The ten  (mostly 2026) titles listed below are rather diverse in content and theme, including informative, inspirational, historical  poetic, and even funny stories. 

 

ELLIS ON GUARD by Sal Sawler; Illus. Nandita Raanm / 2026

Lots of children like Ellis have worries. Ellis  has a worry list that ‘could wrap around the house three times.’ She worries about puddles, talking to new people,sidewalk speeders,  and especially  losing puppy, Peanut to dognappers. Ellis bravely ccomes to overcome her fears with the Creepy Closet and the Spiky Shrub and Noisy Neighbor  and comes to realize that not all things are loud or scary. Ellis on Guard is an engaging story about finding couragedealing with anxieties

 

OH DEAR, LOOK WHAT I GOT! by Michael Rosen; illus. Helen Oxenbury/ 2025

In April, 2026, it was announced that Michael Rosen was the recipient of the Hans Christian Anderson Award for his huge contribution to children’s literature. Well-deserved, I’d say!

The award-winning picture book, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by the brilliant team, Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury was published in the year 1989 and has since sold more than 9 million copies worldwide. in 2025, author, Rosen and illustrated Helen Oxenbury teamed up once again to produce another terrific picture book that is a sensational  creation, i the perfect read-aloud story (that warrants many repeated re-visiting). The story involves a young boy who goes from shop hoping to get such ordinary items – a hat, a coat, a cake, a chair but each time is surprised (and disappointed) to be presented with an animal and the menagerie grows and grows, following the boy. This is another brilliant publication filled with the unexpected, told with a rollicking refrain pattern and filled with amusing illustrations. This title is ideal for the ‘me read to you’, ‘let’s read together’, ‘you read to me experience’ Rosen and Oxenbury have done it again with another perfect picture book.

 

I went to the shop

to get me a cake.

Oh dear, they gave me… 

a snake

Oh dear, 

look what I got!

Do I want that?

No, I do NOT.

 

THE FUTURE BOOK by Mac Barnett; Illus. Shawn HarrisThis

This book is from the future wher the sun is called the moon and the moon is called the sun;  morning is called nigh and night is called morning; there ae no apples, noses are called mushroom and when someone sneezes they say “Forgive me Susan!” and folks don’t say ‘You Smell Like a baby’ instead of ‘Goodbye!’. Sometimes silly is fun. And fun is sometimes funny. I’d say his is the silliest funniest book since The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak .  Mac Barnett.. you are silly and funny (and a  talented author). Shawn Harris you are silly and funny (and a brilliant illustrator).  

 

10 SHOCKING FACTS ABOUT CAPYBARAS  by Melanie Watt / 2026

What do you know about Capybaras? Talented Canadian author, Melanie Watt (Scaredy Squirrel series) presents ten shocking facts about the biggest rodent in the world. Capybaras can outrun their predators. can fall asleep in the water and communicate by making surprising sonds but can they talk on the phone?  can they order pizza? This book is an ideal nonfiction title with many surprising facts about this unique animal and one especially shocking truth that os revealed at the conclusion – and sure to amuse and amaze readers. This is a perfect book for educators to share with their students when exploring the characteristics and behaviours of animals. 

THE STORY HUNTER by Barbara Reid / 2026

Any new book by Barbara Reid is a treasure to add to any book collection.In tbis story a young child goes on a hunt grasslands, a cave, a dark tunnel.  Reid, through her masterful plasticine art signaure style, takes readers on a journey into the mysteries and stories of prehistoric times.  In preparation for this publication, the artist travelled to Vezere Valley in France to experience the drawings of  deer, bison, horses found in long-ago times when stories were danced, sung and illustrated. Hoorah! Hoorah!  for Barbara Reid, a story hunter, story carrier supreme.  WOW!

