The Horn Book Magazine

The Horn Book Magazine, established in Boston in 1924, holds the title of the oldest bimonthly publication focused on reviewing children's literature. It originated as a "suggestive purchase list" created by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, who were the owners of the first bookstore in the U.S. specifically for children, known as The Bookshop for Boys and Girls. This bookstore opened in 1916 under the auspices of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union and operated until 1936. Despite the closure of the Bookshop, Horn Book has continued its commitment to "blow the horn for fine books for boys and girls," a vision articulated by Mahony in her inaugural editorial.

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The Horn Book | Real Talk

1 week ago | hbook.com | Shoshana Flax |Grant Snider |Neal Shusterman |Philip Reeve

From the May/June 2025 special issue of The Horn Book Magazine: Perception and Reality. Single copies of this special issue are available for $15.00 including postage and may be ordered from:Horn Book Magazine Customer [email protected] subscription information is here.
Review of Plight of the Pelican: How Science Saved a Species

1 week ago | hbook.com | Betty Carter |Eric Carpenter |Monique Harris |Kirsten Caldwell

Plight of the Pelican: How Science Saved a Species [Books for a Better Earth]by Jessica Stremer; illus. by Gordy WrightPrimary Holiday 40 pp. 4/25 9780823457038 $19.99e-book ed. 9780823462094 $11.99The partnership between Stremer’s expressive and suspenseful text and Wright’s evocative hand-painted gouache, ink, and acrylic illustrations (see Great Carrier Reef, rev.
Preview July/August 2025 Horn Book Magazine

3 weeks ago | hbook.com | Shaun Hutchinson |Frances Hardinge

Special Issue: ALA Awards. Original cover art by 2025 Caldecott Medal winner Rebecca Lee Kunz. Carole Boston Weatherford’s Children's Literature Legacy Award acceptance speech. A profile of Carole Boston Weatherford by educator Dawnavyn James. Erin Entrada Kelly’s Newbery Medal acceptance speech. A profile of Erin Entrada Kelly by author Sharon Huss Roat. Rebecca Lee Kunz’s Caldecott Medal acceptance speech. A profile of Rebecca Lee Kunz by poet Kyce Bello.
Jeanne Birdsall Talks with Roger

3 weeks ago | hbook.com | Roger Sutton

Talks with Roger is a sponsored supplement to our free monthly e-newsletter, Notes from the Horn Book. To receive Notes, sign up here. Sponsored byWith The Library of Unruly Treasures, Jeanne Birdsall steps away from her much-loved Penderwicks novels to try something new to her pen but beloved in her reading memory: fantasy, of the decidedly domestic kind. Penderwicks fans will feel right at home.
Reality Reimagined: A Conversation with Reality

3 weeks ago | hbook.com | Shaun Hutchinson |Frances Hardinge

For as long as I can remember, I’ve made up stories to help me explain the world. That’s not unique to me. People have been creating stories to explain reality for the entirety of human history. Even history itself is basically reality fanfiction that we mostly agree to pretend is definitely one hundred percent real.
Review of And She Was Loved: Toni Morrison’s Life in Stories

3 weeks ago | hbook.com | Monique Harris |Kirsten Caldwell |Danielle Ford |Pauletta Brown Bracy

And She Was Loved: Toni Morrison’s Life in Stories by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illus. by Daniel MinterPrimary, Intermediate Little, Brown 48 pp. 1/25 9780316182362 $18.99Toni Morrison (1931–2019), a gifted student, was the only Black girl in her Lorain, Ohio, first-grade class. She grew up to be a trailblazing book editor and a Pulitzer– and Nobel Prize–winning author who stands as a giant in the pantheon of literary greats, all while navigating the world as a Black woman.
Review of All the Blues in the Sky

3 weeks ago | hbook.com | Eboni Njoku |Patrick Gall |Martha V. Parravano |Michelle Lee

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée WatsonMiddle School Bloomsbury 208 pp. 2/25 9781547605897 $17.99e-book ed. 9781547605903 $12.59“I didn’t know / best friends could die.” From the very first line, Watson takes a deep dive into the intricacies of grief and healing. On her thirteenth birthday, Sage is looking forward to spending the day with her best friend; instead, she receives news that her friend has been killed by a drunk driver.
While the Climes They Are A-Changin'

4 weeks ago | hbook.com | Shoshana Flax |Hannah Peterson

Find more great Horn Book content at these links: Interviews with authors and illustrators Recommended books: reviews and themed booklists App and e-book reviews Movie reviews Event news and recaps Events calendar To the tune of “The Times They Are A-Changin’” by Bob Dylan To the tune of “The Times They Are A-Changin’” by Bob DylanCome gather ‘round, people. Come speak and engageon the street, on the screen,on the passed-around page.
Review of Mighty: The Story of an Oak Tree Ecosystem

1 month ago | hbook.com | Monique Harris |Danielle Ford |Pauletta Brown Bracy |Sylvia Vardell

Mighty: The Story of an Oak Tree Ecosystem by Henry Cole; illus. by the authorPrimary Peachtree 48 pp. 2/25 9781682637333 $18.99e-book ed. 9781682637708 $11.99The life of an oak tree is beautifully depicted in this engaging informational picture book.
We believe you, SJP!

1 month ago | hbook.com | Elissa Gershowitz |Hannah Peterson

Find more great Horn Book content at these links: Interviews with authors and illustrators Recommended books: reviews and themed booklists App and e-book reviews Movie reviews Event news and recaps Events calendar As people are questioning whether Sarah Jessica Parker is really reading two books a day as a Booker Prize judge, I am reminded to say: THANK YOU Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards Committee! We all know reading is not a competition.