Kids who have fines in the Los Angeles County Library system can read away their debt thanks to the Great Read Away, a program that lets young library card holders read instead of paying. The program works on several levels. For one, it allows children from less affluent backgrounds the opportunity to erase late fee charges, something library administrators felt was keeping some young readers out of the library. A library debt of ten dollars […]
Over half a million children will soon receive a copy of Monique Gray Smith’s bestselling 2016 book My Heart Fills With Happiness (Orca Books). The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has chosen Gray Smith’s book for its annual TD Grade One Book Giveaway. From The Tyee: My Heart Fills With Happiness encourages children to reflect on what makes them happy by thinking about elements of Indigenous culture, and its success is a milestone for Indigenous representation […]
Noah’s New Puppy (Msi Press) by Richard Rice combines the issues of post battle PTSD with the healing power of service dogs in a way that little children can understand. Captivating illustrations by the author’s brother, Vincent Rice, help tell the story of a returning veteran who struggles to re-enter family life. The introduction of a puppy into their lives gradually brings the father out of his depression.Both Richard and Vincent are veterans. Richard is […]
Karl Beckstrand’s 22nd book, It Came from under the High Chair: A Mystery, almost never got published. “I thought the concept of a monster made of spilled food might be too disgusting,” he said. “Then I saw all these bestselling bathroom humor books and figured the world was ready for my 20-year-old idea.”A media professor at a state college, Beckstrand always sneaks some education into his stories. “I think kids don’t mind learning if they […]
When Dr. Belinda George, principal of Homer Drive Elementary in Beaumont, Texas, discovered that a lot of the kids under her care didn’t have anyone to tuck them in, read them a bedtime story and tell them they were loved, she decided to do something about it. She turned to technology to create Tucked in Tuesdays, where she uses Facebook to do a livestream reading from a children’s book, sometimes even inviting authors to join […]
Like everything, it seems, Christmas has gotten to be somewhat controversial. And then there always appear to be people around telling us we’re doing it wrong: that we don’t know the true meaning or that the essence has been lost in a lot of shopping and hoopla or that we didn’t get it right in the first place. If any of this is true, in Christmas: from Solstice to Santa (Orca Origins) then authors Nikki […]
Two new titles out from Orca Books are aimed at helping kids deal with grief and death, albeit in very different ways. In After Life: Ways We Think About Death, author Merrie-Ellen Wilcox demystifies many of the things our culture has thrown mystery over with a very lucid, hard and fast look at pretty much everything to do with death and dying. Why do we die? What happens after death? What are some of the […]
When books are banned or protested, it gives us an opportunity to look more closely at the book being called out and, in certain cases, to zoom in for closer examination which is often followed by more sales. This is one of those times. The book in question is Justice Makes a Difference by Dr. Artika Tyner and Jacklyn Milton and illustrated by Jeremy Norton and Janos Orban. From PR material from the book: Through […]
Hugh Lofting’s The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle came out in 1922. As Wikipedia notes, “It is nearly five times as long as its predecessor and the writing style is pitched at a more mature audience. The scope of the novel is vast; it is divided into six parts and the illustrations are also more sophisticated. It won the Newbery Medal for 1923.” Those who have been waiting for the film version don’t need to be […]
Reviews are coming in for the Ava DuVernay directed adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle’s Newberry Award-winning novel of the same name. Sadly the reviews of the film version are fairly consistent. Most everyone says the film is beautiful and the casting was interesting and thoughtful but that the story suffers under too much Hollywood CGI-fueled pyrotechnics. From Deadline Hollywood: It’s tough capturing movie magic in a bottle despite a $100 million-plus […]
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