As a former teacher of middle school students, I am often disappointed by the portrayal they receive in modern children's literature. Certainly those years are confusing and stressful, but somehow we adults seem to make it worse by constantly telling these pre-adolescents how miserable they are supposed to be. Personally, I love that combination of child and struggling young adult, and appreciate authors who demonstrate how powerful a positive adult role model can be for that age group. As in her first story about the Button Family, Anne Ylvisaker does just that with realistic, endearing characters in Button Down.

Ned Button, whom we saw briefly in The Luck of the Buttons, wants nothing more than to be allowed to play football like all the other boys. Unfortunately, he can't run, he can't catch, and he's so scrawny that anyone can knock him over. In spite of all that, he manages to catch Lester Ward's football as Lester tosses it… click here to read whole article and make comments

This is such a valuable book for any parent who has an interest in their child's education. It is part of the Adding Assets Series for Kids.

There are 40 Developmental Assets for Middle Childhood, and this book explores how to engage children with the 5 Commitment to Learning Assets:

1. Achievement Motivation
   (Child is motivated and strives to do well in school);
2. Learning Engagement
   (Child is responsive, attentive, and actively engaged in learning at school and enjoys participating in learning activities outside of school);
3. Homework
   (Child usually hands in homework on time);
4. Bonding to School
   (Child cares about teachers and other adults at school);
5. Reading for Pleasure
   (Child enjoys and engages in reading for fun most days of the week).

I'm sure many parents would know these things instinctively, but it can help to concretise a general good intention with practical suggestions. This book has an abundance of them,… click here to read whole article and make comments

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean

A delightful new character has entered the world of picture books: Pete the Cat. This first in the series shows how authors and illustrators can combine books with music to bring a new angle to a story. Indeed, the story, though already somewhat rhythmic, shines more brightly with the accompaniment of this song that the reader can download for free from the HarperCollins children's website.

As Pete wanders around in his new white shoes, singing his shoe song, he finds that his shoes change. In the end, he turns what could have been a huge disappointment into something he learns to simply shrug off and then move on to the next day.

Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean

In this story, we follow cool cat Pete on a typical day at cat school. Oddly enough,… click here to read whole article and make comments

When it comes to harsh stories, I have a hard time getting through them without the lifeline of hope. Perhaps the last thing anyone needs is to be left crushed by the weight of miseries they could very well live without.

But a harsh story with hope? That’s another thing altogether: misery transformed into the pearl of great price. And that is the story, the great task, of life on this earth.

Some wonderful bleak but hopeful stories that lie as buried treasures in my heart include Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Alan Paton’s masterpiece Cry, the Beloved Country. For younger readers, Bette Greene’s Summer of My German Soldier, Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, and Jackie French’s A Rose for the ANZAC Boys have meant for me the same.

Between Shades of Gray is a recent, beautiful story that takes a harrowing chapter in human history… click here to read whole article and make comments

Lord Hunter travels on the Arctic Tern with a message of peace from Queen Elizabeth of England to the King of Spain. When they arrive, they discover that the king is under the influence of Lord Morgan, an evil man who wants only power and riches. Years ago, Morgan tricked Bruno, Lord Hunter's captain, and now is trying to thwart Bruno's plans to do good.

Bruno is compelled to sail on until he has done enough good to make up for a moment of weakness long ago which doomed his people. He and his friends save the king but when they leave Spain, having made peace, Morgan chases them, and they face a climactic sea battle just off Plymouth.

Unusually, this book is written in verse, simple and rhythmic, and obviously best read aloud. The overall presentation is very attractive: the edition I read was hardbound with coarse paper, giving the impression of age. The illustrations by Nick Poullis complement… click here to read whole article and make comments

In the last few years readers have been assaulted with intense emotional manipulation on the topic of mercy killing. Characters are harassed and abused until they are left with no apparent alternative but to kill the sufferer.

