Reading this Roger Moorhouse piece on the eighteenth century German feral child, Peter of Hanover, reminded me of Victor of Aveyron who showed up a few decades later in France and became a tabla rasa for thinkers of the period as they contemplated what it meant to be human. And...

I live in a city and haven't driven in a million years, so I only began listening to books when I figured out that I could do so while running. While slow of foot, I'm a speedy reader and have discovered that certain books work better than others, listening-wise. I...

It is August and an odd time for kids. While some are still at camp, at the pool, on family vacations, and otherwise relaxing, others are heading back to school. Wherever they are they are probably doing a bit of reading, some because they want to and some because they...

Anyone who has read Salman Rushdie's fiction knows how lush and rich his language and imagery are.  How intriguing it is, then, to discover that his most recent book, "Luka and the Sea of Fire," inspired a competition among animation students at London's Kingston University to come up with...

My personally annotated copy of Charlotte's Web is a sad-looking thing, a paperback edition that was already showing its age in 1990 when I plucked it off my classroom library shelf to use at a Princeton University summer seminar on classical children's literature. Having never particularly cared for the book...

I've been a classroom teacher for a long time now and I'm grateful to be in a school that supports and values my way of teaching. It makes me very happy to spend my days with children who are talented, creative, and eager to learn. It also makes me very...

Recently I read A Monster Calls written by Patrick Ness from an idea by the late Siobhan Dowd which publishes in the U.K. later this week and in the U.S. in September. And now, with the announcement of Bin Laden's death following so closely on the anniversary...

Recently, Pamela Paul, the new children's book editor at the New York Times Book Review chatted with me about her background, books, and some of her plans. In the course of our communications, Pamela asked me how I found the time to blog as a full-time...

One of the great, great, great writers of fantasy is no longer with us. For so many of us who love this genre, there was no one more esteemed than Diana Wynne Jones. Not only did she explore a wide range of the genre, but she did so...

Today, sixteen acclaimed 2010 books for young readers go head to head in School Library Journal's third annual Battle of the Kids' Books. Inspired by the Morning News Tournament of Books these literary contenders are paired off bracket-style and judged by a distinguished group...

10. If you like old-fashioned musicals, this Broadway revival by the creators of Guys and Dolls, Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows, now in previews with a March 27th opening, is well worth your time.

9. It is presented straight; that is, nothing has been cut (as was the...

While I'm still not ready to plunk down $500 for an iPad of my own (and will make do for the time being with my beloved iPhone and the iPads my school has), as a long-time techie, I am very, very interested in book apps. While many are rather limited...

One hopes the unfortunate incident involving the lady's corset is not repeated on this occasion.

Last year The Today Show noted that the Newbery and Caldecott children's book awards are often called the "Oscars of children's literature." Certainly, the awards are highly regarded and, like the movie ones, result in significant increases in sales. As of this writing, two...

On Monday, two of the most prestigious awards in children's literature were announced. Clare Vanderpool won the Newbery for Moon Over Manifest and Erin E. Stead won the Caldecott for A Sick Day for Amos McGee. For years the winners of these two awards showed up the next...

Whenever I read about another effort to protect the young from historical nastiness (the latest being the new edition of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn with "the pejorative racial labels" removed), I think of Roald Dahl's Pig a very creepy story for...

With the start of a new year how about a Children's Book-A-Day Almanac? This new-kid-on-the-blog-block from children's literature expert Anita Silvey is an elegant and informative site for anyone looking for smart children's book recommendations with a little something extra. As befits an almanac Anita begins...

Better late than never (had hoped to publish this on Christmas Eve) here's Lemony Snicket with his Christmas story, The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming. As can be anticipated giving the author and title, this is a wry little story, charmingly illustrated by Lisa...

Today it is Europe that is snowbound; tomorrow it could be those of us in New York. And so, in honor of the beginning of this snowy time of year here are a few beloved books filled with that icy white stuff to whet your and your kids' appetites.

Beloved by generations of children and Americanized in a film, Roald Dahl's valiant heroine Matilda is now belting it out on one of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Stratford stages. Officially opening tonight, the show has been a labor of love for many...