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Eleanor Estes: A Childhood Shared
moffats.jpgEleanor Ruth Rosenfeld (Estes) loved to tell stories to children. She began by working as a children's assistant in her hometown library, but when she became sick with tuberculosis, she...
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Beverly Cleary: The Girl from Yamhill
myowntwofeet.jpegBeverly thought she had the greatest life. Things were exciting on the family farm for a little girl, and her mom and dad were working too hard to keep their dark-haired daughter from...
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Hurrah for Astrid Lindgren!
pippi.jpgWhen Astrid Lindgren was a little girl, a friend read her stories about the giant, Bam-Bam, and the fairy, Viribunda. Astrid Lindgren loved these stories. Some part of the author never grew up...
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A Road Map to Middle Earth
lordoftherings.jpgThe Fellowship of the Ring is only the first part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. For those who want to explore Middle-Earth in all of its dragon's fire flash and stygian darkness,...
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Dark Horses and Darker Fates
darkhorse.jpgThe Dark Horse by Marcus SedgwickWhen Horn's war party found the girl, she was hidden in the corner of the cave, undressed, and past comforting by the wolves who raised her. They had been...
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Changelings Light and Dark
darkisrising.jpegThe Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper"It's a horrible day," said Will Stanton. "It's creepy somehow." On the day before his eleventh birthday, Will and his brother escaped from their...
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Islands of Sorcerers and Unlikely Pilgrims
wizardofearthsea.jpegA Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le GuinNo one really liked Duny. The boy was wild, proud, and full of temper-- well-suited to the company of the goats he herded. Then came the...
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Frank McCourt: The Man Himself
When Frank McCourt passed last month, he left behind memoirs filled with anguish, love, and dark merriment. Personal experiences are what this Irish-American author took and shaped into works of...
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A History of Classic Monsters: Dracula
nosferatu.jpgMany people find one of the most enjoyable aspects of Halloween to be the myriad creatures associated with it. Legendary villains like Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and zombies of...
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A History of Classic Monsters: Mummies
mummyscurse.jpgThere are many monsters associated with Halloween. Besides Dracula and his kind, mummies are among the most fascinating of these. The mummies appearing in horror films and literature...
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A History of Classic Monsters: Frankenstein’s Creature
frankenstein_profile.jpgFrankenstein’s Creature has many differences from other popular monsters associated with Halloween. Rather than being based off an ancient legend, religious concept, or...
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A History of Detective Fiction: Literary Origins
clivebrookassherlockholmes.jpgDetective and crime-related stories are one of the most popular genres of fiction. In literary form, detective novels are so numerous that publishing companies devote...
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Jane Austen Over and Over and Over
What is is about Jane Austen? If you have read her books over and over and over, maybe you are ready to try something a little different. Her stories have been re-told and re-imagined in prequels and...
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Heroes in the Library
It’s one of life’s ironies that you don’t realize how much someone’s impacted your life until they’re gone. More specifically, you realize that you never told that person how much they meant. It isn’t...
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A History of Classic Science Fiction: A.E. Van Vogt and E.E. "Doc" Smith
triplaneetary.jpgThe period of time from the late 1930s to the end of the 1950s is commonly known as the "Golden Age" of science fiction. The Golden Age was noted for the volume of science fiction...
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Great Lives Series: Edgar Allan Poe
"We are not impotent- we pallid stones. Not all our power is gone- not all our fame- Not all the magic of our high renown- Not all the wonder that encircles us- Not all the mysteries that in us lie-...
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The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People who Read Them, by...
Odd, the things one finds when browsing the shelves. I found this jewel the other day, when I was looking for something, anything to read. What a great way to start summer reading: a visit to...
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A Day of Knights
knight1.jpgWhat is a knight? The simple answer would be a soldier who fights on horseback while wearing armor, but there’s much more to being a knight.Who were the first knights? There have been...
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Welcome to Sherwood!
robin_hood_and_the_golden_arrow.jpgIn fall, the woods are filled with trees and squirrels and birds and perhaps outlaws with hearts of gold, if your imagination stretches far enough. In England, long...
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Nutcracker Sweets
nutcracker.jpgOn Christmas Eve, a young girl dreams her beloved toy comes to life. He becomes her Nutcracker Prince and dances his Clara through the land of sweets and defeats the wicked Mouse King....
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