Coming Soon! – Latest News
I suppose technically Oliver Twist isn’t a children’s book, but plenty of teens still read it in high school. Looks like they are doing a new movie of Oliver Twist with one of my favorite actors, Ben Kingsley as Fagin.

L.A. Daily News – News
The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine will become a children’s book, to be released in September.

Children’s books celebrate spring, baseball – PittsburghLIVE.com
A nice list of some of the newest spring and baseball books for children.

No Laughter Here by Rita Williams-Garcia (0-688-16247-9)
This is a very powerful book about female circumcision. Akilah and Victoria have been friends for years. They both feel free to be unique girls. But then Victoria goes with her family to Nigeria for the summer and returns changed. She will no longer speak in class, refuses to play during recess, and will not laugh.
The author takes a very difficult subject and makes it accessible to kids, demonstrating her skill as a writer. Akilah is an amazing female character, filled with both a powerlessness and a powerfulness at the same time. And finally, the cover of the book is wonderful, one of the best this year.
I recommend this one. It may not be one that you hand out to every kid who comes in the door, but the cover and the writing can stand on their own.

The Looking Glass
The Looking Glass, an online children’s literature journal, has a very timely and important focus this month. The entire volume (free online) focuses on children’s books about Arabs, Muslims and the Middle East.

L.A. Times Honors 10 Authors at Book Fest
Free registration is required to access the article above. The winner for YA fiction was Jennifer Donnelly for A Northern Light, one of my favorites from last year.

Shadow of a Doubt by S. L. Rottman (1-56145-291-2)
Shadow’s brother, Daniel, ran away from home seven years ago and has never contacted the family again. But his leaving has impacted Shadow and his parents deeply. What will happen when Daniel re-enters their lives?
A great character-driven book for boys featuring a kid who turns to forensics rather than sports, making it pretty unique. Shadow is a vividly rendered protagonist that everyone will relate to.

Double Helix by Nancy Werlin (0-8037-2606-6)
Eli has landed a job with the famous scientist, Dr. Wyatt. The pay is really high and Dr. Wyatt seems personally interested in Eli. But things are not all rosy in Eli’s life. His mother is in the last stages of Hutchison’s disease and his father has withdrawn from Eli. Even odder, there seems to be some sort of connection between his parents and Dr. Wyatt.
This one is quite a ride, impossible to put down, but at the same time raises some very deep issues about identity and ethics. Kids into science fiction and those into reality fiction should love it. Also, boys will appreciate the well-written male protagonist. A wonderful mix of easy, pleasurable read and award-worthy writing and content.

Jules Feiffer Opening
Official site for author/artist Jules Feiffer who wrote one of my favorite read alouds, Bark George. Feiffer has a new book out, The Daddy Mountain, that I hope will also be added to my list of regular read-alouds.