These Monsters Make Math Less Scary

Using a unique teaching tool designed to motivate kids to learn, this volume visually explores the concepts of factoring and the role of prime and composite numbers. The playful and colorful monsters are designed to give children (and even older audiences) an intuitive understanding of the building blocks of numbers and the basics of multiplication. The introduction and appendices can also help adult readers answer questions about factoring from their young audience. The artwork is crisp and creative and the colors are bright and engaging, making this volume a welcome deviation from standard math texts.

Listen to the NPR story about this book.

TC Tidbits: GraphicNovelReporter.com's Core List of Spring 2011 Manga

Several downloadable lists in various categories.

Schneider Family Book Award 2011

The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.

This year's winner in the Young Children's Book category:

The Pirate of Kindergarten
Ginny was not born a pirate. But since her birth she was headed in that direction.

This book tells the story of Ginny's voyage towards earning herself an eye patch - a voyage made mostly at school.

No other kid there had the honor.

Words and pictures offer up a double helping of surprise on the subject of seeing.

Winner of the Middle Grades category:

After Ever After
Jeffrey isn't a little boy with cancer anymore. He's a teen who's in remission, but life still feels fragile. The aftereffects of treatment have left Jeffrey with an inability to be a great student or to walk without limping. His parents still worry about him. His older brother, Steven, lost it and took off to Africa to be in a drumming circle and "find himself." Jeffrey has a little soul searching to do, too, which begins with his escalating anger at Steven, an old friend who is keeping something secret, and a girl who is way out of his league but who thinks he's cute.


Winner of the Teen category:

Five Flavors of Dumb
The Challenge: Piper has one month to get the rock band Dumb a paying gig.

The Deal: If she does it, Piper will become the band's manager and get her share of the profits.

The Catch: How can Piper possibly manage one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl? And how can she do it when she's deaf?

Piper can't hear Dumb's music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb.

Making A Difference No Matter Your Size

Sometimes being small can have its advantages. If you’re a little cloud like Cloudette, people call you cute nicknames, and you can always find a good spot to watch the fireworks. But what about when you want to do something big, like help a giant garden grow, or make a brook babble?

This charming book gets at the heart of what it means to make a difference no matter your size. Young children will find much to relate to in Cloudette as they follow her on her pursuit for greatness.

TC Tidbits: New Dark Towers Book Coming Out in 2012

From the announcement on Stephen King's blog:

"Dear Constant Readers,

At some point, while worrying over the copyedited manuscript of the next book (11/22/63, out November 8th), I started thinking—and dreaming—about Mid-World again. The major story of Roland and his ka-tet was told, but I realized there was at least one hole in the narrative progression: what happened to Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and Oy between the time they leave the Emerald City (the end of Wizard and Glass) and the time we pick them up again, on the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis (the beginning of Wolves of the Calla)?"

read the whole announcement.

Doggone Good Reads: Judy S Reviews...

This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog’s search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, A Dog’s Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here?

Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey’s search for his new life’s meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog.

But this life as a beloved family pet is not the end of Bailey’s journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders—will he ever find his purpose?

Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, A Dog's Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.

Judy says:

"With a chuckle factor approaching that of Dave Barry or Bill Bryson, Bruce Cameron is a syndicated columnist perhaps best known for his offbeat writing about raising his teenage girls.

In A Dog's Purpose he carries over that same quirky humor into the voices of the dogs, who set about solving the mystery in each of their lifetimes that determines their purpose in life. The search is fraught with some of the same angst as it is for humans trying to figure out their raison de etre, but for the dogs it's a whole lot cleaner and simpler. Cameron leads us down a trail of canine lives, threaded together by a singular purpose--that of bettering the lives of their human companions.

This is a tender, hopeful book with a satisfying ending."

She gives this a Two Kleenex Rating, which means "Sniffle if you must. Most won't."

Algonguin's Got A Lot To Offer Book Clubs

The Algonquin Book Club offers a selection of 25 paperback titles chosen for their popularity, widespread critical acclaim, and power to provoke discussion. Each includes a reader’s guide with discussion points, author interviews, original essays, or other special features.

They will be featuring four Algonquin Book Club selections a year for dynamic literary events held around the country and simultaneously webcast on the site. For each event, an Algonquin author will be interviewed by a notable writer:

March 21 Julia Alvarez (In the Time of the Butterflies) interviewed by Edwidge Danticat, author of Brother, I’m Dying

April 26 Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants) interviewed by Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help

August 18 Heidi Durrow (The Girl Who Fell from the Sky) interviewed by Terry McMillan, author of Getting to Happy

October 20 Robert Goolrick (A Reliable Wife) interviewed by Patricia Cornwell, author of Port Mortuary

Early 2012 Lauren Grodstein (A Friend of the Family) interviewed by Stephen King, author of Full Dark, No Stars

In the weeks leading up to each event they will be featuring exclusive author interviews, book excerpts, discussion guides, and loads of giveaways.