Alex Is Reading...THE SCORPION RULES

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow is one of those books that I wasn't really aware of leading up to its release, and then suddenly everyone I knew was reading it. (Including Clarissa--check out her shelf-talker in Young Adult.) It's a post-near-apocalypse novel, near rather than apocalypse because, on the brink of world catastrophe, a United Nations-operated artificial intelligence named Talis decides enough is enough. He ignores the U.N., bombs a few cities out of existence, makes a few speeches, makes a few rules, and four hundred years later, you have a lot less war...and the Children of Peace.

Greta and the other Children of Peace are the offspring of world leaders, gathered as hostages under the care of a loving but ruthless robot Abbot in former Canada. If any ruler in the world chooses to go to war, their hostage dies. As the book opens, war is looming and Greta is certain of her own death--but danger isn't coming from the direction she expects. The true peril arrives with brash, bewildered Elián, the newest of their number. 

All of the things I loved about this book are wildly big spoilers, so I won't tell you exactly what any of them are. I'll just say that the peril is constant, nailbiting, and real. The relationships that develop are nothing like what I expected. And the ending...is the kind of ending you are going to have an opinion about it. I loved it, and I can't wait to read what happens next.

Books to read after, and vice versa: 

Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey -- Amid dangerous rumblings between humans, fairies, and dragons, Tess emerges from a violent and tragic childhood in the woods, into a dangerous, kingless world where witches are burned, and the future is by no means guaranteed to be a romantic and comfortable thing.

Graceling by Kristen Cashore -- The Graceling books are basically superheroes in fantasyland. Gruff, wonderful Katsa's superpower is killing people. Her goal is to wrest control of her life back into her own hands, out of the clutches of people who make her murder for their gain.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- You know how it is. Katniss Everdeen, the girl who volunteered, trapped in a game where only one person is supposed to live, and the odds are never in your favor.

Court of Fives by Kate Elliot-- Class politics and family betrayal meet high-risk sports in this complex fantasy, as teenage Jessamy defies her parents and disguises herself to partake in THE FIVES.

House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer -- A boy named Matteo discovers he is a clone of the powerful drug lord of the country called Opium, created in case the Patron ever has need of spare parts.

Keeper of the Isis Light by Monica Hughes -- Olwen has lived alone on the planet Isis for years, keeping the lighthouse light that protects passing ships. When other humans land, her own humanity becomes a question.

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner--I love The Thief, but skip right over it if you're looking for an ideal female lead. The Queen Attolia is ruthless by necessity, having to protect her throne and her life from threats in all directions, by any means necessary. But she's clever, complicated, and by no means heartless. If you like Katsa or Katniss, try Irene.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein -- If you want a brutal and incredible book about steadfast love under interrogation that is somehow for teen readers...here you go. Here's the book! I've heard maybe one person ever say that they weren't that into it.

If you go out and read all of these heart-punchers in a row and your emotions cease functioning normally and You Can No Longer Handle This, please come and consult your Brookline Booksmith children's booksellers. We will be happy to prescribe a restorative fluff. Happy reading!

Alex Is Reading...SORCERER TO THE CROWN

This debut fantasy is the most sink-in-and-enjoy book I've read in quite awhile--the kind of book that makes me stop periodically and think, "Why do I bother reading anything that I like less than this? I could be reading this!"

It is also one of those books where I, to be totally honest, just want to rip off the dust jacket and write READ THIS BOOK across the cover instead. The cover is not good. The cover is a red splodge with a vaguely decipherable dragon across the top. The book, on the other hand, is a spectacularly handled regency diversion, a funny, spirited mix of disarmingly likeable characters, court politics, personal feuds, grumpy fairies, surprise dragons, and thoroughly considered, culturally diverse magical practice.

You might be reminded of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell from the premise on its own: England is losing its magic, and everyone wants to know why. Sorcerer to the Crown's protagonists are its superpower, though. Atypically for its genre, none of the three main characters is white. More typical are the harangued young gentleman and the strong-minded young woman who leads him on a chase, but this familiarity is paired with originality; generally speaking, regency heroines aren't nonchalantly traipsing through London with the majority of England's magical power tucked in their reticules.

(The third major player, by the way, is a Malaysian witch named Mak Genggang, who is so delightful that I will just leave her for you to discover on your own.)

It's a thoroughly fun book, and I'm already excited about the sequel--check it out in our scifi/fantasy section!

What To Read Next

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer is my favorite book by the absolute queen of regency romance. There are no bodice-rippers here--she's all family friendly, the long eighteenth century by way of the 1930s. This book features a haughty man of morals finding himself aghast at the cheerfully wild behaviors of a heroine who will remind you very much of Cho's Prunella.

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian is the starting point of this quintessential Napoleonic sea epic. Between battles against man and tide, you will learn so much about boats. Just, absolute loads about boats. You will not mind this, and the characters are wonderful.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin is a fantasy novel which drags a distant child of the emperor into the treacherous capital. There, barely restrained gods live, either the potential ruler's best hope for salvation, or an even greater danger to her than her vicious family.

Evelina by Frances Burney is where Jane Austen got her stuff. If you like Gossip Girl and Pride and Prejudice, it's time to back up to the 1770s, where hair is tall, gambling is rampant, and there's nothing worse you can be than a nice girl in London.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison is not set in our world, but it borrows a little steampunk and drags it back to the seventeeth/eighteenth centuries. Much like Sorcerer's Zacharias Wythe, newly enthroned Maia is racially an outcast, insecure as the new emperor. It's not an action book. Instead, intrigue, threats, and all, it moves slowly and gently through Maia's growth in a role he never expected.


His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik is the natural fantasy counterpart to Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin novels, featuring sentient dragons piloted by humans into the Napoleonic wars by brave men (and the occasional woman). Book-loving dragon Temeraire by far outshines everything else in the series, but the action is great and the human hero is noble--which I assume is something you like a little, if you like this genre at all.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell  by Susanna Clarke is a period fantasy that features Dickensian characters, heaps of intricate description, and a particularly good scene with the gargoyles of Yorkminster coming to life.

Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix is an upcoming (2016) young adult novel by the author of the Abhorsen series, mixing regency romance, magic, and mystery.

The Strangler Vine by M.J. Carter is a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery featuring a whiningly naive member of the East India Company paired with a jaded ex-member of same, trekking across India in search of a missing author and finding death and corruption along their trail. Complex, textured, and very aware of exactly what kind of role the British had in colonized India, it's a quick-paced, highly readable, fun adventure, absolutely packed with historical goodies.

