The Book Lust audience is committed to reading, and here is a smart and entertaining tool for picking the best books for kids. Divided into three sections--Easy Books, Middle-Grade Readers, and Young Adult--Nancy Pearl makes wonderful reading connections by theme, setting, voice, and ideas. For horse lovers, she reminds us of the mainstays in the category (Black Beauty, Misty of Chincoteague, etc.) but then in a creative twist connects Mr. Revere and I to the list. In a list called Chapter One, she answers the proverbial question: which chapters books are the most compelling for kids who are now ready to move beyond picture books. And who says picture books aren't deep? Recommended Folk Tales sort out many of life's dilemmas and issues of good and bad; a selection of picture books on Death and Dying introduces this topic with sensitivity; and You've Got a Friend offers up books for early readers that show the complexities and the pleasures of relating to others. Parents, teachers, and librarians are often puzzled by the unending choices for reading material for young people. It starts when the kids are toddler and doesn't end until high-school graduation. What's good, what's trash, what's going to hold their interest? Nancy Pearl, America's favorite librarian, points the way in Book Crush.

    What's the point? There's so much else to read. With these essays, Lizzie Skurnick has answered those questions. It's as if a kindly psychiatrist suddenly appeared with a sheaf of missing brain scans. Does the mere mention of a mink-trimmed coat make you secretly swoon, even though you are rabidly anti-fur? You have 'A Little Princess' complex. Do you long to cover your enemies with leeches? You're having a 'Little House' flashback... So stretch out on Dr. Lizzie's couch and find out why you think it would be kind of cozy to be locked up in an attic with your brother. Or learn to dissect the subtle class consciousness of Judy Blume's New Jersey. Ponder the way that Lois Duncan's characters come into unexpected powers, natural and supernatural alike, as they enter adolesence. And most of all, enjoy.

    The pink covers, the flimsy paper, the zillion volumes in the series that kept you reading for your entire adolescence. Spurred by the commercial success of Sweet Valley High and The Babysitters Club, these were not the serious-issue YA novels of the 1970s, nor were they the blockbuster books of the Harry Potter and Twilight ilk. They were cheap, short, and utterly beloved.PAPERBACK CRUSH dives in deep to this golden age with affection, history, and a little bit of snark. Readers will discover (and fondly remember) girl-centric series on everything from correspondence (Pen Pals and Dear Diary) to sports (The Pink Parrots, Cheerleaders, and The Gymnasts) to a newspaper at an all-girls Orthodox Jewish middle school (The B.Y. Times) to a literal teen angel (Teen Angels: Heaven Can Wait, where an enterprising guardian angel named Cisco has to earn her wings “by helping the world’s sexist rock star.”) Some were blatant ripoffs of the successful series (looking at you, Sleepover Friends and The Girls of Canby Hall), some were sick-lit tearjerkers à la Love Story (Abby, My Love) and some were just plain perplexing (Uncle Vampire??) But all of them represent that time gone by of girl-power and endless sessions of sustained silent reading.In six hilarious chapters (Friendship, Love, School, Family, Jobs, Terror, and Tragedy), Bustle Features Editor Gabrielle Moss takes the reader on a nostalgic tour of teen book covers of yore, digging deep into the history of the genre as well as the stories behind the best-known series.

    The promise of escape draws people from all backgrounds to speculative fiction, but when people of color seek passageways into the fantastic, the doors are often barred. This problem lies not only with children’s publishing, but also with the television and film executives tasked with adapting these stories into a visual world. When characters of color do appear, they are often marginalized or subjected to violence, reinforcing for audiences that not all lives matter. The Dark Fantastic is an engaging and provocative exploration of race in popular youth and young adult speculative fiction. Grounded in her experiences as YA novelist, fanfiction writer, and scholar of education, Thomas considers four black girl protagonists from some of the most popular stories of the early 21st century: Bonnie Bennett from the CW’s The Vampire Diaries, Rue from Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, Gwen from the BBC’s Merlin, and Angelina Johnson from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. Analyzing their narratives and audience reactions to them reveals how these characters mirror the violence against black and brown people in our own world. In response, Thomas uncovers and builds upon a tradition of fantasy and radical imagination in Black feminism and Afrofuturism to reveal new possibilities. Through fanfiction and other modes of counter-storytelling, young people of color have reinvisioned fantastic worlds that reflect their own experiences, their own lives. As Thomas powerfully asserts, “we dark girls deserve more, because we are more.”

