Deirdre Baker

Davenport

Worked for decades as a reporter for a daily newspaper based in Davenport, IA

Articles

Review of King Alfred and the Ice Coffin

2 weeks ago | hbook.com | Deirdre Baker |Gabi Kim Huesca

King Alfred and the Ice Coffin by Kevin Crossley-Holland; illus. by Chris RiddellIntermediate, Middle School Candlewick Studio 88 pp. 11/24 9781536238808 $18.99Quick, lyrical prose, an ear for the music of words, and an affection for Britain’s medieval past characterize much of Crossley-Holland’s work. He brings it all into play in this “wonder-journey” first recorded in Old English by King Alfred in the ninth century.
Review of The Curse of Madame Petrova

1 month ago | hbook.com | Deirdre Baker |Dean Schneider |Patrick Gall

The Curse of Madame Petrova by Marjolijn Hof; illus. by Annette Fienieg; trans. from Dutch by Bill NagelkerkeMiddle School Em Querido/Levine Querido 272 pp. 9/24 9781646144532 $18.99Silke and her twin brother, Janis, are fated to cause each other’s demise, or so predicted Madame Petrova when she read the cards for Papa and Mama before the children’s birth. Now orphaned and afraid their grasping cousins will make them fulfill this terrible destiny, Silke and Janis flee.
Google finds star doodler in PV second-grade classroom

1 month ago | qctimes.com | Deirdre Baker

When Shalini Chandupatla was just a toddler, she started to doodle. And doodle. She is an enthusiastic doodler at home, according to her parents, Vinay and Kalyani Chandupatla, Bettendorf. The Chandupatlas surprised their daughter on Friday during a special event at Hopewell Elementary School. Shalini was named one of 53 winners in the United States and territories, including Puerto Rico, in the Doodle 4 Google contest.
Review of Under the Same Stars

1 month ago | hbook.com | Deirdre Baker |Patrick Gall |Betty Carter |Kristine Techavanich

Under the Same Stars by Libba BrayHigh School Farrar 480 pp. 2/25 9780374388942 $24.99e-book ed. 9780374388959 $12.99In this ambitious work, Bray alternates three seemingly disparate stories, briefly braiding them into one near the novel’s end. In 1940s Germany, Sophie and Hanna are devotees of the Bridegroom’s Oak, a hollow tree famed as a post box for exchanging love letters.
Review of Island of Whispers

Oct 15, 2024 | hbook.com | Deirdre Baker |Jessica MacDonald |Martha V. Parravano |Jerry Dear

Island of Whispers by Frances Hardinge; illus. by Emily GravettIntermediate, Middle School Amulet/Abrams 120 pp. 8/24 9781419774331 $19.99e-book ed. 9798887073118 $17.99Milo’s father has a vital role to play on the island of Merlank: he’s the Ferryman, responsible for transporting the Dead to a place where their spirits are free to depart, no longer hampered by Merlank’s clingy mist. Otherwise, the Dead would linger, blighting the land and killing others with their fatal gaze.
Review of Young Hag and the Witches’ Quest

Sep 10, 2024 | hbook.com | Deirdre Baker |Julie Roach |Julie Hakim Azzam

Young Hag and the Witches’ Quest by Isabel Greenberg; illus. by the authorMiddle School, High School Amulet/Abrams 288 pp. 5/24 9781419765117 $24.99Paper ed. 9781419765124 $17.99e-book ed. 9781647008499 $16.19This spirited, intelligent mashup of Arthuriana puts Morgan Le Fay—now Ancient Crone, cheerfully saggy-bosomed and thin-haired—and her granddaughter, Young Hag, at the center of a fresh new story.
Review of Monster Hands

Jul 22, 2024 | hbook.com | Deirdre Baker |Dean Schneider |Cynthia K. Ritter |Sarah Ellis

Monster Hands by Karen Kane and Jonaz McMillan; illus. by Dion MBDPreschool, Primary Paulsen/Penguin 32 pp. 5/24 9780593532294 $18.99e-book ed. 9780593532300 $10.99After reading several bedtime stories, Milo makes the mistake of reading a book about a monster under the bed. Oh, no! In his fearful dilemma, he turns to his friend Mel, who is looking out her window from across the street.
Review of The Night War

Apr 17, 2024 | hbook.com | Deirdre Baker |Amanda Toledo |Martha V. Parravano |Michelle Lee

The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker BradleyIntermediate, Middle School Dial 288 pp. 4/24 9780735228566 $17.99e-book ed. 9780735228580 $10.99In 1942, French police in Occupied Paris rounded up over thirteen thousand French Jews and corralled them into a stadium; almost all perished at Auschwitz. Bradley’s (The War That Saved My Life, rev.
Review of The Boy Lost in the Maze

Apr 17, 2024 | hbook.com | Deirdre Baker |Anita L. Burkam |Jennifer M. Brabander |Jessica Agudelo

The Boy Lost in the Maze by Joseph Coelho; illus. by Kate MilnerMiddle School, High School Candlewick 320 pp. 3/24 9781536236415 $19.99e-book ed. 9781536237351 $19.99Coelho, the U.K.’s current Children’s Laureate, here interweaves two narratives—one a riff on the classical story of Theseus; the other of Theo, a contemporary biracial teen seeking his Black father. They are “two boys searching a maze of manhood,” as an introductory poem by “the Oracle” proclaims.
Review of The Queen of Thieves

Apr 17, 2024 | hbook.com | Deirdre Baker |Amanda Toledo |Martha V. Parravano |Michelle Lee

The Queen of Thieves [Moonwind Mysteries]by Johan Rundberg; trans. from Swedish by A. A. PrimeIntermediate, Middle School Amazon Crossing Kids 207 pp. 3/24 9781662509629 $17.99Paper ed. 9781662509612 $9.99In this sequel to The Night Raven (rev. 9/23), young detective Mika has reason to suspect that some of the children at her orphanage have taken to thieving.

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Deirdre Cox Baker

Deirdre Cox Baker @deirdrebaker

6 Oct 23

Want to be happy? One easy way … play with the grandkids! Today’s blog: https://t.co/SrsPpFGjf0 https://t.co/nmDwzm6YFY

Deirdre Cox Baker

Deirdre Cox Baker @deirdrebaker

29 Aug 23

Today’s blog concerns a big sansevieria plant that sits on our porch in the summer. I had to divide it a few weeks ago: https://t.co/SX1VPJ3nYD https://t.co/mUNi767oQc

Deirdre Cox Baker

Deirdre Cox Baker @deirdrebaker

22 Aug 23

Today’s blog is on a first-ever History Walk at the Hebrew Cemetery in Rock Island, Ill. It was very cool! I hope they host another one next year. The blog: https://t.co/nGWOOe0wrx https://t.co/IYqzSaSPTz