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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.


March’s Big Picture

A glance down any toy aisle will reveal that toy marketing is still heavily gendered, and that pastels, sparkles, and polite femininity continue to have quite the stranglehold on the girls’ section. It’s not that those things aren’t enjoyable—as the Barbie movie’s recent success proves, there’s plenty of affirming (and sometimes subversive) power in pink. But what is there for the girl unimpressed by the glittering, precious creatures populating many Disney movies and much of kid lit? The one who bristles at tiaras and has no interest in singing or dancing, who chafes at any effort toward conformity? Well, this month’s Big Picture offers a heroine meant just for that girl, a little mermaid with razor-sharp teeth, predatory instincts, and zero interest in being good, sweet, or, most importantly, following the evening routine laid out in The Good Little Mermaid’s Guide to Bedtime.


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