The Book Search

 One of the best parts (in my opinion) of reading for the CYBILS book award, is that, as a panelist, I'm asked to read as many of the middle grade speculative fiction books published in the last year as possible.  Even better, if I blog about them.  So we get a list of the books and are asked to read them.  Invariably, there are some that I've already read and some that are really hard to get a hold of and some that are just terrible.  And some of them are complete gems that I never would have read, had it not been for the list!  That's the case today- my new favorites!  Have a look! The first one is an illustrated fairy tale, which we hardly ever get.  Typically, picture books are a separate category, but this one, even though it is beautifully and lavishly illustrated by P. J. Lynch (one of my very favorite illustrators) is really not a picture book.  The text is dense and complicated and rich, like a beautiful tapestry or a soaring opera. ...

I'm FINALLY getting around to reading new books again (thanks Netgalley!) and there are some terrific ones in my pile!  One of parents of a student asked me to keep an eye out for characters with challenges, so here are a couple that I found! The first one is called "One Third Nerd" and it's written by Gennifer Choldenko.  Choldenko has written a series of books about a boy growing up on Alcatraz Island in the 1930s who has a sister with a significant unnamed disability (but is probably some form of autism).  Her new book has a child with Down's Syndrome.  However, Izzy is the baby sister and not really a main character.  She has a big brother named Liam and a big sister named Dakota.  Liam is the story teller in this book.  Liam is trying to survive middle school and is profoundly embarrassed by Dakota (who is a science loving genius, just ask her) as well as the fact that they are not exactly poor, but struggle with some money issues and they live ...

This week I've been reading some advanced readers copies from Netgalley again, and wow, was THIS a good crop. The first one is definitely middle grade fiction by Carol Weston.  It's a sequel to her fabulous book called "Ava and Pip" about two sisters struggling to fit in.   Here is the review of "Ava and Pip"  This one is called "Ava and Taco Cat" and it's just as good as the first one, but this one is a bit more girly than "Ava and Pip" so it may have a harder time finding wide spread appeal because although I liked it, there are a couple of things that will make middle grade boys squirm.  First, the good parts.  Ava is back as a prolific writer and lover of words.  She has decided she wants a cat and finds one at the local shelter.  She names him Taco Cat (a palindrome) because the shelter is near their favorite taco spot.  Ava writes a great story about Taco Cat and even ends up in the newspaper, which brings a whole new set of ...