Skip to main content

Display - SLJ Battle of the Books, Round 1, Match 5 & 6

School Library Journal’s Battle of the Kids’ Books is a competition among 16 of the very best books for young people of the year, judged by some of the biggest names in children’s books.

 
Jepp, Who Defied the Stars vs. Starry River of the Sky
Judge: Adam Gidwitz
Winner: Starry River of the Sky

Jepp, Who Defied the Stars
By Katherine Marsh
Jepp, a teenage dwarf living in 16th century Europe, leaves home to seek his destiny.
(Young adult fiction)

Starry River of the Sky
By Grace Lin
An innkeeper's chore boy discovers that a visitor's stories hold the key to returning the moon to the Starry River of the Sky.

Liar and Spy vs. Splendors and Glooms
Winner: Splendors and Glooms
By Rebecca Stead
Seventh-grader Georges adjusts to moving from a house to an apartment, his father's efforts to start a new business, his mother's extra shifts as a nurse, being picked on at school, and Safer, a boy who wants his help spying on another resident of their building.

Splendors and Glooms
By Laura Amy Schlitz
When Clara vanishes after the puppeteer Grisini and two orphaned assistants were at her twelfth birthday party, suspicion of kidnapping chases the trio away from London and soon the two orphans are caught in a trap set by Grisini's ancient rival, a witch with a deadly inheritance to shed before it is too late.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...

Dog Man Read Alikes

Dog Man  is a popular graphic novel for middle graders all about the adventures of a half-man, half-dog police officer. With 14 books in the series, many readers can't get enough of these hilarious stories! If your child is looking for more books like Dog Man, here are some great options to try out.  Dex Dingo: World's Best Greatest Ever... Inventor By Greg Foley Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion, 2024. Comic. 157 pages.  Dex Dingo doesn't know what he wants to do when he grows up. His classmates all seem to know, but he just doesn't feel like he is the BEST at anything. When a class assignment challenges him to figure out what he wants to be, he decides he wants to become the world's best ever inventor! Filled with beautifully drawn spreads and kid-approved humor, this book is sure to please any Dog Man fan.  Troubling Tonsils Written by Aaron Reynolds Illustrated by Peter Brown  New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. Fiction. 71 pages.  ...

Review: The Memory Tree : A Holiday Grief Book

The Memory Tree : A Holiday Grief Book Written by Joanna Rowland Illustrated by Thea Baker Minneapolis, MN : Beaming Books, 2025. Picture book An extremely difficult challenge during the holidays is missing loved ones who have passed away.  The Memory Tree: A Holiday Grief Book  gently addresses the topic of loss during the holidays. Written as a letter to the deceased loved one, a child explains how they get the idea to make ornaments from things that were loved by them. They also collect things that remind them of their lost loved one. The exciting and heart-warming reaction to this idea is that friends from all over also come to the house to bring ornaments they made for the memory tree too! As someone who has lost a child, I am always interested in books about grief and how it is explained to children. The idea for a memory tree wholly validates the child's sense of loss and with it, brings a healing amount of connection. Remembering the fun times and silly times and happy...