by Carolyn | Adventure, Character Training, Girls, Historical Fiction, Imagination, Middle School, Middle-grade, Mystery, Read Alouds, Scary Stories
How do you feel about scary stories for kids? When I was a kid, Goosebumps was a popular series, but, honestly, Nancy Drew was too suspenseful for me! On the other hand, my daughter loves “scary” books (at the same age that I couldn’t handle them)....
by Carolyn | Book Lists, Boys, Education, Imagination, Middle-grade, Nonfiction, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Resources
Last week, we looked at artistic creativity. This week, I want to talk about a different set of books that inspire creativity in kids, specifically, inventive creativity. Ok, maybe I just made up that term, but what I’m talking about is the drive to invent or...
by Carolyn | Girls, Graphic Novel, Juvenile Fiction, Middle-grade, Newbery, Older Elementary
There I was, at the public library, perusing the juvenile biographies. I was Looking for the 26 Fairmont Avenue books by Tommie de Paula when something else caught my eye. El Deafo. It wasn’t just the bright blue cover or the interesting title. I knew El Deafo...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Character Training, Cultural Diversity, Girls, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle School, Middle-grade, Newbery, Older Elementary, Read Alouds
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin features a young girl, Minli, who lives in a poor village with her parents. Her father tells her stories each night, but her discontented mother says the stories are a waste. In an effort to make her family happy, Minli...
by Carolyn | Book Lists, Early Readers, Juvenile Fiction, Middle-grade
I was thrilled to be invited to appear on a local show, SA Live, to give children’s book recommendations for various ages! You can watch the recording by clicking the image below (my segment begins at 17:30), or you can read more about the books I chose below....
by Carolyn | Classics, Girls, Middle-grade, Older Elementary
I know I might make some enemies with this review, but I have to tell it like I see it. Or, in this case, read it. I was told this was a classic. I’m inclined to like older books, and I had seen Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh on multiple book lists. I will...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Girls, Historical Fiction, Middle-grade, Mystery, Recommendations, Steampunk
Let me just say, if you have girls, go get this book! When I first heard the premise for The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, I was intrigued. Jordan Stratford has taken two historical figures (plus a few others), squashed their timeline and given them a fictional...