Alex Is Reading...THE KIDS' CLASSICS

A lot of grown-ups looking for good readalouds come into the store trying to find more than the old standbys. This is understandable, and also wise: there is an endless flow of amazing writing for kids coming out all the time, and by sticking to the oldies, you can easily miss out on lifelong literary loves. A couple of years ago, however, I started to get both nostalgic and curious about the classics I'd been read as a child. My family (which contains no children, but if you don't read aloud to your fellow adults now, you should absolutely give it a try) started reading them over again. To my delight, the books that felt old and important and personal when I was five and six and seven feel freshly wondrous today.

So, to any parent groping for the next good bedtime book: pick something new, and pick a classic. They won't be stale for a child who has never read them, and you may be surprised at how bright and lively they feel to you.

Here are six children's classics that have not stopped making perfect bedtime, daytime, and anytime together reading.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame--The Wind in the Willows is a book with the same satisfactions as Frog and Toad, but much, much longer. The touching friendship of a brave mole and his easygoing companion the river rat is balanced perfectly against their disastrous friend TOAD, who gets way to into motorcars, and especially into motorcars he doesn't own. The book comes in a million and one editions, but I love the big gifty hardcover linked here and seen above, with full-page illustrations by Inga Moore.

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett--This one may have to be taken with several coarse grains of Victorian salt, but the saintly Sara Crewe and her troubles are still satisfying to read about. You still envy her that perfect doll, suffer with her as she slaves away for the dreadful Miss Minchin, and there's still smug gladness in watching her get her just rewards. But boy howdy does Frances Burnett look down on her poor friend Ermengarde!

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien--My own mother read me The Hobbit twice, at ages five and eight. I wasn't too troubled by the fatalities of the climactic battle, but as I child I loved (and loved again recently) the appealing pettiness of the dwarves, their various adventures, and the struggles of poor Bilbo (who would rather be home drinking tea) through goblin kingdoms, past hungry trolls, out of Gollum's slimy clutches, into the lair of Smaug, who is as good and greedy and well-spoken a dragon as you're ever likely to find.

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis--Okay. Publishing order dictates that you don't start with The Magician's Nephew, and I grant you that it doesn't go down as easy as some of Narnia. But as a kid I was enamored of all the little treasures in this book: hidden attics, magic rings, evil uncles, wild music, practically sacred woods filled with almost dangerous peace, an ancient broken world from which a bone-crackingly terrible queen escapes.

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers--Julie Andrews made her look 90% nice, but Mary Poppins isn't nice. She's interesting. As the hapless Jane and Michael Banks (and younger siblings) follow Mary Poppins at her whim, half of the wonder is in the adventures they have, and half is in the awe and love everything they encounter feel about Mary Poppins. You might start to notice repetitions in the themes if you read beyond the first book, but I recommend going forward. There is enormous comfort in Mary Poppins, the snippy, vain, and glorious.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum--The shoes are silver, NOT red. The series doesn't have the melodrama or black and white morals of its recent adaptations. It is delightfully bizarre, a string of slightly brutish heroines tumbling through nonsense-adventures which leave you scratching your head, but glad about it. I link here to the first omnibus, which goes as far as Ozma of Oz and its plucky Bill the Chicken, but the full color Usborne edition of the first book we carry in the store is beautiful and highly recommended.

Alex Is Reading...LOIS LANE: FALLOUT

Lois Lane: Fallout is a YA novel about amazingly wonderful teenager Lois Lane moving to Metropolis, joining the Daily Planet's experimental student arm, and immediately putting it at jeopardy by threatening the big, the bad, the powerful, and their crafty weapon design program that uses zombiefied teenage virtual reality MMORPG players as guinea pigs.

It is kind of like reading the book distillation of Veronica Mars (or iZombie, maybe?)  plus Batman Beyond. There is peril, there is bravado, there is technologically questionable science, there is THIS MYSTERIOUS AND CHARMING PERSON ON THE INTERNET WHO ONLY GOES BY SMALLVILLEGUY. I really love these things, you guys. They make such a fun book together. SUCH a fun book.

Also, THERE IS GOING TO BE A SEQUEL.

But Lois is not the only mystery-solving girl in the world of kid/YA fiction. There are more, and they are so wonderful, and you should read about all of them.

ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN GIRL DETECTIVE

Cam Jansen series by David A. Adler -- Even more than Nate the Great, Cam Jansen introduced me to mystery stories. She is one cool character. Also, she has a photographic memory, which I pretended I also had for about two years after my first Cam Jansen book. You can find her BOTH in our leveled readers and in First Chapter Books.

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry -- I think I threw this at every gift-buying adult shopping for a 9-13 year old that I met in November and December. This is the completely delightful and very funny story of a Victorian girls' school after the headmistress and her brother die mysteriously one night at dinner. With these two buried in the back garden, the girls are free for the first time ever! But someone is going to find those bodies...and someone killed them to begin with.

Hawkeye by Matt Fraction et. al. -- Yessss, at last a Marvel comic gets onto one of my blog posts. Hawkeye is about two Hawkeyes: the sad Clint Barton man Hawkeye, and the exceptionally perfect, sublime, and superior Hawkeye Kate Bishop. The first two books are about both of them (and you should read them, because they completely rethink what superhero comics are allowed to do, and are beautiful), but in book three, Kate is all on her own. How does that go? We just got this series into the store, and I am so stoked about it.

Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene -- THE CLASSIC. We have the first couple books in stock in Intermediate fiction, as well as some volumes of three different spinoff series in our First Chapter Books section! You may also find some vintage books in our Used Book Cellar, in various states of expurgation.

Scarlet Undercover by Jennifer Latham -- What is this?! A black Muslim orphan girl detective? OH YES. If you like Gwenda Bond's Lois Lane, you will definitely love Scarlet, whose gradeschool client is absolutely right in thinking that her brother is up to something really, really not quite right.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin -- Okay, I've DEFINITELY written about this before, but come on! Halloween, dead millionaires, an underwhelming girl named Turtle who is secretly (not that secretly--how could you love any character more than Turtle?) the very, very best, and a delicious ending that is probably only one small part of what got this book its Newbery.

Sammy Keyes series by Wendelin Van Draanen -- I ate these up so fast in middle school. Sammy is just the coolest and best. Her adventures are always action-packed, the plots are quirky, and at least one of them involves nuns. You can sometimes find a few of the books used downstairs, sold only, I imagine, in a truly desperate moment by their former owners.

In conclusion: if you have other favorite girl detectives, please immediately tell me everything.

