A farmer’s goodnight to the many cats in her barn has led to some confusion on the part of the donkey who also lives there. Donkey “knew he was a cat because Farmer had said so.”
2023 Books
Red & Green
This tall, narrow book features a bisected green tree studded with boldly colored “ornaments” on its red cover. Inside, a rhyming text riffs off Clement Moore’s poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (“It was a cold, wintry night, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring … except a small mouse!”) …
Rez Ball
Tre Brun is entering his sophomore year of high school on the Red Lake Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota.
Sorry, Snail
Ari is mad, and dancing her feelings out isn’t helping. A snail in the yard provides an outlet for her anger as she furiously whispers, “Look at that slimy body … That silly shell.” She gets right in its face and adds, “Those tentacle eyes! I just can’t look at you anymore, snail.”
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute
Celine Bangura and Bradley Graeme, Afro-British teens living in Nottingham, are former best friends who fell out in early adolescence.
The Lost Year
Three compelling storylines move back and forth between the first months of the pandemic in 2020, and Ukraine and Brooklyn in 1932 and 1933.
On the Edge of the World
Vera lives on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, with the Pacific Ocean stretching out beyond the coast. “My mom says we’re on the real edge of the world.” Lucas lives with his family in a small town on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Chile. “It’s the real edge of the world!” his grandmother tells him.
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.
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.