Burgess, Tamika. Sincerely Sicily. Harper/Collins, 01/2023. 304pp. Fiction. Trade $17.99. 978-0-0631-5960-0. GRADES 4–7. ADDITIONAL. Sicily longs to go to the same middle school as her squad of friends but instead must attend a school closer to home. She is hurt and embarrassed when new classmates [continue reading]
Secret Summer Promise Review
Brown, Keah. Secret Summer Promise, The. Levine Querido, 06/2023. 304pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-1-64614-173-9. GRADES 9–12. HIGH ADDITIONAL. Andrea and her high school friends have planned out The Best Summer Ever. Of course, friend issues [continue reading]
Making of Yolanda La Bruja Review
Avila, Lorraine. Making of Yolanda La Bruja, The. Levine Querido, 04/2023. 384pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-1-64614-243-9. GRADES 9–12. ADDITIONAL. Yolanda, a Black girl with Dominican Republic heritage, feels at home at her high school in [continue reading]
Labors of Hercules Beal Read-Alikes
READ-ALIKES The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt Bow, Erin. Simon Sort of Says. Bowling, Dusti. Dust. Erskine, Kathryn. Lily’s Promise. Everett, Sarah. The Probability of Everything. Gantos, Jack. Dead End [continue reading]
ACL Meeting Friday, Nov. 10, 2023
ACL Meeting Friday, November 10, 2023: Just a quick reminder for our Bay Area members! Please join us for our ACL Meeting on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, from 10:30am-Noon (note new start time). We will [continue reading]
Helpful Websites for Storytime Planning
ACL Websites for Storytime Planning – November 2023 BayViews Storytime Themes www.bayviews.org/storytime.html From the Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California. A popular blog for children’s librarians, that contains hundreds of themed storytime plans. West [continue reading]
Book Club Ideas: Leeva at Last
BOOK CLUB IDEAS Pennypacker, Sara. Leeva at Last. Illus. by Matthew Cordell. Balzer + Bray, 2023. Fans of Roald Dahl are sure to enjoy Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker, a humorous, satiric story [continue reading]
Hicklebee’s Children’s Bookstore Has a New Owner
Hicklebee’s Children’s Bookstore Has A New Owner: San Jose’s popular bookstore Hicklebee’s has a new owner: Laura Gahrahmat. Founded in 1979 by Valerie Lewis and Monica Holmes, it was sold to Gahrahmat, although Lewis and [continue reading]