The author/illustrator has a new series on PBS Kids
The latest title in the Aven Green universe (The "Greeniverse"?) tackles Tourette's Syndrome and so much more. We reveal the cover and discuss the book with the author.
Teen librarian Cindy Shutts discusses Anime Club and how to get a Crunchy Roll account
A young swordsmith engages sorcerers and the Yakuza in this tale of revenge.
This week's "Wednesday Roundup" looks at the many excellent titles from this year that fall into the broad and often-recognized category of middle grade fiction.
The trick is to not give up while the slow burn runs its course.
Peter Brown was featured in the New York Times.
Mythology and animal stories compose a large part of this early reader and chapter book list, alongside contemporary tales of young protagonists staying true to themselves and the things they love while figuring out how to act among peers. These titles will help children learn how to read as well as model ideas for how they can be authentically themselves.
Gripping fantastical journeys, family secrets, unbridled joy, and inconceivable loss: in these pages, tweens are facing it all. These 26 middle grade titles are exemplars across genre of the power of truth telling and embracing one's authentic self, even when it seems impossible.
I know it isn't even Thanksgiving yet, but we are friggin' talking about Santa today. Sleigh.
I hope after reading our novel, hearts can empathize better with refugees in the community and be spurned to action. Perhaps students will take greater interest in the new classmate that just arrived in the states.
As the medium continues its meteoric rise, 2024 marked the debut of SLJ's first-ever Best Books committee dedicated exclusively to manga. From shock-charged action and celestial fantasy to eco-horror and edutainment, these 22 standout titles offer something for readers of all ages and interests, redefining what belongs on K–12 shelves—and why.
Among this year’s outstanding listens—with publication dates from November 2023 to October 2024—are two picture books, two volumes of a graphic trilogy (they count as one entry), a head-smack must-read history, and several laugh-out-loud novels.
If you want to have a good time, invite a parasitologist onto your site. Chelsea Wood astounds and entrances, not simply in her new book, but in this interview as well (come for the tapeworms, stay for the lice video).
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under, featuring Cat's Cradle Vol. 3: Suri's Dragon from First Second Books and Sonic the Hedgehog Knuckles 30th Anniversary Special from IDW Publishing.
With so many excellent books on our Mock Newbery list, we need to really look at what books stand out. Today we do an exercise called "Battle of the Books" where we pin two books against each other.
As it turns out, becoming a writer for teens—and teen Jan—is about the most thrilling and rewarding answer to the question: who am I?
This season's series cover favorite nonfiction topics from a variety of vantage points.
Refresh your shelves with books about beloved animals and lesser-known species.
New titles in the arts and activities category promote creativity and fun.
Unsung heroes from the past and today's most popular personalities populate this diverse collection of biographies.
For striving and thriving emerging readers, these titles offer a while range of skill levels and topics.
From the reaches of outer space to the tiny world of nanobots, these science series will spark student interest.
These collections will allow readers to travel the world without leaving the library.
These timely collections will help readers make sense of the ins and outs of the U.S. Government and the election process.
Responding to stress, illness, and difficult situations is a focus of this season's health series.
The titles in these series offer a range of topics and genres to support emerging readers.
A good story can make history come alive, and these true stories from the past will draw readers in.
The practical and realistic information in these titles will help readers clear a path to their futures.
Mythical heroes and spine-chilling creatures await readers in these fascinating series.
The science behind the marvels of the natural world are explored in these series.
Exploring topics like climate change, immigration, and disability rights, these series offer information about issues young readers hear about and experience every day.
These books provide diverse perspectives, inviting curious minds to discover new ideas and broaden their understanding of the world.
This season's Spanish series include an exciting range of selections, with high-quality translations and striking artwork.
These colorful sports series are as packed with action as they are with information.
These titles promise to enrich library collections and inspire the next generation of innovators.
"I'm thinking this rabbit is friggin' JACKED!" Were truer words ever said of a Caldecott Award winner? We think not.
Amazon has announced their list of the best children's books of 2024.
The Fall 2024 issue of Series Made Simple gives readers the opportunity to zoom in or pan out for unique views of the nonfiction topics they love.
As you keep faith as readers, I’ll keep faith as a writer to continue writing and showing the places where our stories interconnect. Not everyone is on the same page, but we all HAVE a page. Never forget: We are who makes the story worth reading.
