Alain de Botton reviews a new book on philosophy for young adults by Lucy Eyre called If Minds Had Toes (in the Guardian). de Botton writes, "Lucy Eyre is acute in recognising that it's as teenagers that we're liable to start asking important questions, but frequently come off sounding ridiculous because we aren't given the right tools to address our concerns. This book should do its bit in allowing a new generation of teenagers to connect their thoughts with the main currents of Western philosophy."
Philip Ardagh reviews The Book Thief for the Guardian. (For reasons only the publishing industry knows, The Book Thief has only now appeared in the U.K.)
The Black Book of Secrets, by F. E. Higgins, is the Times' Children's Book of the Week.
The Times has lots of great children's coverage this week, including:
- Lisa Tuttle reviews three new fantasy titles (The Broken Kings by Robert Holdstock, Temeraire: Black Powder War by Naomi Novik, and Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier)
- Amanda Craig considers recycled heroes in children's books, reviewing Charlie Higson's Double or Die (an Young Bond title) and Nicola Morgan's The Highwayman's Footsteps.
- Not a review, but Tim Teeman talks to Conn Iggulden, author of The Dangerous Book for Boys (It seems Iggulden is very manly.)
Mary Harris Russell reviews six new books "For Young Readers" in the Chicago Tribune. This week they are:
- Sock Monkey Rides Again, by Cece Bell
- Here, There Be Dragons, by James A. Owen
- Tale of a Great White Fish, by Maggie deVries, illustrated by Renne Benoit
- The Treasures of Weatherby, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
- Ivy and Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go, by Annie Barrows, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
- Wind Flyers, by Angela Johnson, illustrated by Loren Long
- Who Likes the Snow?, by Etta Kaner, illustrated by Marie LaFrance
- Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook, tales retold by Jane Yolen, recipes by Heidi E. Y. Stemple, illustrations by Philippe Beha
- Kids Cook 1-2-3, by Rozanne Gold, illustrated by Sara Pinto
- Beowulf, by Michael Morpugo, illustrated by Michael Foreman
- June Callwood: A Life of Action, by Anne Dublin
