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HOW TO DRAW THE WORLD

Nel’s interest in the picture book Harold and the Purple Crayon began five decades ago, when he encountered the book as a child. In the ensuing decades, he not only wrote a biography of the book’s author, Crockett Johnson, but also aspired to write the current volume, which he calls “a biography of a book.” True to his intent, Nel traces the book’s origins, evolution, and cultural effects, beginning with the premise that picture books should be treated as works of art. He writes, “As one of our

FACING MIGHTY FEARS ABOUT BEING APART FROM PARENTS

“So, being apart happens.” Despite a page design best described as utilitarian, this series entry offers clingy young readers and their concerned parents both a reassuring message and some helpful tools for getting past the angst. Huebner offers a lengthy catalog of animal parents who, much like human ones, “go to great lengths to keep their babies safe.” These examples are printed as “Fun Facts” on images of small loose-leaf pages taped in below the widely spaced text. The author also provides

FALL OF THE IRON GODS

Six months after the fall of the Narrows, the members of the rebel group Red Hand face an ongoing threat from the South Asian Province’s government and the Planetary Alliance Commission in the form of an ominous mind-controlling program called Solace. Ashiva struggles to become an inspiring hero for the Red Hand, despite being unable to fully sync with her new SynGenesis, a deadly and advanced bio-mechanical arm. When their base is targeted, Ashiva, Synch, and Taru, along with the remnants of t

COURAGE, EVERY DAY

Tomorrow marks a momentous occasion for an East Asian–presenting child with pale skin and straight black hair: a musical performance in front of a crowd of people. “But there are thousands of butterflies fluttering in my tummy,” the child tells us. White-outlined butterflies surround the youngster. “I believe in you,” Papa says as he hands the protagonist a violin. “Have courage.” But what is courage? Papa catalogs many different types of bravery, from saving the day to making small but meaning

MOUSE AND HIS DOG

This second visit to the Dogtown animal shelter brings back some familiar furry faces while introducing a new narrative perspective—that of one of the mice residing in the building’s rafters. Mouse enjoys lounging in the basement with the “unadoptable” pups, among them Buster, a “bounceback,” who has been adopted several times but then been returned following a litany of tragicomic mishaps. There’s also Smokey, the robot dog, who (due to an error at the factory) randomly emits a tremendous, mis

SHORELINE

Nayman, a clinical psychologist and a fiction and nonfiction writer, brings her storytelling skills to bear in her poignant memoir. Unfolding across standalone chapters, the book explores connections with lost friends, her children, and her mother, who continues to be a complicated character in the author’s life even years after her death. “To live is to grieve,” Nayman writes, ruminating on the deaths of close friends and both of her parents, as well as imagining the impact her own future pass

THE ART OF DYING

Schjeldahl (1942-2022) was best known as an art critic, a role he held at the New Yorker right up until his death at the age of 80. He made the East Village his home for most of his life, but his roots were in the Midwest—a fact that perhaps explains why he was able to make art accessible without dumbing it down or pandering. The title essay was published after he was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer. The author writes about his life in a discursive style that he has, as an elderly man faci

TOGETHER IN A BROKEN WORLD

The story opens in Elk Springs, Montana, after society has fallen into ruin, due to a disease known as the Infection that either kills people outright or turns them violent. Seventeen-year-old Zach first sees 18-year-old Aiden passing through town, and after they form a relationship, Zach shares some of his supplies with the newcomer. Aiden aims to continue his trek to the University of Washington to deliver vials of the original version of the Infection to researchers looking for a cure. He at

THE QUIET COUP

The current economic landscape suffers from skyrocketing student debt, predatory lending, and stark income inequality. Baradaran, a law professor specializing in financial regulation and the author of The Color of Money and How the Other Half Banks, shows us how neoliberalism’s emphasis on corporations over people has “augment[ed] the power of corporations and capital over that of national governments,” creating an economic system that everyday citizens (and even lawyers and government official

THE ENDS OF FREEDOM

Arguing against the use of negative rights to champion individual freedom and bolster conservative thought, Paul, a professor of public policy at Rutgers, begins his counterargument with a history of the rise of neoliberalism in the U.S. and of governmental efforts to realize positive rights that ensure that everyone prospers. Midway through the text, the author shifts from history to policy analysis and proposes “concrete alternatives that would provide all with universal security by guarantee

