‘Tales from the Territory’ by Travis Baldree

Tales from the Territory, expected in September 2026 from Subterranean Press, assembles short stories about beloved characters from Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes best-selling series. This essential collection offers glimpses into the lives of Thimble, Viv, and Tandri before Viv attempted to open a coffee shop in the city of Thune. It reveals how Zyll the goblin met a certain Elder Blade called “Breadlee,” and introduces competition in the form of a rival coffee shop.

Book-Talk: Legends & Lattes (graphic novel adaptation)

I loved Travis Baldree’s “Legends & Lattes” cozy fantasy series and now the first book has been adapted as a graphic novel, coming in October 2026. Reading this book was a very “cinematic” experience and I thought the artists’ depictions of the characters seemed very faithful to how they were described or how I envisioned them from reading the original book.
https://youtu.be/1vhWyTx2X8g

‘Children of Ragnarok’ by Cinda Williams Chima

I recently completed Children of Ragnarok by Cinda Williams Chima (Grade 7 and up - School Library Journal). Published in 2022, this book was “new to me” when I purchased it at a second-hand bookstore. I was deeply interested in the fantasy setting that incorporated Norse mythology and I quickly became caught up by the story, which centered around three young people whose respective quests and challenges converge in New Jotunheim: a seeming paradise that is tainted by hidden evil. School Library Journal says: “Hand this to fantasy fans and younger readers aging into YA.” Children of Ragnarok is the first book in Chima’s Runestone Saga. The story continues in Bane of Asgard, published in 2024 — currently on my “want to read” list.

Book-Talk: An Accident of Dragons by Cheri Radke

In my latest Book-Talk: Cheri Radke’s epic fantasy, An Accident of Dragons, focuses on a middle-aged protagonist who by appearances seems to have achieved his “happy ending.” But now Teddy, a.k.a. Lord Summer, has to lead an expedition from his island kingdom to the mainland to recover his kidnapped daughter.

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Books I’m looking forward to : Latest by Baldree and Wells

Andrew Limbong, host of NPR’s Book of the Day, invited readers of the newsletter to share what books they are looking forward to between now and the end of the year. Two books that I’m looking forward to are Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree (coming in November 2025) and Platform Decay by Martha Wells (coming in May 2026).
https://youtu.be/ezHbrAWiPMM

Book-Talk : Supernatural Investigations (series)

Video review: Supernatural Investigations is an exciting middle-grade fantasy series by author B.B. Alston, a great addition to the “magic school” genre. In addition to offering a magical adventure, the books also touch upon important themes, including race and class prejudice. The first book, Amari and the Night Brothers, is currently available in paperback and the second book, Amari and the Great Game, will be released on Aug. 30. A third book is expected in 2023.

‘Ballad & Dagger,’ by Daniel José Older

Ballad & Dagger, by Daniel José Older, combines supernatural adventure with political intrigue among a diaspora community of pirates, Cuban Santeros, and Sephardic Jews which have made a new home for themselves in Brooklyn after their island community of San Madrigal sank into the sea almost 16 years ago.

The story centers around Mateo Matisse, a high-school student and gifted musician who, when the story opens, is only concerned with gaining the attention of Gerval, a famous musician with local ties. Mateo gets much more than he bargained for, however; when he witnesses a brutal murder committed by a person he thought he knew.

What I’m reading (May 6, 2022)

In this video, I share 3 books that I am currently reading, and 2 books that are on my radar for books I want to read.

Book-Talk : Solimar, by Pam Muñoz Ryan

If you like adventure stories that feature resourceful princesses, Solimar, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, is a book you’ll want to read. For my video book review, I dressed up as a princess to honor the protagonist, who is the princess of a fictional kingdom: San Gregorio, in Mexico. Princess Solimar’s kingdom is home to a forest that’s a migration stop for Monarch butterflies. Wanting to sit with the butterflies when they arrive in the forest, Solimar is caught up in a magical experience: she has been chosen to be protector of young and weak butterflies that cannot survive on her own, and, while she serves as protector to the young butterflies, Solimar will be able to predict the near future.