 

THIS IS A POEM THAT HEALS FISH by Jean-Pierre Simeon; Illus. Olivier Tallec / 2007

This title, originally published in French,  is both simple, and inspirational and a thoughtful quest to find an explanation for what a poem is. Arthur is afraid that his pet fish, Leon is going to die of boredom and his mother’s advice is to ‘give him a poem’. A poem? But what is a poem? Arthur searches his house and his neighbourhood to find an answer.  Each person he encounters in his community has an answer for him. A bicycle shop owner claims: “A poem, Arthur, is when you are in love and have the sky in your mouth.” The baker says is is “hot like fresh bread’ When you eat it. a little is always left over.” Mamoud who comes from the desert explains that “a poem is when you hear the heartbeat of a stone.” Each answer is both satisfying and a puzzle that leads Arthur to heal his fish.  This book designed to help readers, young and old, reflect on the importance and comfort of poems. I’m so very fond of the expressive art work by Olivier Tallec and his illustrations for This Is A Poem That Heals a Fish are lively, colourful and yes, so very poetic. I love this picture book. 

 

>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<

>>>>>   ILLUSTRATED NONFICTION   <<<<<

 

SHIRLEY: An Indian Residential School Story, written and illustrated by Joanne Robertson with Shirley (Fletcher) Horn / 2026

Shirley is  presented as a first person account of Cree woman who, at five years of age ,was taken away from her family to attend St. John’s Indian Residential School and subsequently lived in Shingwauk Indian Residential School.  With the support of Joanne Robertson Shirley (Fletcher) Horn’s  life is outlined with clarity and heart and is accompanied throughout with illustrations created through photo and drawing collages. The details of Shirley’s experiences are framed in short sections with headings that encapsulate her life in Residential schools. Adventures such as  competing to do chores, sharing bedtime stories about life on the reserve, learning crafs at Brownies and Girl Guides, hiding a garger snak n her pocket, faking a fainting to be removed from a church service,  running away with friends and ending up in jail are the stuff of a memorable life. Shirley left school at fifteen years of age and she eventually ended up going to university and came tro be an accomplished artist. Now in her 80’s, she claims to be most proud of her work helping to create the Children of Shingwauk Alumni and the Reclaiming Shingwauk Hall exhibit. In the epilogue to book, Shirley remembers bing cold, afraid, hungry and alone but also having warm childhood memories of family.  Shirley is a very special  – significant – story since it comes from truth, helping readers to come to an understanding of the trauma that affects generations and for the journey towards healing and reconciliation. 

Excerpt

“Through sharing my story, it’s my hope that you begin to reflect on the deep and continuing impacts the residential schools had and have on survivors, their families, communities, and Canada’s reputation.It may negatively impact your understanding of Canada bu learning the truth is important. “(Author’s notes, p. 65)

 

THE STORIES BEHIND THE STORIES: The Remarkable True Tales Behind Your Favourite Children’s Books by Danielle Higley / 2021

This publication is a wondrous treat for lovers of children’s literature. The author provides short essays that explain the fascinating behind-the-scenes creations of twenty-nine children’s classics (e.g., Curious George,  Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry,   Diary of a Wimpy Kid, A Wrinkle in Time.). Author, Danielle Higley’s research and storytelling helps us ‘”o see that our most treasured children’s books weren’t just built on creativiyand imagination – many were born from extraordinary persistence and grit” (Author’s Note).  The authors’ biographical information,  ‘did you know’ facts , remarkable stories, and  wonderful brighty coloured, detailed collage like- illustrations (including some photo imags)  make this publication a fascinating, informative celebration of enduring  children’s literature we have come to love. 

Some Did You Know examples:

Dav Pilkey was  a reluctant reader when he was a kid who had (and still has ADHD and dyslexia.  Pilkey was 7 years old when he wrote and illustrated his first Captain Underpants book.Unimpressed, his teacheerf  ripped Captain Underpants first comic book in half and told the young  author that he ‘couldn’t spend the rest of his life making silly books.”

The idea for The Very Hungry Caterpillar came to Eric Carl when he was playing a whole punch, putting holes in a stack of papers. Ethe author/ illustrator’s picture book hero, a hungry caterpillar was originally was a worm named Willy who became very fat at the end of the story. The infamous book ultimately became a story of transformation. 

