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.
Informational
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.
As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts
A playful biography of artist and writer Edward Gorey is staged in three acts. “Act One: An Artist Is Born” introduces a precocious child who taught himself to read at age three and soon began crafting his own “deliciously sinister” tales.
City of Leafcutter Ants: A Sustainable Society of Millions
Beneath a Central American rainforest there exists a bustling, thriving city of eight million. Leafcutter ants, that is. They’re sisters, all of whom come from the same queen, the colony’s founder.
Everybody’s Book: The Story of the Sarajevo Haggadah
Repeatedly evading theft and destruction with the help of many over several centuries, a treasured book becomes a symbol of hope in a war-torn land.
The Fastest Drummer: Clap Your Hands for Viola Smith!
When Viola Smith first played the drums, “She lost the beat, made a terrible racket, and had more fun that she’d ever had before!” Born in 1912, Viola grew up in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin, where she and her sisters had a family band, the Smith Sisters Orchestra.
The Bard and the Book: How the First Folio Saved the Plays of William Shakespeare from Oblivion
“Act I: William Shakespeare Becomes Brilliant, Then Dies.” A captivating account details how the works of Williams Shakespeare were saved from obscurity thanks to the First Folio, printed seven years after his death.
The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II
Imagine accepting a job knowing nothing about the work, only to arrive by train at a nondescript location where the first order of business is to sign the Official Secrets Act.
Jimmy’s Rhythm and Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin
“Home is brick brown, / Harlem, uptown, / trains rumbling by.” An exquisitely composed picture book biography of James Baldwin illuminates his interest in the arts and development as a writer from a young age.