Notes from The Horn Book

I've blogged before about the Horn Book and its various spin-offs. Their latest email newsletter has just come out - Notes from the Hornbook. For this first month of the year, and with a big First in the offing (new American President), they've decided to focus on some other Firsts: novels, chapters, eggs, and groundbreakers. Of particular interest to British readers is an interview with Sally Nicholls, whose first book Ways to live forever, a novel for eight- to twelve-year-olds, won last years' Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize. The book takes on a tough subject — the death of a child — and narrates the story in the voice of eleven-year-old Sam, who is dying of leukemia. It is honest, heartbreaking, and richly funny, as Sam deals with his parents, his wishes, and the “Questions Nobody Answers.” (See my last post for details of another article about Sally Nicholls). The section on eggs (which came FIRST, the chicken or...) is an amusing idea, though we might not have all the books here. You can sign up to the newsletter here.