Kidsreads Newsletter
March 2018
New books from Girls Who Code and Rick Riordan Presents and voting for the Children's Choice Book Award! No Images? Click here ![]() Kidsreads.com Newsletter - March 2018 Quick Links to Features on Kidsreads.com
You Shared...We Listened...In our last newsletter, we asked our readers to answer a survey about their reading habits and how they use our site. One thing that we learned was that many readers would like to see books featured noting the age range that they were appropriate for, so that they could better find books for young children. I feel we may have been remiss in clearly noting that we have this here, where we have our reviews broken down by age and genre. We've added a quick link for this to the top of this newsletter as well, to make it easy for you to find going forward. Another thing we discovered in our survey is that more of our readers are adults than children. As a result, with this newsletter we will be merging our lists and sending one newsletter to all each month, instead of separate ones for children and parents. Our last featured section in each newsletter will share contests and content of interest for our adult readers. Thank you to those who participated in the survey. The winners of the two packages of prize titles were Angela from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Ann from Fayetteville, Georgia. If there is anything else you would like to see from Kidsreads, please feel free to write me a note here. The Girls Who Code series is back with the third book in their fiction series as well as their first activity book. This has been a big month for Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani, as it was announced that she will be receiving the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, administered through an alliance between the McGraw Family Foundation, McGraw-Hill Education and Arizona State University. If you have not checked out her books for young girls yet, now is definitely the time, as the Girls Who Code series has received rave reviews for its STEM-focused combination of fun and empowerment. You can read our reviews of both LIGHTS, MUSIC, CODE! and CRACK THE CODE below. Click here to listen to an interview with Reshma as featured on The Skimm's podcast, Skimm'd from the Couch. Back in 2016, bestselling author Rick Riordan announced that he would be creating his own imprint with Disney to help satisfy his voracious readers. Soon after, Disney launched Rick Riordan Presents, an imprint dedicated to mythology-based books for middle grade readers with the focus on diverse, mythology-based fiction by new, emerging and under-represented authors. The first book to be published by Riordan is ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME, written by young adult author Roshani Chokshi. Riordan wrote in a blog, "You guys have been asking about a Percy Jackson-esque take on Hindu mythology, and let me tell you, Rosh does it better than I ever could." We have our review of ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME below. Our reviewer, Teen Board member Savana W., says, "ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME is fabulous. Chokshi manages to translate Rick Riordan’s famously humorous writing and wit into her story, while continuously maintaining her own voice as a writer. Aru and Mini are heroines who every young girl should be looking up to and seeing portrayed within literature." In books on screen news, this month has given us several trailers of movies to look forward to. Up first, here's the trailer for Christopher Robin, the story of a working-class man named Christopher Robin who encounters his childhood friend Winnie-the-Pooh, who helps him to rediscover the joys of life. This movie will hit theaters in August and is rated PG. Looking even further ahead, this holiday season will reunite us with yet another beloved children's classic: Mary Poppins! Click here to watch the teaser trailer for Mary Poppins Returns. We'll keep you updated as more information about this movie becomes available. We have some exciting news to share in this newsletter as the voting has begun for the Children's Choice Book Awards. The Children’s & Teen Choice Book Awards are the only national book awards voted on only by kids and teens. Launched in 2008 by the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader, the awards provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them. The voting for children's books is divided into three categories by age. You can read more about the Awards and see the finalists below. If you are ready to vote, click here. Read on for this month's series update (we've added titles to 47 series, including Big Nate, The Chronicles of Claudette, Emily Windsnap, and more!) and a ton of new reviews. Happy reading, --- Rebecca Munro (rebecca@bookreporter.com) ![]() Vote for the Children's Choice Book AwardIt's time to vote for the Children's Choice Book Award! This is a big deal in the publishing industry, as it is the only national book awards program where kids decide all of the winners. From now until May 6th, you have the chance to share your opinion by casting your vote for the best book of 2017. (Adults can click here to enter votes from their children. Teachers and librarians can find information about how to set up voting booths here.) This year's finalists are: K-2nd Grade
3rd-4th Grade
5th-6th Grade
This is your chance to make a difference. Get ready to show your favorite books and authors some well-deserved love! Featured Reviews: NEW Girls Who Code Series Books
LIGHTS, MUSIC, CODE! #3 (Girls Who Code) Written by Jo Whittemore with a forward by Reshma Saujani (Fiction) CRACK THE CODE!: Activities, Games, and Puzzles That Reveal the World of Coding Written by Sarah Hutt and illustrated by Brenna Vaughan (Activity Book) Featured Review: ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME by Roshani Chokshi![]() ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME by Roshani Chokshi (Fantasy)