    The idea that his foray into meth production was not merely a dalliance with darkness, but was actually a full-blown awakening intrigued us. And most of all, the idea that we came to have no respect for the protagonist of our favorite show utterly fascinated us.We couldn’t look away.Breaking Down Breaking Bad attempts to poke into the dark corners of Walter White’s mind, explore the traits that make this show special, and revels in the joy of what is arguably the best drama ever to appear on television. In doing so, it also peels back the layers of what makes characters like Jesse Pinkman tick, explores why we were so drawn to characters like Gus Fring and Mike Ehrmantraut, and relives some of the greatest moments of this already legendary show.Because the show may be gone, but the conversation about it certainly isn’t.Eric San Juan is the coauthor of A Year of Hitchcock (Scarecrow Press 2009) and Hitchcock’s Villains (Scarecrow Press 2013), as well as Geek Wisdom (Quirk Books 2011) and other books. Before Breaking Bad came along, he thought Deadwood was the greatest thing since sliced bread. He still thinks it’s pretty damn good.

    Other features include famous quotes and a section on where the players are now. Teens will get the dish on: Milli Vanilli’s lip-syncing the Clinton-Lewinsky affair the Biggie and Tupac murders the Kent State shooting the OJ Simpson Murder trial Patty Hearst’s kidnapping And more!

    Eighty million books later, Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties (when she was taken up with a vengeance by women’s libbers) to enter the pantheon of American girlhood. As beloved by girls today as she was by their grandmothers, Nancy Drew has both inspired and reflected the changes in her readers’ lives. Here, in a narrative with all the vivid energy and page-turning pace of Nancy’s adventures, Melanie Rehak solves an enduring literary mystery: Who created Nancy Drew? And how did she go from pulp heroine to icon?  The brainchild of children’s book mogul Edward Stratemeyer, Nancy was brought to life by two women: Mildred Wirt Benson, a pioneering journalist from Iowa, and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, a well-bred wife and mother who took over as CEO after her father died. In this century-spanning story, Rehak traces their roles—and Nancy’s—in forging the modern American woman.

    Stay alive." --Haymitch AbernathyWhen it comes to The Hunger Games, staying alive means finding food any way possible. Katniss and Gale hunt live game, Peeta's family survives on the bread they make, and the inhabitants of the Seam work twelve-hour days for a few handfuls of grain--all while the residents of the Capitol gorge themselves on delicacies and desserts to the heart's desire.For the first time, you will be able to create delicious recipes from the humble District 12 to the extravagant Capital, including:French Bread from the Mellark Family BakeryKatniss's Favorite Lamb Stew with Dried PlumsRue's Roasted ParsnipsGale's Bone-Pickin' Big Game SoupCapitol-Grade Dark Chocolate CakeIf you're starving for more from Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, this cookbook is sure to whet your appetite!"Fans Cook Up Recipes for Food Featured in Fantasy Novels. . . This month, The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook was published, with 150 recipes for rustic, gamy fare." —Wall Street Journal"Hungry for the dishes served up in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy? The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook: From Lamb Stew to "Groosling" —More Than 150 Recipes Inspired by The Hunger Games Trilogy is ready to rock fans' kitchens." —USA Today"The Hunger Games movie is just a few months away, and really, who isn't secretly super-excited for the teen post-apocalyptic book trilogy to make it to the big screen? Watching the trailer on repeat is pretty fun. . . but now comes an even better way to sate your appetite—literally—until the film comes out. The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook!" —Village Voice

    Now, the experts at MuggleNet.com argue passionately about what really happened and what should have happened.•Would the series be stronger if Harry hadn’t survived?•Should we pity Voldemort or hate him?•Is Severus Snape really a hero?•Should J.K. Rowling have left Dumbledore’s gay sexual orientation a secret?•Did Harry actually die in Deathly Hallows?•Were the Slytherins too demonized, the Hufflepuffs too lame, and the Gryffindors too glorified?•Should J.K.R. write more Harry Potter novels or go out on top?

