2book multi

Business & Finance

Connecting the dots of education

Feature by Angela Leeper

Education doesn’t happen in a bubble. These five new books highlight important connections between education and history, business, entrepreneurship, safety and democracy.

In The Lost Education of Horace Tate, Emory University professor Vanessa Siddle Walker shows how black educators played hidden yet significant roles in the civil rights movement. Walker focuses on Horace Tate, a Georgia educator who fought for equality across the state and throughout the South. This detailed account traces Tate’s path from college student to high school principal to president of the black-affiliated Georgia Teacher and Educator Association (GT&EA).

Along the way, Tate learned to be an effective leader in a system controlled by white people. Refusing to apply for a job at the superintendent’s back door or to accept discarded textbooks from the white school, he was an ardent and vocal champion for justice. But Tate and other black educators realized that stealth could be more effective and less dangerous. For instance, when Southern educators risked losing their jobs by contributing to the NAACP, they funneled funds instead through the GT&EA. As readers discover Tate’s place in history, they’ll also enjoy reading about Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. DuBois and other activists portrayed in rarely seen moments.

EMPOWERING GIRLS
Why do many girls start out naturally brilliant in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), only to have their imagination and talent conditioned out of them by society and education? In VentureGirls: Raising Girls to Be Tomorrow’s Leaders, Cristal Glangchai addresses how to turn this national dilemma into a victory. An engineer, nanoscientist, professor and entrepreneur, Glangchai is also the founder of VentureLab, a nonprofit that helps children, particularly girls, develop STEM and entrepreneurial skills.

After describing challenges and attitudes that create barriers for girls and women, such as the notion that only men are natural leaders and media stereotypes that depict girls as passive princesses, Glangchai explains why entrepreneurial skills are the key to closing the female empowerment gap. She thoughtfully clarifies that entrepreneurship is not simply the notion of starting businesses but rather a combination of character traits, from persistence to empathy and resourcefulness, that can aid in achieving success. With an emphasis on curiosity, play and grit, Glangchai offers advice, pertinent research, stories of accomplishment and activities to inspire the next generation of girls.

THE BUSINESS OF EDUCATION
Drawing on the work of W. Edwards Deming, Andrea Gabor tackles the seemingly unwieldy topic of education reform. Gabor, a business journalist and former editor at U.S. News & World Report, frames the discussion as a business story as she explores how schools, like corporations, are complex social systems and living communities. In After the Education Wars: How Smart Schools Upend the Business of Reform, her goal is to understand what makes long-term education reform work.

Using examples from schools in New York City, Massachusetts and Leander, Texas, the author’s frank narrative describes how these successful reforms began as small grassroots movements that relied on participation and collaboration among teachers, students, and the community. Conversely, she looks at unsuccessful developments, particularly charter-school organizations and a reliance on standardized testing and rote learning, which, she contends, create hostility towards teachers and increase segregation. The key, Gabor concludes, is a radical departure from a one-size-fits-all approach to traditional education and re-establishing a connection between education and democracy.

TAKING A STAND
When a 19-year-old began firing an AR-15 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine’s Day, 2018, David Hogg (class of 2018), his sister, Lauren Hogg (class of 2021), and many classmates first assumed the sounds were part of an active-shooter drill. For students born after Columbine and 9/11, the threat of school shootings and mass murders has become a disturbingly common occurrence. But just a few minutes after the perpetrator’s first gunshots, 17 students and faculty were dead and over a dozen more wounded.

In #NEVERAGAIN: A New Generation Draws the Line, David and Lauren Hogg alternate describing the traumatic events of that day and how collective anger, grief and need for immediate change ignited the student-led movement for gun control reform. Their no-holds-barred account details the hatred from extremists that surfaced after the students went public and the young activists’ commitment to speaking up for themselves when the adults around them would not. This slim but powerful and strategic manifesto is a wake-up call to end gun violence.

SUPREME EDUCATION
Segregation, prayer in schools, strip searches, required education for undocumented immigrants, corporal punishment and transgender bathrooms—these are just some of the pivotal issues in K-12 education that have been brought before the Supreme Court. Justin Driver, a former high school teacher and an award-winning constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago, examines the intersection between two of the country’s most venerable institutions in The Schoolhouse Gate.

Following an overview of the court’s few interactions with public education before World War II, Driver focuses on decisive court cases involving students’ rights since then. As he delves into free expression, school discipline, criminal procedure, religion and the shifting meaning of equal protection, the author looks at the various perspectives of each case and its impact today. Driver’s added personal commentary pushes readers to consider the kind of nation reflected in these cases and the one they want for future generations.

 

This article was originally published in the August 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Education doesn’t happen in a bubble. These five new books highlight important connections between education and history, business, entrepreneurship, safety and democracy.

NonfictionParentingMemoir

Parenting: There is no handbook, but these come close

Feature by Amy Scribner

Let’s be real: Parenting fails happen, and meltdowns and mistakes are par for the course. This set of parenting books offers fresh solutions and insights into what makes your kids tick—and how to handle the most trying of situations.

We’ll start with the good news: Children are supposed to misbehave sometimes! And you’re supposed to let them! In The Good News About Bad Behavior, journalist and mom Katherine Reynolds Lewis dives into neuroscience research and interviews with dozens of families. She concludes that “[w]hen adults crack down on bad behavior they undermine the development of the very traits that children need to become self-disciplined and productive members of society.”

That’s not to say that Lewis advocates letting children run wild in the streets. But she argues that by undermining children’s ability to learn to regulate their own behavior, we are raising a generation of kids in chaos. We are so disengaged (how many times a day do you mindlessly pick up your phone?) and so tightly scheduled that we are forgetting to let children learn to control their own choices and make mistakes. Find ways to engage with your children, set firm limits and routines, and watch your children thrive as their perfectly imperfect selves.

PARENTING IN FEAR
It was an impulsive decision that would haunt her: Kim Brooks ran into a store to pick up one item, leaving her 4-year-old son Felix happily playing in the car. In the few minutes she was gone, a bystander filmed her unaccompanied son and called the police.

Small Animals is Brooks’ recollection of the months that followed when she was unsure what the consequences would be for her and her family. But Small Animals is more than a memoir: It is a call to action for all of us to quit the judgmental parenting Olympics.

Brooks talks to Lenore Skenazy, who rose to infamy in 2008 when she wrote a piece about letting her 9-year-old son take the New York subway by himself. Skenazy founded the “free-range kids” movement and fights against the belief that our kids are in constant danger. A certain amount of freedom is important to growing independent children, Brooks argues, but we are so mired in fear of failing—of kidnapping, of injury, of not raising the next president of the United States—that it’s hard to let go.

EMBRACING THE OFFBEAT
Many parents worry about their child not fitting in and being different from the pack. In Differently Wired, Deborah Reber tries to shift the paradigm of how we think about kids with neurodifferences such as ADHD and autism.

Reber and her husband found themselves at a loss when their son, Asher, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD and disruptive behavioral disorder. He bounced from one elementary school to another because teachers didn’t know how to handle him. Reber finally chose to home-school, but it took several painful years of trial and error to get to that point.

“When we first realize something different is going on with our child, most if not all of us feel overwhelmed with one big question: What now?” Reber writes. “Many of us are relying on word-of-mouth referrals and hours-long Internet searches for things we don’t even have the language for. We’re pioneers without a map, let alone a destination. And this lack of clarity about how to move forward adds an incredibly stressful layer to our already tapped-out lives.”

With empathy and been-there-done-that confidence, Reber outlines 18 concrete and achievable changes (what she calls “tilts”) to transform the way you approach parenting. From letting go of what others think to practicing relentless self-care and identifying your child’s stress triggers, Reber offers rock-solid steps that will shift your family dynamic.

PLAY TIME
The Design of Childhood is a fascinating look at how our surroundings shape our childhoods, both today and in the past. Architecture historian Alexandra Lange traces how changing views on raising children has impacted the way we build schools and playgrounds, the toys we buy and the cities we build.

“Our built environment is making kids less healthy, less independent and less imaginative,” she writes. “What those hungry brains require is freedom.”

