We all know what trends in children’s books and YA were big this year (hello, dystopian futures), but what can we expect in 2013? Scholastic Book Clubs editorial director David Allender knows the answer — among other things, we’re going to see a lot of books about bullying, more tough girls, and (thanks in part to the new Common Core State Standards) a particularly good selection of nonfiction. After the jump, watch Allender talk in detail about the top ten trends he expects to see in kids’ lit in the upcoming year, and wax a little poetic on some of his favorite reads. … Read More
YA
10 of the Greatest YA Series of All Time
Yesterday, we were saddened to learn Donald J. Sobol, that the author the Encyclopedia Brown series, has passed away at the age of 87. We loved the Encyclopedia Brown books as kids, and the sad news sent us on a little trip down memory lane — but not just for Encyclopedia and Sally, for all the YA series that brought us joy as, well, young adults (and, we admit, since then). Just for fun, we’re going to look beyond the obvious choices, but rest assured that we consider The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter books, and The Hunger Games series to be among the best as well (even at the tippy top). It’s just that we think they’re so well established already that you really don’t need to see them on a list like this — you can probably just look over at your shelf. Click through to see a few of our most beloved YA (and older children’s book) series of all time, and if we’ve missed the books that made your younger self spin, please share the wealth and add to our list in the comments. … Read More
Like Missed Connections, But for Half-Forgotten Books
It’s happened to everyone — suddenly, you’re seized by a vague, faint memory of a book you read somewhere, sometime, but can’t put your finger on what it was called or who wrote it, or even enough of the plot to Google your way to the answer. But have no fear, nostalgic re-readers! i09 has tipped us off to What Was That Book?, a Livejournal community (remember Livejournal?) dedicated to helping you piece together the scraps of your recollection. But even if you don’t have a forgotten novel tugging at the back of your brain, we suggest taking a look — we immediately got sucked into reading through the requests themselves. Not only is it interesting to see what details people hang on to, but now we definitely want to seek out and read these books ourselves. We’ve pulled a few of the weirdest, most awesome-sounding queries and excerpted them after the jump. If anyone figures out what books they belong to, do let us know in the comments. … Read More
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