Longtime readers and friends know that I typically avoid the big conferences. When people ask if I'm going to ALA or ISTE, my answer often includes something like "not if I can help it!" To be clear, this is a classic example of "it's not you, it's me!" I don't have any beef with those conferences specifically, it's all the peopling that I find challenging. And speaking of people, many of them are often surprised to learn that I am an introvert. But it is true. Our world is designed for...

It's that time again. For the moment, anyway, our curated starred review spreadsheet is up to date, y'all. As a reminder, Martha Hickson and I curate and collate the starred reviews from six trade journals:  Booklist   Horn Book Kirkus School Library Journal Publishers Weekly   The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books We realize, of course, that other sites/blogs award stars, too... but these are the journals we've chosen to focus on. You May Have Noticed... I can't keep up, y'all!...

A few weeks ago, my friend William sent me photos of a rotating passive programming display he’s been running in his high school library. Each week, he posts a new Shakespearean-style sonnet on a bulletin board and challenges students and teachers to guess which popular song inspired it. Unsurprisingly, the display has become something of a sensation, with prizes ranging from bragging rights to handcrafted artworks made from discarded books. Here are a few examples: Has Thou the Wit to Devine...