Consider the block. The universal, simple children’s toy has been reimagined endless times over the years: Think Legos, Duplo, Minecraft. “To understand what children can do,” Lange writes, “you need to give them tools and experiences that are open-ended, fungible: worlds of their own making.” Lange applies the same logic to other elements of a child’s life: Playgrounds should offer challenges and options. Planned communities should include communal spaces, access to mass transit and short commutes that support family time. This is a fascinating look at the world from a pint-size perspective.

THE RIGHT WORDS
When I picked up Now Say This by Heather Turgeon and Julie Wright, the subtitle seemed a little lofty: “The Right Words to Solve Every Parenting Dilemma.” Really? This book will tell me the right thing to say to a petulant toddler or a tired fifth-grader? As it turns out, though, these women really know their stuff, and they offer priceless tools to work with your child without losing your mind.

Turgeon, a psychotherapist, and Wright, an early childhood expert, base their advice on this simple but effective model: prepare, attune, limit set, problem solve. For example, you need to leave the park, but your toddler is not on board. You prepare (let the child know these are the last few swings), attune (acknowledge the child doesn’t want to go because he’s having so much fun), limit set (explain it’s time to go because dinner is ready) and problem solve (offer to carry him or let him walk). This approach requires patience and practice, but then, isn’t that what parenting is all about?

 

This article was originally published in the August 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Let’s be real: Parenting fails happen, and meltdowns and mistakes are par for the course. This set of parenting books offers fresh solutions and insights into what makes your kids tick—and how to handle the most trying of situations.

Graphic Novels & ComicsGraphic Memoirs

Draw me a story

Feature by Linda M. Castellitto

We reach for graphic novels and memoirs because we treasure the experience of art plus story, of exploring a world of finely crafted illustrations that convey multitudes. Each of these four new comic books is a treat for the eye and balm for the brain, thanks to a heady mix of perspectives and representations of life in all its scary, funny, illuminating, weird, joyful glory.

Fans of Nicole J. Georges’ Lambda Award-winning graphic memoir, Calling Dr. Laura, will be thrilled she’s returned to form with Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home. The book opens with a pooch’s 15th birthday party, where the dog lunges at two children. Initially, it seems “bad dog” is an accurate moniker, but as Georges winds back through time, it’s clear there’s more to the story.

Teenage Georges adopted Beija as a gift for her then-boyfriend. When he left, the dog stayed, and Beija remains the author’s companion into adulthood. Their relationship is not without its (many) challenges: Beija is fearful and reactionary, and she gets in fights at the dog park. But then again, Georges chooses homes filled with noisy strangers and lets Beija off-leash at said park. Via flashbacks, Georges introduces her loving but neglectful mother and macho stepfather, and as loneliness and anger become the author’s constant cohorts, the impetus for dubious choices becomes clearer. Happily, as a young adult, Georges finds her queer feminist vegan identity, learns to practice self-expression through art and thus becomes a better pack leader for Beija.

Fetch does have the occasional crowded page and inelegant transition, which can make for a bumpy read. But overall, the art is wonderful, and the story is engaging and heartwarming. It’s a moving chronicle of triumph over difficult beginnings and the struggle to find people, a place and pets that feel like home.

From Fetch. © Nicole J. Georges. Reproduced by permission of HMH.

SURREALISM IN THE SKY
Julian Hanshaw’s Cloud Hotel is a beautifully rendered and engrossingly weird work of autobiographical fiction inspired by the UFO that Hanshaw and his family encountered when he was a boy in Hertfordshire, England. Hanshaw’s titular hotel, a colossal, light-beaming rectangle with lots of rooms inside, is a place for kids who have gone missing in the woods.

Remco is one of the lucky ones: Upon his return from his first journey to the sky, his beloved grandfather finds him in the woods. As pages turn and the hotel shifts and changes, Remco discovers he’s the only child who can move between the hotel and his regular life. Readers will wonder whether that’s a good thing as Hanshaw masterfully builds suspense and foreboding, prompting questions like: Where and when is the hotel? Who are the children? Is any of this real?

Curious readers who like a trippy, absorbing story with touching family moments and a wondrous depiction of another reality will enjoy Cloud Hotel. And fans of Hanshaw’s previous work—like Tim Ginger, which was short-listed for the British Comics Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize—will be ready to check right in.

DARK OBSESSION
History and mystery, horror and grief, ghosts and memories all collide in Idle Days, a darkly dramatic, occasionally explosive tale written by Thomas Desaulniers-Brousseau and illustrated by Simon Leclerc.

In Canada during World War II, Jerome is a military deserter hiding at his grandfather Maurice’s remote forest cabin. Jerome is angry about the war, restless in his isolation—and soon he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to the people who lived in the cabin before his grandfather. Rumors of murder and suicide capture his attention as battlefield bloodshed haunts his dreams. He’s also mourning the recent death of his father and striving to elude capture, but “Wanted” posters and radio broadcasts ensure the war cannot be ignored.

Leclerc’s liberal use of black, red and orange evokes fiery warmth, while his skillfully drawn, violent tableaux convey the horror and fear in Jerome’s memory and imagination. Idle Days’ title plays on the aphorism, “Idle hands are the devil’s playthings,” and to be sure, such days build to Jerome’s reckoning with the past, acceptance of the present and a hint of what might lie in the future. It’s an absorbing amalgam of imagery and story that’s far from wordy, as illustration-only pages leave many aspects of the story open to readers’ imaginations. It’s scary stuff.

MOVING MADCAPPERY
About Betty’s Boob by Vero Cazot and Julie Rocheleau is a nearly wordless sequential narrative, but Betty’s voice surges off the page. When we first meet Betty, she howls with post-op fear and rage as she demands to be given back her just-removed left breast. She attempts to return to life as usual, gift-boxed synthetic breast in hand, but is frustrated at every turn—by a boss who insists all employees have two breasts (it’s in the contract!), a boyfriend who rejects her and a woman who tries to bite the apple that serves as a poignant yet functional prosthetic. This surreal story has cleverness and wit sprinkled throughout, like the store that sells “luxury breasts since 1973,” some of which cost “8008” euros. Ultimately, Betty strikes out on her own, and through a sequence of delightfully wild events featuring dancing, costumes, wigs and a dazzling array of pasties, she finds acceptance and a new identity within a boisterous burlesque troupe.

The artwork is vibrant and kinetic, and its depiction of goings-on both fantastical and reality-bound is detailed and eminently appealing. About Betty’s Boob is an inspiring, entertaining story of pain and grief transformed into joyful self-acceptance—societal expectations be damned.

 

This article was originally published in the August 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

We reach for graphic novels and memoirs because we treasure the experience of art plus story, of exploring a world of finely crafted illustrations that convey multitudes. Each of these four new comic books is a treat for the eye and balm for the brain, thanks to a heady mix of perspectives and representations of life in all its scary, funny, illuminating, weird, joyful glory.

Children's & YAPicture Book

Ready, set, it’s time for school

Feature by Julie Hale

The end of summer signals the start of something big: a new school year! To get little readers ready for what lies ahead, try one of these five picture books that capture the infectious energy of the back-to-school season and offer loads of encouragement, inspiration and fun.

Coaxing anxious students into the classroom proves to be a challenge in Mae’s First Day of School by Kate Berube. Mae is less than excited about the start of school. She crawls under the bed and tells her parents, “I’M. NOT. GOING.” When Mae finally leaves the house and arrives at school, she hides in the branches of a tree outside. But she isn’t alone: Rosie, another anxious pupil, soon perches beside her, and the pair commiserates over a cookie. “What if no one will play with me?” Rosie says. “Or what if I have to read—I don’t know how!” A surprise visitor to the girls’ hideout helps them realize that together they can brave the day.

Berube’s endearing illustrations of the two fretful students and their most feared classroom scenarios strike a chord. This charming book is the perfect remedy for first-day fears.

