The latest reviews of fiction and nonfiction titles-- including picture books, easy readers, early chapter books, and information books--for a preschool and elementary grade audience from School Library Journal.
Scholastic Criticized for Pushing Toys, Makeup in Book Clubs By Debra Lau Whelan - 02/11/2009
If you’ve noticed the toys, jewelry, and other non-book items being sold by Scholastic in its elementary and middle school book club flyers, you’re not alone. A Boston-based advocacy group says the children’s publisher is abusing its position by peddling everything from games to makeup to classroom kids. More
Preschool to Grade 4 02/01/2010
Fiction ALEXANDER, Claire . Small Florence: Piggy Pop Star! illus. by author. unpaged. CIP. Albert Whitman . Mar. 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8075-7455-3 . LC 2009023624. PreS-Gr 2—Florence dreams of performing for adoring fans. However, when she tries to sing in front of her big sisters, all that comes out is a pathetic, tiny squeak.
More
Preschool to Grade 4 01/01/2010
Fiction BAKER, E. D. Dragon Kiss . Bk. 7. 279p. (The Tales of the Frog Princess Series). CIP. Bloomsbury . 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59990-348-4 . LC 2008055131. Gr 3–5—Baker has lost momentum since The Frog Princess (Bloomsbury, 2003), the first book in the series. This installment revolves around the dragon Audun, who wants to become a human so that he can woo Millie, his swee...
More
Digital Resources: Early Learning Made Easy By Shonda Brisco - 01/01/2010
Finding new tools to meet the educational needs of early childhood educators and their students can be a difficult task. With hundreds of toys, games, and software programs available for instruction, it becomes a major research project to identify the best resource for an individual child, along with a measurable outcome.
More
Preschool to Grade 4 12/01/2009
Fiction ANDERSEN, Hans Christian . Thumbelina . retold by Brian Alderson. illus. by Bagram Ibatoulline. unpaged. CIP. Candlewick . 2009. RTE $17.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-2079-0 . LC 2008027721. K-Gr 2—Alderson's version of this oft-retold tale clips along at a breezy pace, retaining most of Andersen's detail.
More
Preschool to Grade 4 11/01/2009
Fiction ALLEN, Joy . Princess Party . illus. by author. unpaged. CIP. Putnam . 2009. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25259-4 . LC 2008043543. PreS-K—Two little girls—one fancifully dressed as a fairy princess, the other wearing cowboy boots and a "Princess Power" T-shirt—host a party for princesses of various ethnicities, dressed in a variety of costumes.
More
Art Appreciation: SLJ reviews new resource Picturing Books By Shonda Brisco - 11/01/2009
Even though I love children's picture books, I almost always cringe when a high school art student asks me to help them locate examples of titles that use "woodcuts" or "wash." While I handle these books on a daily basis, I admit that I'm not as familiar with the original media used or the style displayed within the pages of these mini museums.
More
Preschool to Grade 4 10/01/2009
Fiction ACHESON, Alison . Grandpa's Music: A Story About Alzheimer's . illus. by Bill Farnsworth. unpaged. CIP. Albert Whitman . 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8075-3052-8 . LC 2008055792. K-Gr 3—This story concentrates on how the relationship between a child and her grandfather, who has Alzheimer's disease, changes but remains loving and strong.
More
Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog Jonathan Hunt, Librarian and teacher, Modesto City Schools January 30, 2010 Signing Off
REBECCA STEAD REDUX
Peter Sieruta talks about the first printing.
Monica E... More
2009 National Book Awards On the red carpet with nominees in the Young People's Literature category.
Photos by Rocco Staino.
SLJ Covers 2009 A bigger and better view of SLJ's covers from 2009
BookExpo America 2009: SLJ's Day of Dialog School Library Journal held a Day of Dialog in conjunction with the annual BookExpo America on May 28, 2009 at the Brooklyn Public Library. Full story: bit.ly/1a0G7o
Rockin’, Rollin’ and Ridin’ with Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck. CD. 23 min. Prod. by Big Truck Music. Dist. by CDBaby.com. 2009. $8.99.
Gr 1-5–A veteran of Noggin Channel and PBS Kids, Frezza created these eight exceptional rock ‘n roll songs for elementary grade children who are too old for Raffi, but not old enough for adult pop music.
Friends and colleagues of the late Effie Lee Morris may enjoy this photo of the children's librarian, which Nicholas Glass, founder and executive director of Teachingbooks.net, recently found on his computer. It was taken at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, and features (from left) Ashley Bryan, Christopher Myers, and Morris, also an advocate for children's literature and library service to youngsters with impaired vision, who died of cancer on November 10, 2009.
View All Stories
Rockin’, Rollin’ and Ridin’ with Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck. CD. 23 min. Prod. by Big Truck Music. Dist. by CDBaby.com. 2009. $8.99. 