12 MONTHS TO LIVE

All things considered, things have been going pretty well for Jane Smith. Sure, she’s twice divorced; she’s not all that close to her sister, Brigid, who also has cancer; and Rob Jacobson, the client accused of killing Mitch and Kathy Gates and their teenage daughter, Laurel, is a lying piece of trash. But Jane and her investigator, tavern owner Jimmy Cunniff, have just been asked to look again into the high-profile Carson case, involving another family of three who were shot dead some years ag

AMERICAN MERMAID

Penny Schleeman loves her job teaching English at a public high school in New Haven, but at 33 she’s living in a studio apartment and has to get help from her parents if she needs dental work. “It’s not my fault that it’s not feasible to have a middle-class job anymore,” she tells us. “All I want is to be a teacher.” When her novel about Sylvia, a young woman who transforms into a mermaid, becomes a surprise bestseller, it seems Penny’s money troubles are over. Her new, barracudalike film agent

THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE

Headstrong 14-year-old Lizzie Novis refuses to believe that her mother, a U.S. embassy clerk who was working in Poland, is dead. After fleeing from her grandmother—who’s attempting to bring her back to America—Lizzie locates her 19-year-old brother, Jakob, a Cambridge mathematician who’s stationed at the clandestine British intelligence site called Bletchley Park. Hiding from her grandmother’s estate steward, Lizzie becomes a messenger at Bletchley Park, ferrying letters across the grounds whil

THE LIGHT WITHIN YOU

Diya’s family moved to the United States and is now planning a trip back to India to celebrate Diwali. Diya is looking forward to seeing her grandmother (Nani) after moving to a new town and struggling to make new friends. Her classmates don’t know much about Diwali and can’t understand why she is going away for three weeks. After a long trip of over 7,000 miles, Diya is reunited with Nani and is fully immersed in Diwali preparations. As they shop and make sweets, Diya shares stories of her new

BEEP

The novel is narrated by Beep, a squirrel monkey living in what we eventually learn is Costa Rica. We know from the beginning, however, that his troupe is aware of a world beyond its rainforest that contains other monkeys, and that a prophecy promises “a monkey one day will come along whose accidental courage will reunite us, even save the world.” That monkey turns out to be Beep in this good-natured fantasy, which launches when he leaves his troupe to find a mate. Shortly after, he meets up wi

THE EASTERN FRONT

Even after a century, the bloody, mud-soaked images of World War I are deeply ingrained in the public consciousness. However, that is only one part of a larger picture, according to veteran WWI historian Lloyd, author of The Amritsar Massacre, Hundred Days, and Passchendaele. In Eastern Europe, there was a very different war. This book is the second part of a planned trilogy, following The Western Front (2021). Like the previous installment, the author delves deeply into records and corresponde

THE WOLF HUNT

Israeli-born Lilach and Mikhael Shuster “raised an American child who went to high school with American children, and now they say he killed another American child,” we learn in the first pages of Gundar-Goshen’s third novel. Like many of the husbands in their neighborhood, Mikhael works in tech, but “while other companies in Silicon Valley developed apps for internet shopping, the company Mikhael worked for developed security products, which was a nice way of saying ‘weapons.’ ” As for the wom

DON'T LET IT BREAK YOUR HEART

Even though they’re no longer dating, the teens from the Bangor, Maine, area are inseparable—Gray’s mom and Alana’s parents have been close since college, and the high school seniors declare they had an “in-utero friendship.” Alana and Gray have private jokes, long-standing traditions, and detailed plans for their futures. When intriguing new girl Tal arrives at their school, both Gray and Alana are instantly smitten. Alana, who’s still coming to terms with what it means to live as an out queer

INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE

Set in the fictional small town of Chaps, Michigan, near the other made-up places in dread specialist Malerman’s novels, the story involves a deeply troubled family. Bela’s actual mommy has been cheating on her father, Daddo, whose friendliness and good cheer clash with his wife’s dark streak. Wrapped up in their squabbling and work demands, they’ve neglected to pay attention to Bela. Sweetly seductive in the beginning, Other Mommy offers Bela, who blames herself for the whole mess, a solution.

NEW TEACHER CONFIDENTIAL

The author has spent 25 years in education and has supported many instructors in their first few years as the founder of teacherEDU, a “learning community for new teachers.” She writes that she noticed “a significant gap that exists between our teacher training programs and the realities of being a teacher in our current education systems. This book aims to fill that gap.” Thoughtfully organized into 10 lessons, the book mixes useful strategies—including tips on activities to help one develop r