FIND YOUR NICHE
Bug School is “abuzz with hundreds of shiny, scurrying shapes,” but nobody—not even Miss Orb, the spider teacher—takes note of new student Heidi. A stick insect with a narrow physique, Heidi blends right in with the scenery. Author Aura Parker tells the story of this adorable, overlooked insect in her ingeniously illustrated Twig. When a student named Scarlett mistakes Heidi for a stick and tries to use her in a craft project, Heidi finally speaks up and becomes the center of attention as Miss Orb and the other bugs work to make her feel welcome. Because she’s tall and thin, Heidi—no longer shy—can help with all kinds of activities, and her school year gets off to a promising start. Teeming with bustling bug activity, this sweet story provides plenty of back-to-class inspiration.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS
If your kids are heading to class for the first time this year, Priscilla Burris’ Hello School! is the perfect read to prep them for the big day. From meeting their new teacher to finding the right cubbyhole and painting in art class, the kids in this appealing book gradually become accustomed to life in the classroom. Important lessons like learning how to listen and share (especially at snack time!) reinforce this gentle story of what it’s like to be a new student. With friends to meet, letters of the alphabet to learn and songs to sing, the first day turns out to be “the best day ever!” Burris’ expressive illustrations capture a sense of wonder as the youngsters make discoveries about their new environment. This light-hearted look at the classroom routine can help readers establish expectations for the year ahead.

FEELING AT EASE
Alexandra Penfold celebrates diversity in the uplifting All Are Welcome. In this bright, inviting book, the school semester kicks off right, with an atmosphere of warmth and hospitality in which a diverse set of pupils from many different cultural backgrounds feel at ease: “In our classroom safe and sound. Fears are lost and hope is found. Raise your hand, we’ll go around. All are welcome here.” Using rhymed stanzas throughout, Penfold details the students’ day, from music class, where they play a variety of instruments, to lunch and more.

This is an inspiring tale that showcases a group of youngsters—each with individual talents and traits, as made clear by Suzanne Kaufman’s irresistible illustrations—who are united by their differences. It’s a simple story that offers a big back-to-school boost.

A GALAXY FAR AWAY
Set on the planet of Boborp, Best Frints at Skrool features the pair of extraterrestrial pals from author and illustrator Antoinette Portis’ Best Frints in the Whole Universe. This time, Omek and Yelfred are ready to tackle the school year together—until a newcomer arrives.

The best friends blast into a classroom filled with colorful aliens, but during recess, Yelfred finds a new friend named Q-B, and Omek feels left out in the cold. The trio squabbles and gets into trouble at lunchtime, but they soon discover that three friends can have more fun together than two. Portis’ playful space creatures and creative vocabulary—“skrool” for school; “skreecher” for teacher—add to the book’s out-of-this-world attraction. There’s no better way to usher in a new school year than this laugh-out-loud tale of life in an intergalactic classroom.

 

This article was originally published in the August 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The end of summer signals the start of something big: a new school year! To get little readers ready for what lies ahead, try one of these five picture books that capture the infectious energy of the back-to-school season and offer loads of encouragement, inspiration and fun.

Fiction

Seekers of the spirit

Feature by Lonna Upton

Four works of inspirational fiction propel readers into the stories of four remarkable women. Each heroine is a pioneer of sorts, finding her divine purpose while also claiming ownership over her own life.

Melanie Dobson weaves a mysterious time-slip tale in Hidden Among the Stars, entwining the evil of the 1938 Nazi invasion of Austria with the quiet life of a modern-day bookseller.

Max Dornbach, a wealthy Austrian who refuses to accept the Nazi assertion that Jews are not human, helps his Jewish friends by hiding their valuable possessions on his family’s estate. He trusts only one person to help—the caretaker’s daughter, Annika, whose unrequited love for Max has blossomed since her childhood. When Max brings Luzia, the Jewish woman he loves, to hide on the estate, Annika’s devotion to her friend is tested. Her faith guides her to make decisions that will have repercussions 80 years later.

Four decades later in America, Callie Randall, blogger and bookstore owner, finds her world disrupted when a mysterious copy of Bambi, filled with handwritten lists, appears in the store. When Callie finds a connection between the copy of Bambi and an old friend’s past, curiosity leads her into research, genealogies and treasure hunting in Austria. While unraveling history, Callie reaches a deep understanding of how God’s love can conquer evil through the sacrifices that individuals make for each other.

HEALING WATERS
Bestselling author Cindy Woodsmall teams up with her daughter-in-law, Erin Woodsmall, for As the Tide Comes In, a story of characters moving from loss to hope while struggling with why bad things happen to good people.

Tara Abbott’s childhood was spent in foster care, but she now handles the responsibility of caring for her two half-brothers with grace and grit. After a devastating storm rips through their North Carolina cabin, leaving Tara with a traumatic brain injury, a trip to the Georgia coast seems to be an ideal respite. In the midst of tragic circumstances, the Glynn Girls, a group of older women with all the charm of biscuit-making, casserole-cooking Southern moms, provide comic relief. Along with a handsome fireman, these women offer Tara a chance to see the truth of her past and her future. Although Tara’s injury causes her to move back and forth between being a confused damsel in distress and an independent woman with flashes of stubbornness as salty as the sea, she finds her faith renewed in this story brimming with the kindness and prayers of strangers.

From rappelling in the mountains to watching the tides ebb and flow on sandy beaches, Tara covers miles while undergoing heartache and healing in this tender novel.

WESTERN REDEMPTION
In Everything She Didn’t Say, bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick expertly captures the indomitable spirit of a woman who is just as comfortable reveling in her pioneering adventures as she is maintaining the composure of a Victorian lady. Based on Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage, a memoir written by Carrie Adell Strahorn in 1911, Everything She Didn’t Say is a fictionalized look at how Carrie might have dealt with the realities of 25 years spent trailblazing and traveling with her husband, investor and railroad promoter Robert Strahorn.

Carrie’s struggles as a married woman in the untamed West are not tied to a time and place. Her desire for a permanent home and her longing for children are lifelong needs that go unmet. The lack of respect she receives from men along the way, including her husband on occasion, is a persistent hurdle. Carrie realizes that being a good wife to a husband who often slants the truth should not prevent her from being true to her own values. Although her boldness and bravery may not be what society considered befitting of a turn-of-the-century lady, Carrie’s faith keeps her grounded while she seeks fulfillment in a life that does not follow the path she had imagined.

WORTH FIGHTING FOR
England’s preparation for World War I provides an intriguing backdrop for mystery and romance in An Hour Unspent. Although the novel concludes Roseanna M. White’s Shadows Over England series, the story is a page-turner in its own right. White deftly synchronizes the lives of the hero, Barclay Pearce, and the heroine, Evelina Manning.

Barclay, previously a top-notch thief in London, is now a skilled assistant to a high-ranking official in the Royal Navy. He is also learning about the power of prayer. Evelina, an independent suffragette, is shocked when her wealthy British fiancé ends their engagement, but her new circumstances allow her time to contemplate her future.

With perfect timing, Barclay becomes a friend to Evelina after he saves her from a possible mugging and begins working with her father, a clockmaker who has developed a device that could prove to be a military advantage for England. Unfortunately, Germany knows the clockmaker’s secret and will stop at nothing to obtain both the plans and their creator.

Evelina finds herself falling for Barclay, a man outside her social class, but she also finds herself in a role that’s far tougher than suffragette. In an attempt to rescue her father from behind enemy lines, she goes undercover with Barclay—but they both realize that they will need the help of the Divine Clockmaker.

 

This article was originally published in the September 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Four works of inspirational fiction propel readers into the stories of four remarkable women. Each heroine is a pioneer of sorts, finding her divine purpose while also claiming ownership over her own life.

Children's & YAPicture BookMiddle Grade

Tips for teachers: At home in a new world

Feature by Emmie Stuart

“For most immigrants, moving to the new country is an act of faith. Even if you've heard stories of safety, opportunity, and prosperity, it's still a leap to remove yourself from your own language, people, and country. Your own history. What if the stories weren't true? What if you couldn't adapt? What if you weren't wanted in the new country?”—Nicola Yoon

Amidst the recent news headlines surrounding immigration and border laws, it’s easy to forget that many of these immigrants are children. As migrant children adjust to a new home, a new language and a new set of customs, they need books that authentically reflect and affirm their experiences and feelings. Equally important is the need for children born in the United States to gain small insights into life as an immigrant. These five stories of struggle and triumph, loneliness and connection, and isolation and belonging will spark classroom conversation, affirm migrant children’s feelings, and build empathy for those who are making a home in a new world.

