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"How do I acknowledge the harm without letting it dominate the story or overshadow the light? How can I stay truthful about the past while keeping the focus on queer joy?" Learn the answers to these questions in this glorious cover reveal and Q&A.
I give young characters in my novels the power of choice, the ability to fall and rise again to conquer a situation, their fears or something that may have a strangle hold on them for the moment.
Next up in our Heavy Medal Mock Newbery discussions is the book that already won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature: THE TEACHER OF NOMAD LAND by Daniel Nayeri
Roshani Chokshi joins us to talk about her new book, THE SWAN'S DAUGHTER.
Today we turn again to the small publishers, seeing what they have coming out. Get ready for books from Beaming Books, Eternal Tree Books, NSTA Kids, and Shout Mouse Press
Today we turn again to the small publishers, seeing what they have coming out. Get ready for books from Beaming Books, Eternal Tree Books, NSTA Kids, and Shout Mouse Press
THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES has received positive buzz and led the Heavy Medal suggestion list all year. Does the buzz hold up? Is it truly worthy of the 2026 Heavy Medal Mock Newbery?
Author V.T. Bidania joins us to talk about her new book, A YEAR WITHOUT HOME.
Every year, Colby Sharp and I like to record an episode of The Yarn podcast looking ahead to the upcoming year in children’s books. In our 2026 preview, we talk about books we’re excited to read, books we’ve already read and loved, and make some predictions for the year. You can listen here: Subscribe below […]
With absolutely ZERO experience ever deciding a Sibert Medal or honorees, but with a full-blooded appreciation for informational books for kids in all their glory, here's what I'm loving right now and what I think has a fightin' chance.
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under, featuring Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas The Shiver of Christmas Town #1 from Dynamite Entertainment and Luna Sisters Battle for the Moon Blossom from Holiday House.
Now up for discussion in our Heavy Medal Mock Newbery: THE UNDEAD FOX OF DEADWOOD FOREST by Aubrey Hartman.
Now up for discussion in our Heavy Medal Mock Newbery: THE UNDEAD FOX OF DEADWOOD FOREST by Aubrey Hartman.
I’ll always be a Jo, but I’m trying to be a little more like Beth March.
Since the Vietnamese new year of Tet occurs in January/February, I took that as permission to finally tackle this fascinating 2003 publication. We go over our past predictions and resolutions, Tet, bananas, embroidery, and what a "leather mouse" might be.
Travis: In the latest episode of The Yarn, Colby and I look ahead to 2026. We talk about upcoming books, make some predictions, and realize that fanclubs don’t exist anymore. We hope you enjoy this episode. Subscribe below to catch every episode of The Yarn: iTunes Spotify Stitcher
A war orphan must save a kingdom and avenge his best friend in this war epic.
Today's Mock Newbery Finalist is WILL'S RACE FOR HOME by Jewell Parker Rhodes, a historical fiction novel set during the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush.
Usually on Fridays I do Take Five lists, recommending five books to read. But this first Friday of the new year is a Take 268 list. That’s right, this past year I read 268 books.
Some lived here in the States and some abroad, but we do our best to remember the creators of books that have made changes to the minds, hearts, and general beings of children worldwide.
But as books continue to be challenged, we have to continue to find ways teach all the literacies that are necessary simply to survive because these literacies will provide ways to challenge narrow mindedness and this is critical when stories are no longer as representational as they should be.
Teen Librarian Karen Jensen, who mostly just reads books with a dead body, shares 5 YA mystery, thrillers and horror titles she is looking forward to reading in 2026
Our Mock Newbery discussion continues with another fantasy title: THE WINTER OF THE DOLLHOUSE by Laura Amy Schiltz.
Our Mock Newbery discussion continues with another fantasy title: THE WINTER OF THE DOLLHOUSE by Laura Amy Schiltz.
Only a small number of all the picture books published in a given year make this list. See what I think stands out as truly unforgettable.
2026 is just around the corner and with that comes a whole bunch of books I can't wait to read.
Today's Mock Newbery finalist is a late publication nonfiction standout: A WORLD WITHOUT SUMMER by Nicholas Day.
Our penultimate post!! These are the books that will worm their ways into the crannies and crevices of your children's gray matter, affecting their thoughts, their brains, their lives. If you're comfortable with that, read on.
Khorram is talking directly to each one of us through his characters. He’s gentle with his characters, he cares about these young people. We can take it.
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under, featuring Calamity Before Jane from Toon Books and A Narwhal and Jelly Book Volume 10 A Waffle Lot of Love from Tundra Books.
Today's we kick off our official Heavy Medal Mock Newbery discussions with A WORLD WORTH SAVING by Kyle Lukoff a books about trans youth featuring the supernatural and Jewish mythology.
Today's we kick off our official Heavy Medal Mock Newbery discussions with A WORLD WORTH SAVING by Kyle Lukoff a books about trans youth featuring the supernatural and Jewish mythology.
Buckle up for a bunch of 2026 titles you'll surely want to add to your TBR!
Forget the picture books. Older nonfiction, that nebulous but ultimately satisfying genre, is where the action is. This list today just proves it.
The creme de la creme! The top of the pops! These are the title you won't be able to forget, no matter how the years roll by.
This is a first for me. I’ve never even tried to compile a list of my favorite books even though I’m asked all the time. Well, here goes my first! I considered which books lingered with me, which I was most likely to recommend or talk about, and even the one that brought me to […]
Today's list contains an appreciation of nature, a rallying cry for climate action, and titles that promote climate stewardship.
Hattie May had learned her place in the US quite well, but now that she was in a much larger, more established Black community, she has a lot to learn about her identity among her own people.
Teen Librarian Karen Jensen shares how watching The Great British Sewing Bee sparked an idea for a Sashiko themed program
Our discussions of the 15 titles on our Heavy Medal Book List begins Monday. To help prepare us, we'll do a practice discussion today on a book that that just missed making that list: DEATH IN THE JUNGLE by Candace Fleming.
If you're looking for proof that we are in a Golden Age of Children's Literature, look no further than this list.
Merry Christmas! How about celebrating the season with science? I mean... it's good for what ails ya.
Travis: Every December Colby and I like to look back at the year in children’s books. We had a lot to talk about. In this special extended episode we discuss our favorite books, memorable moments, Newbery/Caldecott predictions, and many other topics. We hope you enjoy this episode: Subscribe below to catch every episode of The […]
Teen Librarian Karen Jensen reviews the mystery thriller GIRLS WHO PLAY DEAD by Joelle Wellington
The truth can always be presented to children. You just need to have the brains and the guts to know how to do it well. These books have both.
Teen Librarian Karen Jensen recently did an experiment where she started asking AI how the book she is reading ends before getting to the last page. Here's what happened.
DC's Super Hero Girls are back, ten years later!
Today, I honor those books that are unafraid to use the best of both the fictional and nonfictional world together in one glorious mix.
Teen Librarian Karen Jensen shares a Taylor Swift inspired book shelf highlighting some YA books that fans of Taylor Swift might like to read according to tropes Swift says she likes.
A fine and fancy list of fantasies of all ages and stripes
It's a Christmas book! It's a Hanukkah book! It's a Christmas AND a Hanukkah book! But how does it stand up after all these years?
If you're a fan of robots, post-apocalyptic floods, aliens, and more, you've come to the right place.
Meet the 15 members of the 2026 Heavy Medal Award Committee (HMAC). Every one of them is committed to reading all 15 titles on our Heavy Medal Book List, then discussing each one, starting December 30th.
While I read a super ton of books for kids, I do still also read books written for adults. Here are my favs of the year!
Over the next two weeks I’ll be sharing the 10 most popular 100 Scope Notes posts during the past year.
I'd say 29 books is a pretty good haul for a month that's usually rather slow for book mail.
Can you guess the children’s book by its scathing one-star review on Goodreads? I feel this represents an individual who gets engulfed by his ambitions and does not know when to stop which is not a characteristic I would like to convey to my students. Click here for the answer. Why do I share these? […]
Meet the titles that linger in that liminal space between novels and easy books.
Our discussion of 15 Heavy Medal Mock Newbery titles begins in two weeks. Here's a complete schedule of titles and discussion dates, along with other Heavy Medal activities in store as we approach the announcement of the 2026 Newbery Medal.
Oh yeah, AI? Here are the books for kids that will crush your creations with their sheer unpredictability.
Today we have exclusive news of a new 101 Dalmatians graphic novel from Papercutz.
Without effort, our culture will inevitably dissipate over generations. It takes intention to keep the stove on. To keep the recipes alive. To talk to our parents and grandparents to learn what we can, and pass it down to the generations that follow.
Two for the price of one!
Feel like you should give kids the best of the best poetry coming out today? Well, aren't you in luck. I've gathered it all together for you here.
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under, featuring Red and Blue Monster Hunters from Dark Horse Comics.
Our 2026 Heavy Medal Book List is finalized! Here are the 15 titles that will be discussed in the coming weeks during our Mock Newbery process.
The best storytellers I know put their emotions on the page or screen and don't seem to make a distinction between children and adults.
Includes everything from tiny head denizens (a.k.a. lice) to collectable "stones" to snot snot snot snot!
I sifted through nearly a thousand children’s books coming out in December, January, and February to bring you the ten that most jumped out to me. Let’s get started . . . Picture Books The Rare Bird by Elisha Cooper February 24 | Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan) | Grades K-2 Cooper’s last effort, the excellent […]
We talk about why anyone would put a wig on a bird, what "milk parties" might consist of, whether a "lord" needs to capitalize his title, and so much more.
As educators and information leaders, I think librarians have the responsibility to provide information and skill development so that our students and community members can make informed choices about using AI.
I mean, who doesn't love a good myth or legend?
So many incredible books hit our shores in a given year, that it only makes sense to write an entire post about them today.
It’s been a busy week of Heavy Medal as we prepare for the next stage of discussions. We are going to finalize our booklist this weekend and would love to hear any final comments you have. Here are some very specific questions I would love to have answered: We look forward to unveiling our Final […]
Let a dinosaur teach you how a computer is built in Science Comics: Computers: How Digital Hardware Works
I don’t know why, but I find it incredibly charming when kids ask to have books put on hold. I love that they’re so into wanting to read them that they want to remember that they want to read them, and then I get to see the utter delight on their faces when it’s finally […]
2025 turned out to be a particularly good year for books for the newest of readers. Check out this array of talent!
In Kenny Ruiz's fun new manga, a young would-be hero first stumbles upon and then seeks to master the iconic weapon of the title...while on the run from The First Order.
The genre helped me rewrite the narrative of my own story. I was not a victim of the world around me, but girl who could save herself.
Newbery winner Rebecca Stead is our guest on the latest episode of The Yarn podcast. We go behind the scenes of Stead’s latest middle grade novel, The Experiment. We also talk about how this year’s Newbery winner, The First State of Being (by Erin Entrada Kelly), was in part inspired by Stead’s 2010 Newbery winner […]
These books have something to say to kids, and not only are they unafraid to say it, they do it in the best possible way.
Lives are validated not through what reviewers often see as ‘gritty’ but a very nuanced layering of Black classicism. Even though she provides a fictitious urban setting, these teen’s reality isn’t directly about racism, income, or gender. It’s about the balancing act they do to survive every day.
Registration is now open for our live Heavy Medal Webcast: "What's It Really Like? Join the 2026 Mock Newbery Live!" The free event is scheduled for Friday, January 23rd, at 1:00 pm EST.
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