Month: November 2018

2018 New York Times / New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books

| Tasha

The 2018 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books have been announced. The list is always filled with marvelous surprises and gorgeous illustrations in a variety of styles. Enjoy!

Ayobami and the Names of the Animals Dreamers

Ayobami and the Names of the Animals by Pilar Lopez Avila, illustrated by Mar Azabal

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

Florette The Forest

Florette by Anna Walker

The Forest by Riccardo Bozzi, illustrated by Violeta Lopiz and Valerio Vidali

The Funeral A House That Once Was

The Funeral by Matt James

A House That Once Was by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Lane Smith

23310770 Run Wild

Our Car by J. M. Brum, illustrated by Jan Bajtlik

Run Wild by David Covell

She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein The Visitor

She Made a Monster: How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lynn Fulton, illustrated by Felicita Sala

The Visitor by Antje Damm

2018 Governor General’s Literary Awards

| Tasha

The winners of the 2018 Governor General’s Literary Awards have been announced. The awards are one of Canada’s oldest literary prizes with each winner receiving $25,000. The awards recognize seven English-language and seven French-language books. The entire list of winners can be found here. Here are the winners in the two youth categories for English-language books, both of which are incredible reads and two of my favorites of the year:

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE – TEXT

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster

Sweep by Jonathan Auxier

 

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE – ILLUSTRATED BOOKS

They Say Blue

They Say Blue by Jillian Tamaki

This Week’s Tweets & Pins

| Tasha

Here are some of my top news stories for the week:

CHILDREN’S LIT

10 children’s books I really, really love reading to my kids

12 Picture Books for the Fall 2018 Holiday Season – https://t.co/d0cZmqBDBS

Africville in national spotlight as Grant’s book up for Governor General’s Literary Award | The Chronicle Herald

The best children’s books to help teach your child about diversity

Enchanted Lion Turns 15

Jeff Kinney: ‘Let children read anything; I’ll never say no to a book’

Why So Many Women Remember ‘Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret’

LIBRARIES

Can Diverse Books Save Us? <br/>In a divided world, librarians are on a mission

When Values Collide: Reconciling our commitments when hate speech is involved | American Libraries Magazine

TEEN LIT

16 Books to Read Once You’ve Binged Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Fans Of The ‘Sabrina’ Reboot Will Love These 13 Books About Teen Witches

If You Have A Box Of Baby-Sitter’s Club Books At Your Mom’s House, You Need This Book

GoodReads Choice Awards – Children’s Nominees

| Tasha

Voting for the 10th Annual GoodReads Choice Awards has opened. They have two categories that are specifically for children’s books. Just as with the YA nominees, there are some odd additions here that are surprising to see in such a strong year for books for children. Here are the nominees:

MIDDLE GRADE & CHILDREN’S

Amal Unbound Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava Quartet, #1)

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

Bob City of Ghosts (Cassidy Blake, #1)

Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Front Desk Ghost Boys

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

The Magic Misfits The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty

The Night Diary The Penderwicks at Last

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

The Penderwicks at Last by Jeanne Birdsall

The Serpent's Secret (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond, #1) Sunny (Track, #3)

The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta

Sunny by Jason Reynolds

The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo, #3) Willa of the Wood (Willa, #1)

The Trials of Apollo: The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan

Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty

You Go First

You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly

 

PICTURE BOOKS

Baby Monkey, Private Eye A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo

Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, illustrated by E.G. Keller

Drawn Together Hello Lighthouse

Drawn Together by Minh Le, illustrated by Dan Santat

Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall

I Am Enough Islandborn

I Am Enough by Grace Byers

Islandborn by Junot Diaz, illustrated by Leo Espinoza

Julián Is a Mermaid Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History

Julian Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison

Love Ocean Meets Sky

Love by Matt De La Pena, illustrated by Loren Long

Ocean Meets Sky by The Fan Brothers

Petra The Rabbit Listened

Petra by Marianna Coppo

The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld

They Say Blue 36341954

They Say Blue by Jillian Tamaki

We Don’ t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

35566693

The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds

Review: On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

| Tasha

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden (9781250178138)

An amazing graphic novel for teens, this book offers romance, space travel, and boarding schools all in one incredible package. It is the story of Mia, a girl who doesn’t have a lot of friends at the boarding school she attends. But one girl catches her attention, Grace, a new girl who needs help figuring out how to make her way at the school. Soon the two girls are a couple, but Grace has a secret that she refuses to share with Mia until suddenly Grace is gone. Now Mia works in space repairing buildings with a small team. She gets close with the others until she finally reveals why she joined the crew.

Walden is the author of Spinning, which was an impressive graphic memoir about coming out. Here, she weaves a complex tale in a universe entirely her own. The universe she has created is populated entirely by women, something that is slowly realized by the reader rather than being specifically mentioned or explained. The result is an LGBT universe that includes a very special depiction of a transgender character as well.

The art here is simply amazing. The universe unfolds on the pages, done in a limited color palette but incorporating dreamlike moments, staggering rock formations, crumbling abandoned buildings and fish-like space craft. It is entirely Walden’s creation, unique and unlike anything else.

An impressive graphic novel both for its content and its art. This one is unique and incredibly beautiful. Appropriate for ages 13-18.

Reviewed from copy provided by First Second.