Where’s the fat kids in picture books? Well, you might guess the answer. They don’t really exist. Or they’re lumpy, somewhat grotesque bullies. Or maybe you can find a few rotund hedgehogs or something but hey they’re really more adorable than anything else. You know what fat people look like in picture books? Like this:…
There’s a slogan in London regarding their mass transit system that has become something of a rallying cry for various causes: Mind the Gap. In London’s Underground this means make sure you pay attention when you’re disembarking. It is this slogan that kept running through my mind when reading Laura Ruby’s masterful young adult novel…
Yes. Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking right now. Yes. It’s a broody, brilliant teenage Sherlock Holmes solving mysteries and sharing kisses alongside the troubled teenage genius Miss James “Mori” Moriarty. I am guessing that your reaction is probably similar to mine the first time I heard about this book and then saw the delightful…
What a lovely marvel this book is. This is a picture book biography of John Roy Lynch, who was freed from slavery at 16 and within ten years was elected to the United States Congress. The book doesn’t try to cover Lynch’s entire life (though there’s great back matter including a timeline, suggestions for further…
Where does the time go? Can it possibly already be the twilight of 2014? I have lots of posts planned – and even some started – but the chaos of December sneaked up on me while my back was turned. BUT I promised myself I would try to post at least once a month no matter…
A few weeks ago there was a longform article in the New York Times about scientific studies being done with the goal of proving that bisexuality exists. I suppose it was interesting enough, reading about the motivations of the researchers, hearing about the history behind studies like this. And yet. And yet at the same time…
Where to begin? Where even to begin with a book this finely crafted, this breathtakingly realized, this clever, this full of love and aches and metaphors and, yes, magic? (but not the magic you’re thinking of – not the easy kind, not the kind that comes without consequences.) The Real Boy is the story of…
It all starts with a buzz that high school student Piddy shrugs off – “Yaqui Delgado wants to kick your ass!” She doesn’t even know Yaqui so why would she want to fight with Piddy? It’s probably a case of mistaken identity or no big deal. And, anyway, what’s the worst this total stranger could do? This is the…
Quick: how many books have you read where the main character has autism or autism spectrum disorder? Now: how many of those books were written by an author who openly speaks about their own autism spectrum disorder? For me, I realized that while I could come up with a few titles answering the former question,…
“The hole is what lets it change.” What a moment it is – the moment of recognition, the moment when you feel like someone has seen you. For me, this moment of connection sends an almost physical jolt through me. One of the things I loved the most about Linda Urban’s artfully crafted, painfully beautiful book The…
