Finding Blog Reviews

When you're looking for commentary or reviews on a particular title, remember you can check our Syndetics information in the webpac to find some reviews published in professional journals, like School Library Journal or Booklist. To find this info, just click on the image of the book cover in the webpac.

If you need or want to read further, a quick trick is to Google the title of the book in quotes, followed by the phrase: blog review.

I tried that with Red Sings from Treetops like this:

"Red Sings from Treetops" blog review

Out of the first 10 hits, 7 were reviews from mostly major kidlit blogs; 1 was a round-up article from the New York Times that included this book, and the remaining 2 hits were from GoodReads and LibraryThing. Pretty good results! And since bloggers often have more time and space for reviews, they can be longer.

This trick works best with recent titles. I tried it with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and got more random results, including merchandising links. A 2009 title without the current buzz of Red Sings from Treetops, City I Love, brought pretty good results as well. They improved when I tried "City I Love" hopkins blog review--adding in the author's name to the Google search.

Blogroll Update

I've been making friends with my Google Reader again after 3 months of being too busy with the After School program at May to read much of anything!

I've added a few blogs to the YSIG blogroll:

ALSC Blog--from the ALA's Association of Library Services to Children

The mission of the ALSC Blog is to provide a venue for coverage of time sensitive news in children’s librarianship, current issues in the field, and programs, conferences, initiatives, resources, and activities of interest to ALSC members and those interested in children’s librarianship.

Cynsations

This is the blog of author Cynthia Leitich Smith. She is insanely well informed and her blog is very active with lots of great information:

A source for interviews, reading recommendations, publishing information, literacy advocacy, writer resources, news in children's and teen literature.

Kidlitosphere News

I've mentioned the Kidlitosphere website before--this is their news roundup.

This page features news in the area of children's literature, events from around the blogging community, and announcements about KidLitosphere happenings. Primarily focused on literary news, special events, useful articles, and interesting posts from other blogs, it does not include reviews, interviews, or opinions.

I also put a link to the Summer Showdown blog under ALD. Find out what our shortlists are for the summer!

The Worst Review Ever

Here's a fun, brand-new blog that looks like it's going to be a great discussion starter! Alexa Young, YA author of Frenemies and Faketastic, is asking around for authors to respond to their lousy reviews...starting with her own!

I've read just a couple of the interviews so far, but it is making me think a little more deeply about the review process, which is cool.

The most recent post is about a review for Gentlemen, by Michael Northrop. Read through the comments till you get to LizB (who is very cool in her own right). She raises a really good point about what's the difference between a review and a recommendation:

People have been asking me the difference between reviews and recommendations/discussions. I think this illustrates it; this was a personal response, so falls into recommendation. By not looking beyond that (do "I" like it versus "does the book, as written, do what it intends to do"), it is not a "review." Do "I" relate to characters? Response. Are the characters realistic? Review -- because a character can be realistic, yet I don't relate to them/ like them.

Crossover

Kelly Herold, of Big A little a and other projects (including being a college professor), has started a new blog called Crossover. In it she will discuss and review books that have "crossover" appeal--books for teens that adults like, books for adults that teens like.

She's starting off with Twilight (I am still so reluctant to read this one, but know I really should!) and mentions the recent Guardian award long list as a list full of books with crossover potential.

I.N.K.

For those of you factoid junkies, writers (aspiring and otherwise), and teachers (past or present), here's a blog you might want to keep an eye on. It's called I.N.K. which stands for Interesting Non-Fiction for Kids!

Over 20 writers are contributing authors to the blog (including Boulder's own Steve Jenkins), and they write about non-fiction from many, many points of view.

Here's a recent post I particularly liked: Coming Soon to a Theater Near You! In it, Rosalyn Schanzer compares all the roles she fills as a writer and illustrator to those needed to put together a big-budget Hollywood film.

Happy Valentines Day!

Celebrate with an award winner: The Cybils were announced today!

"Cybils" is a loose acronym for "Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literature Awards." It was developed a few years ago to try to combine "kid appeal" AND literary quality in one award, so as you might expect, their finalists and winners don't always match those of awards like the Newbery, Printz, or National Book Awards. However, this year's Middle-Grade Fiction award goes to...The Graveyard Book!

I think it's a neat list to keep an eye on, in part because of all the categories: Easy Readers, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fiction Picture Books, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade Fiction, Non-fiction Picture Books, Non-fiction: Middle Grade & Young Adult, Poetry, and Young Adult Fiction.

Kidlitosphere Central

Here's a great resource to bookmark!

Introducing Kidlitosphere Central, one-stop shopping for more youth literature blogs than you ever knew existed.

Don't want to keep your own blogroll or reader? Check the Members page from time to time and pick a blog, read a few entries, and see what people are talking about.

Curious about what's happening in the virtual world of children's literature? Read about annual events, resources, and competitions on the Resources page.

Can't wait to hear which books win the Cybils Awards? There's a page for that, too.

And if you absolutely need another blog to read, Kidlitosphere Central has its own, for news and notes about the children's book world.