Book-Talk : Dragons in a Bag

If you haven’t yet listened to my read-aloud of Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott, now is an excellent time to do so. Dragons in a Bag is the selection for younger readers in this year’s Global Read Aloud. I am now recording a read-aloud for The Dragon Thief, second book in the series, and the story will continue in The Witch’s Apprentice, which is expected to be published in January 2022.

What I’m reading : The Dragon Thief

Introducing … my latest read-aloud recording, The Dragon Thief by Zetta Elliott. It is a sequel to Dragons in a Bag, so be sure to read it, or listen to my read-aloud, before listening to The Dragon Thief.

Jaxon had just one job -- to return three baby dragons to the realm of magic. But when he got there, only two dragons were left in the bag. His best friend’s sister, Kavita, is a dragon thief!

Kavita only wanted what was best for the baby dragon. But now every time she feeds it, the dragon grows and grows! How can she possibly keep it secret? This story is in alternating first-person accounts by Jaxon and Kavita.

What I’m reading : Name of the Wind

The rural Waystone Inn is tended by a humble innkeeper, Kote — but peril stalks the land, and a pursuer of legend has followed stories of an infamous adventurer, Kvothe. Those stories have led him to Kote, who proposes to tell him his life-story over the course of three days.

The Name of the Wind, published in 2007, was the first volume in what author Patrick Rothfuss envisioned as a trilogy. It was followed by The Wise Man’s Fear, in 2011, but The Doors of Stone, third book in the series, remains “forthcoming” as of 2021. While fans wait, the earlier books are worth being read again, for the depth and richness of the story.

Rick Riordan Presents, two upcoming titles

Here is an early look at two upcoming books under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint: Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia (August 4, 2020), and City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda (January 2021).

Science fiction and fantasy can help young readers cope

Here’s an interesting article, via The Conversation, which suggests that reading science fiction and fantasy can help young readers cope and make sense of the world, “especially with the stress and anxiety of living through the COVID-19 pandemic.” As a long-time reader of science fiction and fantasy, I appreciate this perspective by writer, Esther Jones, that “Rather than limiting readers’ capacity to deal with reality, exposure to outside-the-box creative stories may expand their ability to engage reality based on science.”

‘Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe’ by Carlos Hernandez

Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe, while an entertaining sequel, also has a lot to recommend in its own right as a story.

‘Race to the Sun’ by Rebecca Roanhorse

Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse is a recent addition to Rick Riordan Presents, an imprint that features stories about characters from world mythologies, written by authors who are inspired by the mythology and the folklore of their heritage.

In his introduction for Race to the Sun, Rick Riordan shares that the character of Piper McLean from his Heroes of Olympus series was “inspired by conversations I had with Native kids” during his visits to schools.

“They asked me repeatedly whether I could add a Native hero to Percy Jackson’s world. They wanted to see themselves reflected at Camp Half-Blood, because they simply never saw themselves in popular kids’ books. Piper was my way of saying, ‘Absolutely! I see you. I value you. You can be part of my world anytime!’”

Piper, who was half-Cherokee, was part of an ensemble that populated Heroes of Olympus. But Riordan believed that a story centered around a Native protagonist, inspired by Indigenous mythologies, needed to come from a Native writer.

Race to the Sun features a protagonist who is Navajo, or Diné. The author, Rebecca Roanhorse, identifies her ethnic heritage as Ohkay Owineh and African American. She is married to a Navajo man and, “for the last twelve [years], I have been the mother to a smart, funny, and beautiful Navajo daughter.”

The book centers around the adventures of Nizhoni Begay, a seventh-grader who is able to see monsters - specifically, a monster who is able to change shapes but to everyone else around her, simply looks like “Mr. Charles,” the man who’s offering her father a new job.

Nizhoni and her brother, Marcus, are “practically twins” since only 10 months separate their ages. Marcus has a special power of his own and Mr. Charles hopes to make use of it as soon as Marcus’s power manifests. To defeat Mr. Charles, Nizhoni must embrace her legacy as a slayer of monsters.

In an afterword, Roanhorse shares that she drew inspiration from the Hero Twins of traditional Navajo stories.