Alex Is Reading...UPROOTED

As soon as it came out, I heard about a dozen ravingly positive reviews of Naomi Novik's new adult fantasy novel Uprooted (including Clarissa's--check out her shelf talker in Sci Fi). I finally pushed aside the vast piles of upcoming kids' books I absolutely have to read, and gave Novik's departure from Napoleonic dragon battles some precious reading time. Verdict before plot: if the first fifty pages don't grab you, KEEP GOING. It will be reading time well-spent. From that moment (really, page fifty, I mean it quite literally) 'til the end of the book, Uprooted is a tense, fast-pasted, highly creative and sometimes (satisfyingly) gruesome fight-for-your-life against the raging, dangerous and extraordinary power at the heart of a forbidding wood.

The plot of Uprooted is basically this: seventeen-year-old apparently average village girl Agnieszka is snatched from home by a magician called the Dragon, who protects the villages from the evil powers of the forest, but no one likes him much because he's a jerk. Everyone is surprised her pretty friend doesn't get taken instead, but it turns out this is because Agnieszka is incredibly magical, and in a really weird way, too. Which is good, because it turns out her weird way of doing magic is the best chance local humankind has of stopping the woods in its tracks before it kidnaps, murders, and buries the entire country in malevolent carnivorous trees.

A lot of the most interesting stuff, aside from the monsters, is how Novik writes about magic in this book, especially when the ways that Agnieszka and the Dragon experience the same spells are completely different. Complicated, original magic is one of the coolest things about good fantasy. Smart girls learning magic (and possibly frightening everyone in the process) is even better, and as it turns out, that is a genre that exists for all ages. So please, pick up the Novik, but do not stop there. Here are some suggestions for the entire family.

LADIES, LEARNING, MAGIC

Among Others by Jo Walton -- (Found in SF, and currently on our bargain table) The magic learning doesn't really take place in school in this book, but the protagonist, while plowing through hundreds of sci fi novels and processing the death of her twin sister and the looming threat of her mother, is forced to learn how magic works, in order not to do any more damage than she already has by using it.

Circle of Magic by Tamora Pierce -- (Available online; recommended for middle school+) This quartet gives one volume to each of four young students of magic, who all use a different medium. The first three books are about girls Sandry, Tris, and Daja. The magic is neat, and the characters are among my favorites by Tamora Pierce. 

Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness -- (Fiction/SF) You can find this trilogy of magical academia, Oxford, and women's friendships in both adult fiction and science fiction, and they delight our readers from both sides of the aisle.

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett -- (SF) Like most Discworld novels, this one stands alone just fine, as it tackles collegiate sexism through a girl who has the appalling gall to want to study magic at university.

Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell -- (Kids' Graphica) Antimony Carver is a poker-faced girl with a mysterious past, going to a boarding school populated with possessed students, sentient robots, ghosts, and monsters. She also learns magic from the gods that live in the nearby wood. This is an awesome, awesome graphic novel series that unfolds slowly, beautifully, and sometimes painfully, page by page.

Lirael by Garth Nix -- (YA/SF) The sequel to Sabriel stands firm enough without its predecessor. The first large chunk of it takes place in a vast library inside a glacier. There, teenage Lirael learns step by painstaking step how to use a power she does not want to gain the things that she does. The mythology of these books is always tremendous, and Lirael fails to make right choices in all the places that result in an extremely satisfying story.

I've previously mentioned Nnedi Okorafor's upper middle grade Nigerian fantasy Akata Witch, and I emphatically continue to recommend that. I'd also advise anyone who digs around in used bookstores to keep their eye out for Monica Furlong's Wise Child, Caroline Stevermer's A College of Magics and Pamela Dean's Tam Lin. They're three very different but all very good books that I'd put in your hands if I could get them into my own. Last of all, it's not quite in the theme of the list, but I recommend Patricia A. McKillip's The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, and truly all McKillip novels for a delicious sense of place, magic, and wildness in full flower.

Alex Is Reading...WINGS OF FIRE

WHEW. This last Thursday's event with Chris Colfer and his fourth Land of Stories book was a huge success! I was told by one fan that it was "the best book signing [they'd] ever been to," and from up at the register and outside with the loooooooong line, I saw so many glowingly happy faces. This kind of hectic day really is one of my favorite things about the job.

Our next kids' event is coming right up! Tui Sutherland, (local!) author of the Wings of Fire series, will be with us on the NINETEENTH OF JULY AT 2PM. The seventh book of the series, WINTER TURNING, has just come out, and it is time to celebrate!

(Look at this awesome cover art. LOOK.)

If you haven't read Wings of Fire already, it is not too late to start. They are quick-paced, action-packed dragon adventures, featuring warring tribes, peril, and cool dragon powers. The main characters are a growing cast of slightly unusual dragonets (young dragons, of course!)--starting with five dragonets from different groups, who have been raised in isolation with the hopes that they will fulfill a prophecy to end the war. But while they do want the war to end, they quickly discover they are not so interested in acting on the orders of any adult dragon they meet. Instead they set off to fix things in their own way--if only they can keep from being killed in the process.

In short: this series is dragon Game of Thrones for kids (9+ is the recommended age), and it is awesome.

If you have read the whole series, and you are looking for something to feed your reading appetites when the last page is finished, here are a few more books you might check out until, some day in the hopefully not too distant future, Wings of Fire eight comes out.

IN THE MEANTIME, top three:

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin -- In a fantasy landscape based on China and Chinese mythology, a young girl travels through legend and story in the company of a dragon to make her poor family's fortune.

Dragon of the Lost Sea by Lawrence Yep -- An evil witch has trapped the sea in which dragon princess Shimmer and her people live inside a single pearl. Although Shimmer is an outlaw, she may be the only hope of her people. Alongside a poor human boy named Thorn, Shimmer quests for the missing pearl that will restore her home, and perhaps her people's faith in her.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson -- A graphic novel about a villain (Ballister), a hero (Goldenloin), a morally questionable benevolent organization (the Organization), and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, a shapeshifting girl sidekick with ten times the personality of everyone else, who is so...so....so much more than Ballister expects.

A Few More Great Choices:

Dealing With Dragons series by Patricia C. Wrede

The Thickety series by J.A. White

Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins

House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi


We hope to see you on Sunday! Until then--happy reading!

Alex Is Reading...BOOK

I already had the idea for this post in my head when a new book came in. (Today, it came in. Good timing.) It's called Book. Written by David Miles and illustrated by Natalie Hoopes, it's a lovely collage, a love letter to the paper book. (It doesn't care much for electronics, so if you have too soft a soft spot for your e-reader, it might hit you where you're vulnerable.) It's also the newest addition to what I think is a genuinely lovely and not often named genre of books that let art come--literally--alive.

