Children's Books: Big Nate Flips Out by Lincoln Peirce

Lincoln Peirce is back with the fifth installment in the Big Nate series. This time around, Nate is signing on as a candid photographer for his school yearbook. The one problem: the only way he can get a camera is by having his friend get it. So, if he loses it, his friend gets the blame. When Nate loses the camera because of his messiness, he and his friend split. So, he decides to clean up

Bull-Bransom Award Finalists Announced

The names of five finalists for the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s 2013 Bull-Bransom Award have been announced. The annual award honors illustrators’ unique takes on wildlife, and this year’s special five range from tiny mouse to friendly moose.



The award is presented annually by the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and is in place to recognize excellence in

Young Adult: The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress

Author, actor and director Adrienne Kress (Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, Timothy and the Dragon’s Gate) attacks her first young adult novel with cinematic verve. In her newest book, Kress delivers a high-spirited study of the nature of heroism at the hands of a trio of girls in a steampunk world.

The Friday Society (Dial) brings us lab assistant Cora, magician’s assistant Nellie and Michiko,

Children's Books: 33 Minutes by Todd Hasak-Lowy

In this heartwarming a story, we learn that -- as the book says -- friendships don’t always last forever. Morgan and Sam, best friends since first grade, have a date with destiny. Because in 33 minutes, Morgan is going to kick Sam’s butt. Taking TAMADE (The Absolute Most Amazing Day Ever [The day they became the best team ever in Alien Wars history by playing through the entire game in one day])

Best Books of 2012: Children’s Books

This is the Best Books for Children and Young Adults segment of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2012 feature. Also available are our picks for best crime, mystery and thriller fiction of 2012, in two parts: one and two. As well, here are the best cookbooks of 2012. Still to come: our contributors’ selections of the Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction, Best Art & Culture, Best Biography and Best

Holiday Gift Guide: Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas written and illustrated by Melanie Watt

The holidays are a veritable hotbed of hazards. As the publisher of Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas (KidsCan) tells us, it’s the season for “worrying, planning, decorating, wrapping, entertaining, caroling and, worst of all, fruitcake!”

Fortunately, in order to help out with all the frightening possibilities, beloved Scaredy Squirrel has compiled a “Safety Guide for Scaredies” in what I

Holiday Gift Guide: Seeing Red: The True Story of Blood by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Many parents of kids with active brains are familiar with Tanya Lloyd Kyi’s work. Kyi’s writing is sharp and her topics are targeted, and betray both the author’s own natural curiosity as well as a way of writing for children that manages to be calm, informative and interesting all at once.

Her most recent book, Seeing Red: The True Story of Blood (Annick Press), is a perfect example.
Blood

Young Adult: The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore

It seems ironic that the author who suffered a scandal for weaving too much fiction into his memoir should come back as part of a writing team that claims no earthly connection. Some would say there is room for scandal at the heart of Full Fathom Five, the writer’s factory Frey set up to create new projects. We won’t go into that here, as it’s been well covered in the press and may, in any case,

Young Adult: Blood Storm by Rhiannon Hart

In Blood Storm (Random House Australia) Princess Zeraphina and Rodden, the King's right-hand man, are both “harmings,” a kind of vampire who isn’t actually undead, but does need blood; it doesn’t have to be human and they make the most of small creatures such as rabbits and squirrels. But now beggars and other unlikely-to-be missed folk have been found drained of blood in the streets. Sailors and

Children's Books: Freakling by Lana Krumweide

“If everyone is special, is anyone really special?” — Anonymous

The famous phrase is what  Lana Krumweide’s Freakling (Candlewick) is about. In the future, there is an isolated metropolis called Deliverance where everyone has a telekinetic power called psi. Taemon is an 11-year old boy who's finally starting to get the hang of using his power. Meanwhile, his older brother, Yens, torments him and

Children’s Books: The Secret of the Fortune Wookie by Tom Angleberger

Breaking the rule that says the first of a trilogy is the best, the third book the popular Origami Yoda series has come out, and I thought that this was the best one yet! This addition to the trio was full of hilarity and kept me hooked throughout the whole book, with interesting stories and fun concepts. Tom Angleberger has continued his streak of wonderful books with this great story.

