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: Energy is a topic on everyone’s minds these days and finding a way to talk about this complex issue with children is more important than ever.  So I am especially happy to write about Energy Island:  How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed Their World (Farrar/Frances Foster 2011) which is the first of [...]

Cindy: I’ve always been a fan of Candlewick Press. I love the beauty and attention they put into their bookmaking with special and expensive production attention to details. I admire their cadre of authors like M. T. Anderson and Adam Rapp and Sonya Hartnett and many other favorites that write unique and challenging books. Even [...]

Cindy: Want to hook young readers on the genre of biography? Give them All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine (Tundra, 2010). The opening scene shows a 6 year-old Elijah happily running to fix his father’s broken horse-drawn mower. His talent and love of working on machines started early. In 1866 Elijah returned to his ex-slave [...]

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: My sixth grade students research scientists and inventors every year and Philo is on their list of choices, so I’m delighted to have Kathleen Krull’s new picture book biography of his life and work. The Boy Who Invented TV (Random/Knopf, 2009) starts with black and white end pages full of photos of various television [...]

Lynn: There are many fine books this year commemorating the July 20, 1969 landing on the moon and I have enjoyed them all. Mission Control, This is Apollo (Penguin/Viking, 2009) may be my favorite. We all have those personal memories of pivotal moments and one of mine is sitting in front of our black and [...]

Lynn: One of the best things about reading is learning cool facts to share. Secret Subway (National Geographic, May 2009) is packed with interesting facts and fascinating stories that will enthrall readers – teens and adults. How can you not love a book that shares the story of how the first subway was dug in [...]

Lynn: When most of us describe Abraham Lincoln, “techie” is not one of the terms that comes to mind. Now, thanks to Thomas and Roger Allen’s absorbing book, I realize that in today’s parlance, Lincoln was an early adapter! Mr. Lincoln’s High-Tech War (National Geographic, 2009) begins with the startling observation that Lincoln was born [...]