When I was working on my last post, Christopher Myers's My Pen started me thinking about books that carry their characters into whole, physical worlds built out of their or other people's creativity. The popular Quest and Journey books by Aaron Becker are perfect examples, where a girl's crayon is her key to exploring a vast, vibrant, beautifully painted world. In Robert Sabuda's (typically!) fantastic pop-up The Dragon and the Knight, knight and dragon chase each other through not only the fairy tales they come from but the physical pages of the books those fairy tales are in.

For middle-grade readers, Michael Ende's The Neverending Story is the cornerstone of a tradition wherein child characters walk straight into the stories they are reading--Cornelia Funke's Inkheart books and Chris Colfer's The Land of Stories series are two well-loved instances.(Incidentally, Chris Colfer will be signing copies of the fourth book in this series at the Booksmith on July 9th!) In young adult, Meg Wolitzer's Belzhar provides catharsis to its teenage protagonists through the act of writing their truths. Jasper Fforde's adult mystery/fantasy Thursday Next series is an irrepressibly self-referential epic traipse through the lives of characters who know they are characters, moving from book to book and pun to pun at a hectic pace.

A central conviction behind fiction writing is that good stories are real in their consequences, in their emotional impact, in the images and lives that they conjure in our heads when we read and write and tell them. It's always about creating something out of the thin air of our imaginations and having it stick, as if it were as solid as we are. So the characters who get to walk, really and truly, into their art and their books are very particularly about us.

Lots of characters get to do things we can't, but these characters get to do the thing that is one step beyond us. They are doing the thing that we always feel is just past our fingertips--solidifying the flights of their imaginations into worlds that will hold up under their feet. It's throwing metaphor out in front of them and finding continents, skies, seas, and every living thing, there to really breathe and touch. It's the moment in The Magician's Nephew where Aslan starts singing, and Narnia happens out of a dark expanse of not-yet-imagined. What a wonderful thing that is! It's no wonder there are lots of stories about it.

And it's no wonder that picture books are an incredible medium for stories like this. Art is all about taking a blank world, paper or canvas or screen, and filling it with life. Imagination is the realm of people who haven't forgotten to use it--especially children. Last week we read Harold and the Purple Crayon in storytime, and I was struck by it in a new way. When I was little, nothing about that book worried me. I understood that each piece of Harold's adventure would safely lead to the next, because Harold had his crayon and his wits, and that was all it took. (I also really liked the part about pie.)

As an adult, I still have faith in Harold, but for the first time I find it a little eerie--because there is nothing in either the pictures or the words of that book, aside from Harold's hand and his mind, that he hasn't created himself. There is no point at which he walks out the front door. He knows he has a bedroom, but it exists because he draws it at the end. That's incredible! Many stories have characters falling into books or starting in our world, but Crockett Johnson didn't need any of that. All he needed was a little boy with a simple tool and a mind that made things real, and the whole world grew up around him. It grew up with such strength that all it took was a few purple lines, and we never questioned where it started or where it ended. We just believed that it was real.

That's taking joy in what stories are, and what they can do.

Alex Is Reading...Picture Books With Characters of Color!

 Interior art from ONE FAMILY.

This one's not apropos of any single book I'm reading this week, but instead is a short answer to one very frequent customer request: PICTURE BOOKS WITH CHARACTERS WHO ARE NOT WHITE. There is plenty of wonderful stuff out there that fits this bill, but it can be hard to find, especially when all you can see is the skinny spines on our (very) full shelves. For next time you're in, here is a list of books from the classic to the shiny and new.

16 Picture Books with Main Characters of Color

 

The New Small Person by Lauren Child--Not all new siblings are welcome...ESPECIALLY NOT THIS ONE. Absolutely delightful book about how to turn unwanted family additions into your closest friends and allies.

Keats's Neighborhood by Ezra Jack Keats--This volume collects twelve classic picture books by Ezra Jack Keats, showing the everyday lives of young children (usually Black) living in the city.

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams--It's a colorful, heartful classic that I really can't recommend enough. A working class family suffers setbacks but, ever loving, manage to save the money to buy a beautiful easy chair for their hard-working mother.

The Rain Stomper by Addie Boswell, illustrated by Eric Velasquez--Jazmin the baton twirler is disappointed when the parade is rained out, but she starts a parade of her own, joyfully stomping the rain in time to the thunder. The whole neighborhood joins in.

Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin--A simple, delicious book about a family out for dim sum.

Stone Soup by John J. Muth--The traditional story of sneakily getting a stingy community to share their way into a delicious meal for everyone, as carried out by Buddhist monks. Gorgeous watercolors and a great readaloud text.

My Pen by Christopher Myers--This lovely book about the freedom and power of imagination rides along on Myers's intricate ink drawings, and is based on his experiences as a young black artist.

Float by Daniel Miyares--Float came out this month, and it's a beautiful, contemplative addition to the library of picture books about imagination. Like My Pen, it features a young child who follows their creativity through adventures of their own making. 

We All Went on Safari by Laurie Krebs and Julie Cairns--A bright and rhythmic counting book filled with Maasai characters, wild animals, and counting in Swahili.

Oh No! Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Dan Santat--What is NOT to like about a book where a young girl scientist makes a killer robot that has psychic power over dogs? Caldecott winner Santat's illustrations are delightful, and there's a surprise under the dust jacket...

 Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson--A little boy and his grandmother travel farther and farther outside the "nice" parts of town, but the nicest things are waiting for them at the end of their story.

Bigmama's by Donald Crews--When the family heads down to Bigmama's for the summer, it's a joyful, loving celebration of family and good times.

Firebird by Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers--The award-winning picture book story of ballerina  Misty Copeland, illustrated with vibrant pantings by Myers.

Mimi and Ling and Tariq and Mika by Annalien Wehrmeijer, illustrated by Deborah Van de Liejgraaf--This series of board books features children around the world with their pets. It also features in-book finger puppets of those pets, so little readers can play along.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Rachel Isadora--A dynamic retelling of the fairytale that moves the story to Africa, with Isadora's trademark style.

5 Ensemble Picture Books with Characters of Color 

These books feature broader ideas more than they do stories, and part of their broadness is in their inclusion of racial, ethnic, gender, age and family diversity.

10 Little Fingers and 10 Little Toes by Mem Fox, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

 One Family by George Shannon, illustrated by Blanch Gomez

Love Always Everywhere by Sarah Massini

Peace Is an Offering by Annette LeBox, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

More, More, More Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams


We usually have these books on our shelves, and you can follow the links to find them online. (And do you have favorite picture books featuring characters of color? Let other people know in the comments!)

Happy reading!

Alex Is Reading....BOOKS FULL OF PRIDE!!

Woo hoo! It's the first day of June! That means two things. One: it is now allowed to be hot and humid and sun-boilingly summery outside. (Hence, it is raining and cold.)

