Reviews
Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices
“YAs familiar with Cronn-Mills from her Stonewall Award–winning Beautiful Music for Ugly Children will be particularly pleased to encounter her nonfiction work.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Literature View →
Beetle Boy
“The strata of Charlie’s trauma peel back gradually through dreams and flashbacks to reveal a highly sensitive boy who was badly used and then abandoned by his opportunistic father; readers will feel the ache screaming from his dreams into his waking responses, which would… View →
White Space
“This is a fascinating, intricate story with multiple threads running through it. It is a combination of mystery, science fiction, and horror—an exciting page-turner.” —starred, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
Every Body's Talking: What We Say without Words
“Count on readers sharing this book with friends and postulating exactly who among their acquaintance ‘always does that.’” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
Bombs over Bikini: The World’s First Nuclear Disaster
“Goldsmith employs a reasoned tone, setting events within the context of realistic Cold War apprehensions, but allowing facts to speak eloquently for themselves.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
Secrets of the Sky Caves: Danger and Discovery on Nepal's Mustang Cliffs
“®ich end matter comprising glossary, index, timeline, source notes, and bibliography, will be a boon to report writers, and the melding of rock climbing and archaeology may entice a range of armchair adventurers.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s… View →
Plastic, Ahoy!: Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
“Newman does a solid job of walking readers through the trio of studies in an orderly fashion, and plenty of color photographs convey a sense of ship life for readers more drawn to the adventure than the science.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
The Shadow Prince
“[A] smoking-hot romance and plenty of unresolved plot threads should be enough to keep readers looking out for the next installment.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
Mumbet's Declaration of Independence
“The case is fascinating, emphasizing the destructive irony at the heart of the birth of America and making Mumbet an active and savvy architect of her own release, and this is likely to spur much discussion.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
A Matter of Souls
“These are ugly truths exposed, brought to life with an immediacy that breaks through the gauzy filters of history. Teachers looking for a YA complement to Richard Wright will find the multiple characters’ stories here both useful and bracing.” —The Bulletin of the… View →
The Whispering Town
“The spare storytelling style is perfectly matched with the sophisticated yet accessible illustrations, composed of black lines, fields of digital color, and scratchy pen details . . . This is a notable early introduction to the Danish resistance that deserves wide… View →
Expressing the Inner Wild: Tattoos, Piercings, Jewelry, and Other Body Art
“Body adornment and modification are well established markers of status, artistry, rebellion, and the sheer joy of ostentation, and this title reminds adolescent readers that even the most outré of contemporary styles has probably been bested in other times and cultures.”… View →
Wild Animal Neighbors: Sharing Our Urban World
The content holds obvious appeal, and Downer’s presentation is clear and engaging….[A] useful and thought-provoking book that will prove to be a hit with city-dwelling animal lovers and wannabe wildlife scientists." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s… View →
The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees: A Scientific Mystery
“[The title] stands as fine example of science writing for newbie science readers—and teachers extending their use of trade books under Common Core.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
“Hays is a gifted storyteller, offering up an effective balance of credible emotion, understated wisdom, and gentle humor.” —starred, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
A Wounded Name
“A vividly told, painfully sad tragedy that will make readers take a second look at the Bard.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball
“The fun here is in the contrast between Coy’s straightforward narration and the stylized mayhem of Morse’s cast of maroon-shirted, all-American-looking college guys.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
Cookie, the Walker
“Monroe proves here again that she is a master of understated absurdity and quirky humor….The amusingly goofy text and absurd asides will appeal to a wide age range of kids. Monroe’s detailed illustrations, which frequently utilize comics-like panels and word balloons,… View →
The Future We Left Behind
“[A] stimulating read well worth contemplating.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
The Normal Kid
“Holmes is a capable and affecting stylist… Readers may enjoy the dynamics of the school story, and they’ll appreciate the message that even difficult transitions are survivable.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
Their Skeletons Speak: Kennewick Man and the Paleoamerican World
“[F]or serious readers who delight in forensic investigation or perhaps consider a future in the field, this material will push their understanding further than most titles on this subject for youth readership.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories
“The end result of the combination of stories and formal and informal commentary is that readers will feel a stronger, more intimate connection with these writers as people, as well as gain insight into the kinds of support and critique that are useful in story-making and… View →
Infinity and Me
“Swiatkowska’s imaginative artwork combines the free-wheeling, slightly eerie absurdity of Monty Python animations, the formality of nineteenth-century decorative patterning, and the playful nerdiness of Leonardo da Vinci-styled inventions. For math and language arts teachers View →
