If I post at Bildungsroman about a series, you can bet you’ll read the phrase, "Read the books in order," followed by a list of titles. Louisiana’s Song by Kerry Madden is the second book in a trilogy about a big family growing up in North Carolina. Unlike many middle books in trilogies, this book can stand on its own …

Former teacher, radio DJ, theatre manager, and general jack-of-all-trades David Elzey (maybe that should be "David-of-all-trades") describes his blog, the excelsior file, as "children’s literature, reviews, thoughts, commentary, and whatever else fits the bill." His blog is definitely eclectic. You’ll find contributions to Poetry Friday, comments on picture books, interviews, and sneak peeks at graphic novels, such as his recent …

Have you met Pam Coughlin, better known as MotherReader? If not, you’re missing one of the funniest, most over-the-top writers in the kidlit blogging world. A librarian and Mommy from Virginia, her annual 48-hour book challenge keeps scores of bloggers bleary-eyed while reading and reviewing — and then reading each others’ reviews. In September, she asks everyone for their favorite …

Alas, Tricia from The Miss Rumphius Effect didn’t win a Weblog award (see this post here) but we’re still awed she was a finalist. She recently reviewed a science book that’s, well, elementary, but she also gives us some personal glimpses into why it’s more than just another book to her: My friends call me a closet nerd. Well, let …

If you can think of a more aptly named book blog than Bookshelves of Doom, let us know. We’re highly jealous. Leila Roy’s an "Uber-librarian" from Kennebunk, Maine, who de-bunks the book-burning censors. Okay, those who challenge or ban library books aren’t really burning them — yet — no doubt because Leila’s on their case. She also does splendid book …

Known for some killer Poetry Friday posts over at her blog, Writing and Ruminating, Kelly Fineman is a children’s writer and poet, as well as a Nerdfighter Extraordinaire, as she was recently dubbed by John Green. In addition to interviewing authors and posting a whole array of info and resources about poetry, Kelly also reviews children’s books, from the classic …

Little Willow joins us again for another review: I review a variety of books at my blog, Bildungsroman. Most are young adult fiction, some are for children, some are for adults, but one thing they all have in common is strength of character. Reaching for Sun by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer definitely has a strong protagonist – a young girl who …

Mary Lee Hahn is one talented lady–not only does she teach fourth and fifth grades, she’s also the author of a book on classroom read-aloud techniques and, along with her colleague Franki Sibberson, she blogs regularly about books for children and young adults at A Year of Reading. Mary Lee wrote a recent overview of Graphic Novels nominee The Plain …

When last year’s Cybils was starting up, Elaine Magliaro quickly joined the Blue Rose Girls blog so she could be eligible to serve on the Poetry panel. Not only did Cybils benefit, she’s since left her indelible ink prints all over the blogosphere with dazzling, witty poetry of her own. She now has her own blog, Wild Rose Reader, but …

For Halloween, what could be better than a spooky book by a "ghost artist"? Our own Jackie Parker has the details at her blog. For a brief time last summer, Finney was able to forget about his doomed future. See, "for a member of the Bleak family the true measure of success is not what is accomplished in LIFE, but …