Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 118, No. 14, 3/15/22 i Booklist

Letter from the Editor / George Kendall It’s been more than two years since Booklist attended an in-person conference, but that changes with the PLA meeting in Portland, Oregon, and I can’t express how excited we are. The March 15 Booklist, along with the March issue of Book Links, are our PLA conference magazines. We do hope, if you are attending, that you will stop by our booth at PLA and talk with us. We want to hear about you and your libraries, and how you’re doing in a time that is at once hopeful, with the pandemic, perhaps, easing, but also frustrating and distressing given the onslaught of book challenges and outright bans. I strongly recommend reading Michael Cart’s powerful column, “Liberty and Vigilance” (p.64). “Readers, my blood is…

The CODES List: Cookbooks, 2022 The CODES List, a committee of the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), has announced the 2022 selection of essential cookbooks for public libraries, highlighting titles for both avid home chefs and those just learning the rewards of making a meal. The list further supports those who appreciate the many joys of reading cookbooks, even if they rarely venture into the kitchen. As judged by librarians who cooked from, enjoyed, and discussed them, these are the cookbooks that will stand the test of time, become reliable favorites, and nourish readers. Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple. By Dorie Greenspan. Harvest, $35 (9780358223580). Beloved cookbook author Greenspan “plays around” with variations of her many sweet, salty, and…

Alex Awards, 2022 The Alex Awards, administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and sponsored by the Margaret E. Edwards trust, honor the top 10 adult books published during the previous year with appeal to readers between the ages of 12 and 18. The full, vetted list of the nominations can be found on the YALSA website. Crossing the Line: A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport That Changed Their Lives Forever. By Kareem Rosser. St. Martin’s, $28.99 (9781250270863). Growing up in an economically disadvantaged part of Philadelphia, the Rosser brothers discover a horse stable, where their lives are transformed by the horses, riding, and polo. How Lucky. By Will Leitch. Harper, $25.99 (9780063073098). Daniel has a good life that includes a close friend, football-game tailgating, and…

Notable Children’s Books, 2022 This list was compiled by the Notable Children’s Books Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). The committee, comprising librarians from throughout the U.S., selected the titles from the several thousand children’s books published during 2021. Included are books of fiction, information, poetry, and pictures—all of special interest and value to children through age 14. The winners of the 2022 ALSC Newbery, Caldecott, Sibert, Batchelder, children’s Belpré, and Geisel Awards and the Honor Books for those awards are automatically included on the list. Notable Children’s Books that were given 2022 Coretta Scott King Awards, Printz Awards, Sydney Taylor Awards, Asian/Pacific American Awards, American Indian Youth Literature Awards, Best Fiction for Young Adults, Top 10 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, and Rise: A Feminist…

Notable Children’s Recordings, 2022 The Notable Children’s Recordings list includes recordings for children 14 years of age and younger of especially commendable quality that demonstrate respect for young people’s intelligence and imagination, exhibit venturesome creativity, and reflect and encourage the interests of children and young adolescents in exemplary ways. An asterisk indicates an Odyssey Award or Honor title; see the Odyssey list for annotations. Items are downloads unless otherwise indicated. All Because You Matter. By Tami Charles. Read by the author. 9m. Weston Woods Studios, CD and book, $29.95 (9781338750294). PreS–Gr. 2. Narrated by the author, the poetic text is enhanced by background music and sound effects that add depth to the words and embody Bryan Collier’s beautiful illustrations. Allergic. By Megan Wagner Lloyd. Read by a full cast. 1.75hr.…

Notable Films for Adults, 2022 The ALA Film and Media Round Table’s Notable Films for Adults Committee selected 12 outstanding titles from among 33 nominees for this year’s list, submitted by librarians spanning multi-type libraries. The availability of closed captions (CC) and/or subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH) is preferred and indicated below. Alice Street. Directed by Spencer Wilkinson. 70m. Endangered Ideas Media. DVD. The Video Project. CC. Two artists undertake a mural project in Oakland, California, at a unique intersection of Chinese and Afro Diasporic communities. Belly of the Beast. Directed by Erika Cohn. 81m. ITVS International. DVD. Women Make Movies. CC. A pattern of inadequate health care, sexual assault, and coercive sterilization targeting women of color in California’s prisons is exposed. Colectiv (Collective). Directed by Alexander Nanau. 109m.…

Trade Secrets Booklist Reader and Reader Engagement By Montoya Barker Booklist’s new digital magazine, Booklist Reader, can help you engage with readers, promote your collection, augment or create programs, and captivate your communities with fresh insights and ideas. Book Club Picks and Preparation The preparation process for book discussions is important for librarians charged with facilitating their library’s book clubs. Booklist Reader is a fantastic resource for generating book club ideas, finding ways to promote reading, and enhancing your discussion experience. I find that it works best to be fully prepared with background information on the book’s subject, genre, themes, symbolism, setting, and related online resources. When selecting fiction, I recommend searching for books that not only include characters that will resonate with your book club members but that also…

Youth Nonfiction Older Readers The Complete Cookbook for Teen Chefs. By America’s Test Kitchen Kids. Mar. 2022. 208p. illus. America’s Test Kitchen Kids, $21.99 (9781948703956). Gr. 7–12. 641.5. In addition to including such teen favorites as cheeseburger sliders, French fries, and doughnuts, this cookbook, touted as “teen tested and teen approved” by America’s Test Kitchen, offers cultural and vegetarian options, like congee, arepas, chana makhani, and tofu bowls. First, it kicks off with kitchen safety tips, essential how-to’s (how to tell when meat is done, chop an onion, etc.), and a visual guide to kitchen gear. Chapters are divided into sections on breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner, sides, and sweets, with recipes tagged according to skill level, serving size, and time needed. Each recipe includes jargonfree, step-by-step directions with equipment highlighted…

Youth Fiction Older Readers Being Mary Bennet. By J. C. Peterson. Mar. 2022. 384p. HarperTeen, $17.99 (9780063060135). Gr. 8–11. The middle sister of five in a wealthy Silicon Valley family, bookish Marnie decides that she’s painfully similar to Mary Bennet, the “sullen, forgotten” sister in Pride and Preju  dice. In her senior year at a prestigious girls’ boarding school in San Francisco, Marnie works to overcome her faults and become her own person rather than trying to live up to the perfection of her older sisters. Competing for a coveted award brings additional pressure but also introduces a potential love interest. Constantly questioning aspects of herself and those around her, Marnie learns how to make friends and relate to family members while dealing with the sudden, unwanted attentions of an…

Spotlight Picture Books Out Loud Audiobooks, Picture Books, and the Odyssey Award A change to the Odyssey Award rules opens the door for honoring more picture books on audio. by Heather Booth Spotlight on Picture Books For fifteen years, the Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audio Production, jointly administered by ALSC and YALSA and sponsored by Booklist, has winnowed the growing audiobook field down to one winner each year, selected from all audiobooks produced for youth from birth through age 18. It’s not hard to imagine the difficulty this presents when comparing the merits of, for example, a bright and bouncy read-along with the many-hours-long narration of a serious young adult novel. Fortunately, a rule change that went into effect for the 2022 award season acknowledges this broad diversity within…

Spotlight Video Watch: Picture Books on Video Let Liberty Rise! How America’s School Children Saved the Statue of Liberty. Prod. by Lori Benton. Made by Chana Stiefel and others. 2021. 12m. Weston Woods, DVD, $59.95 (9781338794106). K–Gr. 3. Lady Liberty’s pedestal is necessary for her support, but resistance to paying for its construction almost stymied the whole project. This cheerful video from Chana Stieferl’s text and Chuck Groenink’s soft and warm illustrations reveals how Joseph Pulitzer spearheaded a campaign—championed by schoolchildren—for small contributions to the pedestal fund in exchange for printing the names of all the donors in his newspaper, The World. This video is narrated in a buoyant tone and with careful pacing by David de Vries and provides a read-along guide that highlights each word as it is…

Over the Rainbow, 2022 This year, the Over the Rainbow committee of ALA’s Rainbow Roundtable gave careful consideration to 332 books across all genres, including memoir, history, true crime, mystery, romance, fiction, poetry, and more. The final ten selections showcase a wide range of queer stories and experiences, working to dispel, one book at a time, the myth of the single narrative for queer lives. Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness. By Da’Shaun L. Harrison. North Atlantic, $14.95 (9781623175979). This title is in conversation with Sonya Renee Taylor’s The Body Is Not an Apology and looks through a wider lens to explain how anti-fatness is also anti-Blackness. Black Boy out of Time. By Hari Ziyad. Amazon/Little A, $24.95 (9781542091329). Ziyad, raised in Cleveland with 18 siblings by…

