Teen Librarian Toolbox

I’m pretty excited about these July titles that I’ll get to bring to my school. Things I know will be popular include a book on breathing and big feelings, a knight missing his butt, a bilingual early reader, and some creepy reads.

Thanks to Penguin for their monthly box of books. All book mail I get goes back out of my house in some way or another....

Hello and welcome to the very first edition of Something Old, Something New: Comics and Graphic Novels with Ally Watkins.

I’m Ally. I’ve been around these TLT streets for awhile, though I’ve been absent from posting about graphic novels (one of my truest loves) for several years while serving on

I always seem to be writing about bravery. I don’t see myself as a particularly bold person, but perhaps that’s why the topic fascinates me. My characters are always searching for the courage they need to stand up for what is right. Since today’s young people are inheriting a world with many challenges, I hope my books will help inspire them—a...

I’ve always been drawn to books about introverts, especially artsy or bookish kids. My debut middle-grade novel—Eleven Kinds of Blue—concerns just such a girl. But what especially delights me is when, beneath the calm surface of a given protagonist, a stubbornness is revealed that propels her into trouble. Forget the quiet, self-effac...

The first lie I ever told bloomed from embarrassment. Thirty-plus years later, I still remember it. Yet I don’t remember the first mistake I ever made. Maybe it’s lost to time and memory, maybe my brain held on to the lesson but released the shame. What a gift, to make mistakes and have the opportunity to recover from them.

Now that ...