The school year just started and a new season of booktalks will begin on Monday centered around our 10th grade English classes that focus on biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs but in some cases open up to general nonfiction as well. ‘Tis the season; my favorite season: booktalks!
Here are a mix of new and old titles that I want to share such as the always popular Smith, Barnes, and Anyabwile collaboration called Victory, Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice, Krosoczka’s Hey, Kiddo. and the improbable story of survival by Ollestad and Kiely called Sole Survivor.
I love that our library’s biography section has it’s own separate space in the library as it’s one of the most circulated sections (after manga). Titles that feature stories of perseverance, personal experience, thoughtful reflection, and an evaluation of life as some of my favorites as well. Maybe I’ll create a separate post after the flurry of classes this coming week (and part of next) with the most talked-about titles.
I would be remiss not to compile a list of a handful favorites highlighting the history of the United States on its 250th birthday. Obviously not all of it is positive, but it is America’s story. Which books would you add to the list?
People
You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe focuses on being a female biographer with humor for days
Teri Kanefield’s The Making of America series from Alexander Hamilton to Thurgood Marshall are accessible middle grade biographies
Sheinkin and Robinson’s Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn’t Tell You About the Civil War entertain and teach at the same time
Any James L. Swanson book featuring the tragic stories of assassinations of people like Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy Jr. such as End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy. Swanson’s dedication to American history is unparalleled
Events
Brown’s The Great American Dust Bowl: A Graphic Novel
Graff’s The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11
Slade and Gonzalez’s Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon
Any of Kate Messner’s History Smashers series books from learning about the Mayflower to the Salem Witch Trials
Brown’s Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans
Iconic
Larson’s The Devil in the White City highlighting both the Chicago World’s Fair and an infamous serial killer H.H. Holmes
Biden’s inauguration was only memorable (for me) because of Gorman’s recitation of her original poem, The Hill We Climb, accessible in print but best listened to
Jarrow is known for her investigative science storytelling for teens and her newest White House Secrets: Medical Lies and Cover-Ups fulfills that. Her focus on certain presidents was enough to realize she wanted to write a follow up book too
Kluger and Shamir’s To the Moon!: The True Story of the American Heroes on the Apollo 8 Spaceship because you can’t talk about American without talking about space exploration
Aberg-Riger’s America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History is a visual feast and provides unique storytelling that’s just as dynamic as the title implies
Social Justice
Cooper and Aronson’s book Poisoned Water: How the Citizens of Flint, Michigan, Fought for Their Lives and Warned the Nation
Mann’s Shift Happens: The History of Labor in the United States
Smith, Barnes, and Anyabwile’s graphic novel collaboration Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice
Blumenthal’s Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights
Elliott’s Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City
Yoo’s Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire
Tunnell’s Desert Diary: Japanese American Kids Behind Barbed Wire
I could go on and on… Perhaps I’ll create a few additional posts around the subject!
It’s Father’s Day, so here are some of my favorite father’s in literature.
To Marko from Saga, the heart what it wants and he’ll stop at nothing to care for his daughter Hazel.
To Malala’s dad, who instilled in Malala that education is important for girls and that’s what she fights for even in the face of danger.
To the grandpa in Drawn Together, you reached out to your grandson who spoke a different language than you and found common ground to bond.
Loid Forger aka Twilight is a meticulous spy in Spy x Family but built a family and adopted Anya- yes it’s for a mission- but somehow readers know it’s built to last.
Navigating the pitfalls of growing up with body esteem issues, Ellie’s dad finds opportunities to allow Ellie to learn and grow and love herself.
While he was grieving and not at all perfect as the beginning of the Sheets graphic novel trilogy opens, the third book, Delicates, hits a home run with Marjorie’s dad explaining friendship as they’re hanging Christmas lights: “They light up different parts of your life. But see, they all cast shadows, too… There’s good and bad in everyone, you know? But the more friends you have in your life… well… the more, uh, brightness you’ll have overall.”
Roadtripping with your young daughter isn’t for the faint of heart after losing your wife, yet Coyote’s dad is patient and fun in Coyote Lost and Found.
I just finished Landing in Place Friday and Anisa’s pilot father was a pivotal character (along with the coworker, his friend, who was a confidant to Anisa). There was a specialness to his support and motivation.
