Heavy Medal
November 30, 2011 by Travis Jonker
When you think about it, it’s pretty rare that kids get free choice. Parents, money, The Man – so many roadblocks. Not so at the school library. What you see below are the actual books on hold by students in the 5th and 6th grade school where I work. What’s on your hold shelf? Be […]
November 29, 2011 by Travis Jonker
This week on the Brain Burps About Books podcast I review Peter Brown’s exuberant You Will Be My Friend. Host Katie Davis also chats with Jarrett J. Krosoczka, mastermind behind a bunch of books, including the Lunch Lady graphic novel series and my daughter’s favorite book of the moment, Punk Farm. Click here to listen. […]
November 29, 2011 by Travis Jonker
A couple weeks ago I put out the ol’ all-call for interesting post ideas. Today, we have our winner. And it turns out to be a familiar face. I wrote about Canadian children’s librarian Lucas Maxwell a little while ago after learning of his genius idea for celebrating a library birthday. He ended up submitting […]
November 28, 2011 by Travis Jonker
Every Monday (nay, most Mondays) a Newbery-winning book gets a new cover courtesy of me, a guy who gets a kick out of this sort of thing. If you’d like to see all the covers in one place, click here to check out the Covering the Newbery gallery. On to the show… 1957: Miracles on […]
November 25, 2011 by Travis Jonker
Turkey and stuffing consumed, we now turn our attention to the movies. Hugo (man, it feels like I’m cheating whenever I type that title, going from 5 words down to just one) is now in theaters. Here are a couple recent tidbits to whet your appetite. CBS News recently ran a piece on the film, […]
November 23, 2011 by Travis Jonker
KIRKUS WEIGHS IN ON 2011 There’s a lot to like here and, of course, a few unexpected picks. Cookiebot took me by surprise – I need to track that down. Click here to read. NEW YORK TIMES SAYS ‘WE SHALL NOT BE OUTWEIGHED’ The venerable Times recently released their list of notable books. Join me […]
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November 22, 2011 by Travis Jonker
Interested in learning about some of the most intriguing children’s books coming out this winter but would like to keep the amount of titles to a number easily divisible by 5 and 2? This, friend, is the post for you. What follows are 10 books that had me pretending to stroke my whiskers, raise one […]
November 21, 2011 by Travis Jonker
You probably know how this goes. Every Monday I redo the cover of a Newbery-winning book. I’m starting at the start and working my way up to the modern day. Up this week… 1956: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham Original Cover: My Redo: Side by Side: Verdict:Mine might be a little plain, […]
November 20, 2011 by Travis Jonker
Turning a book into a film is always a tricky proposition. The challenge? Filmmakers are trying to turn something successful and well-liked into something just as successful in an entirely different medium. It’s like when they try to turn a song into a picture book – you know how that usually works out. It is […]
November 19, 2011 by Travis Jonker
If you’re on Twitter, you may have seen the WhiteHouse.gov school libraries petition making the rounds. I signed it and encouraged others to add their John Hancock too. School Librarian Buffy Hamilton takes a contrarian view on the matter, and makes a compelling argument or two in the process. Not enough to sway me, but […]
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Politics in Practice
by John Chrastka
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