Mustafa by Marie-Louise Gay

“Mustafa and his family traveled a very, very long way to get to their new county.” He dreams of his old country “full of smoke and fire and loud noises” and wakes up to find himself in a new country but, as him mom reminds him, “under the very same moon.” Mustafa ventures down into a neighborhood park and takes great joy in the green trees, bugs that remind him of jewels, and flowers that look like his grandmother’s teacups. He crosses paths with a girl and her cat but is intimidated when he can’t understand her words. As the weeks pass, Mustafa continues to visit the park taking delight in the changing seasons. One day he waves to a group of playing children, but they don’t notice prompting him to ask his mother, “am I invisible?” At last, the young girl with the cat succeeds in communicating with Mustafa and a new friendship is born. A gentle and honest story, Mustafa is accessible for children of all ages and a valuable read aloud for all classrooms.

• Creative Writing—Invite students to examine the title and dedication pages. They show Mustafa’s family with their belongings on their heads and backs as they board a ship that carries them to their new country. Ask to children to imagine moving to a new country and only being able to take a few possessions. After a brief class discussion let them journal about the items they would bring if they had to flee to a new country.

• Nature Walk—Mustafa loves to explore the park next to this apartment building. He takes great delight in things Americans take for granted—green grass and red birds hiding in trees. With their journals in hand, take your students outside for a nature walk and encourage them to look anew at the world around them. After 5-10 minutes of walking, stop and let children draw or write about the things they noticed “with their new eyes”. Mustafa sees flowers shaped like his grandmother’s pink teacups and others that look like dragon tongues. Encourage children to create metaphors for the things they find on the nature walk.

Saffron Ice Cream by Rashin Kheiriyeh

Rashin can’t wait for her first trip to an American beach. As she and her family make the trip from Brooklyn to Coney Island, Rashin reminisces about her trips to the Caspian Sea beach in Iran. Through her memories, readers will the understand that the differences between the two beaches are significant. In Iran, after a breakfast of halim, the family drives five hours to the beach where “big, long curtains divided the sea into two sections—one side for men to swim in and the other side for women.” On the subway headed to Coney Island, Rahsin misses her friend Azadeh and wonders if the sea in America will be as endless, blue, and beautiful as it is in Iran. When they arrive, Rashin’s homesickness reaches its peak and when she discovers the ice cream truck doesn’t carry saffron flavored ice cream, she begins to cry. A young girl behind her in line encourages Rashin to try chocolate crunch ice cream. The two girls become fast friends and Rashin has no problem following the Coney Island beach rule: To have fun, fun, fun. By focusing on a single experience, Saffron Ice Cream shows how very different daily experiences can be in a new country. The colorful illustrations and lighthearted prose make for an upbeat and relatable immigrant story.

• Venn Diagram—Saffron Ice Cream begs for a venn diagram. As a class, create a venn diagram comparing the Coney Island and Caspian Sea beaches. Be sure to leave enough room in the overlapping portion to list the ways the beaches are similar. Use this diagram to spark a conversation about similarities and differences between cultures. If you have migrant children in your class, let them talk about experiences and traditions they remember from their home country and how they are similar and different to those in the United States.

• Geography—Using a world map and Google Earth, locate Coney Island and the Caspian Sea. Let the children make observations comparing the two beaches. Show them Coney Island’s Stillwell train station as well. For many students in rural and suburban classrooms, riding a subway is a foreign experience.

• Different, but essentially the same—Young Rashin is homesick for Iran and her Caspian beach, but at the end of the book she understands that though the two beaches are different, the most important aspects (family, friendship) transcend cultures. In the past few years, I have discovered several strong picture books highlighting the differences and (more importantly) the similarities between cultures. Make these pictures books a part of your classroom for the entire year. Culture awareness and acceptance is a gift that will stay with children for the rest of their lives. My favorites include This Is How We Do It (Lamothe) Same, Same, But Different (Kostecki-Shaw), This is the Way We Go to School (Bauer), The Sandwich Swap (Al-Abdullah), Everybody Cooks Rice (Dooley), Mirror (Baker) and Around the World in a Bathtub: Bathing All Over the Globe (Bradford).

The Dress and the Girl by Camille Andros, illustrated by Julie Morstad

Beginning in Greece, “back when time seemed slower and life simpler, there was a dress. A dress much like many others, made for a girl by her mother.” The girl and the dress enjoy their life in Greece, but long for something “singular, stunning, or sensational.” They don’t wait long because one day their story changes and they board a ship headed for a new life in America. The dress is put in a trunk—a trunk that gets lost during the journey. The dress is separated from the girl for many years and travels the world searching for the girl. At long last, it comes to rest in a thrift store where the girl, now a mother herself, finds it and passes it along to her daughter. Showing the importance of family history, The Dress and the Girl is a simple story with magnificent illustrations recounting the journey to Ellis Island that was common for so many immigrants at the turn of the century.

• Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty—Peek under the book’s jacket at the cover. You will be greeted by a magnificent illustration of the Statue of Liberty as seen by immigrants as they disembark the ship. Take a virtual field trip to the Statue of Liberty National Park and let students view the statue from across the water. Zoom in closer and read the inscription at the base of the statue. Write it on the board or a piece of chart paper. After a class discussion, keep it hanging in your classroom to remind students that the United States is open to all people. My students also loved the live cam view located in the torch of the statue.

• Oral family history—The dress holds significance for the girl because it is a family heirloom and traveled with her from her home country of Greece. Use the story to launch an oral family history project. With the help and input of students, develop a short family history questionnaire for them to use with their parents, grandparents, or other relatives. One of the questions can be about treasured family heirlooms. Use this opportunity to teach and develop students’ interviewing and conversational skills. Let them practice interviewing each other before conducting a family interview.

• Book pairing—Read aloud one of my all-time favorite picture books, My Grandfather’s Coat by James Alyesworth and compare the two stories.

Ella and Monkey at Sea by Emilie Boon

Told through the eyes of a young girl and her stuffed monkey, Ella and Monkey at Sea is perfectly pitched for young children. The story opens with Ella hugging her grandmother, Oma, before boarding a ship bound for America. During the long journey across the ocean, Ella’s emotions are transferred to monkey. Monkey “wants his own bed at home,” he “misses Oma and dinners at home,” and “says no” when the other children ask him to play. Eventually, Ella moves through feelings of homesickness to feelings of hope and excitement for their new country. I read this simple yet effective story aloud to a group of kindergarten students and the empathy stirred by Ella’s honesty was evident on their young faces.

• Creative Writing—Ella’s emotions are transferred to her beloved stuffed monkey. Allow children time to share a special recent experience. Afterward, tell them to retell/write the story from the perspective of their most beloved stuffed friend.

• Art Therapy—When Ella is sad she colors a picture with “angry black,” “scared gray” and “cold blue.” At the end of the book, she colors a picture of a cheerful yellow sun. Discuss how colors reflect emotions. Put some soft music on and let children create their own feelings pictures. For more color and emotion books, be sure to read Niko Draws a Feeling (Chris Rackza) and My Blue Is Happy (Jessica Young).

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Ten-year-old Mia Tang works the front desk at her parents' Calivista Motel. Life isn’t easy for Mia’s family, Chinese immigrants who have been in the United States for two years. Living in a room behind the motel’s office, they work around the clock serving the customers of the motel and ensuring that the customers are happy. The American dream seems anything but dreamy as the family battles several unfortunate events including an abusive robber, a broken washing machine and a stolen car. Equally hard are the cultural challenges and racism Mia faces at school. Raw and believable, Mia’s voice is strong making her struggles relatable for students who share her migrant experience and opens a window for students who have never felt the isolation and confusion that accompanies navigating a life in a new country.

• Struggles and Triumphs—Reflecting the story of most immigrants, Mia experiences many challenges as she adjusts to life in America. Because of her hard work and grit and the kindness of others she also experiences several triumphs. Before reading Front Desk, make a “Struggles & Triumphs” chart. Keep it easily accessible so that it can be updated at the conclusion of each read-aloud time.

