title: Front Desk author: Kelly Yang date: Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic); 2018 main character: Mia Tang middle grade realistic fiction Front Desk is based in Kelly Yang’s real life experiences, making it an #ownvoices novel. In the Author’s Notes, she explains how situations in the story evolved from her growing up and helping her… Read More book review: Front Desk
I think my book reviews have consumed more of my energy than any of my other types of posts. I don’t mean that in the sense that they are the most time consuming (which they are) but because they’re the posts I work hardest to get right. I think when I first began writing them,… Read More A More Economic View
I missed my Sunday posting, but there are just a few things on my mind. This weekend, Dr. Debbie Reese will deliver the 2019 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture, “An Indigenous Critique of Whiteness in Children’s Literature.” The event is hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For those of us who cannot attend, a livestream will… Read More Tuesday Musings
title: Usual Suspects author: Maurice Broaddus date: Katherine Tegen Books; May, 2019 main character: Thelonius Mitchell MG Realistic Fiction This review is based on an advanced copy. Maurice Broaddus, an African American male writer, breaks into writing for middle graders with Usual Suspects. His previous short stories, novels and novellas have been written for adults.… Read More book review: Usual Suspects
1Apr Around Harvard Square by C.J. Farley. Akashic Books. Tosh Livingston, superstar student-athlete from small-town USA, thinks he’s made it big as a rising freshman at Harvard University. Not so fast! Once on campus, he’s ensnared in a frenzied competition to win a spot on Harvard’s legendary humor magazine, the Harpoon. Tosh soon finds that joining the… Read More April New Releases
Cotton Quilts 