books

In 1956, he launched the superhero revival, which continues to this day. He ran for 30 years as the Fastest Man Alive, in his own title, in the Justice League, as a guest star and on TV. He's been gone for 23 years, after having died heroically in a cosmic crisis and replaced by his own protege.
And now he's back.

Choosing good books for babies and toddlers isn't an easy task.
Books must be age-appropriate, which generally means bold colors and simple or no text for the youngest readers. Books also must be sturdy so that tiny hands and teeth can't destroy them; board books are a particularly good choice for babies for this reason.

As "Star Trek" soars effortlessly at or near the top of the box office, it's obvious that director J.J. Abrams has figured out how to stretch the franchise's appeal beyond the hard-core fans known as Trekkies -- or, as I call 'em, "my peeps."
How'd he do that? By being very, very smart.

Laurie Halse Anderson obviously doesn't shy away from writing about painful subjects in her books for teens. Over the past decade, she's written novels about the effects of rape, bullying, epidemics and abuse.

Marvel's "Dark Tower: Treachery" has topped The New York Times graphic-novel best-seller list for two weeks, and there's a reason for that: It's really, really good.

Chris Ryall and Scott Tipton make geeky seem cool. They've done so since their Movie Poop Shoot days earlier this decade and continue to do so as comic-book writers and on their spin-off site, Comics101.

Many parents dream of one day publishing the bedtime stories they create for their children, but Rick Riordan has actually done that -- in a big way.

Bill Gates Sr., a retired attorney and father of Microsoft's co-founder, remembers life before he began working on how to give away billions. He grew up during the Depression with a fear of being poor. Gates has just published a memoir of the values and experiences that have shaped his 83 years, "Showing up for Life," which he discusses in this recent interview. Excerpts:

"Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" He's having a heckuva birthday party, that's what.

Celebrate Mother's Day with some of these great new children's books: