Willowdean, the protagonist of Julie Murphy’s Dumplin‘ (2015), never set out to be the “Joan of Arc of fat girls.” Yet three years after Dumplin‘s release, Willowdean remains the poster child for fat positivity in YA, with readers of all ages ready to ride under her banner of self-acceptance and fabulousness. The novel’s film adaptation, starring Danielle Macdonald and […]
Lynn: Like the picture books in our earlier post, several graphic novels published this year also offer the opportunity to walk in the shoes of refugees and immigrants. Aimed at middle-school and teen readers, these books combine outstanding text and dramatic visual images to provide reading experiences that make a deep emotional impact. The Unwanted: […]
By now, you’ve surely heard of Knickers, the oversized Australian cow. If you haven’t, that’s really too sad for you because Knickers was the viral internet story we so desperately needed last week. Measuring 6’4” in height and weighing in at 1.4 tons, Knickers is large—too large, in fact, for the abattoirs, and thus destined […]
Lynn: How do we talk to children about refugees, immigrants, and all the related issues dominating the news? It seems to us a large number of adults don’t even understand the horrifying situations that have forced masses of desperate people to flee their homelands—so how can we help young people understand this serious issue while […]
Our newest feature gives Booklist critics the opportunity to shout about a recently published book they adored. They’ll tell us why we should read it, then provide five read-alikes for the title. Transcription, by Kate Atkinson and read by Fenella Woolgar Actress Fenella Woolgar and author Kate Atkinson have shared many creatively fruitful unions. […]
Every weekday we feature a different review on Booklist Online. These reviews are notable for different reasons—they may be starred, or in high demand, or especially relevant to the current issue’s spotlight. We’ve collected the reviews from December 3–December 7 below. Monday, December 3 Black Leopard, Red Wolf, by Marlon James The first installment in the Dark Star trilogy […]
As we recover from one family-focused holiday and are poised on the precipice of even more family time, it seems especially appropriate that Patrica Lockwood’s Priestdaddy was awarded the Thurber Prize for American Humor last night. Lockwood’s memoir of her move back, with husband in tow, to her childhood home in the rectory of her father-turned-priest […]
The following books, published this week, received starred reviews in Booklist. Want to read our starred reviews before the books go on sale? Subscribe to Booklist! Adult Fiction At the End of the Century, by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala The Blood, by E. S. Thomson Broken Ground, by Val McDermid The Dakota Winters, by Tom Barbash Into the Night, by […]
Lynn: Like the picture books in our earlier post, several graphic novels published this year also offer the opportunity to walk in the shoes of refugees and immigrants. Aimed at middle-school and teen readers, these books combine outstanding text and dramatic visual images to provide reading experiences that make a deep emotional impact. The Unwanted: […]
Lynn: How do we talk to children about refugees, immigrants, and all the related issues dominating the news? It seems to us a large number of adults don’t even understand the horrifying situations that have forced masses of desperate people to flee their homelands—so how can we help young people understand this serious issue while […]
Lynn: “Oh, hi, tiny thing. Welcome to Sleepy Burrows Wombat Sanctuary.” And so Welcome, Wombat (2018) begins: Chance, a two-year-old wombat, greets a tiny “pinkie” whose mother was just tragically killed by a car. Author Kama Einhorn proceeds to introduce readers to the sanctuary; its inspiring wildlife rehabilitators, Donna and Phil; and to the amazing wombat species as a […]
Being a very talented writer does not necessarily mean that talent also spills forth into the fictional bedroom. As seen from the current shortlist of the 2018 Bad Sex in Fiction Prize, even Haruki Murakami can be shortsighted when it comes to the biological facts. His nominated passage may be too hot for daytime reading […]
Every weekday we feature a different review on Booklist Online. These reviews are notable for different reasons—they may be starred, or in high demand, or especially relevant to the current issue’s spotlight. We’ve collected the reviews from November 26–November 30 below. Monday, November 26 Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders, by Christopher Goffard Los Angeles […]
Twins Are All the Rage These Days This list originally appeared in the November 19, 2018, issue of Booklandia, our FREE newsletter devoted to young-adult and middle-grade lit (never in the same issue). The premise of List & Shout? We make a clever list of YA or MG trends, and you forward it to everyone […]
The December 1 issue of Booklist magazine is now live. Visit Booklist Online, where you’ll find 321 new reviews and 6 new feature articles and lists. The articles will be free to all for the next two weeks—to have unrestricted access, you’ll need to log in. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, or you do subscribe but haven’t […]
Best-selling and award-winning writer Maya Rodale discovered just how great a romance novel can be while in college when her mother insisted that she read one. Now the author of more than a dozen romances, a selection of novellas, and the nonfiction work Dangerous Books for Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels Explained, Maya […]
The Chicago Public Library has announced their Best Books of 2018, chosen by our very own Chicago librarians. To follow are their choices for the ten best adult titles of the year—including the three finalists for this year’s Andrew Carnegie Award for Fiction—linked to their Booklist reviews when available. For a complete list of their favorite titles for adults, kids, […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
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