• If I owned a motel—Mia dreams of being a writer, and toward the end of the story she enters an essay contest with an essay titled, “If I Owned a Motel.” Encourage children to design and plan their own motel or restaurant. Visit the websites of several family-owned businesses and discuss components of a small business including marketing, theme and customer service. Invite children to write their own essays and share their small business plans with the rest of the class.

These five stories of struggle and triumph, loneliness and connection, and isolation and belonging will spark classroom conversation, affirm migrant children’s feelings, and build empathy for those who are making a home in a new world.
NonfictionMemoir

Let them entertain you

Feature by Linda M. Castellitto

Our society may adore celebrities, but we can’t know what really goes on in their hearts and minds unless they choose to tell us. These standout new entries in the crowded celebrity-memoir field are fascinating chronicles of lives spent answering Hollywood’s siren call.

Ellie Kemper’s biographical essay collection My Squirrel Days traces her path from suburban St. Louis, Missouri, to the titular lead in the acclaimed TV show “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” Kemper loved performing from an early age, whether she was writing dramatic pieces for a beloved second-grade teacher or creating elaborate, often grueling, holiday shows with her siblings. “These shows took years off my life,” she writes. Kemper jokes about her neuroses and obsessions, but she doesn’t apologize—after all, her relentless perfectionism served her well when she used that drive to create a one-woman show that caught the eye of “Saturday Night Live.” She didn’t get the gig, but she did get a call from the creator of “The Office,” and her career blossomed from there. Kemper is open about her missteps, too, whether embarking on an unfortunate attempt at method acting (“Squirrel”) or falling on historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. My Squirrel Days takes readers up to the present, in which Kemper is a wife, new mom, show-lead and SoulCycle devotee. It’s a great read for comedy fans, thanks to a deft balance of life lessons and madcap goings-on, and it’s proof that hard work and optimism really can pay off.

AN EXAMINED LIFE
With roles like Gidget, Sybil, the Flying Nun and myriad others under her belt, Sally Field has been a household name since the 1960s, yet for the most part, she has lived a private life. But in her affecting and compelling memoir, In Pieces, Field shares with fans the truths, many of them painful, of her life. The book is framed by her relationship with her late mother, Margaret. “I wait for my mother to haunt me as she promised she would,” she writes. “This isn’t new, this longing I have for her.” In fact, she felt distant from her mother her whole life, the consequence of a painful secret Field held onto for decades. Field writes movingly about the loneliness she felt even while surrounded by family and colleagues. In Pieces also includes plenty of period details about how studios were run, auditions conducted and money paid (not to mention the perils of typecasting and endemic sexism). Readers will feel nervous—and then triumphant—right along with her. By book’s end, Field answers important questions for herself, gaining clarity from how the pieces fit together.

FEMINIST, FUNNY, FABULOUS
In her second essay collection, Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay, fans will be happy to see that Phoebe Robinson is, to borrow an Oprah catchphrase, living her best life. She’s been in a movie (Netflix’s Ibiza), launched another podcast (WNYC’s “Sooo Many White Guys”), turned her “2 Dope Queens” podcast with Jessica Williams into HBO specials and hung out with the likes of Julia Roberts and Bono. That last one’s especially notable, because Robinson’s been carrying a torch for him (as devotedly noted in her first book, You Can’t Touch My Hair) for some time. Once they met, he was charmed, and now they’re doing charity projects together. Speaking of social activism, Robinson offers incisive and insightful cultural criticism in essays like, “Feminism, I Was Rooting for You,” which explains her frustration with today’s feminism (which, she notes, is mainly about “protecting the institution of white feminism”) and makes an unassailable case for allyship and inclusion. Whether sharing tales of misadventure or dating tips, Robinson is a top-notch storyteller who takes readers on a funny, memorable ride.

DEEP IS THEIR LOVE
Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman have been an adored celebrity couple for many years. With humor and delightful vulgarity, the two let readers eavesdrop on their conversations in The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: An Oral History. Although the book is composed mostly of transcripts, essays by Offerman and Mullally add variety, and there are photos, too, including cute baby pictures and stylish shots of the duo in various costumes. They dish on how they met and reflect on 18 years together through the lens of family, religion, music, art and the vagaries of fame, offering an earnest, insightful window into their relationship, past and present (though readers who don’t like transcripts may prefer an audio version). As a way to turn off work and reconnect, Mullally and Offerman recommend doing jigsaws together, and the book ends with a collection of triumphant photos of completed puzzles. From the looks of it, their beloved dogs get a kick out of it, too.

FAR FROM IDLE
In Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography, writer/comedian/musician Eric Idle offers fans an excellent way to gear up for Monty Python’s 50th anniversary in 2019 via immersion in his own life story, along with his take on the members and memories of the comedy troupe. Idle starts at the beginning: “By coincidence, I was born on my birthday.” Specifically, in 1943 England. When he was a child, Idle’s widowed mother put him in an austere charitable boarding school for boys, where he lived until age 19. Despite the grimness of the place, Idle found comedy in dark moments. “Humor is a good defense against bullying,” after all, and “unhappiness is never forever.” That attitude—and his unflagging drive to create—has stayed with him (he’s 75 now) and informed his work in all its guises, and he’s certainly found lots to be happy about. He shares stories about fellow famous folk like George Harrison, Robin Williams, the Rolling Stones and the cast of Star Wars (all sometimes at the same parties). There are lots of concrete lessons for aspiring creators, too. It’s a fascinating, warmly told, often zany memoir of a life fully lived so far—with more fun sure to come.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Our society may adore celebrities, but we can’t know what really goes on in their hearts and minds unless they choose to tell us. These standout new entries in the crowded celebrity-memoir field are fascinating chronicles of lives spent answering Hollywood’s siren call.

NonfictionFictionGraphic Novels & Comics

Read on—if you dare

Feature by Hilli Levin & Lily McLemore

It’s officially the month to be spooky, and you can only watch so many classic horror reruns each year, so why not try a fresh, new story? From spine-tingling tales for the hard-to-scare to books with just a touch of terror, we’ve got the Halloween read for you.

Anthony Bourdain’s Hungry Ghosts
By Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose

The guts of the tale: Before his death in June 2018, beloved bad-boy chef and comic lover Anthony Bourdain had wrapped up work on this comic anthology of tales of haunted chefs and bedeviled diners with his Get Jiro! collaborator and friend, Joel Rose. Filled with gruesome art from some of the comic world’s top horror artists and inspired by Japanese folklore, the collection is centered on a group of chefs who take turns telling increasingly horrifying tales of spirits like Hidarugami, the ravenous souls of those who starved to death, or Jikininki, ghouls who feast on the dead.

Bone-chilling quote: “There’s just something about horseflesh. I crave it.”

For fans of: The Tales from the Crypt and Haunt of Fear comic series or anyone interested in the legacy of Bourdain, whom Rose lovingly calls “the hungriest ghost of them all” in a dedication penned after the chef’s death.

Costume inspiration: Check out the glossary filled with legendary Japanese spirits like Yuki-Onna, a beautiful spirit with a deadly kiss.

Spook-o-meter: 

Dracul
By Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker

The guts of the tale: Dacre Stoker, the great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, and established horror author J.D. Barker (The Fourth Monkey) have teamed up to pen this prequel of sorts to Dracula, the 1897 vampire novel that kicked off the still-fervent fascination with the Count. In keeping with the classic’s epistolary style, Dracul is written as journal entries and features Bram himself as the protagonist. This delightfully gothic tale is packed with gore and atmosphere.

Bone-chilling quote: “He smiled at me and tapped on the glass again with his fingernails. His nails were long and yellow, hideously so. Oh, and his teeth! . . . His lips were curled back like those of a snarling dog, and his teeth were like fangs. He licked at his lips and said my name. He said it so quietly, as if mouthing it, yet I heard him perfectly, as if he were right next to me.”

For fans of: Dracula by Bram Stoker (duh), The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova or Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield.

