Table of contents for May 2024 in Booklist Reader

Before the Coffee Gets Cold. By Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Tr. by Geoffrey Trousselot. 2020. Harper. A small café in Tokyo serves more than just carefully brewed coffee; it also offers customers a chance to travel back in time for as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold. Four quirky characters take the trip in this wistful, mysterious series starter. There are three more titles, most recently Before We Say Goodbye (2023). The Cat Who Saved Books. By Sosuke Natsukawa. Tr. by Louise Heal Kawai. 2021. Harper. Rintaro, a “completely average” high-school student who is something of a recluse and a voracious reader, is left on his own after his grandfather dies, until a cat—a talking cat—comes along that needs Rintaro’s help in confronting the Imprisoner of Books. This…

Fiction Black Shield Maiden. By Willow Smith and Jess Hendel. Del Rey. In a sprawling historical epic spanning continents and cultures and inspired by the Ghana Empire and medieval Norway, pop-star Smith and coauthor Hendel present the story of a woman captured by slavers who take her to a cold land where she serves a princess. Lies and Weddings. By Kevin Kwan. Doubleday. Kevin Kwan (Crazy Rich Asians) and weddings just go together. This time, a wedding serves as the venue for the debt-ridden brother of the bride to find a rich woman to marry. Long Island. By Colm Tóibín. Scribner. Twenty years into her happy marriage, Eilis Fiorello receives a visitor with news that changes everything in this sequel to Tóibín’s Brooklyn (2009). Mind Games. By Nora Roberts. St.…

Celebrate AAPI In May, PBS Books celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Month. We want to highlight an interview led by actress Tamlyn Tomita with trailblazing author Amy Tan, who is best known for The Joy Luck Club. To watch the full interview, visit pbsbooks.org/AAPICelebration. Tomita: We all have to remember the context of what it meant to be an Asian in America. In the late 1980s, there were no stories. Our heritage is actually our priority because not only do we call ourselves American, but we call ourselves inheritors of our mother’s culture. But we also have the hyphenated: Chinese-American, Japanese-American, Asian-American. How did it feel to be the brightest shining star at the release of The Joy Luck Club? Tan: I was very perplexed. I didn’t expect to…

America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History. By Ariel Aberg-Riger. Illus. by the author. 2023. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray. Gr. 9–12. This visually stunning compilation assembles stories typically left out of U.S. history textbooks, with short, poignant sections centering on events’ effects on marginalized people. Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty of Ancient Cave Art. By Hannah Salyer. Illus. by the author. 2023. Clarion. K–Gr. 3. This look at early-human imagination and storytelling illuminates the wonders of prehistoric cave and rock paintings around the world, breathtakingly captured in the illustrations. Barracoon: Adapted for Young Readers. By Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi. Illus. by Jazzmen Lee-Johnson. 2024. Amistad. Gr. 5–8. National Book Award–winner Kendi adapts for young readers the legendary Hurston’s posthumous work about the last known survivor of the Middle Passage.…

Older In Harm’s Way (Young Readers Edition): The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Story of Its Survivors. By Doug Stanton and Michael J. Tougias. 2022. Holt. Gr. 6–10. This riveting, detailed account of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis explores the disaster, in which a U.S. Navy cruiser was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. For four horrific days, survivors floated at sea while waiting for res-cue, a span of time vividly described in the book. Stanton and Tougias close with an investigation of the contributing errors and an account of the captain’s court martial and eventual exoneration. The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights. By Steve Sheinkin. 2014. Roaring Brook. Gr. 6–9. While not as focused on survival, this story about a group…

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie: The Complete Book of Nautical Codes. By Sara Gillingham. Illus. by the author. 2016. Phaidon. K–Gr. 2. Before you say, “Really? Nautical codes?” know this: Gillingham packs this abecedary with all sorts of information about secret codes (very cool), but the best part is the snazzy artwork, and nestled between each letter’s two-page spread is a textured-paper version of the flag itself. Concrete: From the Ground Up. By Larissa Theule. Illus. by Steve Light. 2022. Candlewick. Gr. 2–5. This beautifully illustrated picture book takes a rather mundane topic and turns it into something mysterious, ancient, and unlimited, beginning with the history of the material, right up to the wondrous, whimsical ways it can be used today. I’m Trying to Love Rocks. By Bethany Barton. Illus. by the author. 2020.…