Top 10 Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2022 The Great Graphic Novels for Teens list is compiled annually by a committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and comprises recommended graphic novels for readers ages 12 to 18. The titles below make up the top 10 picks from the full list, which is available at la.org/yalsa/2022-great-graphic-novels-teens. Titles published in 2020 are noted; all others were published in 2021. Asadora! By Naoki Urasawa. Art by the author. • v.1. VIZ, $14.99 (9781974717460).• v.2. VIZ, $14.99 (9781974720101).• v.3. VIZ, $14.99 (9781974720118).• v.4. VIZ, $14.99 (9781974722969). A storm sweeps into Nagoya, and young Asadora—with the help of unlikely friends—must find a way to rescue her family. But there’s more to the storm than just rain and wind, as Asa soon discovers.…

Top 10 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2022 Below, you will find the top 10 choices from the full list selected by the 2022 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). All titles were published in 2021 unless otherwise noted. For the complete list, visit ala.org/yalsa/2022-quick-picks-reluctant-young-adult-readers. Amari and the Night Brothers. By B. B. Alston. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray, $17.99 (9781725418295). Amari knows her brother, Quinton, isn’t dead. A briefcase in his closet leads her to the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, where Quinton was working when he disappeared. Using her smarts and heart, Amari enters this magical world to discover what really happened. A 2022 Best Fiction for Young Adults and a 2022 Notable Children’s Book. The Canyon’s Edge. By Dusti Bowling.…

Top 10 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, 2022 The full 2022 Amazing Audiobooks list consists of 76 titles drawn from 123 official nominations. The full list, with annotations and discussion about the titles, is available online at The Hub (yalsa.ala.org/thehub). All items are downloads. Apple: Skin to the Core. By Eric Gansworth. Read by the author. Dreamscape Media LLC, $64.99 (9781662039706). Gansworth speaks from his true heart as he narrates his memoir about growing up Native. Chlorine Sky. By Mahogany L. Browne. Read by the author. Listening Library. $28 (9780593343784). This novel-in-verse, read by the author, is an emotional and honest story with narration that highlights Brown’s deft work as a poet. Concrete Rose. By Angie Thomas. Read by Dion Graham. HarperAudio, $59.98 (9780063043817). In this prequel to The Hate…

Odyssey Winners and Honor Audiobooks, 2022 The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production, jointly administered by ALSC and YALSA, and sponsored by Booklist, is given to the producer of the best audiobooks for children (0-14) and young adults (12-18) available in English in the United States. For the first time this year, one winner may be selected for each age category with a single honor list comprised of titles for both age categories. The winners and honorees were announced on January 24, 2022, during the American Library Association LibLearnX Meeting. Odyssey Award Winner for Children Boogie Boogie, Y’all. By C. G. Esperanza. Read by the author. Produced by Almeda Beynon, 2021. 3m. HarperAudio, $1.99 (9780063112865). PreS–Gr. 2. The listener takes an auditory adventure through the Bronx, painted with the colorful…

Self-Published Books Showcase These books are recommended by BlueInk Review, a fee-based review service devoted exclusively to self-published books. Every other issue, BlueInk will compile a list of their favorites for Booklist, as a service to librarians hoping to incorporate self-published work into their collections. BlueInk was founded by Patti Thorn, former book review editor of Denver’s Rocky Mountain News, and Patricia Moosbrugger, a literary agent who represents several best-selling authors. The company delivers professional, unbiased reviews of self-published books written by critics drawn largely from major mainstream publications and by editors from prominent publishing houses. Stars reflect the decisions of BlueInk reviewers and editors. Booklist is happy to bring this curated collection of the best in self-publishing for adults and youth to our audience. from Adult The Anthropocene Epoch:…

News & Views by Sarah Hunter and Ronny Khuri Book Links Packaged with this issue of Booklist is the March Book Links, which connects children’s literature to the curriculum. As part of this issue’s focus on language arts, you’ll find an annotated bibliography on the writing process, featuring picture books that will instruct and inspire young readers while helping them build critical skills; another annotated list on chapter books, gathering series that can provide a comforting foundation for emerging readers; and one more list of titles about collecting, meant to illustrate how hobbies can have a wider reach. In interviews, we chat with acclaimed picture book author-illustrator Carter Higgins (Circle under Berry, 2021), as well as relative newcomers Mari Lowe (Aviva vs. the Dybbuk, 2022) and J. Dillard (J.D. and…

