Book of the Week
BBW Booktalk: GEOGRAPHY CLUB
Banned Books Week goes on and today’s booktalk is GEOGRAPHY CLUB by Brent Hartinger. It was successfully banned for its homosexual content in Brent’s own hometown in 2005 – read Brent’s great post about it – and has continued to appear on the most challenged lists. In Brent’s blog post, he quotes a local parent [...]
BBW Booktalk: ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING
A regular on the top banned and challenged books list, ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING by the fabulous Louise Rennison has a cult following (um, include me in that cult!). The book has been challenged for a multitude of reasons: age inappropriateness, profanity, and sexual content. It has also made the Top 100 list, which [...]
BBW Booktalk: IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN
Like BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA yesterday, Maurice Sendak’s IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN makes the list for one of the top 100 most frequently banned books of the decade, 1990-2000. It was also made the Top 10 most challenged book of 2004. It’ll be no surprise to those of you familiar with the book that the sticking [...]
EVERYTHING GOES: ON LAND Giveaway Winners
Eek! We forgot to post the winners of our EVERYTHING GOES: ON LAND giveaway contest yesterday as promised! CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING WINNERS! Jana Jennifer Coffelt Holly Baker We’ll contact you shortly to get your mailing address and congrats!
BBW Booktalk: BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA
In addition to appearing on the list regularly, Katherine Paterson’s BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA was a Top 10 Banned Book in 2003. It is also ranked in the Top 10 Banned Books of the decade, 1990-2010. It has been challenged and banned for using the lord’s name in vain, secular humanism, occultism, offensive language, and death [...]
Banned Books Week: Booktalks
It’s well-known in book-ish circles that it’s Banned Books Week. This week is a wonderful celebration of the freedom to read and to raise awareness against censorship. But one thing that comes up each year – by myself, included – is that Banned Books Week needs to happen every day of the year. As book [...]
Al Yankovic’s WHEN I GROW UP App: A conversation with editor Anne Hoppe
From Book to App with Al Yankovic’s WHEN I GROW UP, Illustrated by Wes Hargis, Digital Development by Bean Creative I thought I’d hate it. It’s not a book. And I love books, with their fusion of author and illustrator’s visions into a carefully crafted whole, results showcased on the printed page. An app, I [...]
EVERYTHING GOES: ON LAND by Brian Biggs + GIVEAWAY!
When I was a teenager, my little sister got into the Where’s Waldo? books. I certainly didn’t admit it at the time – so of course I’ll admit it publicly now as a blogger – but, at 17, I totally loved those books too. It took me so long to memorize where Waldo was on [...]
EVERY THING ON IT
The day has come! Shel Silverstein’s newest poetry collection, EVERY THING ON IT, is on sale today! You can get a peek at the book by using our Browse Inside feature, and check out the downloadable activities. The New York Times also wrote a lovely piece about Shel Silverstein as an unexpected “authority on education.” [...]
Teaching Writing Through Music with author Ben Winters
Doing classroom visits with young writers is probably my favorite part of being a writer, narrowly edging out the actual writing. Kids inspire me; they give me new ideas for characters and stories; and, most importantly, they crack me up. Plus, when it comes to doing classroom visits and giving “writing prompts” to the kids, [...]
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