Latest News

The most shocking news I’ve gotten in my entire life is that Forts was selected for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library! This wonderful organization does so much for early childhood literacy, distributing millions of books each year for free to kids around the world. If you have the means, please consider donating to your local DPIL (or even my local DPIL, as we’re raising money to fund the program in Eau Claire County in perpetuity).

The upshot is that Forts will be going out to about 700,000 kids in August, which is a number so big I can’t even being to imagine it. Every picture book writer wants kids to read our books; that’s the whole deal. I’m so shocked, pleased, and delighted, and sort of intimidated by that number, all at once!

Due to this huge news, I’ve gotten lots of practice lately at public speaking and being interviewed, so hopefully one day soon I will seem to know what I’m doing.

In other good news, both Forts and Cassini’s Mission were honored on the American Library Association’s Notable Books list. A wonderful surprise.

On to the Recommendations!

All of the books below were available at my public library, but if you’d like to purchase any of them, I recommend going through your local indie bookstore rather than corporations because goodness knows Jeff Bezos doesn’t need more money (certainly not more than your local indie needs your support). I’ve also set up an online shop at bookshop.org where you can see all my past recommendations. (the links below are all affiliate links.)

On to the five stars recommendations.

Picture Books

• Zero! The Number that Almost Wasn’t by Sarah Albee and Chris Hsu
  A fascinating nonfiction PB about how zero came to be. I had no idea how long it took for the humble zero to develop and catch on. A fascinating book, for kids and adults.

• Broken by X Fang
  I'm a sucker for a good page turn, when just the very act of turning a page elicits some sort of emotion. Maybe it's tension, or drama, or surprise. This brilliant picture book does all of those. The story is simple: Mei Mei breaks her Ama's cup. Ama's cat takes the blame. The guilt is too much for Mei Mei. The emotional roller coaster of this hilarious story is too much to miss. Even if your kids are "too big for picture books" (whatever that means) or even if you don't have kids, do yourself a favor and check this one out.

• The Keeper of Stories by Caroline Kusin Pritchard and Selina Alko
  I love narrative nonfiction. This book tells the story how after a fire in in the Jewish Theological Seminary Library in 1966, the community came together to save books. It's about the love the community had for their books and the collective problem solving it took to save them from water damage.

• Tomatoes on Trial: The Fruit v. Vegetable Showdown by Lindsay H. Metcalf and Edwin Fotheringham
  The true story about when the Supreme Court judged whether tomatoes were fruits or vegetables. Yes, the US Supreme Court spent time on this question, and your kid will have fun playing judge and jury throughout, giving their own opinion before we find out what the Court ruled. Lots of fun, food-related puns.

Middle Grade

• Summer of the Bone Horses by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve and Steph Littlebird
  Wonderful slice of life about a boy who visits his grandparents on their ranch in a Dakota reservation. There's no electricity, running water, reliable car, or other kids nearby, so Eddie learns how to live another way for a few weeks. Calming and charming, a wonderful bedtime read for kids who are ready to go beyond Frog and Toad but aren't ready for longer, unillustrated middle grade novels. Eddie experiences a sense of accomplishment as he learns how to do laundry and take care of the horses--and the reader feels that with him.

• Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows
  The best way I can describe this book is an upper middle grade romcom styled after You've Got Mail, but the male lead is actually a good person who doesn’t ruin the female lead's life before tricking her into falling in love with him. 🙄 (Yes, I have opinions about You’ve Got Mail.) Also, I can't tell you how many times I squealed while reading this. It's so cute. READ IT. The characters are 13, and this is perfectly appropriate for any kid who's into romcoms. There IS one kiss, but it's very very sweet.

Teen

• Dustborn by Erin Bowman
  One of the best YA dystopian books I've read since Hunger Games, and even better in a lot of ways. (I said what I said.) It's about a teen living in a dusty wasteland who has to rescue her family after they’re abducted by corrupt overloards/raiders. The pacing is incredible, the world building is immersive without being confusing. There's even a touch of a love story with a good guy—one you actually want the main character to end up with. One of those books I wish I could read for the first time again.

• Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis
  Oceans 11 meets Inheritance Games. A fast-paced-but-chonky thriller YA about a girl from a world-famous thieving family who enters a competition to save her mom. It's packed with a wonderful racially diverse cast, heists and twists and is just so fun. There's a sort-of romance, but trust me, this is not a cliched romance (and there’s no tiresome love triangle either). This book twists all the tropes. A must read for YA thriller fans. Unlike a lot of YA these days (which skews to late high school or even adult readers), I'd have no hesitation putting this in the hands of any middle or high schooler.

• The Last Ember by Lily Berlin Dodd
  A Victorian England-inspired fantasy. Force of good and evil clash over control of an egg of a dragon creature that may determine the fate of a deadly war. This is the first of what seems like it's going to be a really good series. The writing is superb; several times I wished I hadn't been reading a library book and could underline passages. The writing is a little more intricate that most MG these days, but if your kid can handle the later Harry Potter, they should be fine. Macmillian puts the age range at 10-14 years old, which I think is about right. The sequel doesn’t come out until November 2026, which is too far away!

Adult

• Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
  I have no idea why I liked this book so much. It's sort of slow, the voice is outdated, it's thick as heck and normally I avoid thick books, but I had me from the first page. I get why many fantasy writers consider it one of THE books that everyone who likes fantasy should read. The main character—a prince's illegitimate son—is given over by his grandfather to a party of the king's men. Fitz is raised in the king’s stables, where he gradually makes a home for himself and learns a telepathic-sort of ability. It's technically for adults, but I don't see why an ambitious teen couldn't read it, as long as they're ok reading about a good-hearted assassin. I'd be totally fine with either my 11 year old or 14-year-old reading it, but I don't think they’d like to yet.

• Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
  This book does what all my favorite sci-fi does, which is to set up the "what if...?" question, then fractal that out into all the characters, relationships, plot, conflict, and worldbuilding. In this case: what if a tech bro invented a means to travel between multiverses, but if someone travels to a different Earth that still has a version of them (ie, one who hasn't died), then the traveler will die an immediate and painful death. This is a thoughtful book, giving you time to consider all the implications and twists Micaiah Johnson throws at you. Even with that thoughtful pace, I was on the edge of my seat to find out what happens, but didn't want to read too fast and miss any of the wonderful writing.

• The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
  A great cozy winter read about a teenaged half-elf, half-goblin who under surprise and tragic circumstances ends up becoming emperor, a job he doesn't want and is ill-suited for due to his complete lack of social training and kind heart. There's no overarching plot, no flashy climax, and the moments of excitement are quicky smoothed over so you won't get too concerned. This is a book about a kid who is doing his best to find his place in a semi-hostile court environment, and you root for him all the way. I went to bed way too late on way too many nights because I wanted to read one more chapter.

• Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
  Sci-fi murder mystery about clones in a long-haul space ship who wake up to discover their own dead bodies. TBH I cared less about the mystery than I did about exploring the idea of clones and how that affects not just murder, but inheritance, personality, memory, and consequences of choices. And that feels like that's what Lafferty was mostly concerned with, too.

Random Other Recommendation

The Pitt

Look, I know I’m not being original here. Obviously, The Pitt has been getting a fair amount of praise, but I’m going to chime in anyway. (Note: I haven’t seen Season 2 yet, so this review is really for Season 1.)

Streaming on Max, The Pitt is a grown-up version of ER. It's even got Noah Wylie, delivering one of the most moving TV performances I've ever seen. He's the doc in charge of the ED and for the first time in four years, he has to work on the anniversary of the death of his mentor. Throughout the day (every episode is 1 hour of the shift), you see him cycle through various stages of PTSD, all while trying to deny he's having a hard time because he believes the ED can't afford for him to not be 100% at all times. The result is a medical show that's more about mental health than physical health. The camera doesn't shy away from some pretty realistic looking medical procedures, and I had to close my eyes a few times, so be cautious watching this with kids.

Wylie steals the show whenever he's on screen, but he has strong competition with the other docs, especially the very sincere Dr. King who is now one of my most favorite TV characters of all time.