Two: it is PRIDE MONTH. The Booksmith will be celebrating Pride Month with a lovely display of selected LGBT+ titles from around the store--but there are a few (a lot!) of good books that are just not going to fit. 

You don't want to miss any of the good stuff! So here is a guide to great LGBT+ titles for kids and young adults that you can find on our shelves (or in our online store) every day.

~*~*~*~SO MANY GOOD LGBT+ BOOKS~*~*~*~
for kids and young adults


PICTURE BOOKS

Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall - Red says "red" on the wrapper, but he always seems to come out more...blue? How is he supposed to be happy when everyone expects him to be something he's not? If this story seems like it might be about a transgender crayon, that's because it totally is. (And yes, it also carries a universal message of being true to yourself.)

Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman, illustrated by Laura Cornell - The picture book classic is back in print with all new bright, lush, kid-friendly watercolor illustrations. You can also find Newman's books Mommy, Mama, and Me and Daddy, Papa, and Me in the board book section.

Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer - It's bring your mother to school day, but Stella has two fathers. What will she do? BRING THEM INSTEAD!

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry Cole - The last of our picture books about same-sex parents, featuring world famous penguins. We don't have to talk about gay parenting via penguins anymore, but this book is still sweet as anything and lovely to look at.

Jacob's New Dress by Sarah Hoffman and Ian Hoffman, illustrated by Chris Case - A gender nonconforming little boy celebrates the wonders of his beautiful wardrobe.

I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas -Famous real-life transgender girl Jazz Jennings shares her life with young readers.

INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Better Nate Than Ever and Five, Six, Seven, Nate by Tim Federle - Two autobiographical novels about a small-town gay boy who ran away to the big city to fulfill his Broadway dreams.

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky - Sixth-grader Grayson doesn't feel like the boy everyone thinks she is--but she's smart enough to know that people won't be happy when they find out. She decides, despite her fears, to try out for the female lead in the class play. This may prove once and for all who she can trust and who she can't, but it will also prove that Grayson can stay true to herself no matter what.

And be on the lookout in August for George by Alex Gino. George, too, wants to show her colors on the stage as part of coming out in real life, but her voice and her story are all her own.

YOUNG ADULT FICTION & NONFICTION

Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens by Kathy Belge and Mark Bieschke - (Nonfiction) Everyone starts figuring things out somewhere, and there is no rule that says you can't have help. 

Rethinking Normal by Katie Rain Hill - (Nonfiction) You might think that the small town of Okay, Oklahoma is not the best place for a teenager to come out as a trans girl. And you would be right. But Katie Rain Hill did it anyway. Now she's a trans rights activist, a college student, and the author of this candid, charming memoir, chock full of personality and personal truth.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli - OH. MY. GOSH. THIS. BOOK. It's a little about blackmail and quite a bit about coming out (WITHOUT IT BEING A DISASTER!!!), a lot about friendship, and SO MUCH about being a big old high school nerd who likes theatre and Doctor Who and falls in glorious, goofy, miraculous love with a boy you (maybe) haven't even met.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray - A plane full of pageant contestants crashes on a not-so-deserted island and takes on the patriarchy. Among the survivors: at least one lesbian, and the most fabulous trans girl of all time. Acerbic, meta, and weird as heck.

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg - Sometimes you get tired of being The Gay Kid, so when you move to a new school, you come out as...straight. The question is, how's the payoff? Is it better to have the (not always very awesome) spotlight on you, or to hide a crucial part of who you are all the time, in front of everybody? 

(Also check out Konigsberg's new book, The Porcupine of Truth, which involves missing relatives, dying deadbeat dads, paper porkers that determine your destiny, and a new best friend who is, alas, a very cool lesbian recently rendered homeless by a not so accepting family.)

There are so many more! Anything by David Levithan, and Amy will certainly recommend you Jandy Nelson's award-winning I'll Give You the Sun--new stuff comes out all the time and we're happy to share it with you.

From all over the Booksmith, happy June and happy reading!

Alex Is Reading...MAGONIA

Maria Dahvana Headley's Magonia isn't exactly the book you think it's going to be. When it starts off, its protagonist is on the verge of dying from a mysterious respiratory illness that has plagued her for her entire life. All right, you think. Here goes another acerbic, wonderful dying teen girl, leaving behind her grieving best friend, and his analytical genius mind, and his tendency to recite pi when he's upset.

Okay, so that already sounds like some darn good writing in the sick teens genre. The thing is, that is not the whole story. The rest of the story is the explanation for this setup: that Aza Ray, seemingly unsuited to the basic facts of life on Earth, isn't strictly speaking of the Earth. That while she wheezes through hospital visits, ships fill the skies invisible to humankind, and birds who sing heart-songs live in people's chests. That while she waits for the day she will die (too young), shapeshifters and flying cities and missing mothers and brutal politics close in. They are coming to rip Aza Ray out of the only world she remembers, into one where she is told that she belongs.

Magonia is a brand-new book, inventive, soaring, and unique, and definitely one to check out.

FIVE BOOKS TO READ ALONGSIDE MAGONIA

1. Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Boy crosses forbidden wall in normal English village; nine months later, boy is left with a baby. Some years after that, the baby goes back across the wall to catch a fallen star for the girl he thinks is the love of his life. Instead he finds out the the star is a (very interesting) person, gets in a lot of trouble at the hands of greedy witches and power-hungry princes, and discovers that his birthright has been on that side of the wall all along...

2. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Seraphina has been hiding her half-dragon heritage for her entire life. That has meant hiding herself. But her music is beginning to draw her into the limelight, dragon-human politics are becoming increasingly tense, and Seraphina has just learned that she and other half-dragons can find each other telepathically. Soon Seraphina may have to take a stand--where everyone can see it. The long-long-long anticipated sequel to this one just came out, and you'll be glad you don't have to wait.

3. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

After Gemma Doyle's mother is murdered, Gemma is sent packing from India to attend her mother's old boarding school. The only saving grace of the school, aside from Gemma's few friends, is a magical discovery: a haunting other world where they have the power to make everything they dream of real. But they're not the only people who know about this magical country--and some of what lurks there is deadly and heartless.

4. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

The first thing that happens is that Elizabeth Marie Hall dies in a car crash. Then, the story begins: Liz arrives in a strange, quiet place--not quite heaven, not hell, just...elsewhere. As she adjusts to life after death, her family grieves her in their life after her death. Will any of them be able to let go? Surprisingly, Elsewhere isn't a devastating book--it's thoughtful, original, and about learning to look for what comes next.

5. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman

Impetuous Lyra has grown up sheltered by Oxford's many walls, with only herself and Pan, the animal embodiment of her soul, for company. But thanks to the machinations of distant parents and heartless strangers, she is thrust into a world of witches, portals, armored bears, missing children, and cruel plots that could forever twist her world into an ugly, death-filled place.

~

So those are my recommendations for if you want to get your head into the clouds instead of out of them. None of them are entirely safe, but they're sure to be exhilarating. Happy reading!

Alex Is Reading...YOU NEST HERE WITH ME

One of my favorite recent books to appear in the kids' section is a picture book, written by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Semple with art by Melissa Sweet, called You Nest Here With Me. It's a simply lovely winding down book that manages to be informative and soothing at the same time. Mixed media and deft, expressive watercolors illustrate the lives of wild birds from catbird to hawk, while the text declares where each of these birds sleep--punctuated with the (human) parent's gentle reassurance that, "You nest here with me."

Sweet without being saccharine, and supplemented with a few extra facts about each of the birds at the end of the book, You Nest Here With Me is one of my favorite bedtime books in ages--likely to soothe equally its adult readers and young listeners.

In case one bedtime book isn't enough (is one bedtime book ever enough?), here are a few more we have to share.

Wonderful Bedtime Picture Books

(that you won't immediately get tired of reading) 

The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, illus. by Clement Hurd

Llama, Llama, Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Goodnight Already by Jory John, illus. by Benji Davies

The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson, illus. by Beth Krommes

There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and Steam Train, Dream Train by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illus. by Tom Lichtenheld

Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book by Dr. Seuss

Power Down, Little Robot by Anna Stanesziewski

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems

The Napping House by Audrey Wood and Don Wood

Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett

Somewhere around the end of this list, everyone should be getting sleepy. Happy reading, and sweet dreams!

Alex Is Reading...THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES

This is one of those books that I've thought about picking up over and over, and when I finally started reading it I kicked myself--why didn't I read it earlier?! The Cabinet of Curiosities is basically a game where four authors come up with a topic (fairies! cake! love!) and then take turns telling horrible stories about it. IT'S GREAT. Our four authors are Stefan Bachmann (The Peculiar), Claire Legrand (Winterspell), Katherine Catmull (Summer and Bird) and Emma Trevayne (Coda), and they serve up a delicious three dozen short stories that will give you the creeping and excellent sensation of reading Roald Dahl crossed with Coraline.

If after you've finished that you should want more spine-tinglers, try some of these--

WELL, THAT WAS TERRIFYING!

some satisfyingly scary books for kids and young adults

The Diviners by Libba Bray -- (YA) It's Evie's flapper tendencies that get her in trouble, not her possible psychic powers--until she lands in New York just as a ghostly serial murderer begins a terrifying spree across the city.

Heap House by Edward Carey -- In a vast mansion surrounded by a sea of garbage, our hero hears the haunting whispers of inanimate objects that can only desperately speak their human names.

Seventh Son by Joseph Delaney -- I mentioned the Last Apprentice series in my holiday post, but let me reiterate: HAIR-RAISING witches and adrenaline to spare.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman -- When your alternate universe family has buttons for eyes, you have to know something is not right. Dave McKean's spidery illustrations only add to the shivers.

The Fall by Bethany Griffin -- (YA) Poe's Fall of the House of Usher retold from the perspective of the teenage girl who lives there at the end. Do they live? Do they die?

Wait Til Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn -- (Available online & used) Molly's little stepsister isn't very nice, but at least the raging ghost she's threatening Molly with doesn't exist...right?

Clockwork by Phillip Pullman -- (Available online) A chilling fairy tale set in deep winter in a fictional Germany, where stories may come to life....but not everyone gets out alive.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz -- The absolute classic of terrifying kids' books, filled with suspenseful, ghastly legends that will haunt your dreams.

Happy reading! And keep your lights on.

Alex Is Reading...SWIM THAT ROCK

Swim That Rock is a classic. I mean, it's a new book, but it's put together like a classic--our main character has lost his father, and he and his mother are close to losing their diner. In a small Rhode Island town, the solution for being trapped in grief and strapped for cash may be one and the same: the biggest opportunity to pull quahogs that anyone's seen for decades. It's satisfyingly filled to the brim, like a quahogger's bullrake, with perseverance, personal strength, and tantalizing details of the fisherman's trade--with a side of mobsters and pirates.

There's really nothing quite like a book on the water--here are some more that might catch you in their wake.

My Heart Is On the Water

Kids' Books for the Roving Reader

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome -- 1939 classic in every sense, about kids who actually get to sail off from their parents and have adventures on islands.

The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye -- Aref is devastated to leave his home in Oman for Michigan, but like a sea turtle, he will find his way home no matter where he travels.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell -- Stranded on her island when the rest of her tribe leaves for better grounds, Karana survives the elements of the Pacific alone. We have this in the UBC.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi -- It's 1832, and Charlotte Doyle is returning to Rhode Island from England. Her voyage goes awry, and she is trapped aboard a mutinying ship with a cruel captain at the helm. Worse yet, she's soon on trial for murder.

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper -- A holiday on the coast of Cornwall takes a menacing and mythological turn--as they may be one step ahead of some much more frightening people in finding the Holy Grail.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson -- You know the story, but trust me, it is well worth the time to go back to the original swashbuckler.

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus --In 1841, Manjiro is trapped on a deserted island and unable to return home through Japan's closed borders. So instead, he travels the world, breaking all expectations as he goes.

YA Books:

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater -- Man-eating horses rise from the waters, trapped and raced once a year by the ambitious and the fearful. Sean is a champion racer. Puck never meant to race at all. But now that she is racing--the first girl ever--she can't hesitate for a moment.

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick -- This journey will take you through time and through lifetimes, over water and across the strange, treacherous territory of Blessed Island, whose blessing is bloody, and whose story never moves in a straight line.

Tides by Betsy Cornwell -- Selkies, and the girl who finds them. Different, eerie, and romantic. You can order this book through us.

I also, on the YA side, highly recommend Monstrous Affections, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant,  which includes some snippets of the high, and extremely monstrous, seas.

For the ambitious, also please see Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian and the twenty-some books that follow it. Seaborne adventuring through storm, battle, and more, with exquisite detail and wonderful characters. You can usually find some in the UBC, or order them from our website.

Happy reading!

Alex Is Reading...RED GLOVE

You might know from Twitter (or from coming into the store) that along with TEN MILLION INCHES OF SNOW, the new year has brought the Booksmith a bigger Young Adult section! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay! One of the great things about this is that, to keep all the current YA books from falling over in little lonely piles, we have to get more books to fill those new shelves up. Like, for example, a friend for Holly Black's WHITE CAT: its sequel, RED GLOVE.