How Not to Be A Great Reader's Advisor

Check out this blog post by Carlie Webber at Librarilly Blonde.

She's talking specifically about email RA--like when people ask their colleagues on a listserv for help with finding books for a patron, or when we get requests via services such our email reference. But the post also serves as a quick reminder of the types of questions we should be asking our walk-in or phone-in patrons when they need recommendations.

What are your favorite "fishing" questions that you use to find out more about the patron, or the patron's children, to help zone in on the books they might like? What bugs you about reader's advisory? What do you love about it?

readertotz Arrives!

Hooray! Another cool blog to share with you guys! This one is called readertotz and it's from the same people who brought us the fab readergirlz.

readertotz aims to celebrate the best of the books for infants and toddlers. You can read their press release to find out more.

I'm so excited about this because choosing books for my baby storytimes is such a struggle. I use the same titles and authors all the time! I can't wait to keep an eye on their list and get some fresh ideas for storytime and for our board book bins.

What are your favorite books for the youngest kids?

Best of 2008

It's a fun time of year--lots of "best of the best" year-end round up lists are out.

Check out a few of these lists...are any of the titles familiar to you? If not, now's a great time to read some reviews! You'll be ready with some fresh books the next time someone needs a recommendation!

Horn Book Fanfare
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books
School Library Journal
Publishers Weekly (scroll down for youth titles)
Amazon: Picture Books, Middle Readers, and Teen.

Books that are on at least three of those lists?

Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Kingdom on the Waves
Graceling
Hunger Games
Little Brother
Nation
Our White House
Pale Male
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
Tender Morsels
We Are the Ship

Need more?
Check out the Best Of page at Chicken Spaghetti.

Running Amok with Achockablog

Another blog I try to read from time to time is Achockablog, the blog of the huge, independent UK children's review website, Achuka. It's great for a different perspective on the children's publishing world.

A debate this year has been the desire of publishers to start to "age-band" their books (printing 5+, 7+, 9+, etc. on the covers) this fall; here's a short post with a link to an article about librarian opposition to the idea.

Publishers obviously want to help guide the parents who purchase books, but we know not all kids are so tidily categorized. What do you think?

Perennial Newbery Debate

OK, I'm a little behind the curve on this one (October has been a little messy) but earlier this month a discussion about the Newbery award started that is worth a look. Check out the following links and see what you think!

Anita Silvey wrote in SLJ about her frustrations with recent Newbery winners--she speaks to a "trend" away from recognizing books that are popular with young readers.

The problem is, the Newbery criteria specifically state that "the award is for literary quality and quality presentation for children. The award is not for didactic intent or for popularity."

Both Nina Lindsay and Roger Sutton have written responses; don't miss some of the conversation that follows their posts in the comments. This debate crops up every few years, so it's worth the time to get familiar with it.

And if you're curious about what books folks are saying might be Newbery and Caldecott contenders for this year, here's a few lists to read:

Fuse #8
Wizards Wireless
Allen County Mock Newbery List
Allen County Mock Caldecott List

In addition, you might want to check out the Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literature Awards). This new award was created specifically to bridge that perceived gap between literary excellence and popularity. On their FAQ they say, "We wanted a literary competition that combined the freewheeling democracy of the Internet with the thoughtfulness of a book club...The winning books must combine quality and 'kid appeal.'"

Compare their nominations lists for this year with the books getting buzz for the Newbery and Caldecott!

Caldecott Hopefuls Blog

I'm sorry to push down Melissa's post about the Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy website--please make sure to visit!

I wanted to direct everyone to the ALD 2009 Caldecott Hopefuls blog. Here we are posting and discussing great picture books published in 2008 that have a chance at the 2009 Caldecott Medal. Towards the end of October, Melissa will take our postings and create a final list of about 10 books on which we will have patrons vote for a winner. Then we'll compare our winner with the ALA winner mid-January. Feel free to comment and shoot me an email if you want to become a contributor.

Tattoos and Kids Lit, A Natural Combination

Hey, this post is just for fun. I was doing some random professional blog reading and wound up on Contrariwise, a blog of literary tattoos!

Scroll through the Books section to find Le Petit Prince, Harriet the Spy, the Lorax, and a few others. Shel Silverstein is over in Poetry.

What children's literature reference would YOU wear on a tat?

FYI: I started off at Fuse #8, another one of my must-reads, written by Elizabeth Bird, an actual live children's librarian, now published on the School Library Journal site. She has LOTS of insider bits plus thoughtful commentary. And just check out her blogroll!

Read Roger

I mentioned that one of my goals was to keep up with my professional reading; from time to time I’ll point you towards some of the blogs and resources that I love.

One of my favorites is Read Roger. Roger Sutton is the editor in chief of Horn Book; his vast knowledge, wide perspective, and pointed wit always leave me with something to think about.

This recent post is a great example: he starts off with a note about a West Side Story revival, makes a connection to a new children’s title, winding up with a larger question about children’s literature as a whole, pointing us towards a thoughtful critical essay along the way.

(PS: He also comments on the Stuart Little essay from the New Yorker!)