Come discover a world of books, music and more…

We've got some novel ideas to share. Industry trends, expert recommendations and the latest hot new releases—you'll find all this and more in our new quarterly newsletter. Coming to you this July.

Summer Gardening for Kids: by Sue Shaffer

Sue Shaffer

Juvenile & YA Special Topics—6/11/10
Now that summer is here, I’m looking forward to spending more time outdoors and tending my garden. My neighborhood is suburban with farm fields and open country nearby. My garden is very small compared to the farms I drive past each day. For your own garden, try A Backyard Vegetable Garden for Kids. It is a primer that guides you through the basics of how to read a seed packet and the process of sowing and planting a garden. If you want a more in-depth look at gardening with kids, look at Grow It, Cook It With Kids by Amanda Grant. This book will inspire future gardeners, and once the crops are ripe, help them learn about cooking and eating the fresh fruit and vegetables that they helped grow.

I’ve found some books that might inspire your young science readers. Take a look at Minibeasts in the Soil, which introduces creatures that live in the soil such as beetles, worms and underground wasps. I’ve included books about spiders, bees, butterflies and moths. There are edible bugs described in Bug-A-Licious; this book has full-page photos that will delight and has a great “yuck” factor.

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Great Summer Reads in Adult Fiction: by Kim Stack

Kim Stack

Adult Special Topics—06/11/10
Space or theme sometimes means that I don’t get to feature some of the great adult fiction reads of the season in BWI’s quarterly TitleTalk newsletter, so I encourage librarians to take the opportunity to review the Bibliographies section of TitleTales and check out the ever-changing lists posted in our Special Topics sections, where many lists reflect not only our opinion, but that of professional reviewers. Summer 2010 reveals that 61 Hours and The Good Son are wonderful picks that both the reviewers and I would feature. Other titles, like Parrot and Olivier in America and The Poacher’s Son, have their merit (and the reviewers really, really liked them) but just weren’t to my taste. All four major professional review journals and I agree, though, that you and your patrons just shouldn’t miss Ilustrado or Nowhere to Run. Great reading fun!

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This month, we sit down with Mike Richardson

Mike Richardson

Mike Richardson founded Dark Horse Comics in 1986 as an offshoot of his Oregon comic-book retail chain, Things From Another World. Richardson pursued the idea of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals, and 25 years later the company has grown to become the third-largest comics publisher in the United States.

Recent Interviews

BWI’s Collection Development Department has had the pleasure of sharing some time with several of today’s top authors, artists and illustrators.

Collection Development

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Working together, we'll help you build a collection that will inspire you … and your patrons.

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eNewsletter

eNewsletterBWI’s eNewsletter offers library trends and selection information once a month, and our TitleTalk newsletter arrives in the mail with insights and recommendations from our professional librarians.

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