Children’s book editor Ursula Nordstrom offered Maurice Sendak a contract for a book entitled “Where The WIld Horses Are.” For Sendak, this was a problem since he couldn’t draw horses and when Nordstrom asked, “Maurice, what can you draw?” Sendak answered “Things..” Thus was born  Where the Wild Things Are.

It’s sort of curious that  “Goodnight Cucumber. Goodnight fly” got removed from Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon manuscript.

Christopher Paul Curtis took a year off from working on a General Motors assembly line in Flint, Michigan.  He hoped to write a book based on a car trip he took with his own family to visit family in Florida. When his sonb gave his father with the poem “The Ballad of Birmingham’ by Dudley Randall, about the chruch bombing. the Watsons’ travelled to Birmingham instead of Florida. and the author wove in  events that were inspired from his own life. When he submitted a manuscript for The Watsons Go To Birmingham – 1963 to two contests, he did not win either award but the book caught the attention of a publisher and the book went on to win the Newbery Honor PRize and the Coretta Scott King Award. 

 

SHOUT OUT / Nonfiction

LAST KNOWN ADDRESS: THE STUMBLING STONES OF EUROPE

by Kathy Kacer (age 11+) / 2026

I wasn’t familiar with the Stolperstein (Stumbling Stones) monument, Some facts:

> The memorial project began in 1995 by artist Guner Demnig as a way to honour victims of the Holocaust.

> Stones are small brass plaques chiseled with names and dates  and fates and are placed outside the last address of the person  before being arrested and often taken to concentration camps.

> Plaques are dedicated not only to Jewish people but also those who were persecuted for being Romani, disabled, queer. Not all shared the same fate.

> Gunter Demnig, working with a partner Michael Friedrichs-Friedlander  has been placing plaques into cobblestone streets and concrete sidewalks in over seven hundred cities.

> as of early 2026, there have been 116,00 stones laid across 31 countries. About  6000 stones are added annually. 

After stumbling upon a stumbling stone in Rome, Kathy Kacer became intrigued to find out more about the largest monument of the Holocaust in the world. In Last Known Address the author  tells 13 stories of those whose names have been engraved in the memorial artifacts.  The stones bring humanity to those whose lives were lost. Moreover, each stone is a marker of a human story to those who perished and reading these stories brings honor to those who perished in the Second World War and the Holocaust. Gunter Dmnig believed that ‘ a person is forgotten only when their name is forgotten.’  There is sadness and awe in reading these stories of those who were arrested but learning about the families, the friends, the communities, the businesses,  the pleasures of those who once lived in freedom helps us to understand history and value that ‘if we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it.” (American philosopher George Santaya). 

Kathy Kacer is a hero for her writing for young people about antisemitism, the evil of the Nazi regime and the unbelievable stories of courage and resilience of those who lives who have been cut short. Any single historical fiction, nonfiction and picture book by Kathy Kacer helps young readers to grasp some understanding of the horrors of World War II.  Last Known Address is a must-read stellar collection of stories that help readers of all ages to dig into the lives of only a few of someone who lived and possibly perished in the Holocaust. Thank you, thank you for this remarkable , well-researched, heartfelt nonfiction title, Kathy. The sepia illusTrations of the monuments and artifacts by Julian Neufeld  add to the power of the book. and  has inspired me to stumble upon stumble stones should I travel to Europe.  Moreover each story in the book serves as a monument to a life lost by bringing authenticity to help me better understand those lives.  And as statistics inform us, there have been 116,000 stones laid in 31 countries. 116 000 stones represent 116 000 stories of those ‘who lived here’.   In the afterword, Kacer writes words of inspiration

Keep readng

Keep learning.

Pass the history on.

 

Remembering..

