves and the Shoemaker: Johnny is a shoe-repair expert working in a small shop in a [...]

Lynn: Cindy and I may differ on our favorite genres but we are in complete agreement about funny books.  It is REALLY hard to write funny books and we LOVE them.  Kristen Tracy writes really funny books and today we are going to talk about two of them.  I get to start with The Reinvention [...]

Cindy: Dana Reinhardt gets better with every book and The Summer I Learned to Fly (Random/Wendy Lamb 2011) is no exception. Last year’s The Things a Brother Knows was a piercing look at the relationship between two boys and the impact of war. In this story, Reinhardt examines the intricacies of mother-daughter relationships and perfectly captures [...]

Cindy: The Tompkins siblings, India, Finn, and young Mouse (who makes fabulous squeaking noises) have their world turned upside down in No Passengers Beyond This Point (Dial 2011) when their mother tells them that their house has been foreclosed on and she is sending them by themselves to live with an uncle in Colorado while she finishes teaching out [...]

Lynn: Quick quiz!  What are hovering and whiffling, rumbling, ear flaps and trunk curls?  All these are among the many ways elephants communicate.  In Elephant Talk:  The Surprising Science of Elephant Communication (Twenty-First Century 2011) Downer presents not only the story of the complex story of elephant communication but also the scientific processes behind these [...]

Cindy: I have to admit that when Lynn suggested Bird in a Box (Little, Brown 2011) for our blog schedule, I was less than enthusiastic. I’m not a boxing or fight fan of any sort and was not eager to read about the fascination with the Brown Bomber, Joe Louis. But to pass on this [...]

Lynn: It was a sunny Saturday, March 25, 1911.  New Yorkers were enjoying the weather in the park when they heard the fire engines racing to a ten-story building housing the Triangle Waist Company.  The top three floors were ablaze in what was to be the deadliest workplace fire for 90 years.  Albert Marrin recounts [...]

Cindy: Fans of Newbery Honor title The Wednesday Wars will be delighted with Schmidt’s new companion novel, Okay For Now (Clarion 2011).  “I’m not lyin’.” Doug Swieteck is dismayed to learn that his father lost his job and is relocating the family to the small upstate New York town, “Stupid Marysville.” I hate this town. I hate [...]

Lynn: I’ve always loved biographies but I have a special admiration for the brave souls who take on much admired  – and written about – subjects.  There have been so many books about the fascinating Amelia Earhart and I started Amelia Lost:  The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart (Random/Schwartz & Wade 2011) with my [...]