Kids Lit
Books and More for Children and Teens

USATODAY.com - Tech use gives young people sense of accomplishment

This article reports on a study of young people's use of technology. The study showed that children ages 8-17 use technology not only to fit in with their peers, but more importantly for their own self esteem as people who understand and use technology. It "gives them a sense of mastery" and "allows them to explore new skills."

The article concludes with this list:

Here are some other notable results from a new survey about young people who use the Internet from Child's Play Communications and Insight Research Group:

• 71 percent say they use the Internet to keep up with "what's cool."

• 65 percent say they feel better about themselves after playing games online.

• 47 percent say they feel better about themselves after online chats.

• 48 percent say they are proud of their abilities to burn music CDs

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LISNews.com -- Madonna's Children's Book Tops the List

Ugh! With all the bad reviews, it still makes number one?

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The Dream Bearer by Walter Dean Myers (0-06-029522-8)

I had read rave reviews of this title on some of the children's lit lists that I am on. How right they all were! David is scared of his father Reuben and his mental illness and then there is his brother Ty who is hanging with a new tough crowd. Luckily, David also has his loving mother and his best friend to keep him balanced. Then a strange old man, Moses, enters the neighborhood, claiming to be over 300 years old and to be the bearer of dreams. Will David be able to make sense of his chaotic family with the help of Moses?

Walter Dean Myers is one of the greatest writers for teens and older elementary kids. This quiet and gripping story allows us to see into the heart and life of David and return to our own lives understanding our own dreams and lives better. What could be better?

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The Water Gift and the Pig of the Pig by Jacqueline Briggs Martin (0-618-07436-8)

What a title! And what a great read aloud story. The text has a rolling feeling, rather like ocean swells, that carry the reader forward. This strange combination of animal story, history and the gift of dousing, creates a magical story in a gentle way.

This book is not one that will fly off the shelves without some pushing, but children who do have it read to them will be amazed by dousing and will want to immediately head out and find a forked stick to try it out with. I would use it at a storytime for older children, probably as the first book while they are open to more quiet titles. Match it with other more energetic sea and water books.

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Gail Gibbons

Official site for this author of nonfiction for children. She has written so many wonderful books, and having a son who reads nonfiction more than fiction, I have read stacks of them!

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The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (0-375-82273-9)

Enter an incredibly detailed world filled with decay and darkness, the City of Ember. Ember is a city surrounded by darkness and the people of Ember are starting to realize that the generator is failing and their supplies are running out. Are they the only people in the world?

When Lina, a 12-year-old girl, and her friend Doon, a 12-year-old boy discover a message from the past, will they be able to decipher it before the lights go out forever?

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the setting and how lovingly detailed it was. The characters were believable and fallable. Though the two main characters are of opposite sexes, there is not even a touch of romance, which a lot of kids this age will appreciate. I would recommend it to most boys and girls, since though it could be considered fantasy, it reads more like general fiction. Lovers of fantasy will enjoy it as well. A sequel is in the works.

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Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature

Over 4000 records from 50 children's literature awards from the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. What a collection of resources!

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Mary Jane Auch's Home Page is called Poultry in Motion. She has Eggciting Events, biographical information, questions from kids, and even more to point and cluck on.

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Sarah Dessen

Official site for this author of YA novels like Dreamland and This Lullaby.

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Dream/Girl Magazine: The Arts Magazine for Girls offers a great site filled with all sorts of art and writing information for girls, including interviews with authors, writing contests, and artists of the month.

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Chris Crutcher's Authorized Web Site has contact information, reviews, awards, FAQs, events, links, and sections for teachers and librarians.

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TOKYOPOP is a good site for information on graphic novels, manga, and other Japanese imports. Click on the title you are interested in and you will find information on the creator, characters, a preview and reviews.

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Laurie's Bookshelf

The site hasn't been updated for awhile, since it doesn't even have her latest book listed. But it does say that it is in the process of being updated, so there is still hope. I adore her books, especially Speak and Fever 1793. Her novels are those special ones that give a glimpse inside of someone else's life, allowing readers to understand others better.

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Joan Bauer

A classy homepage for this wonderful author of books for teens and older children. I think my favorite of hers is still Squashed. I remember being caught up by the humor of the story and the unique situation of trying to grow the largest pumpkin.

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cool-reads

From the UK comes this site filled with book reviews by 10-15 year olds. Lots of great ideas for books tp read as well as a glimpse into books published in the UK that don't travel to our side of the pond.

