Saturday, October 13, 2007

Weekend Reviews (I)

It's a rainy autumn day here in Smalltown. Summer weather seemed to last forever this year, but now it's gone. For me, a summer girl by nature, summer's departure is bittersweet, but what can you do? At least there are books to comfort us through the winter. And, this weekend there are many reviews of new fall titles. Here are the early reviews:

It's children's books weekend in the New York Times:

It's also Children's Books week in the Globe and Mail. Susan Perren reviews four new books for children of all ages.

In this week's not-a-review category, I feel duty-bound to report that actress Julianne Moore (an actress I really respect) has a new picture book. It's an "I'm special despite X" picture book. She has chosen (surprise!) freckles for the X category. Kate Summerscale reports for the Telegraph.

Richard Lea reports on the Nestle Children's Books prize and the small world that is children's books for the Guardian.

Elizabeth Ward reviews Nick Hornby's Slam for the Washington Post. I really liked this one too, and will have a review of it in the all-YA The Edge of the Forest (up next week). Hornby is a natural fit for YA and I was so thrilled this one was good as I hated A Long Way Down. Even Amanda Craig, who wrote she dislikes "Hornby man," admitted grudging admiration for Slam last week in the Times.

Speaking of Amanda Craig, she talks to writer Sally Gardner for the Times. Amanda Craig also reviews "Princess" books for the Times.

Instead of Mary Harris Russell's review column this weekend, the Chicago Tribune has a banned books section:

More tomorrow...