Costume inspiration: This one’s obvious: Grab a cape and some plastic fangs!

Spook-o-meter: 

The Witch of Willow Hall
By Hester Fox

The guts of the tale: Equal parts romantic and supernaturally chilling, Hester Fox’s sweeping tale is set in 1821 New England, two centuries after the infamous Salem witch trials. But it looks like the witches were real after all, and young Lydia Montrose has the lineage and burgeoning power to prove it. A creepy estate, juicy scandal, family secrets, ghosts and a handsome yet mysterious suitor make this a satisfying and quietly foreboding tale that never gets too dark.

Bone-chilling quote: “It’s a slow moan, a keening wail. The sound is so wretched that it’s the culmination of every lost soul and groan of cold wind that has ever swept the earth.”

For fans of: Deborah Harkness, Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, Jane Eyre and “Charmed.”

Costume inspiration: A witch from the era of your choosing.

Spook-o-meter: 

Llewellyn’s Little Book of Halloween
By Mickie Mueller

The guts of the tale: This little book is a history of Halloween, a party-planning inspiration and a book of charms all rolled into one. Mickie Mueller provides insight into Halloween’s origins, along with simple spells (sprinkle thyme in your shoes for courage), recipes and decor ideas that are perfect for your own gathering of spirits.

Bone-chilling quote: “Bats have been a longtime symbol of Halloween, and it’s not because they’re scary; I’ve met a few, and they’re really not.” (Which sounds exactly like something a bat disguised as a human would say!)

For fans of: All things Halloween!

Costume inspiration: Something classic, like a sheet-clad ghost.

Spook-o-meter: 

Devil’s Day
By Andrew Michael Hurley

The guts of the tale: John thought he had escaped the superstitious ways of the wild English countryside. Yet when his grandfather dies, he is pulled back into his family’s tiny farming community, where strange things have been occurring. Has the devil slipped in among the flocks of sheep? Or has the devil always been among them? This atmospheric, eerie novel is perfect for a rainy night in.

Bone-chilling quote: “Days were late to lighten and quick to end and people began to die. The older folk first, coughing up their lungs in shreds like tomato skins, and then the children, burning with fever.”

For fans of: Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck, Burial Rites by Hannah Kent or Hurley’s previous book, The Loney.

Costume inspiration: A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Spook-o-meter: 

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

It’s officially the month to be spooky, and you can only watch so many classic horror reruns each year, so why not try a fresh, new story? From spine-tingling tales for the hard-to-scare to books with just a touch of terror, we’ve got the Halloween read for you.

Mystery

Whodunit: More than a neighborhood private eye

Feature by Bruce Tierney

You know it’s going to be a bad day when you wake up amid a team of disgraced Abu Ghraib prison guards who have kidnapped you and are becoming significantly fed up with your unwillingness to answer their questions. The victim is Isaiah Quintabe, known in his California neighborhood by his initials, IQ. Wrecked is Joe Ide’s third novel featuring IQ, and it’s the first time IQ has a chance of expanding his business into a full-fledged private investigation agency. At any given time, IQ fields a number of cases, but the one that becomes central to Wrecked has to do with the machinations of a Blackwater- esque mercenary, a man with little in the way of scruples and lots in the way of sadistic behavior. Wrecked takes Ide’s unlikely hero into new territory, with foes that test his mettle in ways his previous adversaries could not even fathom, and with a possible love interest that exposes an entirely new facet of IQ’s character.

ALL FOR JUSTICE
V.I. Warshawski, like all of us, is not getting any younger. She is well past the age of dangling upside down in search of clues or doing fishtail burnouts in her V-8 Mustang to avoid getting shot, and certainly past the years when she should be treading across thin ice floes to keep a priceless artifact out of the hands of a ruthless billionaire. But in Sara Paretsky’s latest thriller, Shell Game, age seems a nonissue, as V.I.’s latest crusade leads her to engage in all these dangerous activities and more. Two cases weave in and out of the narrative: the first, a murder charge hanging over the beloved nephew of V.I.’s godmother, surgeon Lotty Herschel, involving a Syrian archaeological dig and a dissident immigrant poet on the lam from ICE; the second, the mysterious disappearance of V.I.’s niece following a Caribbean junket that turned sinister in ways that no travel brochure would suggest. As is usually the case with Paretsky’s novels, there is considerable social and political commentary, so if you are a capital-C Conservative, you might want to give some thought to how much you are willing to have your convictions challenged. Everyone else can revel in the superb pacing, the well-developed characters and the crisp dialogue from one of the most consistently excellent writers in the genre.

KIDNAPPING IN TAIWAN
Readers don’t have to wait long—not even to the end of page one—to get to the setup for Ed Lin’s latest Taipei Night Market mystery, 99 Ways to Die. There has been an abduction of a prominent businessman, who happens to be the father of protagonist Chen Jing-nan’s erstwhile classmate Peggy Lee (not the husky-voiced jazz singer Peggy Lee of “Fever” fame, but rather the youngest daughter in a family of Taiwanese aristocrats). The kidnappers’ ransom demands are not for money; instead, they want access to a computer chip, which Peggy Lee claims to know nothing about. But chances are good that Peggy Lee is playing for time and saving face in a society where face is everything. Jing-nan, for his part, is not someone you’d think of as a PI—he runs a popular food shop in a Taipei night market—but Peggy Lee is headstrong, and if she wants Jing-nan on the case, he has little choice but to assent. 99 Ways to Die is the third in the series and is the most fleshed out of the three. Ultimately, Lin’s books are most appealing for the insider’s look at Taiwanese culture, the motley crew of supporting cast and the multiple laughs per page.

TOP PICK IN MYSTERY
Imagine, for a moment, a Nancy Drew mystery told partially in flashback by Nancy herself, a girl grown up into the Best Detective in the World—her own rather immodest appellation—and now facing Her Most Perplexing Case. Then you will begin to have an idea of Sara Gran’s strange yet wildly entertaining novel The Infinite Blacktop. Somewhere along the way, our Nancy (whose name is actually Claire DeWitt) has evolved into a modern-day Sam(antha) Spade, with an overlay of street smarts and Zen calm counterbalancing one another in strangely effective ways. As the book opens, Claire comes very close to getting taken off the board permanently when her rented Kia is deliberately broadsided by a 1982 Lincoln, an event on par with a wooden rowboat getting rammed by the USS Nimitz. As she looks into who is trying to punch her ticket, she is drawn into a rethinking of the one case the Best Detective in the World has never been able to solve: the disappearance of her partner-in-crime-solving back when they were teenagers. As the narrative proceeds, another cold case gets woven in, and Gran deftly jumps back and forth between them, bringing the reader along for a wild ride across the decades.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

You know it’s going to be a bad day when you wake up amid a team of disgraced Abu Ghraib prison guards who have kidnapped you and are becoming significantly fed up with your unwillingness to answer their questions.
Mystery

Whodunit: One toe over the North Korean line

Feature by Bruce Tierney

Martin Limón’s fine series of military police procedurals, set in South Korea in the mid-1970s, features George Sueño and his sidekick, Ernie Bascom—U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division agents who are the go-to guys when there’s a murder or some similarly sensitive issue regarding the military in the Land of the Morning Calm. The Line finds our heroes investigating the murder of a young Korean soldier whose body is found a few feet north of the line dividing North Korea from South. Technically, Sueño and Bascom shouldn’t have dragged the body back across the line into the South, but they’ve never been sticklers for details like that. When a suspect presents himself, the powers that be are eager to pin the murder on him. Sueño and Bascom think the whole thing is just a little too pat, however, and despite explicit orders to the contrary, they decide to delve into the matter. They find themselves caught up in a criminal enterprise that involves fraud, smuggling and perhaps human trafficking, plus the aforementioned murder. I have read every Limón book since 1992’s Jade Lady Burning, and I have every intention of continuing to do so; they are that good.

