Weekend Reviews

Here's the late edition of weekend reviews:

• Susan at Chicken Spaghetti summarizes the coverage from the New York Times. (Joe Queenan may not like Alex Rider, but my ten year old does.
• Liz Rosenberg reviews two new picture book titles--How to Be (by Lisa Brown) and Mrs. Crump's Cat (written by Linda Smith and illustrated by David Roberts)--for The Boston Globe.
• Adèle Geras reviews Exchange, by Paul Magrs, for the Guardian.
• Julia Eccleshare reviews new titles by Allan Ahlberg and Ursula Dubosarsky for the Guardian.
• Raquel Laneri does not like Meg Cabot's latest, The Queen of Babble (reviewed at PopMatters)
• Also at PopMatters, Roger Holland finds Disney's latest DVD projects to be, well, pretty good.
• Lots of short pieces and recommendations in the Washington Post "Book World." Richard Hamilton advises kids "don't forget the classics," Jabari Asim recommends The Friendly Four (by Eloise Greenfield and illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist), Ron Charles interviews Shannon Hale, and Elizabeth Ward and some child readers compile a summer reading list.
• Mia's Story: A Sketchbook of Hopes & Dreams, by Michael Foreman, is the Times' "Children's Book of the Week" (reviewed by Nicolette Jones)
• Amanda Craig reviews a book by a writer she calls, "a gripping and original new children’s novelist." Who is this lucky first-timer? Ally Kennen. Kennen's debut is called Beast. Craig also reviews Boneless and the Tinker, by Martin Waddell ("Filled with the rhythmic music of an oral tale, this is part of a splendidly spooky series by Waddell that new readers aged 4 and over will enjoy.") Sorry, I just can't help but quote Craig.