Spotlight Top 10 Picture Books for Deep Thinkers These beautiful, mind-expanding picture books, reviewed in Booklist between March 15, 2021, and March 1, 2022, explore abstract concepts—grief, beauty, memory, and more—in accessible ways. —Ronny Khuri Ada and the Galaxies. By Alan Lightman and Olga Pastuchiv. Illus. by Susanna Chapman. 2021. Candlewick/MIT Kids, $17.99 (9781536215618). K–Gr. 2. In this joyful and dazzling exploration of our universe, on every scale, young Ada escapes New York’s light pollution and stargazes with her grandpa, poetically pondering all that the universe may hold. Fox: A Circle of Life Story. By Isabel Thomas. Illus. by Daniel Egnéus. 2021. Bloomsbury, $18.99 (9781547606924). Gr. 1–3. Death is demystified in this touching story told via an omniscient narrator who guides readers through the life cycle, following a mother fox…

Booklist Backlist Short story collections can be uneven, but readers will be consistently impressed by these extraordinary, resonant, and exhilarating debuts by a dozen diverse writers. By Terry Hong Diverse Debut Story Collections Afterparties. By Anthony Veasna So. 2021. Ecco. So’s nine electrifying stories magnificently create an interconnected Cambodian American community. The most autobiographical is “Human Development,” in which the narrator is also named Anthony and a gay, Stanford-degreed teacher close to his sister. So’s death in December 2020 at just 28 was heartbreakingly tragic, but this exuberant debut ensures bittersweet posthumous fame. Aspara Engine. By Bishakh Som. Art by the Author. 2020. Feminist Press. In words and art, Som’s richly hued, gorgeously lettered, exquisitely detailed graphic collection presents a brave new world of diverse women—talking, dancing, dreaming, and plotting—while…

The Reading List: Best Adult Genre Fiction, 2022 Established in 2007 by the CODES section of RUSA, the Reading List Council consists of librarians who are experts in readers’ advisory and collection development. The Reading List is their annual best-of selection comprised of eight different fiction genres for adult readers, with a shortlist of honor titles in each category. Adrenaline Razorblade Tears. By S. A. Cosby. Flatiron, $26.99 (9781250252708). Husbands Derek and Isaiah were estranged from their fathers, but after the couple is gunned down, ex-cons Ike and Buddy Lee seek personal redemption and bloody justice for their sons in this gritty, vengeance-fueled thriller. • Shortlist: Bullet Train, by Kōtarō Isaka, tr. by Sam Malissa (Overlook); Never Saw Me Com ing, by Vera Kurian (Park Row); The Push, by Ashley Audrain…

Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2022 The Best Fiction for Young Adults list is compiled annually by a committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and comprises fiction appropriate for ages 12 to 18. All titles were published in 2021 unless otherwise noted. The committee’s top 10 choices are identified with an asterisk (*). Ace of Spades. By Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. Feiwel and Friends, $18.99 (9781250800817). Ambitious queen bee Chiamaka and loner scholarship kid Devon are the only Black students at school. That’s all they have in common until an online bully going by the name “Aces” starts spilling all their secrets. Chiamaka and Devon will have to join forces to bring Aces down—or lose everything. A 2022 Morris Award finalist and a 2022 Top 10 Rainbow List selection…

Rise: A Feminist Book Project, 2022 Each year, the Rise: A Feminist Book Project (formerly the Amelia Bloomer Project), sponsored by the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) of ALA, selects a list of recommended feminist books, fiction and nonfiction, for young readers from preschool through age 18. Titles published in late 2020 are noted; all others were published in 2021. The titles below make up the top 10 picks from the full list, which is available at risefeministbooks.wordpress.com/current-book-list/. The Big Bath House. By Kyo Maclear. Illus. by Gracey Zhang. Random House Studio, $17.99 (9780593181959). PreS–Gr. 3. A girl joins her aunties and baachan at a traditional Japanese bathhouse where girls and women socialize while cleaning and relaxing their naked bodies. A 2022 Notable Children’s Book.…