Martin is funny enough recounting the stories of his childhood, but the way Martin showcases his father in the second book, Mexikid Dreams, is heartwarming. From poking fun at him adding an “e” in front of every word but also sharing how organized he was in the work they were doing in the hopes of giving his kids opportunities.
And one of the most classic dads of all time. Calvin’s dad’s continued commentary that the hard things built character in Calvin or his annoyance at Calvin’s antics endeared him even more to readers of the comic strip. I was able to walk back in time when the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, NY had an exhibit running on it’s 40th anniversary.
This year, our library celebrated fifteen years of author visits with our twentieth author. It was a phenomenal day with Gail Jarrow. One that our students, staff, and I won’t soon forget from her fantastically gross images on screen to her deep knowledge of science and history. Couple it with thoughtful questions from the students, and books (free to them through a grant) to have her sign, each student had a personalized experience with her. Plus, it was captured by our dedicated communications staff person who popped up throughout the day to capture it all for which I’m grateful to have the memories that will last afterward but also from better angles and more creative shots with a fancy camera than I could ever get.
It’s been one week and I’m still thinking about it daily. This one but also the ones that came before it.
No one will say author visits are easy. In fact, every year I get frustrated at least once (an understatement) and tell my colleague that I’m never doing it again, but, like childbirth, here we are fifteen years later (though because I had twins, I only did childbirth once so I kind of cheated). Yet, what keeps me doing it year after year is the students. I have received messages years after students have graduated talking about memories of author visits. I look back at the folder of pictures from visits and see the smiling faces. I see the statistics of increased book check out. I hear the teachers talking.
Often the frustration lies with funding, policies, and procedures. Unnecessarily complicated. Not student-centered. Procedures made up by people far removed from the everyday grind of making it happen. But I won’t dwell on the negative. Simply to share that it’s all worth it.
Who hasn’t loved all of the coverage of NASA’s Artemis II’s flight around the dark side of the moon and back? From the naming of a crater on the moon for the deceased wife of one of the astronauts to the flying Nutella jar that was the coolest advertisement, my favorite post as a public school librarian was a reminder that the next astronaut could be sitting in our classrooms because all four of the astronauts went to public schools.
How does anyone grow and learn? Reading of course, so here are some stellar books about space that are sure to continue the excitement about Artemis II’s journey with Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen into the future.
Picture Books
Our Solar System! A Stellar Neighborhood by McAnulty and illustrated by Lewis (plus all of our Our Universe series)
Wanda Hears the Stars: A Blind Astronomer Listens to the Universe by Hansen, Merced, and Mendoza
Starstruck: The Cosmic Journey of Neil deGrasse Tyson by Krull, Brewer, and Morrison
I Am Neil Armstrong (Ordinary People Change the World series) by Meltzer and Eliopoulos
A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon by Slade and Jamison
Margaret and the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Saved the First Lunar Landing by Robbins and Knisley
Middle Grade
History Smashers: The Space Race by Messner
The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez by Paulino
Rocket to the Moon! (Big Ideas That Changed the World series) by Brown
Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon by Slade and Gonzalez
A Rover’s Story by Warga
Young Adult
Spacewalking With You by Doronoda (a fabulous manga featuring neurodiverse characters)
Crownchasers by Coffindaffer
To the Moon!: The True Story of the American Heroes on the Apollo 8 Spaceship by Kluger and Shamir
Taking this St. Patrick’s Day opportunity to highlight a few recent reads that we can celebrate exist in this world. In a word, lucky, that they exist.
There isn’t a more popular author than Taylor Jenkins Reid who has turned out several hits. Atmosphere is no different. I just finished the audiobook and I have never been so enmeshed in a character’s journey than Joan’s journey to the stars. It reminds me of Frankie from The Women by Hannah. Completely pulled into their orbit in a pivotal time in history and one that women don’t get nearly the recognition that they should. Seriously, what a way to celebrate Women’s History Month too. Readers are lucky to have books like this one to highlight the strength of women.
Cassandra Calin created a follow up to The New Girl. First Crush will be out shortly and higlights what it means to grow up, have a crush, but also screw up, but still survive by learning lessons and having people around us to be a comfort and a sounding board. There’s so much to adore about the graphic novel series from the layout and design to the choices in honoring multiple languages of the characters and not shying away from topics like periods. Readers are lucky to have graphic novels like this one.