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David A. Adler

Website for this author of the Cam Jansen series.

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Catherine Atkins

Homepage for the author of Alt Ed and When Jeff Comes Home.

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WalkerYoungReaders

Website for this publisher of children's books.

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Holiday House

Site for this publisher of children's books.

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Harcourt Children's Books

The Harcourt site has a section specifically on the children's books they publish.

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Enslow Publishers, Inc.

Site for this publisher of K-12 nonfiction books.

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Alchemy by Margaret Mahy (0-689-85053-0)

I have adored Mahy's work since discovering her in my young adult lit class in library school. I think my favorite of all of her books is The Changeover.

This is a book that is like reading classic Mahy all over again. She takes a normal situation and adds mysticism and magic to turn the world upside down. Yet, somehow even with the magic and mayhem occurring, one wonders if this worls she has created isn't the actual world we live in.

In this book, we follow Roland, a teenage boy after he has shoplifted some inexpensive items. As punishment, he is forced to be kind and get to know Jess, a strange girl in his class who insists on being a loner.

I don't want to say much more, because part of the joy of a Mahy book is slowly working your way into the world she is creating.

I would recommend this book to kids who enjoy fantasy, even though Mahy's fantasies tend to be more personal and not filled with dragons and knights.

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kids.us is a new domain type that is available now. This site offers a list of sites that have registered with the domain type. So far only Smithsonian Kids is registered, but there are definitely more to come and this is a great way for people who work with kids to discover new sites.

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Smithsonian Kids

A new site from the Smithsonian Institute that is specifically for kids with sections on the moon mission, strange but true stories and America's Presidents.

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Online Courses Preview

Although I have seen several places offering online library courses, Simmons is one of the first I have noticed offering several for youth librarians. These include Keeping Up with YA Reading, Anime & Manga, and The Newbery Award.

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Misrule

Website for Australian children's books with reviews, interviews and articles, links and a discussion board.

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I just attended a workshop on teen programming and services. Almost a decade ago, I was a children's and YA librarian rather than a library director. From this blog, you can see that I still have a lot of interest in that field, and continue to consider it my area of specialty.

I had one problem with today's workshop. When they spoke about booktalking, they said that there was no need to actually read the book that you were booktalking. They considered that an outdated idea!

Well, I must be outdated, because I feel it is entirely necessary to read any book that you booktalk. You have to know if the book you are booktalking is one that you would actually recommend to teens. Without knowing the book yourself, how would you know if it is worth recommending. We have all read books that have received great reviews or even awards that we personally did not like. I wouldn't booktalk any of those even if they did win awards.

I also see booktalking is a very intimate program. You are exposing your own personal reactions to books, endorsing them, and you are responsible for those endorsements. I wouldn't let that hinder what type of book I booktalked, and often raised teachers eyebrows with my choices, but I would limit it to books that I was passionate about. Often kids would come back to me wanting to talk about this great book that I had led them to through a booktalk. How do you talk in detail about that book, strengthening the tie between the library and that particular kid, without knowing the ending?

Now once I did break this rule myself. I was in the middle of this incredible book and had to do a booktalk that week, so I booktalked it even though I didn't know the ending. But I was honest with the kids, telling them that I was so excited about this book that I couldn't even wait until I finished it to tell them about it!

If you are passionate and honest about the books you are recommending, then booktalks are golden. If you can't find a handful of YA books that you love and you can booktalk, then you need to ask for suggestions! You are reading the wrong books!

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Ginger Finds a Home by Charlotte Voake (0-7636-1999-X)

This is a wonderful book featuring a little orange cat who doesn't have a home except for a patch of weeds at the end of a garden. But he is found by a little girl who returns day after day to earn his trust and befriend him.

The book is great for storytimes featuring cat stories as a contrast to more fictionalized cats. Ginger is entirely realistic and completely heartwarming.

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Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee (0-15-204554-6)

Almost as much fun as riding a coaster, this book is filled with swerves, laughter and loops. The pictures are ones that you will want to study at length, since they are rich with tiny details showing characters' reactions to the ride. Keep an eye on the elderly couple and contrast them with the brawny men.

Best for small groups or laps where you can talk about the illustrations.

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Toys''R''Us Reading Ready is an early education program that helps children, birth to age 5, with pre-literacy skills. Libraries that serve at risk children certainly qualify.

