June 2013 Carnival of Children's Literature

June is the end of spring and the start of summer so what better time to talk about books?! Here's a roundup of book talk on Kidlitosphere blogs that you won't want to miss. Pack a few of these recommended titles in your beach bags.

Early Literacy

• Starting us off with early literacy, Darshana at Flowering Minds is sharing "A Fun, Fun, Fun read by debut author Tara Lazar about a trapdoor, monsters for sale, a horrible return policy, and a simple story about a brother and a sister that will make you smile." What's this great book? The Monstore of course. Head on over to the blog post to find out more about it.

• Catherine at Story Snug recommends The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson. She says "The Paper Dolls is a beautiful story. We read the book and then downloaded paper dolls from the publisher's website to colour, cut out and help raise money for the charity, Save the Children." So please hop on over to her blog for more details.

• At Randomly Reading Alex reviews In Andal's House by Gloria Whelan. Alex describes it as "a lovely picture book about a young boy who experiences caste discrimination during the Duwali Festival of Light." Read the full review here.

Nonfiction

• Susan at The Book Chook brings you talk of a book written and illustrated by Narelle Oliver. "Sand Swimmers is a fascinating book that gives readers a glimpse of Australia's so-called dead heart via elegant text and superb illustrations," Susan says. How can you not click over to her blog to find out more?

• Over at Teaching Authors Carmella shares a post by her co-blogger, Jill Esbaum, about the release of Jill's newest nonfiction title: Angry Birds Playground: Dinosaurs, from National Geographic Publishers. You'll find a sample of new facts about dinosaurs if you visit. So what are you waiting for?

• Gail over at Original Content enjoyed a book by Susan Mitchell. As Gail says, "I'm interested in finding environmental children's books that don't preach or instruct. The Rainforest Grew All Around is a great example of what I'm looking for. Child readers or listeners can just feel part of an environment. This book is also great because it can be read in different ways for different age groups." Head on over there to find out more.

Middle Grade Fiction

• There's so much great fiction out there, but be sure to look into these recommended reads. Start off with Jen Robinson's Book Page to find out more about a great middle grade novel. Jen recommends it because "Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library is a very fun middle grade novel, filled with puzzles as well as references to modern and classic children's books. This is perfect escapist fare for 10 year olds." Find more here.

• Then go to visit Katie at Secrets & Sharing Soda for a fantastic book review. Katie says "The Quirks: Welcome to Normal is one of my favorite books of the year so far. The writing is fresh and funny, and the characters are memorable and interesting. I don't read many books outside of the realistic fiction genre, but I really can't say enough good things about this one! It's also a great choice for kids transitioning out of early chapter books and into middle grade, and for families to read together." Get all the details with the full blog post.

• Charlotte's Library is the place to find out why Charlotte recommends The Wells Request by Polly Shulman. Charlotte says it's "one of my favorite middle grade fantasy books of the year so far." Find out why here.

• Over at Shelf-employed Lisa recommends you order Sharon Creech's forthcoming novel The Boy on the Porch due out in September. She says "As usual, Sharon Creech shows that she is a masterful storyteller, heartwarming and relevant." Read the full review here.

• Katy at A Library Mama won a book and fell in love with it. What book? Jinx by Sage Blackwood. Katy summarizes: "Orphan Jinx struggles with magic, secrets, and relationships with his wizard teacher and a girl in a red hood in this colorful middle-grade fantasy." The details are all here.

• Over at Boys Rule Boys Read Iron Guy Carl has some recommendations for summer reading that will interest boys. Check out why Alvin Ho: Allergic to Babies, Burglars, and Bumps in the Night by Lenore Look as well as, for more of a teen reader, Ice Drift by Theodore Taylor get his seal of approval.

Teen/YA Fiction

• Over at Yellow Brick Reads you'll find a book review of Missing Ellen by Natasha Mac a' Bháird. Maeve says, "It is a poignant exploration of friendship and loss, which promotes the need to carry on. Missing Ellen is aimed at a 12+ readership." Read more of Maeve's thoughts about the book here.

• Don't miss Brenda's recommendation of Rogue by Lyn Miller-Lachmann over at proseandkahn. Why? Brenda says: "Author Lyn Miller-Lachmann draws on some painful childhood moments to create Kiara, a lonely eighth grader with Aspergers Syndrome, in her sophomore novel." Find the full review here.

Interviews & Thoughtful Discussion

• If you'd like to think about children's literature as a body of work, don't miss Mary Ann at Great Kids Books because she has a fascinating look at heroes in children's literature. As she says, "Children's stories permeate our culture. This is nothing new -- but lately I've been wondering what the heroes from children's literature say about our times. From Alice to Matilda to Harry Potter, what do we learn about our own times?"

• Alison Goldberg interviews author/illustrator Janine Macbeth about her latest. Alison says "I blog about children's books with activism themes. This month I interview the talented Janine Macbeth who wrote, illustrated, and published her debut picture book, Oh, Oh, Baby Boy!, a beautiful story about engaged fatherhood. Her newly-formed independent press, Blood Orange Press, is "a literary home for diverse readers" and she ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to bring this book into the world." Find out more here.

• This month the Author of blog has been following a theme. Kate Hannigan says: "I've been celebrating graphic novels throughout the month of June! And this post, June 24th, tops off the month and features a fun graphic novel/early reader called Odd Duck. With my blog, I interview the authors of children's books and talk about the inspiration and ideas behind them. This week's post is an interview with Odd Duck author Cecil Castellucci." Don't miss the whole interview.

Wrapping Up

If you've read this far, to thank you for joining me here, would you like a free PDF Teacher/Librarian/Parents' Guide to my book Sorting through Spring? It's got lots of great activities and reproducibles to have fun with K-2nd grade math patterning and sorting. You can get the direct link to the PDF file here, or browse all of great guides from my publisher OwlKids Books here.

Don't Miss July's Carnival
I hope you enjoyed this roundup of book related blog links. Next month join the Carnival of Children's Literature over at proseandkahn for a look at what made up the book buzz in July.