Q: Do you have suggestions for changes we might make to our public library’s reconsideration process to discourage challenges from people who haven’t even looked at the materials they are challenging firsthand? It’s so frustrating …
Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods
This mouth-watering buffet enriched with history, culture, folklore, and personal anecdotes is divided into sections based primarily on courses of a Chinese meal (Tea, Appetizers, Soup, Side Orders, Chef’s Specials, Dessert).
The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale
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.
Requests to Purchase “Propaganda”
Q: My public library has received several requests to purchase books that are outside the scope of what we would typically collect. The request is for a subscription book series designed for the consumer (home) …
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.
Want to Avoid Self-Censorship
Q: With the threat of a challenges feeling constant, I’m finding it hard not to second-guess myself with selection decisions. The fear of a complaint, or of an administrator questioning my choices, is making it …
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.