Vigo County Public Library is joining the growing trend of libraries responding to climate change while at the same time, users are provided with information, materials, and communities in unique ways that remove barriers to success.
With so many excellent books on our Mock Newbery list, how do we separate the very good from the truly great? One exercise that might help: the "Fortunately/Unfortunately" game.
Will one of these take home the Newbery come January? And could one of them win a Newbery AND a Printz?!
Can you name these 3 books by their LEGO-fied covers?
SLJ will reveal the 193 titles selected for this year's Best Books list starting November 19 and culminating November 25 with a live webcast.
Parents and patrons want the LGBTQIA+ romance by Alice Oseman removed; a Tennessee district orders the immediate removal of 150 books; and a school board is set to review collections in a Virginia district in search of "sexually explicit" material that goes against policy.
Author Terri Farley shares how series can be a comfort to middle grade readers seeking emotional shelter
Exclusive: Random House Graphic is launching Ink Pop, a new line of manga, manhwa, and webtoons for chapter book, middle-grade, and YA readers.
In 2022, Ashley and Jeff Wall founded MamaBear Books, a Texas-based boutique children’s book publisher. MamaBear inspires imaginative play for young children with hilarious adventure books like The Day I Had a Bulldozer, The Day I Had a Dinosaur, and Lucy and Her Unicorn Get a Sparkle Puppy.
March 2025 will be five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. We will mark the anniversary by sharing your memories of spring 2020 and the months that followed or thoughts on the impact that you still see today.
What's the stupidest hill you would die on? For me, there can be no question. It's upside down knitting needles in children's book illustrations, of course! Join me as I praise and kvetch.
Check out This Week's List of new Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels for readers 12 and under, featuring The Girl in the Midnight Gown from Blue Fox Comics and Ribbon Skirt from Graphix.
Where are the covertly toxic families in children's books? Christina Wyman discusses how, for children who suffer difficult family dynamics, seeing their experiences reflected in books is few and far between.
Writing Lucy was our way of coping with the years Teghan lost: both the years trapped in self-denial about her identity and the years she spent in prison. The book is a badge of honor for those tough years we survived, and it’s a love letter to each other.
We've picked 6! The "Early 6" are titles that we've selected to be part of our Mock Newbery Book List. We'll eventually have about 15 titles on that list, but here's your chance to get started early with reading.
Let the Mock Caldecott begin!
These coauthored narratives offer readers the opportunity to experience a novel from multiple perspectives, expanding worldbuilding, character development, and plot lines, proving that there are always two (or sometimes three or four) sides to every story.
SLJ remains committed to the work. There is much to be done.
Today we talk with Ada Limón about her upcoming January release and reveal it cover while we're at it. We talk stichics and foxes.
The second volume of Lost in the Future sends the five time-displaced schoolkids to a different era of the future, one that's just as filled with danger as the first one they faced.
I discovered that if told with some heart and soul, history can be as compelling as fine fiction. And before long I found myself on a mission to make history come alive for young people.
A closer look at the best illustrated books of the year.
How do designers create children's book covers that stand out against the competition? Here’s insight into the process behind some recent titles.
You want a plot that’s tight? World-building that manages to be both comprehensible and succinct? And heart too, right? You want to actually feel something as a result of the hero’s journey? Welp, here you go.
The quest to find the 2025 Heavy Medal Mock Newbery winner continues as the second round of nominations closed last Saturday. Eleven new titles were nominated for a total of 45 Mock Newbery potentials.
Teen librarian Karen Jensen rounds up some news articles that discuss how the election results may impact libraries and shares ways to support your library today
Anthologies are the literary equivalent to a buffet dinner. They offer a wide selection of different perspectives (both in story telling and in personal background) and writing styles on the same theme.
Send in those nominations for the Undies and Endies Awards!
School librarians Andrea Trudeau, Tom Bober, and Amanda Jones created Librarians Building Libraries, a nonprofit with a mission to “collaborate with library communities worldwide, providing resources, training, and innovative solutions that promote literacy and provide access for all.”
You know what rules? Dogs. I sure do like them. Here are a few middle grade books featuring dogs, all approved by my rescue chiweenies, Charlie and Spot.
Critiquing how the military preys on low-income families with promises of education and employment does not sound like something that would be in a graphic novel targeted at children aged ten and up, but that is the message at the narrative’s core.
articles