    Until now, there's been no accepted guide to what's good, bad, or indifferent in the flood of books coming off the presses in the hot new category of young-adult publishing. If it's true that you can't judge a book by its cover, it is especially true for teen books, as publishers take aim at a new class of readers. The books land on shelves without a history, and so there is no standard by which to judge them.Anita Silvey, one of the country's leading authorities on books for young people, has interviewed teenage readers all over the country and immersed herself in young-adult books, with an emphasis on books published in the last five years. The result is this invaluable and very readable guide for parents, teachers, librarians, booksellers, reading groups, and of course teens themselves.With its extended essays describing 500 selections, parents will quickly see what their teenagers are actually reading -- and will be able to find good books to introduce them to. Teachers can spot excellent additions to summer reading lists. Booksellers can move customers from one favorite to a host of others in the same genre. Librarians can round out collections. Book groups -- for adults, teens, or both -- will have hundreds of new titles to consider.500 Great Books for Teens is divided into twenty-one sections, including adventure and survival, politics and social history, horror, romance, war and conflict, fantasy, plays, graphic novels, poetry, memoir, and spirituality. Every section offers up classics, but the majority of titles are new. In "Beyond the 500," Silvey compiles a number of useful lists, including books organized by geographic location and historical period, as well as recommended audio books.

    It includes learning experiences that provide opportunities for group dynamics as well as activities to challenge students' abilities in critical and creative thinking. Includes: story summary, about the author, preparing to read, cooperative-learning activities, vocabulary skills, chapter-by-chapter critical thinking questions, spotlight literary skills, creative thinking activities, glossary of literary terms, and post-reading activities.

    Reading aloud offers us a chance to be fully present with our children. It also increases our kids’ academic success, inspires compassion, and fortifies them with the inner strength they need to face life’s challenges. As Sarah Mackenzie has found with her own six children, reading aloud long after kids are able to read to themselves can deepen relationships in a powerful way.Founder of the immensely popular Read-Aloud Revival podcast, Sarah knows first-hand how reading can change a child’s life. In The Read-Aloud Family, she offers the inspiration and age-appropriate book lists you need to start a read-aloud movement in your own home. From a toddler’s wonder to a teenager’s resistance, Sarah details practical strategies to make reading aloud a meaningful family ritual. Reading aloud not only has the power to change a family—it has the power to change the world.

    Humorous skits, routines, verses, song parodies, impersonations, and one-liners aimed at LDS youth.

    Now they are in crisis. Former rare books librarian and Harvard metaLAB visionary Matthew Battles takes us from Boston to Baghdad, from classical scriptoria to medieval monasteries and on to the Information Age, to explore how libraries are built and how they are destroyed: from the scroll burnings in ancient China to the burning of libraries in Europe and Bosnia to the latest revolutionary upheavals of the digital age. A new afterword elucidates how knowledge is preserved amid the creative destruction of twenty-first-century technology.

    . . From true classics to must-read cult fiction, from the top award-winners to up-to-the minute bestsellers, there's something for everyone.You'll also find special genre features written by expert authors—like E. Lockhart on Love and Relationships, and Patrick Jones on Short and Gripping Books—plus Top Ten Lists by genre for the perfect place to start, and results of our Top Ten Surveys where you decided which books and authors were the best in their categories.Each rave review comes with suggestions for what to read next, so with over 1,000 recommended books total, you'll never be without a good book again!