It’s just so great when The Children’s Book Review’s best selling middle grade book turns out to be a great classic. Such is the case with this months title, The Children’s Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy, by Padraic Colum—what a great introduction to the always intriguing Greek mythology. The hand selected titles from the nationwide best selling middle grade books, as listed by The New York Times, feature books by super-talents Kate DiCamillo, Katherine Applegate and R.J. Palacio.
Year: 2014
Spring is here, the season of regeneration that brings plenty of flowers with nectar which worker bees gather and convert into honey. The Children’s Book Review’s best selling picture book for this month is full of information on the wonderful and very much under-appreciated honeybees, The Life and Times of the Honeybee by Charles Micucci.
Hot New Releases & Popular Kids Stories
Check out some of the best new kids books that release this month. April will be exciting for many children’s book lovers with the release of another Mo Willems “Pigeon” book, The Pigeon Needs a Bath, and the latest from Lemont Snicket, File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents. There’s also new books for “Big Nate” and “The Never Girls” fans—and a beautiful new novel by debut author Ava Dellaira, Love Letters to the Dead.
Ode to Childhood: Poetry to Celebrate the Child by Samuel Carr.
The Children’s Book Review | April 1, 2014 About the Book The Pigeon really needs a bath! Except, the Pigeon’s not so…
Set in Tehran, Iran, this quite original tale is a reminder that story themes are universal. At times it has the feel of Cinderella with a cultural twist. Other times, it is reminiscent of Charles Perrault’s tale of the kindly sister and the bad-tempered sister, whose deeds have different outcomes.
Spookles: Astral & the Higgles is just one book in a series of twelve that can be downloaded from an interactive website dedicated entirely to the Spookles. The Spookles are an unusual bunch of characters that would never require changing outfits or looks for Halloween.
The Children’s Book Review | March 29, 2014 About the Book Percy the Pug loves puddles—big puddles, small puddles, swamp puddles, stomp…
The Children’s Book Review | March 29, 2014 About the Book Jaleigh Johnson’s first book for middle-grade readers is the story of…
“I should start by saying that world building, where I get to create a fictional reality from the ground up, is one of my favorite parts of writing. It’s the foundation of a good story. Of course, you want a plot that keeps readers turning the pages—and amazing, memorable characters as well, but those characters also deserve a fully realized world to play around in.”