Steam-powered machines, anachronistic technology, clockwork automatons, gas-filled airships, tentacled monsters, fob watches, and top hats--these are all elements of steampunk. Steampunk is both speculative fiction that imagines technology evolved from steam-powered cogs and gears--instead of from electricity and computers--and a movement that…

America is facing what many have called the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, with one in ten Americans unemployed. It's no surprise, then, that the 2010 book-buying survey of public libraries is on the dark side. Representing some 100 institutions nationwide distributed equitably by size, type, and location, "LJ"'s annual survey…

Recently, many new and veteran authors have begun creating modern vampires that are seducing readers with their tales of mystery, suspense, and hunger. Their audiences span most age groups, but teens especially seem to be drawn to these books. As such, librarians must develop a better understanding of which vampire stories really stand out. In…

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced its 2010 annual lists of Fabulous Films for Young Adults and Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults ages 12 to 18. This article presents the list of titles that were released in January 2010 during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston,…

Have you ever considered writing or reviewing for the library community? Are you interested in publishing a book on your favorite author or hobby? Do you need to write and publish for tenure? If so, "Writing and Publishing" is for you. Practical how-to guidance covering fiction, poetry, children's books/magazines, self-publishing, literary agents,…

Reviews series mysteries for children and adolescents in two categories: mysteries for girls ("Nancy Drew,""Doris Fein") and mysteries for boys ("Hardy Boys,""Race against Time"). Characters and plots, appeal of the series, and series books and adolescents are discussed. Eight sources are given. (EJS)

Street lit is controversial stuff. Even though street lit is a huge hit with today's teens, one will not find the semiautobiographical novels of Vickie Stringer and Nikki Turner, the grandes dames of urban fiction, on many (if any) high school reading lists or, for that matter, on some public libraries' shelves. That's because street lit (aka…

After a brief description of some historical and cultural interchanges between Ireland and Austria, the paper examines Irish fiction that has been translated into German and Irish plays that have been performed in Vienna over the past 25 years. The paper also describes German translations of Irish children's fiction, including classics like…

This annotated bibliography, listing fiction titles for young adults on the subject of religion and the religious experience, will be useful to teachers, librarians, and others working with young adults. There are few existing guides to the literature in this subject area. This study explores fiction published from 1986 through 1990. The only…

Trends in foreign children's books observed at International Bologna Book Fair (1984/85) indicate that publishers in Europe (The Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, England, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia) and Japan sell most children's books to general public and respond more directly to readers' interests…

This column suggests pairings of fiction and nonfiction books to meet curricular needs and help students to compare/contrast the texts as they may be asked on state tests. The author of this paper focuses on activities surrounding Halloween. Since many schools are discouraged from teaching about Halloween, this can be a great time to investigate…

This publication reviews the books from the major national children's book awards and lists. The following awards are covered: John Newberry Awards, Randolph Caldecott Awards, Coretta Scott King Awards, Mildred L. Batchelder Awards, Pura Belpre, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. The lists are…

Lists sequels or books in series published from 1973 to mid-1985 and intended for grades 4-12. Titles are grouped by author in six categories (fantasy and science fiction, historical fiction, autobiographical fiction, modern realistic fiction, mystery, sports); sequels are listed in preferred order of reading; series alphabetically by title. (EJS)

The "Exploring the United States through Literature Series" comprises seven annotated regional resource guides to selected print and nonprint materials for grades K-8. Each regional resource is divided into state sections identifying materials that relate to the history, culture, geography, resources, industries, literature and lore, and…

Selected children's and young adult books with multicultural themes and topics which were published in the United States and Canada between 1980 and 1990 are represented in this annotated bibliography. The term multicultural is used to refer to people of color, including African-Americans, American Indians, Asian-Americans, and Hispanic-Americans.…