If you haven’t yet read 2013 Newbery Medal winning The One and Only Ivan , you are missing what many consider a modern classic of childre...

The book clarifies this on page two, so I’ll jump right in so everybody understands. Yes, Drywater Gulch had a problem with toads, but no...

As a fan of Encyclopedia Brown growing up - and to be honest, I never solved the crime before reading the solution in the back of the bo...

President Taft did indeed get stuck in the bath. Maybe. He was a big man - this is undeniable. When one looks into some additional facts ...

There are horrible children’s books.  Seriously. These books are sickly sweet and predictable, sometimes with happy (sappy?) les...

This conversation happened when I read Mr. Tiger Goes Wild aloud to two kindergartners: Kindergartner 1: “He’s naked!” Kindergartne...

Teachers. Monsters. Not all monsters are teachers, but all teachers have the potential to be monsters … at least in the eyes of their stu...

My fairy tale history is a little fuzzy. Here’s what I remember about Hansel & Gretel : A boy and a girl are lost in the forest. They...

If you are looking for books that will engage young readers, do you really need to look beyond the cover of Niño Wrestles the World by Y...

Everybody gets tired of something, sometime. Teachers? Maybe it’s checking homework. Students? Maybe it’s completing homework. Kids get t...

The original plan was to start my review of Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo with two Christmas lists, but I quickly realized that both lists...

Dear Mr. W, I just finished The Year of Miss Agnes . This is the plot . In the introduction I learned that Fred was the main character. ...

My original review of I Want My Hat Back says, “Sometimes - no, oftentimes - the simplest books end up being the best books.” I then went...

Dear Mr. W, Today while reading Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things  by Lenore Look , Alvin used swearing words ...