Katniss kills Cato who is mauled by mutant beasts at the end of Hunger Games book 1. Pressia kills her own mother who is injured by a bomb in the otherwise recommendable dystopian novel Pure. In the frightening YA bestseller Code Name Verity, Maddie shoots her best friend Verity when she’s captured by the enemy who intends to use prisoners for medical experimentation in WWII.

These are extreme cases which may or may not lend weight to the ‘killing is better than curing’ argument. But they’re not the only instances. The 2012 Newberry winner Dead End in Norvelt brings humour and charm to a story that essentially wants oldies to ‘move on’ and stop taking… click here to read whole article and make comments

An absolutely charming collection of stories from the woman who wrote the lyrics to "Morning Has Broken", The Little Bookroom transports readers back to a time when adults employed fairy tales and fables to both educate and entertain children. Spoiled princesses learn hard lessons, wicked witches are defeated and fools suffer from their lack of common sense in these captivating and humorous stories.

There is truly something for everyone: talking animals, true love, adventure and even a few surprise endings. It is hard to choose a favorite from the 27 tales in this collection. The Little Lady"s Roses presents the importance of friendship, while The Connemara Donkey proves that bullies can be overcome. One story that stands out is And I Dance Mine Own Child in which a young girl demonstrates family loyalty and respect for the elderly in spite of opposition from neighbors.

Edward Ardizzone's sketches contribute to the timelessness of Eleanor Farjeon's storybook. The reader does indeed feel… click here to read whole article and make comments

I've always thought that the fantasy genre is like philosophy in images. Literary images. Metaphysical realities like good and evil, love and hatred, are visualised—in words—through a story which, though beyond our material reality, still has a very clear moral reality.

If you turn someone into a frog, your hatred has taken on a visual metaphor, and the consequences are evident. Fantasy can make hard to grasp realities just a little bit clearer.

Could any character better depict the bourgeois life than the humble hobbit? Or show the miserable, thuggish servitude of the cohorts of darkness than the death eater? 

And so I believe it is important to introduce children to fantasy from a young age. Good fantasy, where these metaphysical truths—good and evil—are honoured and explored. C S Lewis or Lloyd Alexander are an obvious place to start.

More recently, Emily Rodda's Three Doors Trilogy is a treat for introducing young readers to the moral inspiration of good fantasy.

The… click here to read whole article and make comments

The narrative is led by Ian, a 14-year-old schoolboy, at the hospital bed of his best friend Stolly (Stuart Terence Oliver). Stolly is just recovering from a serious fall, which may or may not have been from an attempt at suicide, which has left him with breaks and bruises and concussed. To pass the time before Stolly wakes, Ian uses his rough book to remember events of his and Stolly's friendship, stretching back to when they were both toddlers. These memories are interspersed with the comings-and-goings in the hospital ward as Ian's parents and Stolly's dad come and go and the hospital staff and social workers try to find out what happened.

Through Ian's memories, we discover that Stolly is a remarkable young man, full of enthusiasms and voluble with his knowledge and ponderings while prone to fits of melancholic introspection. This trip to hospital is simply the most serious of a lifelong tendency to accidents not least on account… click here to read whole article and make comments

Being an orphan is never easy, but for Bee the strange birthmark on her face is an added burden. Fortunately, she has been able to stay on with the traveling circus that employed her parents before they died, helping Pauline run the hot dog stand. Just the same, Bee really wants what every child should have: a stable family living in a real home. For consolation, Bee clings to the circus piglets that run races and a mysterious lady in an orange hat who appears when Bee most needs a friend.

When Pauline leaves the circus with a new boyfriend, Bee sneaks away as well. Before long she stumbles upon a house that resembles the one she has always dreamt of. Who should happen to live there? The lady in the orange hat, Mrs. Potter, and her friend Mrs. Swift. They are quite eccentric, but the oddest thing about them is that no one but Bee can see them. These… click here to read whole article and make comments