Tandem Team

  • Mindy
    Mindy is a librarian (MLS '01) with a background in working with teens. She loves to read all over the map and has been blogging about books since 2003.
  • Vanessa
    Vanessa is a teacher who is nearing completion of her MS Ed. degree from the University of Minnesota. She especially enjoys humorous picture books.
  • Anne
    Anne is a librarian (MLS '02) who has worked in publishing and libraries for 11 years. She loves YA fantasy, historical fiction, and chick lit.
  • Kelly
    Kelly is a teacher with experience in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and abroad. She is always looking for books with classroom connections!
  • Emily
    Emily is a librarian (MLS '02) who has worked in school libraries and a children’s literature collection at a university. She particularly enjoys realistic fiction and stories about traveling.
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August 31, 2007

New and Exciting in August

All week I’ve been featuring romantic, fantasy, vampire-centric YA chick fic. While I do enjoy that genre, I don’t confine my reading exclusively to it. So here are a couple of my favorite non-romance/fantasies that came out in the month of August.

Design Another Book about Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Bad is Mark Gonyea’s follow-up to A Book about Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Good (which didn’t come out in August, but is still an exciting book, if not new). These all-ages books explain good design, be it complicated or simple. Using bright colors and basic shapes, Gonyea covers composition, line, color, and contrast and how to get across what’s really important.

Bone_6 Bone #6: Old Man's Cave continues the reprinting of Jeff Smith’s Bone series in gorgeous, rich, full color, and the intense red eyes of the rat creatures continue to freak me out. Color is also used to great effect when several of the villagers attempt to throttle Phoney Bone for swindling them (guiltly) and destroying their town (not guilty). Full of humor and suspense, Book Six features the beginning of a showdown between the Hooded One and the people of the valley. Rock Jaw from Book Five is back, much to Thorn and Fone Bone's dismay. The Bone series is a perfect way to start a graphic novel collection, as it can appeal to anyone from mid-elementary age on up.

Wore Played_2 For some fun, browsing-friendly nonfiction, try Richard Platt’s They Wore What?!: The Weird History of Fashion and Beauty and They Played What?!: The Weird History of Sports and Recreation. The weird and wacky are, let’s face it, highly entertaining. And these books should provide lots of amusement for elementary and middle school age kids. Among the other crazy facts contained in the bright, photo-filled pages are a ball game in which the losing team was murdered and corsets so tight they cracked ribs!

Here's a list of exciting August releases, and, yes, it does include a romance or fantasy or two.

Posted at 09:00 AM in Anne's posts, Book Round Ups |