Trust me: Linda Wallheim is a sleuth like no other. She’s a devout Mormon, for starters, and the wife of a respected Utah ward bishop. And yet her sense of justice gets her into plenty of trouble, especially in a community so dominated by men-centric rules. She slaps an aging bully who calls his 5-year-old […]
LibraryReads has announced its June 2018 selections! Check out the ten titles chosen by librarians below, linked to their Booklist reviews when available. For those of you who prefer to listen rather than read, we’ve hunted down the producers of the audio versions and have provided the ordering information. Please note that we have not yet had time […]
The Map of Salt and Stars, Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar’s first novel, follows the odyssey of a preteen named Nour. Caught in the crossfires of the Syrian Civil War, Nour’s family loses their home and flees across the Middle East and Northern Africa, searching for safety. To comfort herself, Nour tells her late father’s favorite story about a […]
Upon learning of Barbara Bush’s passing last night at the age of 92, my first thought was about what a fascinating lady she was: champion of literacy, doyenne of Kennebunkport, unparalleled rocker of unironic pearl necklaces. My second thought was of her son, but nobody has time to listen to my feelings about him. My […]
Marking the triumphs of Midwestern authors published in 2017, the Society of Midland Authors announced the winners of its annual award today. The ceremony will be held in downtown Chicago on Tuesday, May 8th, to commemorate the winners and their works from the last year. The winning and honored titles, linked to their Booklist reviews when possible, are […]
While I’m addicted to various manga series (click here and here for some of my favorites), I’ve also discovered the satisfaction of single-volume graphic titles offering that perfect balance of fascinating narrative and gorgeously complementary, enhancing art. From goofy to haunting, comforting to challenging, and so much more, don’t miss these recent(-ish) standouts. Boundless, by […]
The news of novelist Philip Kerr’s death on March 23 from cancer at the young age of 62 came as a blow to the author’s devoted fans across the world. As one of those fans and a reviewer of Kerr’s books for many years, I was shaken by the news, especially as I had only […]
Originally published in 1943, Carlos Bulosan’s America Is in the Heart is a cornerstone of classic Asian-American literature. Drawing on Bulosan’s Filipino boyhood, his immigration to the U.S., and the challenges he faced as a first-generation Asian American, it remains a notable inspiration, most recently highlighted in the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s immigration-friendly video of the […]
Even a poetry dullard like me recognizes poet / memoirist / novelist Jon Pineda’s ability to do something spectacular with language. His lean sentences are surprisingly dense, as if to defy their brevity. Surely publishing three award-winning books of poetry helped Pineda hone the exactness of prose—first in his memoir, Sleep in Me (2010), which […]
The much-anticipated longlist for the Man Booker International Prize was announced earlier today. With authors from the Middle East, South America, and beyond, the 13 titles on the longlist will narrow to six finalists on April 12, the winner chosen in May. László Krasznahorkai and Han Kang have each been nominated twice, the latter winning […]
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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