On a Norwegian island not far from the North Pole, deep inside a mountain, more than 580 million seeds are stored in three temperature-controlled vaults. The seeds originate around the globe and are sent to Svalbard as a backup: “Just in case.” There they are preserved and carefully protected, available to be withdrawn and planted at any time, even centuries from the time of deposit.
Informational
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown
Opening with a description of the gruesome scene that confronted U.S. troops after the mass deaths of Jonestown residents in 1978, this account delves into the history of Jim Jones and his cult.
Hick: The Trailblazing Journalist Who Captured Eleanor Roosevelt’s Heart
In the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, Lorena Hickok was a skilled and popular journalist, chronicler of the Depression for the U.S government, and intimate friend of Eleanor Roosevelt. This fascinating biography begins with Hickok’s childhood.
Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers’ Rights
“When adults … refuse to acknowledge that adolescence isn’t a time of innocence and ease for everyone, when they try to take away books that reflect the wide range of experiences of young people, they are attempting to change the narrative of what it means to be a teen in the United States” (Isabel Quintero). Fourteen creators of books for youth whose works have been among those targeted by censors challenging materials in school and public libraries in recent years offer their perspectives on book bans and censorship in the United States.
How Sweet the Sound: A Soundtrack for America
An exuberant, lyrical text celebrates the rich history and variety of music made and influenced by Black Americans. The chronological account begins with the beat of talking drums, “the fireside chorus / of the motherland,” before moving to forms of music that “shouldered” the enslaved and “lifted / the insufferable weight off our world”: hymns, field hollers, juba, litanies, spirituals.
Who Owns the Moon? And Other Conundrums of Exploring and Using Space
As NASA’s Artemis program works to return humans to the moon within the next few years, a timely account offers insight into the challenges of international cooperation as it relates to space exploration.
Make a Pretty Sound: A Story of Ella Jenkins—The First Lady of Children’s Music
“Ella is a South Side girl, a Bronzeville bird, skipping in streets that smell of sweets and black-eyed peas.” A narrative that pulses with rhythm and sings with lyrical language describes the life of Ella Jenkins, who was attuned to the sounds of the world around her, including music, from the time she was a child growing up in Chicago.
The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook
Fannie Farmer loved cooking as a child. When she lost the use of a leg as a teenager due to polio, her love of cooking helped reshape her vision for the future; while she recovered, she cooked. Fannie noticed that the imprecise instructions and measurements in most recipes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (e.g., “a suspicion of nutmeg”) made for inconsistent results.
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic
“You are a narwhal—shy, swift, small (for a whale).” Full of sensory detail, this narrative focusing on the life and activities of the “unicorn of the Arctic” begins on a “biting-cold December day,” in the dark of the Arctic, as “you,” a male narwhal, clash your tusk with that of another male.
The Monarch Effect: Surviving Poison, Predators, and People
An engrossing, detailed work of nonfiction delves into not only the behaviors and characteristics of monarch butterflies, but also the long history of human fascination—and, unfortunately, interference—with monarchs.