#KidLitFaves: Recent Children's and YA Books that Bloggers Love: Jan. 26

This is a relatively new series here at Jen Robinson's Book Page (see the inaugural post here). As I travel about the kidlitosphere, encountering reviews by other bloggers (people I trust, and generally have been following for some time), I take note of those reviews in which it is clear that the reviewer really, really likes the book. I share links to those reviews on Twitter (with hashtag #KidLitFaves) and Facebook and round them up here. Hopefully over time this will become a useful resource. I welcome your feedback! 

All Ages:

At A Fuse #8 Production, Elizabeth Bird shares her thoughts on Over the Hills and Far Away: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes, collected by Elizabeth Hammill. Betsy especially appreciates the attention given to diversity i this compilation, saying:

"Tsimshian and Creole, Jamaican and Australian, Chinese American and Chippewa, this is a book that not only speaks to a wider audience than nursery rhyme collections of the past, it’s cleverly constructed and perfectly illustrated to boot. Hammill has clearly created the very first nursery rhyme collection of note for the 21st century."

Picture Books:

At Story Snug, Catherine Friess shares Otto the Book Bear by Katie Cleminson, calling Otto "a lovely celebration of reading, writing, libraries, books and friendship". She adds:

"This is a lovely story to stimulate a discussion about children’s favourite book characters and what children think that they get up to when nobody else is looking!"

Early Readers/Early Chapter Books:

Joyce Grant at Getting Kids Reading recommends Guinea PI(g): Pet Shop Private Eye: Hamster and Cheese, spotlighting "a reluctant PI with a mystery to solve." Here are her reasons for recommending this series for newer readers:

"1) The aforementioned fact that IT’S ABOUT A GUINEA PIG DETECTIVE.
2) It’s got a bit of an edge.
3) The dialogue is not only realistic, but it’s actually funny.
4) You can almost feel the fluffiness of these guinea pigs. I mean, really."

Middle Grade:

Jennifer at Jean Little Library quite likes Sniffer Dogs: How Dogs (and their Noses) Save the World by Nancy F. Castaldo. Noting that "THIS is what a nonfiction book should look like", her decisive verdict for librarians is:

"A high-interest subject, with sensitive subjects delicately handled, well-written, and a beautiful layout. This will fly off your shelves and I highly recommend it."

Young Adult:

At Random Musings of a Bibliophile, Brandy raves about This Side of Home by Renee Watson, calling the protagonist's voice "perfect". She says:

"What attracted me to This Side of Home by Renee Watson was the cover. The story hooked my interest. The characters made me fall in love... This is a great book to spark thoughts on what defines a person." 

April at Good Books and Good Wine stayed up late into the night reading Emery Lord's Open Road Summer, calling it "exactly my favorite kind of contemporary book". She concludes:

"The friendship between Dee and Reagan is excellent and the sort of friendship where there is give and take in equal amounts... I’ll just say that the romance in this book is super adorable and I think you guys totally will enjoy those bits when you read this book." 

Tasha Saecker at Waking Brain Cells calls Holly Smale's Geek Girl "hilarious, geeky and great fun." She says:

"The first book in a trilogy, this book came out in the UK in 2013 and was nominated and won several awards. It certainly lives up to the hype with its wit, strong heroine and inherent joy. Appropriate for ages 13-15."

Closing Thoughts:

I do hope that you'll click through to read the full reviews if any of these titles pique your interest. Quite a few reviews pass through my screens each week. The seven highlighted here stood out as being particularly enthusiastic examples of each reviewer's work.  

Two other notes about these review excerpts:

1. If I have quoted from one of your reviews, and you prefer that I not do so in the future, just let me know. No worries.
2. The book covers that I have included beside each blurb include my personal Amazon affiliate ID, mainly as a convenience to readers so that I can include the cover images. If you don't want your reviews to be included in future because of this, just let me know. 

Please let me know what you think of this new feature!

© 2015 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through affiliate links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).