Alexandria: The City That Changed the World. By Islam Issa. 2024. Pegasus. Gloriously multicultural Alexandria has been conquered, yet never colonized, by all of Europe and Asia’s major empires, a history native son Issa recounts with verve. American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden. By Katie Rogers. 2024. Crown. White House correspondent Rogers examines the first lady’s role from the Clinton administration forward, portraying each FLOTUS and how she interpreted the purview of the office. Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War. By Edda L. Fields-Black. 2024. Oxford. Fields-Black tells the long-hidden and remarkable stories of the enslaved Black Union soldiers who were led by Harriet Tubman into South Carolina to liberate enslaved plantation workers.…

Air Traffic: A Memoir of Ambition and Manhood in America. By Gregory Pardlo. 2018. Vintage. Poet Pardlo pays special attention to his air-traffic controller grandfather and father as well as to mental illness and addiction in this memoir of rich and complicated familial love. Between Them: Remembering My Parents. By Richard Ford. 2017. Ecco. Ford summons up arrestingly precise details in his first work of nonfiction, an exquisitely sensitive double portrait of his parents and memoir about being a “late child and an only child.” The Grace of Silence. By Michele Norris. 2010. Vintage. In this investigative family memoir, Norris uncovers stunning revelations, including that her grandmother worked for Quaker Oats as a traveling Aunt Jemima, and that her WWII veteran grandfather was shot by a white policeman. Fun Home:…

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story. By Nikole Hannah-Jones. 2021. 19hr. Books on Tape. This audio adaptation of the landmark book is a splendiferous, full-cast recording featuring some of the greatest names in both literature and narration. Many authors chose to be their own readers, including Hannah-Jones, Claudia Rankine, Tracy K. Smith, Rita Dove, Bryan Stevenson, Natasha Trethewey, Jason Reynolds, and so many more; preeminent narrators include Bahni Turpin, Dominic Hoffman, JD Jackson, and Adenrele Ojo. Each section easily stands alone—in fact, taking breaks for reflection is highly recommended for better absorption and retention. Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619–2019. Ed. by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain. 2021. 14hr. Books on Tape. In what could almost be described as ceremonial, a full cast of…

The Astrochimps: America’s First Astronauts. By Dawn Cusick. 2024. Chicago Review. Gr. 4–7. Cusick’s riveting history of the Space Race focuses on NASA’s Mercury Chimpanzee Training Program, in which chimps would become America’s first astronauts. Balto and Togo: Hero Dogs of Alaska. By Helen Moss. Illus. by Solomon Hughes. 2023. Holt/Godwin. Gr. 4–7. Join the heroic huskies on their life-saving trek across nearly 700 miles of Alaskan wilderness as part of the expertly trained dogsled teams transporting a much-needed diphtheria serum. Bunny the Brave War Horse. By Elizabeth MacLeod. Illus. by Marie Lafrance. 2014. Kids Can. Gr. 2–4. In 1914, Toronto’s mounted police sent 18 horses to the Allied forces in Europe. In the face of bombs, bullets, and poisonous gas, Bunny would prove the lone surviving steed. Cher Ami:…

Older Dispatches from Parts Unknown. By Bryan Bliss. Greenwillow. Gr. 9–12. Since her dad died three years ago, 18-year-old Julie has been having ongoing conversations with an imagined professional wrestler who lives in her head. Eyes Open. By Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Carolrhoda/Lab. Gr. 9–12. Under a dictatorship in 1960s Portugal, strong-willed Sónia chafes against harsh restrictions and rebels through poetry. Flawless Girls. By Anna-Marie McLemore. Feiwel and Friends. Gr. 8–12. As eerie as a delirium dream, this dark academia from award-winning McLemore explores the pressure on women to be perfect and what happens when that pressure becomes too much. Hot Boy Summer. By Joe Jiménez. Simon & Schuster/MTV. Gr. 10–12. Four queer teens transform the summer before their senior year into a celebration of themselves and their queerness. This Book Won’t Burn. By…