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Arthur Slade

Homepage for the author of Dust, a young adult novel.

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Mind Games by Jeanne Marie Grunwell (0-618-17672-1)

This book is a read that sneaks up and hooks you before you realize what is happening. In the format of a seventh grade group science project on ESP, this book gives a glimpse into the personality of the kids involved in the project as well as their experiment. Right at the beginning of the book, you learn that the group won the lottery through their research, but was it science or ESP that gave them the winning number?

Boys and girls will like this book with its engaging characters from a range of backgrounds. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy and also kids interested in science. Since it is also a book very based in school-life, kids who enjoy school settings in their books will enjoy this as well.

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Georgia Nicolson

The homepage for the author of the Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging series.

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Yahooligans!

Yahoo's version of its site directory specifically for kids. It has great sites that will keep kids happily looking at pictures of animals, playing online games, reading jokes, or finding out about their favorite subject for hours.

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KidsClick

A directory of websites for children, selected by librarians. The sites are consistently high quality and of interest to children, parents, teachers and librarians who work with children.

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Charlotte Observer -- Start the reading habit early

A short but sweet article not on teaching kids to read but on getting kids to WANT to read. I like that one of the tips is to go to the library often!

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Prairie Whispers by Frances Arrington (0-399-23975-8)

I had been looking forward to this book, watching it get closer and closer as I worked through my bookpile. I liked the premise of a girl on the prairie rescuing a baby from a dying woman the same night that her mother gave birth to a stillborn child. She didn't intend to lie, but everyone assumed that the other woman's baby was actually her mother's. Then the girl had to deal with the consequences when the dead woman's husband returns.

I found the book slow moving, though I can admit that this was being used to build tension and to evoke the rhythm of life on the prairie. I wasn't satisfied by the ending either, which I won't give away here.

Please let me know if you think differently. Perhaps I can be persuaded to your point of view and will start recommending this book to teens, rather than just letting them find it on their own.

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no flying, no tights

What a great site! News and reviews on graphic novels for teens with categories including superheroes, fantasy, science fiction, humor, realism, action and adventure, and historical fiction. The reviews are wonderfully complete giving the reader a real sense of the graphic novel, which we all know is impossible to judge from their covers.

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GNLIB On the Web

This mailing list was mentioned on PUBYAC. It has a great list of online resources for development of a graphic novel collection. I will be subscribing to the list, because graphic novels are becoming very popular at our library among elementary and middle school kids.

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The Wide Window

Just stumbled across this blog for school and youth librarians. A selection of very good articles.

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DIARY OF A WORM by Doreen Cronin (006000150X)

The combination of Cronin's wry text and Harry Bliss' illustrations is comic magic. The characters are lovable and refreshingly not always sweet. Kids reading this will see themselves reflected in the worm, spider and the entire worm family. Lots of laughs and fun.

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Science Fiction & Fantasy from Baen Books

Since teens enjoy science fiction so much, librarians should know about Baen Books' site. They list new releases and offer a discussion board. But best of all, they have a free library of digital books!

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Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gail Giles (0-7613-1727-9)

I loved Giles' first book Shattered Glass, so I was looking forward to reading this new one. It was definitely worth the wait!

Sunny's older sister Jazz was killed in a fire and the family falls apart. Sunny steps in to take care of her parents, finally feeling that she has a real role in her family, since she is no longer in her sister's shadow. But then she gets a letter from her dead sister. A girl arrives at the house claiming to be Jazz, she looks like Jazz, acts like Jazz and seems to be Jazz in every way. But is she Jazz?

This book is a quick read. The story is immediately gripping and will catch readers up and carry them along. I had great fun trying to unravel the mystery and was left reeling by the twisting ending. I would recommend this to most readers, even reluctant ones, especially girls. The story perfectly captures sibling rivalry and family grief. Definitely one not to miss!

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Storm Catchers by Tim Bowler (0-689-84573-1)

This book is a breathcatching rollercoaster ride that starts with the kidnapping of Ella. Fin, Ella's brother, starts to unravel the mystery behind the kidnapping in order to save his sister. But by the time he solves it all, his entire family may be torn apart.

I really enjoyed this book. The setting is vital to the story and Bowler captures it so completely that the reader is left with a vision of the lighthouse, the caves, the Furies, and the beach.

This book will work for most teens. The gripping story line will carry anyone who picks up the book through to the end. Plus it has a central male character that will draw boys to the book.

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