New ReviewsP.S. I MISS YOU by Jen Petro-Roy (Fiction) LOVE, PENELOPE by Joanne Rocklin (Fiction) ME, FRIDA, AND THE SECRET OF THE PEACOCK RING by Angela Cervantes (Mystery) COCO CHANEL: Pearls, Perfume, and the Little Black Dress by Susan Goldman Rubin (Biography) SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DISAPPEARING DIAMOND (Baker Street Academy #1) by Sam Hearn (Mystery/Detective) PLAYING ATTARI WITH SADDAM HUSSEIN: Based on a True Story by Jennifer Roy and Ali Fadhil (Historical Fiction) MONSTERS BEWARE! written by Jorge Aguirre and Illustrated by Rafael Rosado (Graphic Novel) KNOCKOUT by K. A. Holt (Fiction) VOICES FROM THE SECOND WORLD WAR: Stories of War as Told to Children of Today by Candlewick Press (History) FRENEMIES IN THE FAMILY: Famous Brothers and Sisters Who Butted Heads and Had Each Other's Backs written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Maple Lam (Biography) THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF ESTHER THE WONDER PIG written by Steve Jenkins, Derek Walter and Caprice Crane with illustrations by Cori Doerrfeld (Nonfiction/Animals)
New Series Books for MarchAt Kidsreads.com, we know that a lot of you are all about series. Once you find characters, topics or a fictional world you love, you don't want to leave! That's why we add new books to our series features every month. Read below to see this month's updates, and click here to visit our Series page! The Bad Guys, Book 6 Baker Street Academy, Book 1 Baseball Genius, Book 2 Bat, Book 2 Behind the Legend, Book 6 Big Nate, Book 18 The Bizarre Baron Inventions, Book 3 The Boxcar Children Mysteries, Book 146 The Chronicles of Claudette, Book 3 Cilla Lee-Jenkins, Book 2 Elementals, Book 1 An Ellen and Ned Book, Book 1 Emily Windsnap, Book 7 Fairy Tale Reform School, Book 4 Five Kingdoms, Book 5 Frank Einstein, Book 6 Geronimo Stilton Special Edition, Book 9 Ghosts of Ordinary Objects, Book 1 Girls Who Code, Book 3 & Activity Book The Goolz Next Door, Book 1 Hoops, Book 1 Judy Moody and Friends, Book 9 The Kicks, Book 8 King of the Bench, Book 3 The Making of America, Book 2 Middle School, Book 10 Nate the Great, Book 29 Olga, Book 2 Paddington, Book 7 A Pandava Novel, Book 1 President, Book 3 Pride Wars, Book 1 A Quinnie Boyd Mystery, Book 3 Science Comics, Book 8 Secret Coders, Book 5 Secrets of the X-Point, Book 2 Star Scouts, Book 2 Stick Dog, Book 8 Stink, Book 11 The Story Pirates Present, Book 1 Story Thieves, Book 5 Survival Tails, Book 1 The Treehouse Books, Book 6 The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Book 2 The Wide-Awake Princess, Book 7 The Wild Robot, Book 2 Wing & Claw, Book 3 Contests on Our Other Book Report Network Websites for Our Adult ReadersBookreporter.com: Spring Preview 2018: Spring is in the air! We’ve caught the fever --- and it’s being fueled by some wonderful new and upcoming releases. Our seventh annual Spring Preview Contests and Feature spotlights many of these picks, which we know people will be talking about over the next few months. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through April 20th. You will need to check the site to see the featured book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce each title, which you can sign up for here. Fiction Author Spotlight & Contest: WE OWN THE SKY by Luke Allnutt: WE OWN THE SKY by Luke Allnutt is a tender and heartrending, but ultimately life-affirming, debut novel that will resonate deeply with anyone who has suffered loss or experienced great love. We have 30 advance copies to give away to readers who would like to read the book, which releases on April 3rd, and share their comments on it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, March 29th at noon ET. Word of Mouth: Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from March 16th to March 30th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of ALTERNATE SIDE by Anna Quindlen and THE BISHOP'S PAWN by Steve Berry. Sounding Off on Audio: Tell us about the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for both the performance and the content. During the contest period from March 1st to April 2nd at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of J.A. Jance's DUEL TO THE DEATH: An Ali Reynolds Mystery, read by Karen Ziemba, and Lisa Genova's EVERY NOTE PLAYED, read by Dennis Boutsikaris and Dagmara Dominczyk. ReadingGroupGuides.com: Special Contest: Enter to Win 12 Copies of AUNTIE POLDI AND THE SICILIAN LIONS by Mario Giordano for Your Group: AUNTIE POLDI AND THE SICILIAN LIONS is Mario Giordano's first novel translated into English (courtesy of John Brownjohn) and is the opening installment of a series starring Auntie Poldi, Sicily’s newest amateur sleuth. We are celebrating its release with a special contest that will give three readers the chance to win 12 copies of the book for their group. The deadline for your entries is Wednesday, April 18th at noon ET. Special Contest: Enter to Win 12 Copies of THE BRIGHTEST SUN by Adrienne Benson for Your Group: We are celebrating the release of THE BRIGHTEST SUN by Adrienne Benson --- an illuminating debut following three women in sub-Saharan Africa as they search for home and family --- with a special contest that will give three readers the chance to win 12 copies of the book for their group. The deadline for your entries is Wednesday, April 18th at noon ET. Special Contest: Enter to Win 10 Advance Copies of THE LITTLE CLAN by Iris Martin Cohen for Your Group: We are celebrating the April 17th release of Iris Martin Cohen's debut novel, THE LITTLE CLAN --- a love letter to classic literature and an illuminating look at newfound adulthood --- with a special contest that will give five groups the chance to win 10 advance copies of the book. The deadline for your entries is Wednesday, April 4th at noon ET. Win 12 Copies of EXIT WEST by Mohsin Hamid for Your Group: Each month, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group. Note: To be eligible to win, let us know the title of the book that YOUR book group is CURRENTLY reading, NOT the title we are giving away. This month's prize book is EXIT WEST by Mohsin Hamid, which is March’s pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times book club “Now Read This.” Now available in paperback, this finalist for the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Awards is an astonishingly visionary love story that imagines the forces that drive ordinary people from their homes into the uncertain embrace of new lands. To enter, please fill out the form below by Wednesday, April 4th at noon ET. |