Kids Lit
Books and More for Children and Teens

'Lassie' and other old favorite children's books come home again to a new generation

I have mixed feelings about classic children's literature. Yes, I love sharing it with children. Kids should read classics like Charlotte's Web. But the books do show their age, and it can be hard to tell a child why all the mommies in Mrs. Piggle Wiggle stay home and all the daddies are distant.

The other problem I have is that there are so many new quality books for kids that I find I have to purposefully squeeze in the classics.

And finally, Yes teen books are edgy. They have to be. I think it is a lot less about pushing the envelope than about speaking to today's youth and getting them involved and excited about reading. I read the edgier teen novels, and find them a heck of a lot more tame than the adult bestsellers! And usually a lot better written!

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Richie's Picks

This teacher's picks of great books for kids and teens are emailed out to over 3,000 people. He has compiled lists of the best books from 1999-2002 and is currently compiling his top choices for 2003. Each book listed has a complete review included. Great site!

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THE GOBLIN WOOD by Hilari Bell (0-06-051371-3) is a book that will work for many types of readers. Set in a magical land, it is the story of Makenna whose mother was killed for being a witch due to the influence of priests in her village. Makenna flees to the forest where she bands together with a group of goblins who are being killed off too. It is also the story of the brave and honorable Sir Tobin who is sent to capture Makenna. The story is much more than a knight tale. It examines what humanity is, where allegiances should lie, and defines honor. The only complaint I have is with the cover art. The book will need some pushing to get it to move due to the dark cover that does little to sell the magical tale inside.

I would recommend the book to kids who enjoy fantasy, boys who like knight stories, and people asking for books with strong female protangonists. Makenna is one of the strongest heroines around.

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Brodart offers a guide to Graphic Novels, that provides core lists of titles for both libraries and schools, selection criteria and new releases. Definitely a site that I will be adding to my bookmarks.

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Comics Worth Reading

This site offers recommendations, reviews, previews and more about comic books, all in a blog format. Graphic novels are also included, making this welcome information to people selecting graphic novels for libraries.

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Peter Dickinson is another of my favorite YA authors. His book Eva was one of my top booktalking books about a decade ago. It is definitely worth a read and is an easy sell to teens. Just summarize the first chapter, and they will be breathless and wanting to know more. On his site, I noticed a lot of books of his that I have missed. I will have to try to fit them in sometime.

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While visiting Tamora Pierce's site, I followed a link to Teens@Random. There I found lots of books that are on my future reading lists, so I think it is a pretty good site for announcements. I also like that teen fans can visit author's sites and win prizes.

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Tamora Pierce

In September, Tamora Pierce will release a new book Trickster's Choice starting a new series! She is one of my favorite YA fantasy authors, due to her strong female characters and that her novels are filled with humor and engrossing action. I look forward to reading this one. It will definitely move right to the top of my book pile.

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Lemony Snicket has a new book coming out next month, and a wonderful website to check out.

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Patrice Kindl, author of Owl in Love and Goose Chase has a charming website evocative of her style of writing.

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Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus offers full-text access to the starred reviews of the month. Scroll down to the bottom to see the reviews of children's books.

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With a new 2-part adventure coming out next week, I thought I would share Scholastic's wonderful Captain Underpants site. Just filled with exactly what you would expect, lots and lots of fun.

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A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (0-15-216705-6)

This book for teens offers a vividly depicted setting and a story that is a mix of romance and mystery all packaged in historical fiction. I was immediately caught up in Mattie's story as it switches from past to present tense until the two come together in a satisfying conclusion.

Mattie is a girl in the Adirondacks in 1906. Her life is hard after her mother dies, partly because Mattie who loves books and language promised her mother on her death bed that she would stay and care for her three younger sisters. Will Mattie stay and marry Royal, the handsome boy next door? Or will she go to New York City and college?

This is definitely a book for teens with some sexuality as part of the storyline. I will be recommending it to girls who enjoyed Anne of Green Gables. Luckily it is a good match for readers of both mysteries and romance too.

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Alphathoughts: alphabet poems by Lee Bennett Hopkins (1-56397-979-9)

I shared this books with my poem-loving 6-year-old son and we both enjoyed the short but illuminating poems. The poem for the letter L is a definite winner: "Library: A pleasure place to ponder lifelong dreams."

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SciFan

A site for the science fiction fan filled with links and books, including current and future releases, books sorted by theme, and information on authors and series. Themes include books for YA and young readers.

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All Reviewed Children's Books

A great site for librarians, parents and teachers, Carol Hurst offers books with reviews and well as teaching ideas, authors, curriculum areas, and much more. I know that this will help me when I head out each year to do a book discussion at the local school. How great to have discussion points for a book along with the specific grade level!

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My email is down and will be down until at least Wednesday. Luckily the parts are ordered and on their way, but it will take at least that long to get them installed. Comments posted will not be noticed until then. And of course I will have to wade through all my email once it is fixed. I am subscribed to a bunch of great children's books mailing lists. I will have to post about them once my email is up again.

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Via About Children's Books, comes the International Reading Association Choices Lists. There are three lists: Children's Choices, Teacher's Choices and Young Adults' Choices. The short lists of titles under consideration are available on the site, and the annotated lists will be available this fall.

