The River Between Us by Richard Peck (0-8037-2735-6)
I had heard wonderful things about this book and couldn’t wait to read it. Everything I heard was true! This book is set during the Civil War, but is unlike any Civil War book I have ever read. We get to see the lives of a poor family before and during the war, the roles on girls and women in the war, war conditions for boys who joined up, and a look into race relations. And that list can’t even begin to reveal the complexity of the book, the levels of discussion that are possible, and the way in which it transports the reader into the past.
A must-read for everyone, I wouldn’t be surprised if this one wins some awards. There are male and female characters, so both boys and girls will enjoy it, if you can get the boys to see past the girl on the cover. No sexual situations, this one is YA due to the complexity of the story and the war descriptions. I could see this being used in classrooms for history, race, and women’s studies.

www.TerryTrueman.com
Official site for the author of Stuck in Neutral currently involved in a controversy in a Wisconsin school. Some parents in Evansville, WI are trying to get the book removed from the curriculum claiming it is obscene. The site offers press coverage of the reconsideration process currently underway as well as Trueman’s new book, Inside Out. Kudos to Trueman for giving prominent space to the both sides of the controversy. Here’s to hoping the reconsideration process works and the title is retained.

BBC NEWS — Next Madonna children’s book out
Madonna’s first book sold over 500,000 copies, and here comes her second, Mr. Peabody’s Apples.
[Via Places for Writers.]

LISNews — Parent objects to book in catalog from school
So now the complaint is that children can be damaged simply by reading a title or seeing the cover of a book? Of course as a librarian, I am opposed to parents trying to get books removed from school libraries, but I can see the logic that the parents are using. This seems like a really extreme reaction by both the parent and the school, which is looking at ways to review book catalogs before they are presented to the students.

Planet Esme
A wonderful children’s book site with lists of the best children’s books of the year, a collection of great children’s literature sites, and recommendations of the best read alouds, picture books, fiction, and non-fiction.

Popups by “paper engineer” stand out as ingenious reads
Robert Sabuda is the author and artist of some of the most incredible popup books I have ever seen, including his Wizard of Oz book that takes your breath away. He is now releasing a popup version of Alice in Wonderland that should again amaze people.

Janet Taylor Lisle
Homepage for this author of children’s books. I haven’t read any of her more recent titles, but really enjoyed Afternoon of the Elves years ago. I’ll have to try her latest one.

The Artful Shopper: Not just for kids
A great testimonial for the appeal of children’s books plus a list of recommended titles for gifts this holiday season, all from the Capital Times from Madison, WI.

Diane deGroat
Official site for this author of humorous holiday picture books for older picture book readers.