I am delighted to have Lindsey and Dana, the two Children’s Librarians behind Jbrary, guest posting today!! They have a wonderful YouTube channel that is all about storytime songs, and today they have a list of picture books you can sing before, during, or after reading! Not only is singing fun, but it is one of…
Skype Author Visit with Jarrett Krosoczka
What’s a school author visit via Skype like? I just experienced two successful ones so I thought I’d share my experience in the hopes that you will be able to get authors to your kids’ school too! Skype is really very easy and kids are surprisingly unperturbed when there are minor technical issues which can…
2014 Asian American Children’s Book Awards & Kid Lit Blog Hop
Have you heard of the APALA children’s book awards? Of course not. I blogged for three years on children’s books seeking out the best Asian American KidLit and I didn’t know about it. That’s a shame because Asian American children’s books are slowly coming into their own, well on the heels perhaps of the Asian…
My Son’s First Fencing Lesson
My son and his third grade buddies have been taking tennis lessons since school started. Now that it’s too cold to play outdoors, they decided to switch to fencing. There is something about little boys and swordplay — my son has been wielding a stick as a sword since he was old enough to toddle….
Amazing Parrots 3 Book GIVEAWAY
It’s my turn to choose the Picture Book of the Day and I picked the 2014 Seibert Winner, Parrots Over Puerto Rico. I thought we’d explore parrots today with a non-fiction picture book, a singalong parrot picture book and an easy reader with a naughty parrot. Next, I clear up confusion that I have about…
14 Funny Science-y Math-y Chapter Books for ages 7 and up
There seems to be a new sub-genre in children’s books that targets boys to get them reading. It’s for boys like my own who graduated from potty and underwear humor (ok, maybe they never do!) and still want funny but with a science twist. This is not to say that these books are science fiction;…
Judging the Cybils Graphic Novels Category
There were so many great graphic novels on the short list for the Cybils, particularly in the Young Adult category! The Cybils do not include honorable mentions so my take is just my own opinion and not that of the Graphic Novel judging committee. I wanted to spotlight a few standouts that are worth hunting down….







