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: I am fascinated by stories of an artist’s journey and how better to tell that story than through illustration!  Renown illustrator Allen Say tells his story from his early years in Japan to his immigration to the United States with text, pen and ink drawings, watercolor paintings and family photographs.  Drawing from Memory (Scholastic [...]

Cindy: I’ve read a few teen biographies about pop culture artist Andy Warhol but I have to admit I went into Fabulous! A Portrait of Andy Warhol (Henry Holt 2011) thinking, what? A picture book biography for young children of the controversial Warhol? I needn’t have worried. Obviously, Christensen left out some of the details of Warhol’s [...]

Cindy: As I said last week, while Lynn is spending the month in France I am soothing my travel lust with literature. To Timbuktu: Nine Countries, Two People, One True Story (Roaring Brook 2011) is just the ticket! I admire adventurous people and these two young adults spin a good tale about their travels. Casey [...]

Cindy: While Lynn is booking a real trip to Europe this summer, I have to pacify myself with a virtual trip through The Last Little Blue Envelope (HarperTeen 2011).  Those of you who followed Ginny’s European scavenger hunt in the first book, Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes, will remember that her backpack was stolen in Greece [...]

Cindy: Does anyone have a bottle of india ink I may borrow? Margaret Peot has me fired up to get creative with her intriguing book Inkblot: Drip, Splat, and Squish Your Way to Creativity (Boyds Mills 2011). She lays out the process for creating inkblot designs and then transforming them into works of art by [...]

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 struggled with this post so much that I’m in danger of wearing out my delete key.  I can’t seem to do justice to Tan’s artistry in his latest book to hit our shores, Lost & Found (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, April 2011). Three short stories published earlier in Australia are combined in this stunning [...]

Cindy: Wow. Lynn saw Return of the Dapper Men (Archaia 2010) on Booklist’s Top Ten Graphic Novels for Youth: 2011 list and tracked it down. We had missed seeing this when it published in November. This is an intriguing story, with philosophical themes to explore (or not) and exquisite artwork…all of which will prompt many rereadings. In [...]

Lynn: When a little girl learns that her family is moving she voices the truth that all of us – child or adult – feel about such a change: This is where I live.  I don’t know Toronto.  I know here. Could there be a better more child-appropriate way to sum up those complex emotions?  [...]

Lynn: How DID the Sphinx get to the museum?  The title totally captured my attention and the charming cover illustrations drew the focus group in immediately.  The twins are fascinated by the ancient Egyptians so I knew How the Sphinx Got to the Museum (Blue Apple 2010) was going to be a favorite.  (A Playmobile [...]