These are the first two books of Black's Curseworkers trilogy, which combine con artist, mobsters, and a little bit of noir with great characters, complicated (read: dastardly) families, a tiny bit of prep school, and a whole lot of political tension over people who can "work" curses...generally on other people. By halfway through the first book these were already my favorite Holly Black books (I'm not alone--see Amy's shelf talker!), and truly, what's not to love?

Basically, though, anything with slightly criminal underdogs, clever plots, spry storytelling and a mean twist ending has got my attention. I could go on all day about pranksters, con artists and capers on screen--James Cagney flicks, Clue, Leverage, The Sting!  But there are plenty of books in this genre as well.

WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE?

five kids' books to wake your brain up

The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base -- Lavish illustrations, lively text, a cast of exotic animals dressed to the nines, and a dinner party mystery whose solution is locked at the end of the book to stave off accidental spoilers. You can find this book on our website--best for elementary school.

The Westing Game by Ellen Rasking -- I always come back to this one because it's really the best. Raskin was asked for a "puzzle mystery" by her young friend, and she provided: sixteen suspects, one dead millionaire, a fortune at stake. But it's the dead man's game, and you can never be sure just what he's playing at.

The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson -- A group of (generally good-spirited) middle school con artists take on their biggest challenge yet: save a school council election from the kids who want to rig it. Diverse cast, high energy, and gleefully genre-appropriate language will propel you along through a book that's sheer fun.

The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John -- My absolute favorite book of the new year! Miles Murphy was the best prankster at his old school. He plans to be the best prankster at his new school. The problem is, someone is already pranking Yawnee Valley...someone who might just be better at pranks than he is. Will Miles find out who the other prankster is? And are they destined to be enemies...or are two pranksters better than one? 

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner -- Teenage thief Gen gets pulled out of prison to find a magic rock (that may or may not exist) or suffer the consequences. A good reason to cooperate, right? But Gen has his own plans--which you won't know until the very end of the book, because he is going to lie to your face the entire time. Amazing characters, incredible plotting, and INFURIATING LEVELS OF CLEVERNESS. I first read this book fifteen years ago and it's still my favorite book in the world. Available online. Best for grade 7+.

Alex Is Reading...HELPFUL GUIDES TO THE APOCALYPSE

SO YOU'VE BEEN LIVING IN BOSTON FOR THE LAST MONTH:

A Helpful List of Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian Books You May Not Have Read Yet

1. The Wind Singer (Book 1 of the Wind on Fire Trilogy) by William Nicholson, currently available in the children's section of the Used Book Cellar. An other-world fantasy which starts with a dystopian plot in book one and moves on to bigger and better (and equally fascinating) things in books two and three.

2. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, available in our Young Adult section. Also a trilogy. The language is unique and gripping, the story is ferocious, and it's unforgettably atmospheric.

3. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, a story about a boy raised in a country called Opium who discovers the horrific reality of what he is: a clone of the country's drug lord, created as potential spare parts for the original. It'll be in Young Adult.

4. Starglass by Phoebe North, a subtle, beautiful book that takes place on a city-sized spaceship seeking a new future for humanity on a far-away planet. Carefully intertwines personal and political loyalties and turns dystopia and romantic tropes on their heads. And then there's the ending, which gut-punches the entire story so far and makes all those big problems look suddenly small. Also worth noting--this ship is culturally Jewish. Find it in Young Adult.

5. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin lives over in adult fiction, and it's the precursor to every single dystopian novel you've ever heard of--before Brave New World, before 1984, before Fahrenheit 451, before The Hunger Games, before Divergent, there was this little Russian novel. It's also fantastic.

6. The City of Ember by Jeanne du Prau may not be my very favorite kids' dystopia, but there's a good graphic novel adaptation of this story of a long-underground human civilization in our kids graphica section.

7. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson is over in adult Science Fiction (good for teen readers), and it's a classic mind trip about a pizza delivery guy named Hiro Protagonist, virtual reality, and post-disaster America.

8. The Prince Who Fell from the Sky by John Claude Bemis is a convincing and satisfying futuristic animal fantasy, about the animals living on post-apocalypse Earth when a single human child--survivor of a spaceship crash--lands among them. You can order this one through our website. Intermediate.

9. The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick is about a kid who's charged with, essentially, protecting the last records of human knowledge in a world that's fallen apart. Also available online. Intermediate.

10. Feed by M.T. Anderson (to be found in Young Adult) is where I started reading dystopian fiction. So, it's America's future, and the weather is all screwy and people are getting weird diseases, but your extremely portable technology always knows just what you want to shop for! That's good, right? Hint: it's not good. It's totally not good. It's totally, extremely not good. (But it is a good book.)

With these books and others in hand, may you have a snug continued snowpocalypse. Happy chilly reading!

Children's Author and Illustrator Week: Alex Is Reading Megan Whalen Turner

Okay.

So these books, up here in this fuzzy picture, are my copies of Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series: The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, and A Conspiracy of Kings. They're four books of a proposed six-book YA series that are less fantasy and more...alternate Greco-Roman past world with a slight chance of interfering gods. The central character is a deeply obnoxious, incredibly talented thief who lies to everyone--including you, the reader--CONSTANTLY, and his ideas WORK but always have AWFUL CONSEQUENCES. The other main characters include a) the best and scariest and b) the best and most relatable queens ever in books, ever ever ever. OH, THEY ARE GREAT.

The books are really subtle, and funny and UPSETTING and incredibly smart. And patient. Like, I don't think I've read hardly any other books that sit on their plot twists as comfortably as these do, only to throw them at you at the perfect moment and leave you going, WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHY HOW DID YOU, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, YES!!!! YES!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO BOOOOOOOOOK and so on until your mom comes and finds you and gives you funny looks.

So as books, the Queen's Thief series taught me a heck of a lot about how far you can push characters, how many lies your story can tell and still come together at the end, and how to balance stuff in a book that seems like it should never, ever work. But that's not the best thing about these books, for me. Even my deep, abiding, undying, fire-like love for the characters is not the best thing about these books--for me.

The best thing about these books is people.

See, everywhere I have gone, these books have brought me people. When I read The Thief in seventh grade, I passed it around to my friends. We talked about it at lunch, my pal got a juice stain on Queen of Attolia and I was REALLY mad, we got closer as friends, because of books. When I was in college and King of Attolia came out, I read them all out loud to my roommates--there was no escape for them, not even a small chance of escape--and we've had built-in in-jokes ever since.