Leone Sabatello: Rome, Italy

Ann Frank: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Ettie Steinburg Gluck: Dublin Ireland

Willy Zimmerer:  Frankfurt, Germany

Ada Van Dantzig: London, England

Max Josef Freund: Munich, Germany

Jan and Amalie Daniel: Brno, Czech Republic

Carl Becker:Krefeld, Germany

Matvy, Ajzinberg: Belrade, Serbia

Vera Katch Shiff,: Prague, Czech Republic

Max Windermueller,: Emden, Germany

Salman Schocken:  Berlin, Germany

Attila Petschauer: Budapest, Hungry

 

 

 

 

>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<

SHOUT OUT

ALWAYS REMEMBER
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, the Horse and the Storm

                                                                                         by Charles Mackesy / 2025

This publication is a wonderful wonderful companion to Charles Mackesy’s’s masterpiece The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse an illustrated book that is suitable for readers young and old (i.e., grown-ups) which was released in. I gave this philosophical, comforting book as a gift over a dozen of times for the wisdom that is offered page by page, An example:  when Mole asks “What do you want to be when you grow up, the boy answers “Kind”.   Enough said. 

Now the author has added the word ‘the Storm’ to the original title published in 2019,  helping readers contemplate how to survive all kinds of storms that may emerge in anyone’s life. In the preface to this book, the author writes “This book is for everyone, whatever age you are, and I hope it helps you remember that you are loved, and you matter. You are brave and magnificent.” The opening sentence reads “One day you’ll look back and realize how hard it was and just how well you did.”. Any life has its obstacles, and problems and storms but sometimes, as mole advises “every step you take is a victory”. This is a book that ignites reflection and invites repeated visits. The ink drawings and watercolour paintings are sublime. Yes, this book is a treasure, a masterpiece. 

Excerpt

 

       Mole’s Cake Recipe for The Cake of Love

 

A kilo of kindness

A ladle of letting go

A pinch of patience

A gram of gratitude

Heeps of hope

A handful of humility

A jug of joy

(This recipe never fails). 

In celebration of the publication of my new book, Yes, Genre Makes A Difference, this posting lists a range of genres titles that I recently enjoyed.  Many of these books are recent publications. 

Most often, i prefer to read a book before seeing a movie, play or television series, but i chose to read several books after seeing plays, movies and television series I liked a lot. 

 

>>>  FICTION

 

HEATED RIVALRY by Rachel Reid / 2019/2024

The television series, Heated Rivalry has become, to say the least a huge phenomenum. Like thousands of others, I ratehr liked this 6 part series about two rival hockey players, who privately lust after each other. Canadian  Shane Hollander and Russian Ilya Rozanov are both star hockey players competing and combatting on the ice.  They find ways to sneak off together and know how important it is to keep their relationship and gay identity a secret.  There is lots and lots and lots of sex in the streaming series and the book. I read Heated Rivalry with interest to see how page transferred to screen and concluded that the print form is practically 100% faithful to the TV series and the TV series is practically 100% faithful to the the book. Walking into a book store these days, once can notice book displays devoted to the “Game Changer” Series. There are currently 6 titles and one more to be released sometime in the near future. My curiosity has been satsified by knowing how the book has been adapted but I  dont think I’ll choose to read the other titles. 

Excerpt (p. 151)

Excerpt Shane and Ilya were”opposites in almost every way imaginable, but it was getting harder for Illya to deny tht there was somethign in his core that was drawn to Hollander. Instead of getting him out of his system with their hookups, each one just made them want more. It was dangerous fucking stuff.

 

>>>   NOVELLAS

 

BOX HILL: A story of low self-esteem  by Adam Mars-Jones / 2020

Seeing the movie Pillion prompted me to read the short book (114 pages) that this was based on. The story is centred on a dominant-submissive gay relationship which made for some intriguing insights into leader-follower narrative and ‘raw’ (explicit) movie viewing. The book is told from Colin’s point of view looking back on his past when he first, on his eighteenth birthday stumbled (literally) upon Ray, a six-foot five Adonis dressed in leather. Black Hill / Pillion are immersed in biker culture and takes Colin in a wild ride into the life of being devoted and submissive as a gay young man caught in the ‘swim of sex’. Colin is an endearing character but being under Ray’s spell makes for a desperate soul seeking acceptance  (the book is subtitled ‘A story of low self-esteem’.) The movie’s plot diverges from the novella’s premise but both medium takes us into a culture that is both exciting and shocking. The first person narrative offers readers insights into an unforgettable, sad, funny character who over the decades is immersed in sexual education and yes, love. 

