Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The Windeby Puzzle by Lois Lowry (Clarion, February 2023) is unlike any children’s book I’ve ever read before. With a mix of history and inventive storytelling, Lois Lowry tells of the young 2,000-year-old body discovered in a German bog, first by explaining the facts of what is known and then by inventing the story of
When my daughter (now 10) first got a tablet to use for various educational and entertainment purposes, she soon found the Wow in the World podcast by Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz. She loves the zany personalities of these voices and the podcast filled her random-but-educational science facts cravings. The book What in the Wow!?
The middle-grade volume Native Americans in History by Jimmy Beason (Rockridge Press, 2021) shares the powerful stories of Native American leaders, artists, activists and athletes from history and today. The ninety-page volume is easily readable and nicely formatted for either reference or a straight readthrough. The fifteen people discussed receive about 5 pages of text
When Katie and her family return home after an out-of-town funeral, they find themselves evicted from their apartment. To Katie’s dismay, her mother then settles into an Extended Stay hotel as their for-now home while she searches for a new job and an affordable apartment. A middle-grade memoir written in verse, The In-Between by Katie
Africana: An Encyclopedia of an Amazing Continent by Kim Chakanesta, illustrated by Alabi Mayowa (Quarto Publishing, 2022) is an invaluable new volume for young people that captures basics about the history, landscapes, people, and cultures throughout the regions in Africa. Africa is a giant continent, so obviously one volume will never be enough. Africana provides
I Love My City by France Desmarais and Richard Adam, illustrated by Yves Dumont (Pajama Press, March 2023) is a nonfiction middle grade explanation and illustration of what makes a city a city. Given the increasing urbanization of the world (apparently 55% of people worldwide live in cities!), this book provides a much needed look
Until I was an adult, I had not heard of Africa’s history and the historical leaders of the entire continent. Other than the Egyptian’s creation of the pyramid and the history of the Nile’s flooding, I don’t remember entering the continent during my years in my 1980s public schools. Beginning in college, I have worked
Kid Trailblazers by Robin Stevenson, illustrated by Allison Steinfeld (Quirk Books, 2022) includes brief biographies of “changemakers and leaders,” focusing on events and habits formed in each of their childhoods. I loved that some of those highlighted were from around the world. The biographies were full of pertinent information without being overwhelming. Colorful pictures accompany
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Couldn’t Drive? by Dan Gutman (Norton Young Readers, 2022) is a part of the Wait! What? series by the creator of the popular My Weird School series (and a number of other fun middle-grade books). In this kid-friendly middle-grade biography, two kids, named appropriately Paige and Turner, teach the reader all about
Did you know that there is a mammal that has scales? I didn’t until I read Operation Pangolin by Suzie Eszterhas (Millbrook, 2023). This book refers to one man’s mission to save the dwindling population of pangolins from human poachers. I hadn’t even heard of this small reptile-looking, ant-eating mammal. Surprisingly, it is more closely
As in his other photographic history books (Abraham Lincoln being the most well known to me), in We Will Not Be Silent, Russell Freedman tells a true story with the added addition of photographs to give the characters life. In this case, he shares about the brave students in Germany who stood up to Hitler,
Extreme Battlefields by Tanya Lloyd Kyi, illustrated by Drew Shannon (Annick Press, 2016) details how ten very unique battles throughout history were shaped by the weather and terrain in which they were fought. in which weather was a deciding factor in the victory or non-victory of the warring parties. From Hannibal in the Alps to
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