Meghan Cox Gurdon

A graphic designer and magazine art director, Lionni discovered his talent as a storyteller for children almost by accident.

S.E. Hinton’s 1967 debut novel “The Outsiders” is often credited with (or blamed for) originating the entire genre of young adult literature, known as YA. The book, about rival gangs of Oklahoma teenagers, was slow to catch on initially but has since sold 15 million copies and been translated into 30 languages. For all the ways the world has changed in the last half-century, Hinton’s coming-of-age story never seems to lose its power; high-school teachers still assign it and readers still devour it. The book was adapted for a 1983 film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and a 1990 TV series. Now a stage musical of “The Outsiders” is set to open on Broadway on April 11.

The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us by Rachelle Bergstein has an overall rating of Positive based on 5 book reviews.

Making books was once both laborious and noisome, involving hot animal glue and boiling cauldrons. Still, the books could be beautiful.

Access to paper and the ability to scribble on it helped usher in the modern world.

Plus reviews of ‘Thank You,’ ‘The Shape of Things’ and ‘It Happened in Salem.’

Traveling the world through works of fiction, from ‘Don Quixote’ and ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ to ‘The Lincoln Highway.’

At 8:15 a.m.—as survivors still remember—came a flash of light, followed by a shock wave that blew people and buildings apart.

Parents could see their phone-obsessed children changing and succumbing to distress. Now we know the true horror of what happened.

A mythic battle in the ancient world, a child’s life in the Welsh countryside, the tale of a shy girl and her canine friend, and more stories to delight young readers.