Excerpts

“If somebody had held up a mirror on front of me at the moment, I would immediately realize i had nothing to offer Ray. Ray had no possible need of this blob.” (p, 16)

“I left school because I was short and fat and tired of being bullied.” (p. 33)

 

SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood / 2025

I’m quite fond of books (especially novellas) where settings are very much featured characters in the story and where people who live a quiet existence in fairly remote areas live with hope and yearning. The novellas Claire Keegan (Small Things Like These; Foster) come to mind as well Clear by  Carys Davies and Water by John Boyne. British author, Benjamin Wood tells the story of twenty-year-old Thomas Flett, who lives with his mother in Longferry, Northern England. He is devoted to his job as a shanker, an occupation inherited from his grandpa. In recent days, the gathering and selling of shrimp has become a struggle, but Thomas dutifully carries on, even thoguht he has a dream of being a folk musician, a secret he keeps from his mother. With the arrival of an American film director, Edgar, who wants to produce a film in the seascape community that Thomas knows like the back of his hand, he hires Thomas as a guide.  Can Thomas trust this stranger? Does Edgar offer Thomas a glimmer of hope to take him out of the drudgery of his days into a better future? The story takes place over the span of one day in this highly atmospheric, compelling tale. I am so very pleased to have discovered another fine fine British writer to dig into. 

Excerpt

“What ties him to the shanker’s life is not necessity, as such – a steady wage could be acquired by other means – and nor is it a sentimental gesture to the man who raised him. No, there is something more essential to it, simpler, but he can’t quite isolate the reason well enough to understand it. Ther’s a kind of gravity that holds him her, for definite, but most days he spends yearning to be free of it.” (p., 89)

 

           >>>   NONFICTION

 

LAST KNOWN ADDRESS: THE STUMBLING STONES OF EUROPE  by Kathy Kacer  / 2026

I wasn’t familiar with the Stolperstein (Stumbling Stones) monument, Some facts:

> The memorial project began in 1995 by artist Guner Demnig as a way to honour victims of the Holocaust.

> Stones are small brass plaques chiseled with names and dates  and fates and are placed outside the last address of the person  before being arrested and often taken to concentration camps.

> Plaques are dedicated not only to Jewish people but also those who were persecuted for being Romani, disabled, queer. Not all shared the same fate.

> Gunter Demnig, working with a partner Michael Friedrichs-Friedlander  has been placing plaques into cobblestone streets and concrete sidewalks in over seven hundred cities.

> as of early 2026, there have been 116,00 stones laid across 31 countries. About  6000 stones are added annually. 

After stumbling upon a stumbling stone in Rome, Kathy Kacer became intrigued to find out more about the largest monument of the Holocaust in the world. In Last Known Address the author  tells 13 stories of those whose names have been engraved in the memorial artifacts.  The stones bring humanity to those whose lives were lost. Moreover, each stone is a marker of a human story to those who perished and reading these stories brings honor to those who perished in the Second World War and the Holocaust. Gunter Dmnig believed that ‘ a person is forgotten only when their name is forgotten.’  There is sadness and awe in reading these stories of those who were arrested but learning about the families, the friends, the communities, the businesses,  the pleasures of those who once lived in freedom helps us to understand history and value that ‘if we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it.” (American philosopher George Santaya). 

