Blog Posts by Subject: Children's Literature

Where in the world are you reading about? Fiction finds its settings in all corners of the world (and some places only imagined in our minds) but there's something special about fiction set in a familiar city or neighborhood. Let's take a trip out of Manhattan for now, and into the lively borough of Brooklyn! This is one of the most storied areas that make up New York City.

When the librarian told the kids that the library was slated to close because it was in a state of disrepair, the kids brainstormed about how to help the library. In fact, at each step of the way, not surprisingly, they read books to educate themselves about the logistics of their ideas and to flesh them out.

This book is the story of a song written by Florence Reece in 1931. Florence's son tells how his father is a miner, their family resides in a company house, and his father gets paid in money that is only good at the company store.

The boy's father says that this is why they need a union. The workers ask for better wages, but if they do not get them, they sometimes strike, or refuse to work until they get better working and living conditions.

One day, librarian Molly decided to drive her mobile library van into the zoo, and all of the animals were flummoxed! She read from Dr. Seuss and the zoo animals were drawn toward her. They were fascinated by reading, and went wild over the many different kinds of books that the library van displayed. The animals read together or alone or while eating lunch, and some, unfortunately, had overdue books.

One of the most common questions we get from our young readers is "Where are your scary books?" Unfortunately, books for children and teens that will keep readers on the edge of their seats are usually mixed in with the rest of the fiction section, so they can be a little tricky to find… until now.

Some animals in the world are treated badly, and vegans do not want to be a part of that. They do not use animals for food, clothing or fun. This is good for the animals, our health, and the environment.

People may not be aware of how much they eat, wear, buy and throw out in their lifetimes. This book brings in the numbers.

In your lifetime, you will drive 627,000 miles in a car, eat enough bread to equal your body weight every three years, take 28,433 showers, and eat 12,888 oranges. You will spend $52,972 on clothes, and you will likely own 12 cars.

Dolores came from a privileged family, and she grew up to be a teacher. Cesar's family were migrant laborers and they worked under harsh conditions. One day, the two met, and they agreed to work together for better living and working conditions for farm employees. They organized the workers and urged them to fight for justice.

Jeff Stone is one busy guy. A Detroit native, he is an avid mountain biker and martial artist in addition to being an author of several children's books. I read his latest book last year, the first in a new series, and throughly enjoyed it. I had a few questions for Mr. Stone about most recent work, his diverse cast of characters, and what's next for him. I thought it was only fair to share his amazing responses with all of you. 

April is Immigrant Heritage Month. In New York City, April 17th to 24th is Immigrant Heritage Week. In honor of both celebrations of Immigrant Heritage, this blog will focus on the multiculturalism of the 7 train.

If you live in Queens, New York, and you work in midtown like me, there might be a possibility that you often take the MTA train to work, particularly the 7 line which runs from Main Street, Queens to Times Square, New York.

One of the most interesting things about this line is that it runs into various ethnic pockets of Queens. The train brings and transports a multicultural group of people from all over the world from Queens to Manhattan on a daily basis. Here 

I love the cat breed illustrations on the inside of the front and back covers of this book. All of the cats look so happy! The book is full of poems that indicate the nature of cats, and anyone who has experience with cats or who has lived with cats knows exactly what Crawley is talking about in these cat poems.

Where in the world are you reading about? Fiction finds its settings in all corners of the world (and some places only imagined in our minds) but there's something special about fiction set in a familiar city or neighborhood. This week I thought I'd tackle another famous neighborhood of Manhattan, but now we're traveling uptown to Harlem.

This is a story about bats taking over the library at night when it is closed: "Bat night at the library." What could be better? It is a bat holiday that bats wait for all year, like Christmas.

A shopping trip with mama and baby. But Llama Llama is disappointed because he wants to play. Countless other types of animals also shop at the Shop-O-Rama. Llama Llama does not like shopping for clothes... or food.

Every year the Young Adult Librarian Association (YALSA) awards the William C. Morris YA Debut Award for the best novel by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature. It is named for William Morris, a legend in children's and teen publishing who worked tirelessly promoting children's and teen literature and the importance of libraries.

The award honors books that have compelling or high quality writing, that have proven or potential appeal to teen readers and the integrity of the book as a whole. This past year I was honored to serve on the 2013 committee. It was a tough decision choosing a winner and four honor books but 

Ever wanted a yellow cow? How about a green salamander? Or a turquoise frog? You will not find any salamanders or frogs in this book. And if you did, they would not be green or blue. However, the yellow cow is a winner in this tale.

Comparta con nosotros esta breve selección de libros de ficción y no-ficción recientemente adquiridos que contienen adivinanzas, cuentos y temas informativos para niños en edad escolar. A brief selection of recent fiction and nonfiction titles for your enjoyment, including riddles, stories and informational topics for school-age children.

Today's pic pick is a book about being in a book? A book?

It's a book? Wait, I am confused and amused!

Yes, you read right, today's pic pick includes books about books, with the words book in the title.

Where in the world are you reading about? Fiction finds its settings in all corners of the world (and some places only imagined in our minds) but there's something special about fiction set in a familiar city or neighborhood. I thought it might be useful to kick this series of posts off with a very local list. Working here at Seward Park Library, nestled on the Lower East Side, I get to experience the neighborhood first hand, and see it changing around me. The rich history and long memories of those who grew up on these streets has been the inspiration behind any number of books, including children's books to stage their stories here.