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National Book Award Finalists
It’s getting close to the time of year when the “Best of the Best” lists come out for just about everything – including books! The National Book Award just posted it’s finalists in its four areas Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. As per usual, I’m really only interested…
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Cybils Nominations
Nominate your favorite books published between October 16, 2013 and October 15, 2014 in the following categories: Young Adult Non-fiction Young Adult Speculative Fiction Young Adult Fiction Poetry Book Apps Middle Grade Fiction Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Elementary/Middle Grade Non-fiction Fiction Picture Books Graphics Easy Reader/Short Chapter Books for the…
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"Important Life Lessons We Learned From Children's Books"
When people ask what I do for a living, many people respond with, “Have you read _________?” And that’s where I say, “If it’s an adult book, probably not. I read mostly children’s books.” And unless the person I’m conversing with is a teacher or works with children, they often…
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The Shadow Throne
It’s been awhile since I posted a book review, but I finally got a chance to finish this trilogy! I absolutely loved The False Prince and plan on using it as a suggestion all summer long for summer reading. But, I personally, don’t find trilogies to be very strong. I…
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A Season of Gifts
The only time I have to listen to audiobooks is when I drive to my parents’ home (which gives a solid 5 hours in the car one-way). I picked up A Season of Gifts for my drive – it’s about a 4-hour audiobook – the perfect length for my trip! …
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Road Trip
I took a road trip to my parent’s house for the weekend and tabbed a few audiobooks for the road. It’s a five hour trip across the state and a perfect time to get some “reading” in with nothing else to do but pay attention to the road. I normally…
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Neil Gaiman on Libraries
Neil Gaiman, popular author of Coraline, recently had a lecture published on the importance imagination, public libraries and daydreaming is vital to our future. Definitely take the time to read the full lecture, posted on The Guardian’s website. This lecture that Gaiman presented, is in essence, a love letter to…
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Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of Chris Grabenstein’s book, Escape from Mr. Lemocello’s Library – what more could you want? A library that is also a puzzle with plenty of clues, children’s book references, and enough action to keep you turning the pages to the end! Kyle Keeley loves to…
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Summer of the Gypsy Moths
Sara Pennypacker’s Summer of the Gypsy Moths is a story of belonging, of finding a family in an unexpected place, and of dreams. Stella is living with her Great-Aunt Louise on the Cape Cod coast with another foster girl, named Angel. The two girls are complete opposites and have no…
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Maggot Moon
Sally Gardner’s Maggot Moon was unexpected and has left me with an unsettled feeling. The story itself was well-written, really capturing the essence of the characters and the setting. The story begins with the powerful, “I’m wondering what if…” What if are two very powerful words that make all the…