I enjoyed the story, which features Nizhoni’s first-person narrative throughout. Given the appeal of Riordan’s own series, as well as other stories from Rick Riordan Presents, I believe that Roanhorse’s Race to the Sun will similarly be received by young readers who enjoy mythology-based adventure.

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley

‘Gargantis’ by Thomas Taylor

Gargantis, written by Thomas Taylor and illustrated by Tom Booth, is an entertaining adventure. While written as sequel to an earlier book, I believe that it can also work as stand-alone. It centers around Herbert Lemon, official Lost-and-Founder in the town of Eerie-on-Sea. It’s Herbert’s job to reunite lost objects with their proper owners - and sometimes to arbitrate who “owns” an item when more than one person lay claim to it. In this fantasy adventure, Herbert and his friend Violet must solve the mystery of a treasure that was stolen from an underwater creature. “Gargantis sleeps, Eerie keeps; Gargantis wakes, Eerie quakes ...” and thus the adventure begins.

I received a copy of this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers

‘Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky’

This latest offering from Rick Riordan Presents features gods and heroes of Western African mythology, alongside African-American folk legends. The author, Kwame Mbalia, has done a fantastic job assembling a cast of characters that this reader really cared about.

I sympathized with titular hero Tristan Strong, who has a lot of challenges to deal with.

When the story opens, Tristan has lost his best friend Eddie, who was killed in a bus accident. Tristan can’t help feel as though he should have been able to save Eddie, and he valiantly protects Eddie’s notebook of stories, the only thing of Eddie’s he has left.

Tristan is also dealing with the shame of having lost his first boxing match. This is a big deal because Tristan’s father was a renowned boxer, so Tristan has to deal with feelings of letting down the family legacy.

‘Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow’

First in a series, this story concerns a girl whom everyone believes to be “cursed.” Because of this curse, Morrigan Crow is a convenient scapegoat for everything that goes wrong in her community — even, sometimes, “extreme” weather events or other people’s own wrong decisions.

Even more concerning is the fact that cursed children die when the calendar cycle reaches Eventide, the “last day of the age.”

The timely arrival of Jupiter North, a member of the Wundrous Society, allows Morrigan to escape this fate, but thrusts her into a world of new challenges as she competes for a place in the Society.

With deft world-building, author Jessica Townsend introduces readers to a society where Wunder, a magical substance, is relied on like a power-utility. What is the connection between shortages of Wunder and cursed children living in an area? Who is the Wundersmith, a person feared and spoken of in legend? This story is sure to appeal to young readers who enjoy epic fantasy.

‘The Fire Keeper’ by J.C. Cervantes

With The Fire Keeper, author J.C. Cervantes continues her Storm Runner series that centers around gods from Maya mythology.

Teen protagonist Zane Obispo chronicled his earlier adventure with a secret message for other “godborns” who, like himself, had a god for a parent. In this follow-up, he learns that by doing so, he’s placed those other godborns at risk and, moreover, his father Hurakan is going to be put to death by the other gods.

Cervantes’ books in the Storm Runner series are part of a unique imprint, Rick Riordan Presents, which is published by Disney Hyperion.

The books involves themes and characters from world mythologies, written by authors who are from those cultures and who have a deep familiarity with the legends and traditions.

Rick Riordan, of course, is the bestselling author of mythology-based adventures that combine modern-day characters with figures out of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse mythologies.

Like Riordan’s own books, the stories in this imprint involve themes and characters from mythology, but Riordan’s role can be described as that of a curator rather than author (“Disney Announces New Rick Riordan Imprint,” Publisher’s Weekly, Sept. 13, 2016).

As related in the article, Riordan had been asked “about a zillion times” by his readers, “When are you going to write about (fill in the blank): the Hindu gods and goddesses? Ancient Chinese mythology? Native American legends?”

As his editor, Stephanie Owens Lurie, explained concerning the imprint’s launch: ”I know he feels that, in some instances, the books his readers are asking for him to write are really someone else’s story to tell.”

Having avidly read each new title as it was released by the imprint, I especially enjoyed a continuation for the saga of Zane Obispo. It populates an exciting and suspenseful adventure with characters that I came to care about.

I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley