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Jul 10, 2024 | 
theindianedit.com | Rajani LaRocca |Nitasha Manchanda
Many of us were introduced to the wonder of picture books only once we began reading them to our kids. My latest guest Srividhya Venkat fell in love with children’s books and never looked back (at her former career in accounting)! Srividhya began a second act in early childhood education, and then a third in children’s literature.
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May 16, 2024 | 
wypr.org | Tom Hall |Ashley Woodfolk |Rajani LaRocca
Last year, the American Library Association reported a 20% increase from the previous year in efforts to ban books in the US in both school and public libraries. As WYPR education reporter Bri Hatch reported, 148 titles were challenged in Maryland last year, which made our state one of more than a dozen states to exceed one hundred banned books.
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Apr 30, 2024 | 
kirkusreviews.com | Rajani LaRocca |Kat Fajardo |Nicole Miles |Suzy Kline
LaRocca picks up the baton for this latest in the series, each of which is written by a different middle-grade author and follows a different student in Mrs. Z’s third grade class. Mrs. Z announces that Curiosity Academy has a new garden. To help raise money for it, Rohan decides to start a pet-care business—an odd choice, as his younger sister, Kavya, points out, given that he dislikes animals. Ever since he was bitten by his music teacher’s cat, he worries that all pets bite.
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Apr 15, 2024 | 
kirkusreviews.com | Mark Cheverton |Annie Matthew |Kobe Bryant |Rajani LaRocca
An exciting adventure with realistic characterization that will engage readers. In Cheverton’s second middle-grade fantasy novel in the Order of the Stones series, Camp Pontchartrain’s attendees battle a powerful demon and his monstrous army. After 12-year-old Cameron Poole arrives at Camp Pontchartrain in Louisiana, his anxiety kicks in.
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Apr 1, 2024 | 
newyorkfamily.com | Kaitlyn Riggio |David Harrison |Rajani LaRocca |Amanda Gorman
Posted on National Poetry Month Celebrations: Events in NYC and Book Recommendations April is National Poetry Month! Millions of people around the world celebrate every year, and no reader is too young to get in on the celebrations. We’ve rounded up some of the best events across New York City, many of which are hosted by New York Public Library branches, to celebrate National Poetry Month as a family.
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Mar 8, 2024 | 
harperstacks.com | Melissa Iwai |Erin Kelly |Rajani LaRocca |Ritu Hemnani
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and it's the perfect opportunity to highlight the stories told by and about Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander Americans. Below are just a small selection of the many recent and upcoming titles to help you build your collection and Shake Up Your Shelves. Bonus - scroll down to the bottom for a link to our downloadable AAPI poster and educators' guide! Written by Joanna Ho and Liz KleinrockIllustrated by Dung Ho
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Sep 18, 2023 | 
washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Rajani LaRocca |Neha Rawat
Masala Chai, Fast and Slow by Rajani LaRocca (author) and Neha Rawat (illustrator) (Candlewick). “Aarav loved his thatha very much, although they were as different as water and molasses. Thatha shuffled. He sauntered. He strolled. Aarav ran. He rushed. He raced.” When Thatha falls and sprains his ankle, Aarav decides he’ll take over his grandfather’s tea-making duties! He races and rips through the recipe, but the supposed-to-be-warm-and-delicious drink turns out all wrong.
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Aug 9, 2023 | 
sonderbooks.com | Rajani LaRocca
Home Stand-outs Blog Knitting Info Mirror to Mirror by Rajani LaRocca read by Rasha Zamamiri and Reena Dutt Review posted August 9, 2023. Quill Tree Books, 2023. 4 hours, 1 minute. Review written July 9, 2023, from a library eaudiobook. Mirror to Mirror is a novel in verse about twins Maya and Chaya, during a year when they grow apart. Maya and Chaya do everything together. They are there for each other all the time.
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Aug 5, 2023 | 
newspub.live | Rajani LaRocca
Illustrations © 2023 Abhi AlwarFor Ravi, summer means beach days, long hikes, paddle boarding and ice cream. It means going to a big house by the water with his mom, dad, two uncles, two aunties, Thatha and Pati, and six cousins. Ravi loves summer vacation with his family. But this year, he’s also a little worried: His older cousin Dhruv is the only other boy. And this year, Dhruv is taller, his voice is deeper, and what if he’s forgotten about all the things he and Ravi used to share?
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May 25, 2023 | 
publishersweekly.com | Rajani LaRocca |Chris Baron |Leslie Bulion |K L Going
The Secret of the Dragon GemsOn the last night of summer camp, 11-year-olds Tripti Kapoor and Sam Cohen discover a pair of rocks near the creek, which they name Opal and Jasper in homage to their favorite book series, The Dragon Gems. They keep them as souvenirs to remember each other by before returning to their respective homes in Massachusetts and California.
