A handful of kid lit links

A few links to round out the week.

A CSMonitor review of Chains, by Laure Halse Anderson.

Here is the description of the book from Simon and Schuster's web site:
If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl?

As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifher sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom.

From acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson comes this compelling, impeccably researched novel that shows the lengths we can go to cast off our chains, both physical and spiritual.

Check out Brothers & Sisters, a collection of poems about family, by Eloise Greenfield.

The bloggers at The Brown Bookself are again doing 28 days featuring authors/illustrators of African-American kids lit. I have already seen authors I haven't heard of before. I think my kids will be getting some new titles soon.

Also, at the top of the blog (may be lower by the time some readers click through) there's an interesting note about whether an author is actually African American.