Writer Tony Weaver Jr. and artists Jes and Cin Wibowo tackle tough subject matter in a fictionalized memoir about becoming yourself in the face of relentless bullying and mental health challenges.
These Black authored works of fiction and non-fiction help young readers consider their role in creating a sustainable environment.
Check out these new titles from North Star Editions!
It’s the second day of the 2025 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour (click here for the full schedule) and I’m honored to talk with Sidura Ludwig and Sophia Vincent Guy, author and illustrator of Rising, a Sydney Taylor Picture Book Honor winner. Travis: Hello Sidura and Sophia! Congratulations on your Sydney Taylor picture book honor for Rising! How did you […]
Schools for military families must pull several lessons tied to immigration, gender, and sexuality and remove books that could "potentially" cover those topics; Tennessee county removes 32 books from school libraries; and Utah pulls 16th book from state's schools.
Writing a graphic novel that explores identity, family, friends, language barriers and all within the context of Mexicali is no easy thing. A deep dive into a complex new comic.
Celebrating Zetta Elliott
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under, featuring Red Flower Volume 1: The Young Rooster and the Sun from Fairsquare Graphics and Detective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum from Flying Eye Books.
School librarian Monisha Blair shares some ways we can use Passive RA to help connect readers with books
Taking a look at the most banned picture books of the '23-'24 school year.
As part of this celebration of the Sydney Taylor Awards, we speak with the illustrator of the only graphic novel to win a Sibert Honor and Sydney Taylor Award!
Opening a new school is a monumental task, and setting up a new library is no different. For Comal Independent School District (ISD) in New Braunfels, Texas, the challenge was met with enthusiasm and innovation. With the opening of Bulverde Middle School in August 2024, the district embraced genrefication from the outset, transforming the library into a vibrant, student-friendly space.
Just in time for Black History Month we consider this 2002 release and see how it has aged. Old nonfiction picture books can vary widely in quality. How does this one stand up?
This list contains collections, anthologies and novels in verse that speak to almost every aspect of Black life in the United States.
Celebrating Olugbemisola Rhuday Perkovich
Topics that drew reader attention in an eventful first week of February 2025.
Are you ready for the best children's book-to-film festival on record? Do you want to see Holes set at a girls finishing school with swordfights (what?)? Then read on!
This may be my favorite list of the month!
This may be my favorite list of the month!
Finding himself traveling back to his teenage years, Niihama uses this opportunity
to change his future in this heartfelt manga.
Today I'm sharing five new middle grade books coming out this month. Check in every Friday for themed Take Five lists of middle grade books!
Can you name these 3 books by their LEGO-fied covers?
“Even if you haven’t studied art or math, even if you’ve never gone to college, you can make shapes yourself and change how the world looks.” A math-centric tale of discovery.
Pete Davidson and Dav Pilkey appear together on a recent episode of the Today show.
This story begins with two middle school librarians, miles and miles apart, who both feel passionately that what publishers call middle grade literature is not what their students need or want.
The executive order saying the United States will only recognize "two sexes" will have a ripple effect that "will undoubtedly affect public schools, public libraries, and the literature that is shelved in both," according to the statement signed by more than 50 organizations.
Werner Herzog meets Magic School Bus! Frog and Toad on the Riviera! Check out all the very cool spring titles from one of our favorite small publishers.
The action heats up in our preview of Wynd: The Power of the Blood #3.
Today's list feature biographies of influential Black men and women through US history.
Slowly but surely a story formed in my mind. It featured a mystery, ghosts, clever tweens, a notorious graveyard . . . and a countdown. A terrifying countdown.
LOTE4Kids is an online resource designed to strengthen language learning by providing access to digital children’s books in over 75 languages, including Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Arabic.
The New York City–based initiative is holding strong, even as book bans in schools surge nationwide and anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation expands.
The News Literacy Project offers resources and advice to educators teaching news literacy at a time when the rhetoric around news and contentious issues has been ratcheted up to a new level.
