The Latest Posts

Gladys Hunt on Enduring Value

Editor's Note: The "something new" Gladys Hunt notes below has been around awhile now and changes have occurred which she would probably have deplored. Something ...
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2023 Newbery Buzz #5: I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

I Must Betray You is one of those novels that straddles the line between Newbery age ranges and Printz age ranges. Will it get some ...
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2023 Newbery Buzz Roundup #2: Frizzy, How to Build a Human, and Attack of the Black Rectangles

The American Library Association will announce the winners of its very influential Youth Media Awards, headed by the Newbery and Caldecott. Since we can't help ...
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2023 Newbery Buzz #4: Jack Zulu

Does an independently published novel like Jack Zulu have what it takes to win the Newbery? We're back with Newbery Buzz Discussion #4 for 2023. ...
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Gladys Hunt on Award-Winning Books

Editor's Note: On Monday, the American Library Association announces its annual Youth Media Awards But how many of the honored books will still be read ...
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*A Dragon Used to Live Here by Annette LeBlanc Cate

In a whimsical tale within a tale, two royal children discover that their castle (and their own mother!) have a very interesting past. A Dragon ...
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2023 Newbery Buzz #3: Northwind

Might Gary Paulsen's last novel be a sentimental favorite for Newbery recognition? The State of Nature Betsy: Janie, this is only the second Paulsen book ...
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Newbery Roundup #1: Freestyle, Swim Team, and Maizy Chen’s Last Chance

Three novels for middle-grades that may be under consideration for this year's top prize Freestyle by Gale Galligan. Graphix; (Scholastic), 2022, 322 pages. (Ages 10-14) ...
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Poetry on Earwigs (and Also Goats With Beaks)

My husband still teases me about my first poem, which has hitherto never been published. There once was a goatWho lived in a boatHe went ...
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2023 Newbery Buzz #2: The Door of No Return

Back for our second buzz, Janie and Betsy talk over a troubling but moving verse novel. Out of Africa Janie: Kwame Alexander scored a gold ...
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Gladys Hunt on Metaphor and Imagination

Editor's Note: Continuing this month's Honey for a Child's Heart Read-Along, we're thinking further about value of literary fantasy. A Metaphor Says This is Like ...
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The Lucky Ones by Linda Williams Jackson

In The Lucky Ones, an impoverished family in the rural south takes a big step up during the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s. The ...
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