Weekend Reviews (I-II)

Here are this weekend's reviews of children's books in the major media:

Siobhan Dowd's Bog Child is the Times Children's Book of the Week. (Nicolette Jones reviews: "The work of an outstanding writer, it is preoccupied with the preciousness of life and the finality of death. It is also published posthumously; Siobhan Dowd died last year.")

Sonja Bolle considers Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid series, including the latest title Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, for the Los Angeles Times.

Mary Harris Russell reviews five new children's books for the Chicago Tribune, including Kadir Nelson's latest We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball.

Susan Perren reviews five new children's books, including Meg Rosoff's latest, for the Globe and Mail.

Stevie Davies reviews Julie Myerson's Out of Breath in the Guardian. And, in the Independent, Danuta Kean talks to Julie Myerson about writing.

In this week's not-a-review category: "John Preston explores the private torments that inspired Kenneth Grahame" to write The Wind in the Willows in the Telegraph.

Grace Lin's The Year of the Rat is the Washington Post Kids Post Book of the Week.

Joanna H. Kraus reviews award-winning children's books for the San Jose Mercury News.

Julie Empric reviews several new children's books, including Laura Ann Schlitz's The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm for Tampa Bay Online.