Rainbow List, 2022 The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table and the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association are pleased to offer the 2021 Rainbow Project bibliography of recommended titles for youth from birth to age 18 that contain significant and authentic gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (GLBTQ) content. Titles published in late 2020 are noted; all others were published in 2021. Below are 20 exceptional choices from the list. For the complete list, visit glbtrt.ala.org/rainbowbooks/archives/1429. Top 10 Titles for Young Readers Bodies Are Cool. By Tyler Feder. Illus. by the author. Dial, $17.99 (9780593112625). PreS–K. A rhyming celebration of body positivity featuring detailed and inclusive illustrations. Perfect for a fun and inclusive read aloud! A 2022 Notable Children’s Book and a 2022 Rise:…

The Listen List, 2022 The Listen List Council of the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has announced the 2022 selections of the Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration. This award highlights extraordinary narrators and listening experiences that merit special attention by a general adult audience and the librarians who advise them. Full annotations and listen-alikes appear online. Black Water Sister. By Zen Cho. Read by Catherine Ho. 11.5hr. Recorded Books, DD, $28.74 (9781980036036). Ho immerses the listener in the culture and beauty of Malaysia before making the magic and danger of the book feel utterly real. Broken Horses. By Brandi Carlile. Read by the author. 10hr. Books on Tape, CD, $85.50 (9780593340110). Award-winning musician Carlile’s memoir has the feel of an acoustic jam…

Adult Nonfiction Journalism & Publishing Dilettante: True Tales of Excess, Triumph, and Disaster. By Dana Brown. Mar. 2022. 288p. Ballantine, $28 (9780593158487). 070. Brown is the poster boy for being in the right place at the right time—until he wasn’t. An aimless 21 year old, playing in punk bands and tending bar, he has no contact with the New York glitterati until a side gig, catering at the home of Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, leads to Carter hiring Brown as his assistant in the mid-1990s. As Brown climbs the perk-strewn editorial ladder, Carter’s repeated advice keeps ringing in his ears: “Don’t fuck this up.” He doesn’t, learning how to navigate the Vanity Fair culture and eventually rising to Deputy Editor, just as the digital age was exploding and magazines…

Adult Fiction General Fiction Activities of Daily Living. By Lisa Hsiao Chen. Apr. 2022. 352p. Norton, $26.95 (9780393881127). More and more, New York-based video editor Alice needs to return to California to manage her chain-smoking, hard-drinking stepfather, who is always referred to as the Father. His “handle on ADLs [activities of daily living] had already been slipping,” and he requires increased levels of care with his growing dementia. Alice is often mistaken by staff as the nurse on duty because Alice is ethnically Taiwanese, and the Father is white. In between crisscrossing the country, Alice insists she’s working on a project about Tehching Hsieh, a (real-life) Taiwanese American performance artist whose first prominent work was a year spent in a self-built cage during which he did “NOT converse, read, write,…

Graphic Novels Adult Come Over Come Over. By Lynda Barry. Art by the author. 2022. 128p. Drawn & Quarterly, $21.95 (9781770465459). 741.5. Well known now as a MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient and author of innovative comics about creativity and writing (Making Comics, 2019), Barry started her career with Ernie Pook’s Comeek, a strip that appeared in alt weeklies in the late 1980s, starring a beloved kid, Marlys. This collection of strips from that era focuses on Marlys’ teenage sister, Maybonne, and from her sometimes angsty perspective, readers can glimpse a skeleton of a plot. Leaving her mother’s house, flitting encounters with boys, the brief and unsatisfying reappearance of her father—all these moments hint at some hard realities, but through it all, Maybonne keeps reaching for connections, trying to find some…

Audio Adult The Chase. By Candice Fox. Read by David de Vries and Lisa Negrón. Mar. 2022. 13hr. Macmillan Audio, DD, $26.99 (9781250837035). The warden at Nevada’s Pronghorn Correctional Facility receives a call threatening harm to a busload of the guards’ families unless she releases all of the prisoners. As a result, over 600 inmates are set free, including John Kradle, a death-row inmate who uses this opportunity to prove his innocence of the murder of his wife and son. Death-row supervising guard Celine Osbourne makes it her personal mission to return Kradle to the prison. This thriller is told from multiple perspectives with dual narrators taking on different chapters: David de Vries provides voices for Kradle and other male perspectives, while Lisa Negrón voices Celine and fellow female perspectives.…