An author’s note reveals the inspiration behind this delightfully odd retelling: A year after first stumbling upon the Tyrolean folktale “The Skull,” Klassen reread it and found that he misremembered significant parts of it. From that slightly off tale, “[his] brain’s version,” he wrote The Skull.
Starred Review of the Week
Saints of the Household
Brothers Jay and Max, 11 months apart … live with their mother, who is Bribri (Indigenous Costa Rican), and their physically abusive white dad. The two live on high alert, and because their dad is much less likely to hurt their mom if one of them is around, they make sure she’s alone with him as little as possible.
Gertie: The Darling Duck of WWII
In April, 1945, a duck laid eggs on a high piling in the Milwaukee River, near a drawbridge in the heart of the city’s downtown.
Land of Broken Promises
In this follow-up to In the Beautiful Country, Anna (Taiwanese name Ai Shi) is finally adjusting to life in the United States, where she is finishing sixth grade.
Beneath
Grandpa wants to talk about Finn’s “horrible mood,” but Finn declines, believing that Grandpa doesn’t understand how Finn is feeling. Finn agrees to a walk but insists on remaining cloaked in a blanket.
I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom
Marisol’s mom died following a car accident that happened after she and Marisol had a huge fight. Marisol, 16, blames herself and has been out of control ever since, fixated on her failures as a daughter, especially how she and her mom (Filipina) always fought and how she didn’t say goodbye to her mom as she lay dying at the hospital.
The Eyes & the Impossible
Johannes takes his job as the “eyes” of the seaside park where he’s lived in the wild since he was a puppy very seriously.
Henry, Like Always
In Classroom Ten, Mrs. Tanaka keeps a predictable schedule. To Henry’s satisfaction, the Big Calendar looks the same every week—except for this Monday, when Mrs. Tanaka makes an unexpected announcement. In lieu of Friday afternoon Share Time, the class will have a special parade.
What My Daddy Loves
“My daddy loves starting the day with me.” On each page spread, a simple first-person statement about what the daddy shown loves doing “with me” accompanies an illustration showing a different Black dad and his young child engaged in the activity the child names.
First-Year Orientation
A well-rounded anthology of loosely connected short stories explores the excitement, trepidation, and (sometimes literal) magic of first-year orientation at fictional Rolland College.