Welcome to The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
We are one of the nation’s leading children’s book review journals for school and public librarians. We provide concise summaries and critical evaluations to help you find the books you need for your library’s collection.
April’s Big Picture
Shakespeare’s works have proven to be fertile ground for YA reinventions, with the romance, heartbreak, and betrayals of high school easily slotting into the Bard’s most dramatic plays. This month’s Big Picture, however, eschews comedy or tragedy to instead mine the history plays, focusing mainly on Shakespeare’s Richard III. Author Lindsay Eager casts a seventeen-year-old drama kid in the role of a charismatic, unapologetically villainous protagonist. Both loving and scathing in this assessment of theatre kid culture, Eagar brings a tremendous facility of form and voice to bear on this delightfully over-the-top novel.
2023 Blue Ribbons
Our best books of the year list for 2023 is available! Whether young readers are looking for a belly laugh or a cathartic cry, they’ll find something to love with this year’s selection.
The Center for Children’s Books
The Bulletin is partnered with the Center for Children’s Books, a research center whose mission is to facilitate the creation and dissemination of exemplary and progressive research and scholarship related to youth-focused resources, literature, and librarianship.
Cover illustration from The Good Little Mermaid’s Guide to Bedtime copyright © 2024 Nici Gregory. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Tundra Book Group
