“It’s a very nice thing to wear a backpack.” If you’re wearing a backpack, you’re probably on your way somewhere. Your backpack is probably full of “all the bits and bobbles of your life.” Your backpack (or “book bag,” or “rucksack,” or “knapsack”) can be counted on “to rest on your back. Like a shell. Or a hug.”
Starred Review of the Week
Mind vs. Machine: The Chess Match That Changed the World
Can a computer beat a World Chess Champion in a six-game match? In 1997, the team behind Deep Blue, a new supercomputer developed by IBM and Taiwanese American engineer Feng-Hsiung Hsu, hoped so. The Champion in question was Garry Kasparov, an intense competitor who “had never lost a match against anyone.”
A Fish Like Me
A close-up of a toe dipping in the water is followed by goggle adjustment, sitting on the pool edge, and finally a splash of water fountaining from the narrator’s exuberant immersion. “Under here, there is no top or bottom, no left or right—only fields of water to wander in as topsy-turvy as I like.”
Story Rug
Class 203 is “in a braiding CRAZE,” which poses a problem for Noah (white). “Noah has short hair. All the ponies are taken. His shoes don’t have laces.” Intrepid Ms. Morena has an idea: She cuts up a whiteboard rag, and Noah gets to braiding. “Left over center. Right over center. Left over center.”
And Then We Saw the Bag…
Two siblings return home from a weekend away with Grandpa. Their parents are happy and relaxed, which immediately unsettles the children. Mom and Dad are pleased that the clutter has been tidied and that there is a fresh smell in the home. But the siblings are suspicious. And then they see it: a big black plastic bag in the corner.
Starman: The Cosmic Voyage of David Bowie
A dazzling homage to David Bowie presents him as a traveler exploring vastly varied worlds of creative expression throughout his career as “a cosmic, celestial, musical artist.” Unlike the static sound of most musicians, Bowie “embraced change,” trying on different personas and shifting his musical style—often radically—whenever he grew restless.
Beyond Seven Forests
This slim, taut novel set in occupied Galicia during the thick of World War I wastes no words and packs a powerful punch. The only remaining member of her immediate family, 18-year-old Polish countess Renia lives alone in her family’s partially destroyed mansion and treats wounded soldiers at a nearby hospital. Her recent actions—harboring two escaped Russian POWs—have led to her arrest; now Renia is giving her testimony of events at her military tribunal.
The Secrets Below (The Whispering Sea Mysteries)
This moody and atmospheric thriller follows twelve-year-old Tuva (white) in the aftermath of a missing classmate in the forest of her small island school.
Same Time, Next Week?
This offbeat and quietly tender picture book about star-gazing friends is a nocturnal ode to expectations and acceptance.
Hometown
Shaun Tan’s brilliance as an artist and storyteller is on full display in this illustrated work of fiction. Hometown has a straightforward construct: a visual tour of a girl’s hometown as she sees it. But while the meaning of home and belonging might be universal, this place is utterly unique and unforgettable.