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Pasadena Citizen has an article on their public library offering new services for teens. When I was working as a children's/YA librarian, I created a program like this. I still miss those kids. They were funny, warm, goofy and best of all, they let me into their lives. I only hope that the new teen librarian at Pasadena gets to feel that magic too.

I see teen programs as really vital, though I must admit that I have yet to start one here. The ideas are floating in my brain, but we have yet to really start targeting teens. I don't think that any of the larger libraries in our library system have teen librarians and some lack even an area for teens. And we wonder why these kids aren't using libraries??

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Gossip Books are books that are a new type of trash novels for teen girls. A guilty pleasure that will be very popular.

Via [places for writers].

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CBCA Book of the Year Awards - Winners 2003

The list of award winners picked by the Children's Book Council of Australia was just posted this week. Let's hope that many of them get published on this side of the world too.

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Just finished Dark Waters by Catherine MacPhail. It is the story of a boy (Col)from Scotland who is brother to the biggest thug in their town. Col wants to be just like his law-breaking brother, but then ends up rescuing another boy from drowning in the loch. Now that he knows how it feels to be a hero, what choice will he make for his life?

The book was gripping towards the end and the Scottish setting and language make for an interesting setting. I recommend it.

This book is for YAs. It is one that boys will read happily and girls will enjoy. I always enjoy finding a book for boys that doesn't revolve around sports and yet keeps a strong masculine tone.

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It is great to find passionate postings about chidren's books on blogs that don't focus on that subject. This post in Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things, a blog that tends to focus more on technology, speaks to a love of fantasy for kids by an adult reader. I feel the same way! Bring on the great fantasy reads!

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Via L.A.C.K. comes this USATODAY article on Lois Lowry, author of my all-time favorite book, The Giver.

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Ellen Jackson has a great website all about her work as a children's book author. I think the best parts of her site are about rejection letters she has received and how to deal with rejection as an author.

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Picture-Book

This site is filled with information for children's illustrators, authors and publishers. It has information on conferences, awards, galleries, groups, techniques, booksellers, recommended books, lists and more. Lots of stuff to look through for book lovers too.

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The Jamie and Angus Stories by Anne Fine (0-7636-1862-4) is a great bedtime chapter book for a tricky age where kids are looking to move away from picture books but may not be ready for the intensity of some of the classics like Charlotte's Web. It is perfect for even very young children who are ready to make that change. Jamie is a little boy who finds Angus, a stuffed bull, in the first story in the book and they become inseparable. The go through a series of gentle adventures that children will recognize and identify with. The stories have humor and emote security and love, just the perfect combination for right before bedtime.

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Old Cricket by Lisa Wheeler (0-689-84510-3) is a great picture book for reading aloud. Old Cricket, who is attempting to avoid work lies about the many aches and pains he has. Of course in the end it all comes back around, and he gets caught in his own lies. The illustrations by Ponder Goembel are large, vibrant and clever. The pictures combined with the rhythm and repetition in the story make this book worth sharing.

I plan to use this book when reading this fall with the kindergarteners and 4-year-olds at the school. It is a little wordy and involved for the toddlers I tend to get for my story times.

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The Treekeepers by Susan McGee Britton (0-525-46944-3) is a fantasy novel for older elementary children. The story features a feisty girl named Bird in search of her father in a world torn apart by an evil ruler who destroyed the Tree That Talks. On her quest, Bird meets other orphan children, a lovely but sad woman and a gentle, heroic man who are all fighting the evil in the land and trying to restore the Tree . There is violence in the latter part of the book consistent with most fantasy novels where good fights evil.

I will be recommending this title to kids who enjoy quest stories, sword fighting, and strong female characters. It was a great read. Very gripping and intense toward the end.

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Child Lit Blogs

Here are a few more children's lit blogs to enjoy!

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Bill's Books is a monthly list of recommended YA books from ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents).

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Mrs. Rabbitt's Bookbag is the only other blog I know of that is dedicated to children's books. If you know of any others, please let me know!

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Via NewPages Weblog comes this
Rocky Mountain News article on why the book industry is still suffering despite hits like the latest Harry Potter.

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School Library Journal has an article that will inspire those who work with children to intervene and make a difference in their lives.

Most important for this blog is the following passage: "Werner and Smith discovered that reading is "one of the most potent predictors of successful adaptation among high-risk children" and that effective reading skills by grade four foretold a successful transition to adulthood." The article continues from there to give practical ideas on how to work with books and teens.

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The Boston Globe Online has an article about celebrity children's book authors. While I agree that most of them are pure schlock, I did like Jerry Seinfeld's Halloween. It was one of the best received Halloween books I read last year to the Kindergarteners. They asked for it for weeks afterwards. It does take practice to read it with the right flair, but it's a lot of fun!

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40 Books About... is a series of subject bibliographies from the CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center). These collections feature real gems that are definitely worth looking at and sharing with children.

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Welcome to my new blog! This blog stems from my passion for children's and YA literature. I hope to make it a place where you can find information on new literature, recommendations for great books and great readalouds, and just general appreciation for literature for young people.

Though I am a library director now, I began librarianship as a children's librarian and continue to do all of the programming for young people at the library I direct. I still read a lot of books for that age level and hope to offer reviews of some of my faves as I read them.

Well, those are my ideas, let's see if I can achieve them!

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