Tandem Insights

Book Round-Up: Recent Releases

Here at Tandem, we are lucky enough to see publishers’ preview copies. We evaluate yet-to-be-released titles and make educated guesses about which ones will garner good reviews and popularity among librarians and teachers. Today we’re highlighting some of the books we liked early on that got reviewed in the first two issues of School Library Journal in 2008.

David Elliott and Holly Meade teamed up to create a terrific book about farm animals that will make a great read-aloud for group storytimes. On the Farm pairs lively, humorous

poetry with energetic woodblock and watercolor prints. 

It’s always nice to find high-quality titles with math themes. Math concepts can be taught not only with expository text but also through fun narratives. A Very Improbable Story is an example of a great math-themed picture book.

                            

                        

Graphic novels continue to earn respect as publishers created more and more titles for the school and library market. For young readers, Fang Fairy and Detective Files are high-interest, “safe” graphic novels. Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow is a biography of the legendary baseball pitcher that will be enjoyed by middle grade and young adult readers.

Something Rotten is a fantastic contemporary version of Hamlet. Pair this with your Shakespeare unit to get students talking about how Shakespearean themes translate to modern times.

These are just a few of the recent releases that are getting attention. Each month you can find all the SLJ reviewed titles at our website. The January 2008 lists are here; February 2008 lists are here.

Featured Lists: Elections

         

Politics as usual? We think not. If you followed the Super Tuesday coverage on TV or the Internet last night, you know that today’s voters have rapid access to more information than ever before. This phenomenon is changing the way campaigns are run and how candidates are perceived.

Super Tuesday may be behind us, but the party nominees are far from decided. As we move closer to electing our 44th president, here are some books to help your students understand and get involved in the political process.

And for those fiction lovers, check out these picture books and novels with political themes.

Book of the Week: Pippi Longstocking

November 13, 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sweden’s best-loved children’s author, Astrid Lindgren. Lindgren is best known for creating Pippi Longstocking, the spunky heroine whose adventures are chronicled in three bestselling books. The original English translations have remained in print since the 1950s, but for a new generation Penguin is now offering a brand-new translation. Fans of Pippi will be pleased to know that the new translation is not drastically different from the versions they remember. Scandinavian scholar Tiina Nunnally stays true to the original text and retains Pippi’s hilarious phrasing. Lauren Child’s witty illustrations also convey the essential “Pippi-ness” from the original versions: giant shoes, patchwork dress, and all. Extra attention should be paid to Child’s depiction of my personal favorite character, the monkey called Mr. Nilsson. His big eyes and jaunty cap express his mischievous nature. A large trim size makes this version great for reading aloud to groups or one-on-one.

View this book in the Tandem Library Books online bookstore.