A SECRET THAT CAN’T BE KEPT
Catriona McPherson successfully channels the mystery chops of Agatha Christie and the dialogue skills of Noël Coward (apologies for the dated references, but this book has that sort of feel about it) in her standalone psychological thriller Go to My Grave. Back in 1991, there was a Sweet 16-ish party at a Scottish manor house that had seen better days, and something seriously awful happened. Now in present day, whether by happenstance or by design, several of the 1991 revelers find themselves back at the same B & B, which has been restored and is virtually unrecognizable. The eight guests are all family members, by blood or by marriage. But there is bad blood—and bad marriage—on display here, and another something awful is poised to take place. I’m not giving anything away to say that even a newbie reader of suspense fiction will feel a Stephen King-esque prickle of menace as things start to get out of hand, and even the most jaded of suspense aficionados should be gobsmacked by the twist at the end.

BECOMING BOND
Occasionally an author’s estate or a publisher gets the idea to craft a prequel to a popular series, and Anthony Horowitz performs this duty for ace British spy James Bond in Forever and a Day. As the book opens, M (the big boss of MI6) is discussing the death of agent 007, which initially seems odd, as this is at the inception of Bond’s illustrious career. But it turns out that the 007 under discussion is the previous holder of that particular license-to-kill number, and Bond is quickly promoted to take on his predecessor’s responsibilities. His mission takes him to the south of France, where he engages the first of the legendary villains that will characterize the adventures of Bond’s later life. The book uses some source material from original Bond author Ian Fleming, and of all the Bond books that have come out since Fleming’s death, this one may hew closest to the originals. The racy English sports cars, check. The sultry femme fatale, check. The oversize (both in girth and in ego) villain, check. Oh, and here’s a bonus: For those who have ever wondered why Bond drinks his martinis shaken, not stirred, this book is where you will find the answer.

TOP PICK IN MYSTERY
Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor series has been a mainstay of my professional and pleasure reading since the Shamus Award-winning The Guards (2001). The series follows the downfall of Galway cop Taylor and his efforts to climb out of the (very deep) hole he created for himself with his alcoholism and his exceptionally poor choices of friends and lovers. The opening pages of In the Galway Silence find Taylor a little more settled than before: There is a romantic interest that tentatively seems to be working out, a bit of money in the bank, and he has the drinking under control for the most part. When bad stuff starts happening, only Taylor’s harshest critic could assign the responsibility to him—although it goes without saying that Taylor is his own harshest critic. One child is kidnapped and brutalized, another murdered, and a killer is on the rampage. Taylor knows who the culprit is and is powerless to do anything about it. But you can push Taylor only so far, and when he snaps, he’s gonna go bat%#@& crazy, which is the high point of Bruen’s books for most readers. Taut plotting, a staccato first-person narrative, deeply flawed yet sympathetic characters and the windy, wet Irish milieu conspire to put Bruen’s novels into a class by themselves.

 

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

November's best mysteries include both the beginning of Bond and a house party gone murderously wrong . . .
NonfictionPhotographyLiteratureAnimals

For library dwellers and book hoarders

Feature by Julie Hale

The shelves are brimming with extra-special titles for bibliophiles. If there’s a discerning reader on your gift list, check out our must-have recommendations below. Here’s to a very literary holiday!

Poets and novelists can be solitary souls, but as Alison Nastasi reveals in Writers and Their Cats, they often have a rare appreciation for pets, especially of the feline variety. Featuring photos of 45 famous authors and their cat sidekicks, Nastasi’s purrrfectly charming book is filled with surprises, including a picture of a kitten-covered Stephen King. Sensational shots capture Alice Walker, Neil Gaiman, Gillian Flynn, Haruki Murakami and other beloved authors with cats at writing desks, in libraries and cozied up on sofas.

For the writer, what’s the allure of le chat? According to Nastasi, “The cat represents traits most appealing to the creative personality—qualities like mystery, cleverness, fearlessness, unpredictability, and sensuality.” Her book is catnip for literature lovers and an extraordinary celebration of kindred spirits.

© Underwood & Underwood / New York Times. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. From Writers and Their Cats by Alison Nastasi, published by Chronicle.

 

RA-RA-RUSSIAN LIT
Author Viv Groskop takes heart from the tales of Tolstoy, Chekhov and Pushkin in The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature and looks at the morals and messages that can be gleaned from the masters’ works. With insight and humor, she examines 11 books and plays, revealing how her own experiences have been informed by timeless titles such as Dr. Zhivago, The Master and Margarita and War and Peace.

By chronicling the heartaches, dramas and hardships of daily existence, Russian literature can provide solace to the reader who seeks it. If you’re enmeshed in an ill-fated romance, Groskop prescribes A Month in the Country. Tormented by inner conflict? Pick up Crime and Punishment. Stories, Groskop says, “are as good at showing us how not to live as they are at showing us how to live.” Read and heed.

BOOK LOVER’S BOUNTY
An delightful compendium of literature-related history and trivia, Jane Mount’s Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany is one of the season’s standout gift selections. In this splendid treasury, Mount explores literary genres and shares the reading recommendations of librarians and booksellers from across the country. She also presents nifty lists of literature-based enterprises, like blockbuster book-into-movie projects (Emma, The Shining) and famous songs inspired by great books (Bowie’s “1984,” Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad”).

An avid reader since childhood, Mount has been painting what she calls Ideal Bookshelves, renderings of fellow bibliophiles’ favorite books, since 2008. Readers will enjoy perusing the colorfully illustrated, artfully assembled stacks that have become Mount’s trademark. Her artistic talents are on full display here in enchanting illustrations of meticulously detailed spines, book jackets, authors and notable libraries and bookstores.

Bibliophile is bliss for the book lover, from cover to cover.

LITERARY LIVING
Susan Harlan explores the estates, castles and cottages that appear in classic works of fiction in Decorating a Room of One’s Own: Conversations on Interior Design with Miss Havisham, Jane Eyre, Victor Frankenstein, Elizabeth Bennet, Ishmael, and Other Literary Notables. Harlan, who teaches English literature at Wake Forest University, brings scholarly expertise and epigrammatic wit to this guide to famous fictional figures’ digs.

Casting the literary hero as homeowner, the book features Apartment Therapy-style interviews with a wide cast of characters who expound upon design ideas and DIY projects. There’s plenty of decorating advice on offer: “If you own an abbey, don’t feel obligated to adopt an overly monastic style,” Emma’s Mr. Knightley counsels. “That would be badly done indeed!” From opulent (Pride and Prejudice’s Pemberley) to plainspoken (the March home in Little Women) to utterly inhospitable (Castle Dracula), the residences in this delightful volume run the gamut. Becca Stadtlander’s dainty illustrations make this a tour that readers will want to take again and again.

GALLERY OF GREATS
Growing up, photographer Beowulf Sheehan took refuge in books, and he pairs his twin passions to perfection in Author: The Portraits of Beowulf Sheehan, a gallery of 200 acclaimed contemporary writers, from Margaret Atwood to Colson Whitehead. Sheehan took his first author portraits in 2005 at the PEN World Voices Festival; by 2017, he’d photographed around 700 writers. His photos capture the idiosyncrasies and moods of each of his subjects, whether it’s a brooding Karl Ove Knausgaard or a radiant Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In the book’s introduction, he shares on-the-job anecdotes involving the likes of Donna Tartt, Chinua Achebe and Umberto Eco. With a foreword by Salman Rushdie, this revelatory volume will bring a sparkle to any bibliophile’s holiday.

 

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The shelves are brimming with extra-special titles for bibliophiles. If there’s a discerning reader on your gift list, check out our must-have recommendations below. Here’s to a very literary holiday!

NonfictionCrafts, Hobbies & HomeArt

Thoughtful gifts for the offbeat reader

Feature by Lily McLemore

We all have a few delightfully odd friends or family members: your nephew who just moved back from New Zealand after 14 years herding sheep, your conspiracy-theorist cousin, your friend who’s always mastering some obscure talent. These five books might be the perfect solution to the riddle of what to get the person on your list who’s just a little . . . out there.

You were hoping to witness our ancient ancestors in action thousands of years ago. But then your time machine broke, and now you are stranded among people whose sole form of communication seems to be grunting. Thankfully, though, you have a handbook: How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler, written by bestselling author and computational linguistics expert Ryan North. And luckily for any stranded time wanderers, North is incredibly funny, so you’ll be entertained while inventing fundamental technology for your fellow, albeit less-developed, man. This guide offers everything you need to build a civilization in no time (relatively speaking, as it took our ancestors 150,000 years to figure out how to talk). North covers language invention (English is not suggested; it’s kind of a wreck), measurements and horseshoes (which allow horses to work comfortably year-round, and as North writes, putting shoes on an animal “honestly seems like one of our most adorable achievements”). Avoid the pitfalls of our ancestors with this handy guide.

© The New Yorker Encyclopedia of Cartoons / Cartoon by Victoria Roberts.

 

COMICALLY SPEAKING
It’s OK. We know your secret. Sometimes, life gets busy, and all you have time to read in the New Yorker are the cartoons—in fact, the cartoons may be your favorite part of the famed literary magazine. We have a feeling there’s more than a few people harboring this secret, and for them, there’s The New Yorker Encyclopedia of Cartoons: A Semi-serious A-to-Z Archive, a handsome, two-volume, slip-cased collection spanning nearly 10 decades and featuring almost 3,000 cartoons from the magazine. Each was chosen for inclusion by Bob Mankoff, the cartoon editor of the New Yorker from 1997-2017. There’s no lack of humor in its format either, as it is divided alphabetically into sections such as Crash Test Dummies, Elvis, Grim Reapers, Kayaks, Octopuses, Wise Man on the Mountain and (of course) Psychiatrists.

DAZZLE THEM
Do you ever feel that holiday comedown, after all the presents have been unwrapped and the coffee pot is empty? It’s only 10 a.m.—what do you do with the rest of the day, and how can you keep the kids from falling under the spell of their phones? Allan Zola Kronzek has provided the answer: a little magic. In Grandpa Magic: 116 Easy Tricks, Amazing Brainteasers, and Simple Stunts to Wow the Grandkids, Kronzek shows readers how to use everyday items like straws, cards, coins, toothpicks and even dinner rolls in simple tricks and sleights of hand that are fun, easy to master and guaranteed to impress a range of ages. And don’t worry, you don’t have to have grandchildren to enjoy this book. Illustrations of Kronzek, as your genial grandpa guide, provide instructions for the tricks, and Kronzek includes riddles and brainteasers of varying degrees of difficulty as well. By dinnertime, everyone will have a few new tricks up their sleeves.

ROAD TRIPPING
Despite being the creator and star of Comedy Central’s very funny “Broad City” with her friend Ilana Glazer, Abbi Jacobson is a private, contemplative person, more comfortable alone than in a crowd. In her 30s, she fell in love for the first time—and then, just as suddenly, the relationship was over. She was devastated, and after struggling through the fourth season of “Broad City,” she got in her car and drove across the country to reaffirm her identity as independent and capable. In her vulnerable yet laugh-out-loud collection of essays, I Might Regret This, Jacobson shares her thoughts on love, heartbreak, insecurities, tiny coffee cups, snacks and a lot more. It’s the perfect gift for any “Broad City” fan, and it wonderfully captures Jacobson’s voice in all of its kind, slightly neurotic, tangent-prone hilarity. She also narrates the audiobook, making it ideal for someone going on their own road trip of self-discovery.

MATH FIENDS
If you know a numbers or logic lover, The Riddler by Oliver Roeder, the puzzle editor for the statistics and analysis website FiveThirtyEight, was crafted for them. These puzzles aren’t for the faint of heart, though. They’ll test your geometry, logic and probability skills, and thankfully, Roeder provides thorough, entertaining answers to each puzzle. If you’re not currently working at NASA, you will probably need to think outside the box to solve these puzzles. Mind-bending questions ask you to consider the radius of a martini glass, Bayes’ theorem, the probability of a house being robbed in a town full of thieves and more. Just like a few loved ones on your gift list, The Riddler is a puzzler, indeed.

 

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

We all have a few delightfully odd friends or family members: your nephew who just moved back from New Zealand after 14 years herding sheep, your conspiracy-theorist cousin, your friend who’s always mastering some obscure talent. These five books might be the perfect solution to the riddle of what to get the person on your list who’s just a little . . . out there.

NonfictionMusicMemoirArt

Where words leave off, music begins

Feature by Hilli Levin

Five new gift-ready reads are here for the music lover in your life. From operatic rock to Americana, from classical to soul, we’ve got a pitch-perfect match no matter their genre of choice.

Queen superfans may be looking forward to the upcoming biopic Bohemian Rhapsody—starring “Mr. Robot” lead Rami Malek as iconic frontman Freddie Mercury—but the publication of Martin Popoff’s lovingly compiled Queen: Album by Album is an event in its own right. Popoff, who claims Queen is “absolutely the greatest band to ever walk this earth,” takes a deep dive into the band’s catalog and discusses each record in lively, conversational Q&A’s with musical figures like Sir Paul McCartney, Dee Snider, David Ellefson of Megadeth, Patrick Myers (lead in the Broadway musical Killer Queen) and more. Starting with Queen’s 1973 self-titled debut, the book moves chronologically, and every chapter begins with a detailed and passionate essay from Popoff on each album’s merits. Absolutely packed with photos of the band, gig posters and fun ephemera, Popoff’s freewheeling guide is definitely one to display.

TWEEDY'S TRUTH
Since 1994, the Chicago-based alternative rock-turned-Americana band Wilco have been pioneers of the indie scene, winning multiple Grammys and inspiring countless other musicians in their wake. Founder, frontman and lead songwriter Jeff Tweedy finally opens up to his devoted fans in his first memoir, Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc. Put your well-loved copy of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” on the turntable and settle in as Tweedy takes you through his childhood, early creative days in Chicago, the writing and recording of celebrated albums like 2004’s “A Ghost Is Born” and lays out some of his biggest struggles and triumphs.

A CLASSICAL TRADITION
Let’s be honest: Classical music has a bit of an image problem. For many, the mere mention of the genre conjures up images of the snooty bourgeoise in stuffy symphony halls. But BBC radio host Clemency Burton-Hill aims to change your perceptions and make you a bona-fide classical fan with Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day. For each day of the year, Burton-Hill provides a piece of music by a wide range of composers—from a soaring hymn by medieval nun Hildegard of Bingen to stripped-down contemporary pieces composed by Philip Glass—along with a short rundown of the piece’s history and a description of what to listen for.

Joni Mitchell from Women Who Rock. Illustration by Anne Muntges, reproduced with permission from Black Dog & Leventhal.

LADIES LEADING THE WAY
Music journalist Evelyn McDonnell has written extensive biographies of groundbreaking artists like Joan Jett and the Runaways and Bjork, and she lends her decades of experience to editing Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyoncé. Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl. The goal of this gorgeous coffee table book is “to tell a narrative story by focusing on key select figures who were true game changers.” And although the title suggests a focus on rock artists, the included essays offer “portraits of diversity, from Patsy Cline’s country melancholy to Joni Mitchell’s folk jazz to Missy Elliott’s avant rap.” Written by women and illustrated by women, this is a powerhouse collection that is completely, unapologetically celebratory. Revel in the greatness of Women Who Rock.

THE ONO FACTOR
Speaking of women getting some well-deserved credit in the music industry, did you know that Yoko Ono was only recently co-credited as a writer on John Lennon’s 1971 single “Imagine”? And now, her role in shaping Lennon’s late-period music and art is fully explored in Imagine John Yoko, a celebration of their partnership. Compiled by Ono and replete with photos from her personal archives, facsimiles of Lennon’s handwritten lyrics, stills from their narrative videos, excerpts from key interviews conducted during their collaborative period, concept sketches and photos of Ono’s pivotal art exhibits and more, this book will be a must-have for any fan of this world-changing pair. In a time when Ono’s activism seems as relevant as ever, she offers a rallying cry in the powerful preface: “Remember, each one of us has the power to change the world. Power works in mysterious ways. We don’t have to do much. Visualize the domino effect and just start thinking PEACE. It’s time for action. The action is PEACE.”

 

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Five new gift-ready reads are here for the music lover in your life. From operatic rock to Americana, from classical to soul, we’ve got a pitch-perfect match no matter their genre of choice.

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