Kathy Kacer is a hero for her writing for young people about antisemitism, the evil of the Nazi regime and the unbelievable stories of courage and resilience of those who lives who have been cut short. Any single historical fiction, nonfiction and picture book by Kathy Kacer helps young readers to grasp some understanding of the horrors of World War II.  Last Known Address is a must-read stellar collection of stories that help readers of all ages to dig into the lives of only a few of someone who lived and possibly perished in the Holocaust. Thank you, thank you for this remarkable , well-researched, heartfelt nonfiction title, Kathy. The sepia illusTrations of the monuments and artifacts by Julian Neufeld  add to the power of the book. and  has inspired me to stumble upon stumble stones should I travel to Europe.  Moreover each story in the book serves as a monument to a life lost by bringing authenticity to help me better understand those lives.  And as statistics inform us, there have been 116,000 stones laid in 31 countries. 116 000 stones represent 116 000 stories of those ‘who lived here’.   In the afterword, Kacer writes words of inspiration

Keep readng

Keep learning.

Pass the history on.

 

Remembering..

Leone Sabatello: Rome, Italy

Ann Frank: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Ettie Steinburg Gluck: Dublin Ireland

Willy Zimmerer:  Frankfurt, Germany

Ada Van Dantzig: London, England

Max Josef Freund: Munich, Germany

Jan and Amalie Daniel: Brno, Czech Republic

Carl Becker:Krefeld, Germany

Matvy, Ajzinberg: Belrade, Serbia

Vera Katch Shiff,: Prague, Czech Republic

Max Windermueller,: Emden, Germany

Salman Schocken:  Berlin, Germany

Attila Petschauer: Budapest, Hungry

 

>>> STORIES

 

THE ELEVENTH HOUR: A Quintet of Stories by Salman Rushdie / 2025

I’ve read a few books by renowned author, Salman Rushdie and was recently knocked out by his memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder (2025) a recount of the 2022 stabbing that left the author partially blind and his recovery and trauma of the experience..  This new release is a collection of five stories, (not particularly short stories: 20 pages; 80 pages, 74 pages, 60 pages, 19 pages).  I chose to read the shorter one’s first.  I think my favourite was ‘In the South’ the first one in the collection which introduces readers to a pair of cantankerous seniors, Junior and Senior, rather depend on each other from day to day, as they cautiously approach death. Senior. with two hundred and five younger family members question the value of life so full of love:, “His was a family of mosquitoes, he thought, a buzzing swarm, and love was their itchy bite.” .  ‘The Musician of Kahanai’ is centred on a musical prodigy, with a magical gift that allows her to cause destruction of the super rich family she married into. I’m not particularly fond of ghost stories but the afterlife of Cambridge don and his connection with a lonely student in the story ‘Lost’ was intriguing and ‘believable’ (as far as ghost stories go.). This story grabbed me from the opening sentence:  “When the Honorary Feloow S. M. Arthur woke up in his darkened College bedroom he was dead.  ‘Oklahoma’ describes the adventurees of a young writer who tries to figure out whether his mentor killed himself.  Disclaimer: I abandoned this selection after reading only half of it. (Maybe I’ll give it another go! ),The final piece, ‘The Old Man in the Piazza’  is described as ”a powerful parable for out times about freedom of speech”. Language is a personified character in this narrative.  So like any story collection, this one was hit and miss for me – even if there was  a collection of only five tales where the 11th hour ending of life , and/or death is given thoughtful expression. 

 

>>>  PICTURE BOOK

 

THIS IS A POEM THAT HEALS FISH by Jean-Pierre Simeon; Illus. Olivier Tallec / 2007

Picture books aren’t just for young people (you can quote me on that). I chose to include this title, originally published in French because it is both simple, and inspirational and a thoughtful quest to find an explanation for what a poem is. Arthur is afraid that his pet fish, Leon is going to die of boredom and his mother’s advice is to ‘give him a poem’. A poem? But what is a poem? Arthur searches his house and his neighbourhood to find an answer.  Each person he encounters in his community has an answer for him. A bicycle shop owner claijms: “A poem, Arthur, is when you are in love and have the sky in your mouth.” The baker says is is “hot like fresh bread’ When you eat it. a little is always left over.” Mamoud who comes from the desert explains that “a poem is when you hear the heartbeat of a stone.” Each answer is both satisfying and a puzzle that leads Arthur to heal his fish.  This book designed to help readers, young and old, reflect on the importance and comfort of poems. I’m so very fond of the expressive art work by Olivier Tallec and his illustrations for This Is A Poem That Heals a Fish are lively, colourful and yes, so very poetic. I love this picture book. 