The lawsuit claims the Arkansas librarian lost her job after being targeted by a group wanting book restrictions; Texas county commissioners fire a library director and put a judge in charge; South Carolina board of education removes four more books from all schools; and more in censorship news.
A near perfect toddler/preschooler storytime book, we talk today with Shawn Harris about bees, the waxiness of crayons, and more.
Eighth-graders Marcus and Izzy do so badly at their gym class swing dance that they'll need extra credit to pass. To earn it, they will have to perform at the talent show, while standing up to a bully and learning to be themselves.
Fast Five is an author interview series. The author is sent 10 questions and is asked to answer five of them. If you are an author interested in participating in the Fast Five Author Interview series, please fill out this form. Kalyn Josephson is a fantasy author living in California. She loves books, cats, books […]
Teen librarian Karen Jensen reviews Neal Shusterman's latest YA novel, ALL BETTER NOW
We create the place we live in, but it also creates us, and it’s impossible to tell where one influence starts and the other begins.
Travis talks with Ruth Chan about CABOOSE.
CABOOSE, written by me and illustrated by Ruth Chan, arrives today. I hope you get a chance to read it (and if you work in a school, I think you’ll especially dig it). It’s received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, who calls it “a chaotic yet hilarious story grounded in real childhood emotions”. You […]
Our latest batch of board book reviews are quite the treasure chest for little lap-sitters and other pre-readers! From basic concepts and to understanding emotions, this collection celebrates inclusion and is perfect for sparking conversation and imagination.
These 12 recent YA titles celebrate romantic Black love in many forms, in different periods of history, and in real and fantasy realms. They include humor, queer love, and paranormal/sci-fi encounters, expanding the much-needed diversity within the romance genre.
Whether to deliver information in an enjoyable format, provide analysis of historical events, or dispense an innovative look at the future, multimedia continues to grow as a meaningful component of curriculum.
Author Hilary Horder Hippely's title earned the annual award given for outstanding writing in a picture book.
Public libraries work with groups from health departments to community-based organizations and provide access to everything from cooking classes to safe walking routes.
Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston and Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson are this year's winners in the younger readers and teen categories, respectively.
There were tears and standing ovations as librarians, including Martha Hickson and Amanda Jones, watched their stories of fighting against censorship chronicled in the new film.
In the latest lawsuit battling censorship, Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks have filed a lawsuit challenging an Idaho law that restricts books in both public and school libraries.
What new series blends magic, action, and heritage alongside a celebration of Ghanaian culture? Meet the latest Scholastic Branches series and the man behind the stories.
Teen librarian Karen Jensen shares a Canva template of a RA tool for Valentine's Day on YA romance tropes
What makes you believe that Black lives matter?
Here's a look at the graphic novels that publishers have been acquiring, and when we can expect to see them.
Most people can’t imagine a world without the worst of human nature because that would be the purview of a different species: a post-miserable humankind.
Submit your favorites before February 7, 2025!
From board books with kids and dogs sharing Valentine's wishes to YA novels about Valentine's dances and do-overs, these titles will warm young readers' hearts this holiday season.
The Library of Congress ambassadorship will celebrate the power of picture books.
In January . . . . . . we took one last look back and then looked ahead. Our 2024 review and 2025 preview episodes of The Yarn Podcast are available now! . . . we took a look at the latest and greatest READ posters. If you’re looking for a library upgrade, new READ […]
Teen librarian Karen Jensen shares the disturbing erasure of government websites
Let’s allow ALL young readers to sample from all the great storytellers who nurture our curiosity, inform our intellect, and help us feel loved. I hope I’m not being too ambitious by trying to do this every day in February!
By introducing readers to themes of love and loss while fostering an appreciation for wildlife, this stunning book is sure to inspire curiosity and empathy.
What a joyful way to impart information, complete with a female-heavy group of workers, and make children rethink what they know about tools.
A tale of feminine magic, power, and strength. A must-purchase and a wonderful read.
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