‘More than Peach’ by Bellen Woodard

When reading aloud during library storytime, I especially like sharing stories about children who are making a positive difference in the world around them. A great example of this is More than Peach, written by “crayon activist” Bellen Woodard and illustrated by Fanny Liem.

‘Shapes of Love’ by L. V. Peñalba

Among books I’ve recently completed: Shapes of Love by L. V. Peñalba has the capacity to expand which orientations and which types of relationships are perceived as “normal.”

Book-Talk: Clementine H. Hopeful is Not a Hero

I related very strongly to protagonist Clementine in Noah Corey’s debut novel, which combines elements of fantasy with the intense day-to-day concern of trying to survive bullying. I’d love to see this book placed widely in libraries.
https://youtu.be/ng9fhq6r0H4

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‘My Fade is Fresh’ by Grant and Thomas

A new school year is underway in SRCSA library, and I’ve already fielded my first read-aloud request: My Fade is Fresh, by Shauntay Grant.

‘Dark’s Tale’ by Deborah Grabien

Whenever I visit San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and see signs warning of coyotes, my thoughts turn to Dark’s Tale by Deborah Grabien, which I re-read every few years. I want to share it as a commemoration for Black Cat Appreciation Day, which is observed each year on Aug. 17.

‘We Burned So Bright’ by T.J. Klune

I just finished reading We Burned So Bright, a recent book by author T.J. Klune. I attended a presentation by Klune in Sebastopol, shortly after We Burn So Bright had been published, and I appreciate Klune making a local stop during what was undoubtedly an exhausting promotional tour.

‘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.

‘The Sinking House’ by Darcie Little Badger

I’m looking forward to publication of a new book by one of my favorite authors. The Sinking House, by Darcie Little Badger, will come out in August 2026.

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

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‘The Gender Binary is a Big Lie’

In honor of International Non-Binary People’s Day, observed each year on July 14, I recommend The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie by Lee Wind. The title offers an excellent summation that immediately positions it as an alternative to the narrative that everyone must fit into one of only two socially-imposed gender identities. This narrative is vital and compellingly attractive to a reader like me, someone who has always known myself to fit outside the gender binary.

I Hope You Get This Message by Farah Naz Rishi

Cleared another book from my TBR list this week: I Hope You Get This Message by Farah Naz Rishi. “When news stations start reporting that Earth has been contacted by a planet named Alma, the world is abuzz with rumors that the alien entity is giving civilization only a few days before they hit the kill switch.”

Book-Talk: Night of the Abiku by Craig Kofi Farmer

When his eighth-grade class becomes stranded during a field trip to a southern plantation, Winston comes face to face with something terrifying within the mansion’s walls.
https://youtu.be/GXTvlXc22zw

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‘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.

‘Endlessly Ever After’ by Snyder and Santat

Ever since the arrival in my library of Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder and Dan Santat, I’ve looked forward to featuring it as a read-aloud. It features choose-your-own-adventure storytelling similar to the mass-market books I used to devour as a young person: except that Endlessly Ever After is a beautiful example of the picture-book format with its lavish, full-color, and evocative illustrations. This week, I debuted it with my school’s two third-grade classes; each class experienced a very different outcome as determined by the choices they voted upon each step along the way. Endlessly Ever After was the winner, in 2026, of the California Young Reader Medal in its “Primary” category.

Book-Talk: Opting Out by Kobabe and Srikumar

In my latest book-talk: I love Opting Out, the soon-to-be-published middle-grade graphic novel by Maia Kobabe and Swati “Lucky” Srikumar.

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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Book-Talk: Wish I Was a Baller by Amar Shah

I’d recommend this graphic-format memoir to a variety of young readers: especially kids who love sports, who aspire to careers in journalism, maybe even to kids who combine both interests.
https://youtu.be/7fSr8qYfONg

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Book-Talk : Don’t Want to Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton

On the surface, this is an exciting story about two vampire brothers who must put aside their differences to stop a series of killings being committed by a vampire hunter. But it also provokes readers to examine society’s tendency to look for scapegoats or “monsters” to blame when things are going wrong.
https://youtu.be/PZ1DuhdppkY

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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

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Same Page, by Elly Swartz

This book raises a lot of valuable points about the importance of offering diverse books that can serve a diverse readership.

One example is when Bess’s friend June dismissed the removal of books from the vending machine. June proposed a list of replacement books, and Bess pointed out the books June was proposing weren’t the same kinds of books as the books that were removed from the vending machine.

June asked Bess, “Why do you even care so much? I mean, most of the books that were pulled aren’t even about kids like us.”