And I found people online, people who loved these books as much as I do. I've met a bunch of them in person. (Ask Your Adult.) We've exchanged stuff through the mail: card, books, socks, art, candy.  We sent books like chain letters, leaving notes in the margins for the next reader. I met Megan a couple of times. Ten years later I'm still in contact with fans in Australia, England, and the U.S. I still have my friends, friends I have because these books brought us together. In fact, I'm reading Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta along with one of those friends right now, even though she's in Alabama. There are threads of these relationships running through my life all over the place in unexpected ways.

But there's one friend in particular that I'm grateful for. She died a couple of years ago. We were friends for eight years, and during that time, she went from a friendly name online to one of dearest people to me in the whole world. I could fill a book with just my memories of that friendship, filled with love, family, and books, and all the uncomfortable ups and downs of being alive. She made me a better writer and a happier person. Every time I read a book, I think of what she'd think about it, and every time I write, I try to write well enough for her. I try to write as well as the book she wrote and left behind.

So I got that from these books, family, friendship, excellent reading recs, pride in my writing, wild enjoyment of obnoxious protagonists, undisclosed shenanigans in the name of Queen's Thieves, and buckets and buckets of memories I would never want to let go of and people I would never want to un-know. You probably will not have this exact experience if you read these books (which you should, because they're great), but you will probably have experiences like this because of some book, some time, because that is what books can do for you. Books can give you life.

Alex Is Reading...PICTURE BOOKS

In the middle of reading so many great novels for young readers, it's sometimes easy to forget the quickest reads of all--but a picture book you love when you're three will stay with you for the rest of your life. Here's a handful of picture books I've been reading recently, which you may not have seen before, but might well turn into family favorites.

From left to right:

Love Always Everywhere by Sarah Massini -- A simple message about love and friendship, with a diverse cast of characters, cozy art, and a light touch. It's right in time for Valentine's day but I would read this any time of the year.

Squids Will Be Squids by Jon Sciezska, illustrated by Lane Smith -- A slightly older crowd will fall deeply for these irreverent, brash, energetically illustrated, and frankly awesome modern takes on the fable

The Big Blue Thing on the Hill by Yuval Zommer -- The peace and quiet of the local forest is disturbed when a camper parks itself right smack in the middle. For resourceful wildlife, expressive art, and a Tuesday-style ending, park yourself here.

Virgil & Owen by Paulette Bogen -- A penguin decides that a polar bear he meets is HIS POLAR BEAR, and can't quite get over the fact that HIS POLAR BEAR keeps making other friends. I'm happy to find a book that tells kids you can be friends without being in charge of your friends. In the spirit of Elephant and Piggy, but this book has its own charms.

Finding Spring by Carin Berger -- A young bear doesn't know what spring is yet, but goes on a hunt through these beautiful paper-cut/mixed media illustrations. Lovely to look at for all ages, and a good story for young readers who aren't yet sure how the seasons fit together, exactly.

How to Hide a Lion by Helen Stephens -- All this lion wants is a hat, but he gets chased out of town by frightened humans! A little girl named Irene helps to hide him, but her mother finds out, and reacts badly. In the end, thwarting a burglary makes the lion a hero, and he gets the hat he wanted all along. (You can find this on our children's bargain table.)

Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? by Martin Waddell --The author of Owl Babies writes my favorite bedtime book ever. While Big Bear tries hard to read his Bear Book, Little Bear tosses and turns and frets about the darkness. Big Bear brings him bigger and bigger lanterns, until at last they go outside and find the moon shining down on them--and both bears fall peacefully asleep. (This one is also on the bargain table.)

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña -- A little boy wants to know why he and his grandmother go all the way to the end of the line on Sundays instead of doing something fun, but the answer is, they work at a soup kitchen and help make the neighborhood a better, kinder place.

Winter Bees by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allan --Absolutely stunning illustrations are both the backdrop and highlight of this collection of poems and facts for winter and its creatures.

There are countless wonderful picture books out there, but these are some to start with, next time you're in. Happy reading!

Alex Is Reading...USED BOOKS!

It's easy to forget, looking at all the shiny new wonders we have upstairs in Kidsmith, that there's more than one place to shop for kids' books at the Booksmith. Head down the stairs at the front of the store, hang a right at the bottom, and you'll find our recently expanded and entirely awesome used kids' books section. A couple weeks ago I picked up a copy of Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen, a delicious Newbery-winning novel about fresh air, maple syrup, and coming alive in the country from 1957. Now, you can't have that, because I am keeping it forever, but there are lots of treasures in the Used Book Cellar. Here are a few.

TEN GREAT KIDS' BOOKS IN THE UBC AT THIS VERY MOMENT
(Subtitle: Get Them While You Can)

The Amelia Series by Marissa Moss -- Before Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries, there was Amelia--half doodles, half writing, Amelia's diaries are colorful, fun to read, and star a girl you will want to get to know.

Runaways vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona -- Surprise! Your parents are super villains. This series got me into American superhero comics. All the characters are perfect and the art inside is great.

The Good Neighbors by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh -- Holly Black's scary fairies in comic book form, with art by Courtney Crumrin author and artist Ted Naifeh.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray -- Apathetic teenage boy gets the human version of mad cow disease. Now he's on the roadtrip of his life (literally) with a pal from the ward and a lawn gnome that doubles as the god Baldur. This book is amazing. You will WEEP.

Skellig by David Almond -- Two kids find an angel in the garage. It is not a cute angel. It is a weird angel. This is a weird book. The otherworldly feeling you get from Skellig will stick with you for years.

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith -- Combines Crown Duel and Court Duel. This princess may come from a poor kingdom, but it's her kingdom, and she'll do anything to protect it. Battle, magic, romance, and intrigue abound.

The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff -- This novel is based on the true (?) story of a Roman legion in ancient Britain that simply disappeared. Rosemary Sutcliff is a sumptuous writer.

American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne and Michael McCurdy -- The author of the Magic Tree House series takes on Americana in this beautifully illustrated and highly entertaining collection of traditional stories.

Fade by Robert Cormier -- Sometimes when people say "YA has gotten really dark!" it means they haven't read Robert Cormier. His books are almost all classics, gritty, grim and sometimes disturbing, but they'll always stay with you. Fade is about a boy with the power to turn invisible--and he's about the last person you WANT to turn invisible.

Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde -- Virtual Reality is awesome...unless you get stuck in the game and your only way out is to beat it. Vande Velde writes fun, fluffy fantasy that hits the spot like candy hits a sweet tooth.

And don't forget....sometimes we have more books in a series downstairs in the UBC that we do upstairs! See here: A LOT OF BOXCAR CHILDREN. You can also find plenty of A Series of Unfortunate Events, Popularity Papers, and more. Whatever you're looking for, there's always some surprise treat to be found.

Happy reading, and happy treasure hunting!