About Us

We are dedicated to providing an alternate source of reviews for the librarians of Massachusetts (and the world).  The group started as part of Youth Services provided by NMRLS by librarian Michael Williams around 2007. Sharon Colvin, who was then at the Chelmsford Library, took it over for a few years.  Katrina Yurenka has been managing it for the past 7+years, adding hundreds of publishers from around the world.  As of August 2021 Stephanie Tournas from the Robbins library in Arlington and Susan Harari at Boston Latin School are taking on most of the work.

As we face financially tough times we have seen the consolidation of the different library systems of Massachusetts. This group was taken up on a voluntary basis to continue to provide the librarians of Massachusetts, a place to review and access peer reviews of children’s and teen titles.

Many thanks go out to the publishers who so thoughtfully provide us with review copies. As we continue to grow and expand from the Northeast of Massachusetts to the whole state we hope to see more and more people participate in this group.

Each delivery from publishers sees an update to our catalog of books available for review. If you know of anyone who may be interested in participating please forward this website address. We also have reviews from library users and students and hope to expand who can participate as time goes on.

About the Editors:

Stephanie Tournas is a children’s librarian at the Robbins Library in Arlington, MA.

Susan Harari is a librarian at Boston Latin School (Boston’s largest public school), serving grades 7-12. She previously worked as a K-5 librarian at Loring School in Sudbury, MA.

Katrina Yurenka has been a librarian for more than 20 years with library experience in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Seattle, Washington.  She managed Youth Services Book Review beginning in 2014 for the following seven years.

Participating list of publishers*

• Harry N. Abrams
• Action Labs
• Adams Media/Merit Press
• Aftershock Comics
• Akashic Books/ Black Sheep
• Aladdin
• Alaska Northwest Books
• Albatros Media
• Albert Whitman
• Algonquin Young Readers
• AMMO Books
• Andrews McMeel
• Annick Press
• Archipelago Books
• Astra Young Readers
• Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Atlas Publishing
• Auzou Books
• Balzer + Bray
• Barefoot Books
• Beach Lane Books
• Beaming Books
• Berbay Publishing
• Beyond Words
• Big Picture Press
• Bloomsbury and Walker Publishers
• Blue Dot Kids Press
• Blue Manatee Press
• Blue Sky Press
• Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek/Wordsong
• Calliope Group
• Candied Plums
• Candlewick Press
• Carolrhoda
• Cassava Republic
• Charlesbridge
• Chicken House
• Child’s Play
• Chronicle Books
• Child’s Play International
• Cicada
• Cinco Puntos Press
• Clockwise Press
• CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Crown Books
• Dawn Publications
• Delacorte Press
• Diamond Book Distributors
• Disney Hyperion
• Doubleday
• Drawn & Quarterly
• Dutton
• Eerdmans
• Eifrig Publishing
• Elsewhere Editions
• Ember
• Encantos
• Enchanted Lion
• Enfant
• Epic Press
• Faber and Faber
• Fabled Films
• Farrar Straus Giroux
• Feiwel and Friends
• Fifth House Publishers
• Firefly Books
• First Second Books
• Fitzhenry and Whiteside
• Flame Tree Press
• Flamingo Books
• Floris Books
• Flowerpot Press
• Flying Eye Books
• Flying Start
• flyaway books
• Fox Chapel/Happy Fox
• Gecko Press
• Golden Books
• Graphix
• Greenwillow Books
• Greystone Kids
• Grosset & Dunlap
• Groundwood Books / House of Anansi
• Hachette Book Group
• Hachette Audiobooks
• HarperCollins
• Haymarket Books
• Heartdrum
• Henry Holt & Co.
• Hippo Park
• Holiday House
• Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt
• Image Comics
• Inhabit Media
• Islamic Foundation
• Jeter Publishing
• Kane Miller
• Karadi Tales
• Kelpies/ Young Kelpies
• Kensington
• Kids Can Press
• Alfred A. Knopf
• Kokila
• Kube Publishing
• Labyrinth Road
• Lantana Publishing
• Laurence King
• Lee & Low/Bebop/Tu
• Lemniscaat
• Lerner/Carolrhoda
• Lion forge
• Little Bee
• Little Brown and Company
• Little Island Books
• Little Tiger Press
• Lonely Planet Kids
• Macmillan
• Magination Press
• Magnetic Press
• Make Me a World
• Manga Classics
• Mascot Books
• Maverick Children’s Books
• Merriam Webster kids
• Merit Press / fw media
• Milky Way Picture Books
• minedition US
• Nancy Paulsen Books
• National Geographic Kids
• Nimbus Publishing
• Nobrow
• No Starch Press
• NorthSouth
• Norton Young Readers
• Nosy Crow
• NubeOcho
• Ohio University Press
• Oni Press
• Orca/Nimbus Book Publishers
• Owlkids
• Pajama Press
• Paula Wiseman Books
• Peachtree
• Penguin
• Penny Candy Books
• Perseus Books
• Phaidon Press
• Philomel
• Pixel Ink
• Plough Publishers
• Priddy Books
• Push
• Pushkin Press
• G.P. Putnam’s Sons
• Quarto Kids
• Quill Tree Books
• Random House
• Razorbill
• Recorded Books
• Red Comet Press
• Red Deer Press
• Red Rocket Readers
• Restless Books
• Roaring Brook Press
• Rodale Kids
• Rosen Publishing
• Running Press
• Salaam Books
• Schiffer Publishing
• Scholastic
• School of Life
• Science, Naturally!
• Schwartz & Wade
• Scribe Publications/Scribble
• St. Martin’s Press
• Second Story Press (Orca)
• Seismic Press
• Sime Books
• Simon & Schuster
• Sleeping Bear Press
• Soaring Kite Books
• Soho Press
• Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky
• Spitball Studio
• Square Fish
• Stafford House Books
• Tanglewood Publishing
• Tapioca Stories
• Templar
• Theytus Books
• 360 Degrees
• Tiger Tales
• Tilbury House
• Tiny Owl
• Toon Books
• Top Shelf Productions
• TOR
• Travels with Gannon & Wyatt
• Tundra
• Two Hoots
• Two Lions
• Two Little Birds
• Union Square Books
• University of Minnesota Press
• Usborne Publishing
• Vagrant Press
• Versify
• Viking Press
• Walker Books for Young Readers
• wattpad books
• Wendy Lamb
• West Margin Press
• What On Earth Publishing
• Wicked Cow Studios
• Yali Books
• Yearling Books
• Yeehoo Press
• Zest Books
• *This is not a complete list and needs to be updated from time to time