Happy New Year! Today the 2018 Cybils (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards) finalists are announced. I’m ready to kick into gear in my role as a round two judge in the middle grade speculative fiction category. Mark @ Say What?, Stacy @ It’s All About the Journey, Rosemary @ Mom Read It, Jen @ Geek Reads Kids and myself will deliberate to decide which of the following finalists will be named the category winner:
![25 KidLit Annotations: Board Books [Review]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/babys-first-words.jpg?resize=245%2C150&ssl=1)
One of the assignments for my children’s literature course this past term was to write 25 annotations (snapshot reviews between 50 and 150 words) on all sorts of kidlit. It was a great opportunity to delve out of my comfort zone of MG spec fic 😉 Today’s post is the first in a series where I share those annotations by type. Links will be updated as the rest of the […]
![Spooky Sequels: The Island of Monsters + A Festival Of Ghosts [Review]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/island-of-monsters.jpg?resize=245%2C150&ssl=1)
The Island of Monsters by Ellen Oh The follow up to 2017’s Spirit Hunters, The Island of Monsters takes Harper and her multiracial family on a Halloween vacation to a tropical island with a gruesome past. Harper must use her newly developed skills in Korean shamanism to resolve the island’s mysteries and protect her little brother. New friends – ghosts and humans alike – help her with this task. I […]
![Bringing an Inkblot to Life: Inkling by Kenneth Oppel [Review]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/inkling.jpg?resize=245%2C150&ssl=1)
Format/source: ebook/EdelweissPublished: 6 November 2018 (US; out now in Canada)Publisher: KnopfLength: 272 pages Genre: Middle grade speculative fictionI received a copy from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest opinion.★★★★ Ethan’s dad is a comic artist whose greatest creation, the mutant superhero Kren, brought him fame and glory. But after his dad’s string of successful books, a tragedy strikes the family and now his dad is completely stuck. If only artistic talent were […]
Earlier this month in my children’s literature course, I was part of a group that presented on Erin Entrada Kelly’s novels. I spoke about the theme of building friendships in the face of adversity in her first two novels, Blackbird Fly and The Land of Forgotten Girls. Here’s what I shared (spoilers ahead): Blackbird Fly 12 year old Apple and her mother moved to America after Apple’s father died when […]