Age of Anger: A History of the Present. By Pankaj Mishra. 2017. Farrar. Mishra tracks a dangerous dynamic in which frustrated groups around the world who feel threatened by change descend into victimhood and join authoritarian movements. The Death of Democracy: Hitler’s Rise to Power and the Downfall of the Weimar Republic. By Benjamin Carter Hett. 2018. Holt. How could Germany’s “state-of-the-art modern democracy” elect an authoritarian radical, who promptly suspended civil liberties, dissolved the federal system, and mobilized for genocidal war? In part because Hitler was supported by conservative elites focused on increasing their own power over a disaffected, naive public. Fascism: A Warning. By Madeleine Albright. 2018. Harper. Having fled both Hitler’s Germany and Czechoslovakia’s Communist uprising as a child, former secretary of state Albright draws on her acquaintance…

The 5 Principles of Parenting: Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans. By Aliza Pressman. 2024. Simon Element. In this uplifting, practical parenting guide, developmental psychologist Pressman shares big-picture principles and advice on how to apply them to specific situations, emphasizing, “It’s critical the kids feel safe and secure.” Childhood Narcissism: Strategies to Raise Unselfish, Unentitled, and Empathetic Children. By Mary Ann Little. 2023. Rowman & Littlefield. Clinical psychologist Little notes that while narcissism can’t be diagnosed until the end of adolescence, early identification of narcissistic tendencies in children and teens can give parents the opportunity to intervene and support positive emotional development, for which she offers practical strategies. The Conceivable Future: Planning Families and Taking Action in the Age of Climate Change. By Meghan Elizabeth Kallman and Josephine Ferorelli.…

Summers at the Saint Mary Kay Andrews (St. Martin’s Press) NoveList read-alike: An Island Summer by Jenny Hale Mind Games Nora Roberts (St. Martin’s Press) NoveList read-alike: Hold Back the Dark by Kay Hooper If Something Happens to Me Alex Finlay (Minotaur Books) NoveList read-alike: Just Another Missing Person by Gillian Mcallister You Should Be So Lucky Cat Sebastian (Avon) NoveList read-alike: The Prospects by KT Hoffman The Paradisei Problem Christina Lauren (Gallery Books) NoveList read-alike: The Fiance Farce by Alexandra Bellfleur The Guncle Abroad Steven Rowley (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) NoveList read-alike: The Bump by Sidney Karger Love at First Book Jenn McKinlay (Berkley) NoveList read-alike: Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin One Perfectct Couple Ruth Ware (Gallery/Scout Press) NoveList read-alike: The Guest List by Lucy Foley Find out more…

Boogie Boogie, Y’all. By C. G. Esperanza. 2021. 3m. HarperAudio. Esperanza’s vibrant, visually engaging, bold love letter to graffiti becomes a song that you can’t possibly sit still while listing to. Esperanza’s bouncy narration shows kids how he hears the book, and will change how they hear it, too. The Bridge Home. By Padma Venkatraman. 2019. 4.5hr. Listening Library. Gr. 5–7. Viji and her sister run away to seek safety on the streets of Chennai in India. Venkatraman’s Indian accents add to the elegantly written portrayal of this place, while her voicing highlights the bond between the sisters. Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor. By Jon Scieszka and Brian Biggs. 2014. 3hr. Listening Library. Gr. 3–6. The story of Frank Einstein and his robots is brought to hilarious life by…

Hunter: What initially drew you to this project? Powell: Lies My Teacher Told Me was already one of my favorite books; I’d read it several times between 2005 and 2019. Another one of James Loewen’s books, Sun-down Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism, was particularly transformative for me, especially as a Southerner who had settled into life in Indiana but was disoriented by the sense that much of the Midwest was somehow more backward and racist than anywhere I’d lived in the South. Jim’s work in these two books directly influenced my 2011 book Any Empire and all work to follow. In January 2020, Jim emailed me out of the blue to see if I had any interest in doing a comics adaptation of Lies, and I said yes immediately—no…