The Secret Society of Readers has no monthly meetings, no annual dues, and no application. There are no cancellation fees. SSR has no advisory board, no headquarters, and no tax identification number. SSR members may or may not use libraries and may or may not self-identify as readers They may or may not report […]
Tag Archives: Amy Estersohn
December
09
Top Ten Graphic Novels for Readers Who Don’t Like Graphic Novels by Amy Estersohn
posted by CBethM
Graphic novels are a chronically misunderstood kind of book. When I tell people I specialize in graphic novel reviews, they immediately assume I’m a ComicCon-attending superhero fiend (uh, not really). Or they assume that I focus on graphic novels because I give them out only to my striving readers (no, no, no, no, no). […]
July
31
When Readers Don’t See Themselves as Readers – A Discussion Between Jenn Bishop and Amy Estersohn
posted by CBethM
One of us (Jenn) is the author of The Distance to Home, a brand-new book for middle grades readers. Another of us (Amy) teaches middle grades readers. In The Distance to Home, Quinnen is mourning the loss of her older sister, Haley. Quinnen’s grief and her guilt over the circumstances surrounding Haley’s death create […]
May
13
When Wet Bathing Suits Happen to Good Books by Amy Estersohn
posted by CBethM
Sometimes I wish I had a degree in hazardous materials management. That way, I’d know how to rehabilitate returned books that have received the Wet Bathing Suit Torture. But it’s not just the wet bathing suits. Books are regularly returned with ripped pages or pages coming out from seams. Sometimes they look like they have […]
February
27
Ten Books My Students Recommended to Me by Amy Estersohn
posted by CBethM
I’m the first to admit it: I spend about as much time prowling for new books as I do reading them. I mine the state awards list of lists when I am looking for crowdpleaser titles for tweens and teens. I look at the lovingly maintained starred reviews Google Doc to know what the critics […]
September
26
Top Ten Worst Parents in Tween Lit by Amy Estersohn
posted by CBethM
I’ve noticed that my seventh graders take tremendous pleasure in reading about horrible, awful, mean, nasty, and ludicrous parents, no matter the genre, setting, or gender of the main character. For all other bad-parent-lovers out there, I’ve collected a list of some of my favorite careless caretakers: Gym Candy by Carl Deuker […]
July
22
When Good Characters Make Bad Friends by Amy Estersohn
posted by CBethM
The land of middle grade literature is filled with characters so one-dimensional they’re almost cartoonish. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the cartoons — ahem, graphic novels — capture complex characters. Take, for example, Astrid, the main character in Victoria Jamieson’s delightful graphic novel Roller Girl. When Astrid, her best friend, Nicole, and her […]
Nerdy Book Club 