More books are being published for teens that focus on stories that are difficult to reckon with. In Takvorian’s graphic novel memoir exploring her Armenian-American heritage and asking the hard questions of her family who would rather leave the past in the past, Armaveni is a sentimental journey into history and the human toll of genocide on generations. Readers are lucky to have authors to explore the corners of their own experiences to benefit us all.
Winter break is nearing it’s end and I’ve coveted the time needed to do random household chores, update the last pieces of the spring semester for the college course I teach, complete odds and ends work on other projects, and READ.
I read daily. It’s a core element of my daily routine for personal and professional reasons, so it’s work even when it’s not work and it’s not work even when it is work. And Lena Dunham’s quote popped up in my head after thinking about the week that included quite a bit of reading
I couldn’t agree more. I will never get out from under my TBR pile and I spent a few days drinking from my “Death by TBR” mug gifted by my friend, Stacey. So if I could lobby the powers that be for an eighth day dedicated entirely to reading, I would. I am. Please, add an eighth day to the week so that I may read… while drinking tea.
What was I reading during break? What wasn’t I reading is the more apt question.
Picture books like Every Peach Is a Story by Masumoto, Masumoto, and Tamaki, The Octopus by Guojing that is a wordless picture book not yet released, and I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy by Threets and Nam to name a few.
Middle grade graphic novels like Deepwater Creek by Regina and the adapted One Crazy Summer by Williams-Garcia and illustrated by Miller.
Young adult like Leave It On The Track by Fisher, Red Flags and Butterflies by Azzam, I Love Amy by Unni, and the forthcoming Corpse de Ballet graphic novel by Kearney.
Adult books like much-talked about The Correspondent by Evans and the dark manga called Confession by Kawaguchi.
I’ve written several posts about romantic books so I’m making this one short and sweet– two books to look forward to publishing in 2026 that I’ve had the pleasure of reading already and want to share with you to put on your radar:
One is by Aida Salazar and features two kids exploring a life outside of screens and out of the country with realism and delight. The other is the third in Kristy Boyce’s delightful “Gaming and Romance” series which is nerdy and the perfect friends to enemies to lovers. Be on the lookout for these two this year!
With a snowstorm hitting much of the eastern seaboard, it was to be expected that Monday would be a snow day. For colleagues like my friend Stacey Rattner who builds a fever pitch of excitement about the Youth Media Awards at her elementary school, it was disappointing to not have the day together in the gym, but she pivoted. For me, I was happy to have uninterrupted time to watch it (with a glass of champagne in celebration) at home. I could make my notes, I could tag favorite books and authors who won, and text colleagues on committees to cheer on their work.
And there was plenty of notes, tags, and texts!
While it runs a bit long when publishers and imprints are listed along with titles and creators and committees select a handful of honor titles that deepen the bench for celebration, my happiness was elevated throughout. Highlights included three celebrations of Candace Fleming- two for career achievement recognition and one for winning the Excellence in Nonfiction award for Death in the Jungle. A second was a sustained recognition of Cynthia Leitich Smith’s editing of Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In is worth noting. With its recognition in the Odyssey category, I might have to go back and listen to it because it was magical the first time in print, so I might want a second experience as an audiobook now.
An early favorite to see was Arriel Vinson’s new talent award for her debut Under the Neon Lights. I had the pleasure of moderating a panel for School Library Journal last year for which she was a shining part. And I have catching up to do in categories like Stonewall and Schneider Family because there were some titles that hadn’t come across my desk that I will be on the search for. Similarly, I pay special attention to the Batchelder awards because I’ve found them to be particularly moving or fun (in the case of John the Skeleton by Laan last year)
And last, all the love to the Coretta Scott King illustrator award to R. Gregory Christie for The Library in the Woods and written by Ramsey whose message and moving art is a must-read and happiness that Insectopolis: A Natural History by Kuper that I had on my year-end top ten list for adult nonfiction was recognized by the Alex Award as a book with special teen appeal. To validate that, we had it in our high school collection already and I enthusiastically shared it with a girl who was looking for a book about insects and bugs- I told her I had the perfect book for her.
I’ll ride the high of the celebration of all of the committees’ work to get to this point and recognize the talent of all of the creators of these amazing books by adding more to my endless TBR and looking out for new content by them as well.
And the first book on my list to read that I hadn’t heard about before that was a Stonewall honor will be He’s So Possessed With Me by Liu.
Was there a moment that you were jumping up and down about? Or a book that is now at the top of your list to read?