The star

SF/F: Under My Skin by Charles de Lint

Charles de Lint is one of the ranking names in SF/F. With 36 novels to his credit, as well as 36 collections of short fiction, he is prolific as well as fiercely talented.

While de Lint has published fiction for young readers in the past, those works have been much overshadowed by his novels and stories for adults. For instance, 2007’s Little (Grrl) Lost and The Painted Boy from 2010 seem to

Children’s Books: Big Nate Goes For Broke by Lincoln Peirce

Big Nate Goes for Broke (HarperCollins) is the fourth
installment in the Big Nate Series. The books are based on the popular comic strip by Lincoln Peirce (pronounced “purse”). A cartoonist who lives Maine, Peirce
started the Big Nate comics himself and he still does them. He
started the books not too long ago, and has satisfied anticipated readers for
years now, growing his beloved spiky-haired

Children's Book: Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger

Tom Angleberger has once again written an amazing children’s comedy that finds kids in adult or silly situations. Fake Mustache (Amulet Books) is a mesh of many things -- including fairy tales and politics. This book has a little something for everyone: comedy, action, fantasy, suspense, surprises, doodles and much more! Not to mention all the different forms of writing.This book is told from two

Children’s Books: In the Beech Forest by Gary Crew, illustrated by Den Scheer

In the Beech Forest (Ford Street) is not the kind of picture book you read to your five-year-old. It’s aimed at an older age group, around ten upwards. If you can bring yourself to part with the book, you can give it to your older child.
The storyline is simple: a boy leaves behind his computer games for a walk in the beech forest.
“A beech forest,” his father told him. “Antarctic beech: ancient,

Berenstains’ Bears Author Dies

Jan Berenstain died Friday at the age of 88. With their Berenstains’ Bears franchise, Berenstain and her husband Stan gently helped guide generations of children through the sometimes confusing maze of childhood. From the New York Times:The Berenstains’ ursine family most often confronted issues common to most families — the arrival of a new sibling, getting homesick at summer camp, the etiquette

Best Books of 2011: Books for Children

This is the children’s book segment of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2011 feature. You can see other sections as follows: Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction, Best Art & Culture, Best Biography, Best Cookbooks, Best Science Fiction/Fantasy, Best Crime Fiction (part I) and Best Crime Fiction (part II).A Sword in Her Hand by Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem and Pat van Beirs (Annick Press)A Sword in Her

Holiday Gift Guide: Bless This Mouse by Lois Lowry

When, for one reason or another, you read extensively in children’s literature, you develop an eye or, perhaps, an ear. There are stories that entertain or teach or merely amuse. A very few do all of those things at once, and they do them in such a way that you know you are encountering a story for the ages. Instant classic is the way that is quite often put, implying a story that will be read

Holiday Gift Guide: 50 Underwear Questions by Tanya lloyd Kyi, illustrated by Ross Kinnaird

It’s difficult to imagine the child who wouldn’t be tickled by the slightly risque nature and spirited delivery of 50 Underwear Questions: A Bare-All History (Annick). What’s Under a Sari? What is a knickerbocker? What kind of underpants should a superhero wear? And maybe the most fun of all: what might future underwear look like?50 Underwear Questions is more than just whimsical questions and

Holiday Gift Guide: Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

It’s encouraging to me as a human to see the large numbers of really good authors of young adult and children’s books getting a lot of attention and drawing ever-increasing armies of new readers. I’d be hard pressed this holiday to choose a single must-have book to buy in the place where a Twilight or a Harry Potter book used to go. Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games books are contenders, of course.