 

>>> POETRY

THE LOST SPELLS by Robert Macfarlane; Illus. Jackie Morris / 2020

I intentionally seek out new poetry publications, mostly titles that would be connected to the world of children’s literature. Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris collaborated on an outstanding book entitled The Lost Words – “a dazzling original celebration of language and nature”  – and I was so pleased to discover The Lost Spells (2020) sitting by the check out counter at a local book store. What a gem of a collection! In the introduction to the book tells us that ‘This is a book of spells to be spoken aloud. It tells its stories and sings its songs in paint in word.’  Robert Macfarlane is a genius with wordsmithing exquisitely capture the world of creatures and places in staggering word images.  Jackie Morris is a genius artist,  exquisitely  capturing the world of two-legged, four-legged, six-legged  creatures (moths)  portrayed in close-up and detailed watercolour images that often fill the pages.  The introduction  also offers an invitation to readers: “So let the spells ring far and wide; speak their words and seek their art; let the world world into your yes, your voice, your heart.”

 Snippets

 

Whirl, birds, whirl!

You havoc-wreakers,

thrill-seekers you. 

 

Over rushes, across marshes,

    Owl hushes – 

Will you listen with Owl ears

    for a while?

 

Circles, crouches, clutches, lunges – 

but breaks its power on birches’ branches.

 

>>   SCRIPTS

 

The scripts listed below are three plays that were my very favourite theatre experiences I had last year. When reading the words, I still had impressions of the terrific actors, the stage setting and the voices given to the dialogue.  I would see any of these plays again and would re-read the script to better consider the plot, characters, and themes of each of these brilliant creations.

GIANT by Mark Rosenblatt / 2025

Giant was one of the best plays I’ve seen in 2025. There is no doubt that Roald Dahl is an iconic figure in the world of children’s literature. In 1983, Dahl made explicitly wrote an antiseptic review that the author is not prepared to back down on, even though it might impact the sales of his books. The play drawn on real events is set in a single afternoon in Roald Dahl’s home. Rosenblatt, in his first play,  presents an imagined scenario set the author’s British publisher and American publisher meet and try to convince Dahl to make a public apology or risk his name and reputation.  The profound irony of this play, published in 2024,  is that it presents views of Israel and Jews that are part of today’s news. John Lithgow gave an astonishing performance  in this award-winning production in London. Giant is a giant of a play – absorbing, powerful and shocking.  It is currently (spring 2026) playing on Broadway. 

Excerpts

“I think the only way I’d ever feel truly safe is if I could absorb people. If I could just swallow them and keep them inside me or something.” 

“It took a long time for Finlay to recognize that the silent version of Banjo was hurt, not angry. Banjo could be every emotion in the span of a sentence, but when he was hurt he carried it around and held it close.” (p. 312)

“OH, MARY!” by Cole Escola / 2025

Mary Todd Lincoln finds  life in the White House – and her husband – to be to be oh-so-boring. Booze and a dream of starring in a cabaret keeps her going,  Mary is hysterically funny  Cole Escola is hysterically funny, “Oh, Mary!” is hysterically funny on stage and on the page. I laughed out loud when I read this 48 page script.  I was lucky to have seen this show on Broadway  and witness the unique talent of Cole Escola  Yes, the brilliant live  performances (and the sensational costume) make thisa unique theatre-going experience. – the funniest play I’ve seen in years!   I was thrilled to see another production of the play in London starring  the terrific Mason Alexander Park and I still laughed and laughed. The play continues to be performed on Broadway with different performers cast in the lead (e.g., Maya Rudolph, Jane Krakowski).  “Oh, Mary!” and Oh, Escola have a great future in world of theatre, with this riotous play, which even the author has called ‘stupid’.  Hysterical! 

Excerpt

Abraham: Because actually a dead wife would do wonders for the president’s reputation in the South right now. Take the acting lessons, you fucking moron.

