A Promise Stitched in Time by Colleen Rowan Kosinski is a poignant tale of love and friendship that transcends time. Maggie McConnell is a young artist with a deadline for entry into an art contest. Maggie hopes to win a scholarship to the Peabody Academy. On a quest for the perfect inspiration, Maggie buys a […]
Renegade by Mallory McCartney is a prequel to Black Dawn, telling the story of Emory’s time at the Academy, training with friends and family. Nothing good can last, though, and things at the Academy and Kieros in general, are becoming frayed. Fighting and strife still exist in the world, and it comes to Roque’s safe […]
East by Edith Pattou is a delightful re-imagining of the fairytale ‘East of the Sun, West of the Moon’. Rose is born into a large, poor family, to a superstitious ma. The family is starving, the farm failing, when a mysterious visitor approaches them and says he will give the family an improvement of their […]
Poetry Builders: Ana and Adam Build an Acrostic by Victoria Peterson-Hilleque, illustrated by Winifred Barnum-Newman Ana and Adam Build an Acrostic is part of the Poetry Builders Series to teach kids about all sorts of poetry types. This one, by Victoria Peterson-Hilleque, focuses on acrostics. These poems take a word and use each letter of […]
Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood is a kid’s historical fiction novel about the sinking of the SS City of Benares by a German U-Boat. Among the passengers were children being sent from London to Canada to keep them safe from the bombings. We see the story through the eyes of a survivor, 13yr old Ken […]
Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel is a darkly magical re-imagining that fuses two great classics- Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice– into a seamless narrative. A chance encounter between Mary Bennett and Victor Frankenstein sets in motion a series of relationships that will leave them both forever changed. Victor is travelling […]
Atlas of the Unexpected by Travis Elborough is broken into several sections, helping to define the strange and unusual aspects of the sites mentioned. Each site is accompanied by black and white photos. ‘Accidental Discoveries’- includes places such as Cahokia and Pompeii. The latter, of course, is the famed city in Italy buried by the […]
Rosario’s 500 Words or Less is a poignant, raw look into the heart of one young woman’s senior high school year. Told entirely through free verse poetry, Nic Chen’s story is one of unbearable loneliness and devastating loss. Two years ago, Nic and her best friend Ben became more than just friends. In one drunken […]
Pause, Breathe, Smile by Gary Gach offers a simple, yet highly effective method for cultivating mindfulness wherever you may be and whatever you may be doing. It’s as simple as the title says, taking time to pause, breathe deep, and smile. This is a beneficial tool alone, and Gach teaches how to turn it into […]
Worry Says What? by Allison Edwards is an adorable picture book for kids about anxiety and how to deal with it. Worry is a fluffy monster who lives in the mind, and Whispers fretful things like ‘you can’t do this’ or ‘people don’t like you’. The more you listen options worry, the bigger it gets. […]