Welcome to Through the Looking Glass
Welcome to the November and December 2012 issue of Through the Looking Glass Children’s Book Reviews. I have put together a wonderful collection of reviews for you for this issue, and I hope you enjoy reading the reviews as much as I enjoyed writing them.
As always, the books reviewed on TTLG are carefully chosen by the editor. We only review books that suit the scope of TTLG, and that we feel have something to offer readers. Therefore, all our reviews are positive ones. We hope this will help you to find excellent books for the young people in your lives. If you are looking for books for yourself, we hope you will find books that you will enjoy reading. Please consider buying books through this website. Your purchases help to support our work, and give us the means to improve this online resource.
In November and December, people start getting ready for the holidays. For this issue, I chose titles that would make excellent gifts, and therefore almost all of the new books in this issue are stand-alone titles, or they are the first book in a new series.
For this issue I have chosen to focus on books about Dragons. I have always had a soft spot for dragons. Ever since I read Kenneth Grahame’s The Reluctant Dragon I have been drawn to books that feature these splendid and often magical creatures. Some of the dragon books in this collection feature dragons that are fierce and dangerous, while others contain dragon characters who are friendly and lovable. The books in this feature will suit readers of all ages because there are board books, novelty books, picture books, beginner readers, and novels.
In November and December autumn shifts into winter. During these months, we get serious about bundling up in warm clothes, toasting ourselves in front of warm fires and wood stoves, and finding ways to spend really wet or cold days. I actually really enjoy this time of year as I enjoy sitting under a warm blanket reading a book. What could be better?
For this month’s Editor’s Choice title, I selected Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. This is a fantastic book that both teens and adults will enjoy reading.
Don’t forget to look at the Bookish Calendar page for reviews about Claude Monet, Roald Amundsen, the mystery of the Mary Celeste, and much more. This calendar is a great tool to use at home and in the classroom to help children incorporate books more fully into their lives.
There are several bookish events taking place in November that I would like to tell you about. They are:
- November 1 is National Author’s Day (USA)
- November 13th is National Young Readers Day (USA) – National Young Readers Day is a day that was created by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in 1989 as a way to celebrate literacy in schools.
- November 12th-16th – National Young Reader’s Week (USA) – National Young Readers Week is an annual event that was co-founded in 1989 by Pizza Hut® and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. To make this week special, many schools recruit local “celebrities” to read aloud a favorite children’s book to classrooms.
- November 20th is Universal Children’s Day
Not long ago I launched a new project that I would like to tell you about. It is a story blog called Talon Diaries, and it is written by a colorful and very unusual character who is called Gryf. Gryf ‘s story posts appear every Tuesday. Do take a look and subscribe to the blog.
For those of you don’t know already, I also publish a blog about children’s books and the children’s book world. On the blog I post reviews, interviews with great authors and illustrators, I offer book giveaways, and I tell you about interesting contests and bookish events. Do visit the blog and sign up for the feed. In the coming year, I will be posting new picture book reviews on Mondays, new fiction reviews for younger readers (under the age of 12) on Wednesdays, and poetry book reviews on Fridays.
Some of the titles I reviewed several years ago are now out of print. Though you cannot buy these books in every bookshop, many of them are still available for purchase on websites like Amazon.com.
All the best,