Beloved Characters

Big Nate Helps Readers Navigate Tween Trials and Triumphs

January 22, 2022

The longer I work in a children’s library, the more I’m recognizing trends in what our patrons are most interested in reading. I get requests all day long for Wings of Fire, Dork Diaries, Diary of a Wimpy Kid,...

A Tribute to the Late, Great Children’s Author Beverly Cleary

Bambi

March 29, 2021

Children's, Fiction

Like many others in the past week, I’m writing to pay my respects to the late, great Beverly Cleary. Before becoming one of the foremost authors of children’s fiction, Cleary was a children’s librarian. Becaus...

Creepy Kid Lit – Monsters Are Super Relatable in Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich

Bambi

October 25, 2020

Fiction, Non-Fiction

Halloween is less than 10 days away and we’ve been busy consuming spooky themed stories in our house. Today’s book is what I would call spooky-silly, as it’s a compilation of short stories, poems, songs and co...

Rascally Rodent Seeks the Open Road in Ralph S. Mouse

Bambi

October 5, 2020

Children's, Fiction

A couple of months ago, we added a new pet to our family. We’d made a deal with our son that if he was able to keep a small garden alive for the summer, then he would be allowed to get his first ‘solo pet’, a ...

Can 50¢ Buy a Face Full of Freckles? Find Out in Freckle Juice!

Bambi

September 3, 2020

Children's, Fiction

I always get a little parenting thrill when I share a book from my childhood with my 8 year old son and he loves it just as much as I did when I was his age. Today’s book was an absolute hit with both of us, t...

Clifford the Big Red Dog Brings the Calm During Uncertain Times

Bambi

August 20, 2020

Children's, Fiction

I’m feeling a little nostalgic today; my only child has just started 3rd grade and I’m having very mixed feelings. Time is rushing by so quickly, even as many of us spend more time than ever with our families ...

A Classic Series So Good it Requires 3 Reviews – The Ramona Saga, Part 3

Bambi

June 20, 2020

Children's, Fiction

The final installment of reviews for the Ramona series includes the two remaining books. The events of Ramona Forever (1984) take place several months after Ramona Quimby, Age 8 ends. The book begins with Beez...

A Classic Series So Good it Requires 3 Reviews – The Ramona Saga, Part 2

Bambi

June 6, 2020

Children's, Fiction

This second grouping of books from the Ramona series begins with what I feel is a shift in the types of challenges our young protagonist faces. In 1977, Ramona and Her Father debuted. This installment in the s...

A Classic Series So Good it Requires 3 Reviews – The Ramona Saga, Part 1

Bambi

May 23, 2020

Children's, Fiction

I don’t usually split book series into different entries but once I starting writing, I ended up with a VERY long article. It became clear that a series this iconic is worthy of not just two, but three separat...