Mary: The South of what?

 

PRINCE FAGGOT by Jordan Tannahill / 2025

From the back cover: “A poppers-fuelled phantamgoaia interwoven with personal and ecstatic fantasies.”

Acclaimed Canadian playwright, Jordan Tannahill received some knockout reviews for his daring play Prince Faggot that speculates that the future heir to the British throne is gay. A precious photograph of Prince George at age 5 with a slight hip thrust pose seemed to inspire this imagining of what would happen if the he indeed came out as being gay and decided to marry.  How would William and Kate handle the news? What about the public? How will the monarchy and the world react to a family member who  loves partying and drugs and bondage and is in love with a brown man. The play assembles an ensemble of queer and trans performers, each with their story. One can wonder (gasp?) at how Tannahill got away with such an audacious, shocking  premise but Tannahill is a gifted, brave playwright and Prince Faggot is clever  in its portrayal of class, privilege, race and queerness.  What’s missing from the reading of the play are the daring sex scenes, display of nudity and clever transformation of performers playing different parts. The play received enthusiastic reviews in New York in 2025. Will it/ can this oh-so-daring play  with its oh-so-daring title be produced elsewhere?  I vote yes. 

Excerpt (pages 58-59)

Dev: Because you’re protected. No matter what they say or do to you, at the end of the day, you’re still a prince. And at the end of the day, I’m a Brown faggot.

George: I’m a fag too. 

Dev. No babe, You’re not. Your a white gay prince. You will never be a faggot. 

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.     SHOUT OUT.     <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

PROFESSIONAL  TITLE

YES, GENRE MAKES A DIFFERENCE by Larry Swartz

Pembroke Publishers, 2026

 

The opening statement to my new book reads: “Perhaps the epitaph on my tombstone will read Good Books Matter on one side and  Read Anything Good Lately on the other. For the past  50 years as a classroom, teacher, university instructor, consultant, conference speaker and uncle, i have been passionate about sharing literature with people young and old.  This new publication is designed to help teachers introduce students toall genre forms as they build skills in reading and writing. This resource can be considered  the ultimate guide to choosing and using books to actively turn kids on to reading by exploring picture books, novels, nonfiction and poetry. I offer comprehensive lists of books and present over 150 ready-to-use activities (including reproducibles that will inspire students to experience and respond to literature. Ultimately, my goal is to provide information and techniques to deepen understanding and appreciation of all kinds of texts.  Leading Literacy educator, Regie Routman, author of The Heart-Centred Teacher writes; “You can’t make a great fruit tart from a second-rate fruit, just as you can’t teach reading well without first-rate literature.”  Yes, Genre Makes a Difference is intended to inspire, guide, motivate and have teachers consider that Good Books Matter. 

Looking over the list of fiction I’ve read this past month, I realized that I could pair up these titles by connecting them by theme or by characters.  Some 2026 publications are starting to emerge in my recent reading choices.   A special shout out goes to Kathy Kacer for a special nonfiction title. 

 

>>>    2 CHAPTER BOOK TITLES BY 2 CANADIAN AUTHORS

TAKE A DEEP BREATH OLIVE TRAN by Phuong Truong; ill. Christine Wei (ages 8 – 10) / 2025

Ten-year-old Olive Tran is full of spunk and determination. She is eager to win the school talent show and be thanked for winning a pizza party for her  class.  The problem: Olive doesn’t know what her talent really is that could win the competition. , especially knowing that her brother Ben is a piano prodigy.  Olive considers a juggling act, a comedy act, jumping rope, hula-hooping.  What hidden talent does the grade four, Olivia have?  Many young readers will relate to the world of Olivia  Tran – and cheer her on! Take A Deep Breath Olive Tran is the second book in the Olive Tran series.  Book #3, Luckily Ever After Olive Tran will be released in the fall of 2026.

 

THE WORST SURPRISE EVER + HELPER OF THE DAY by Lana Button; illus. Suharu Ogawa  (ages 7 – 9) / 2025

Brianna Banana is a feisty grade 3 student who has some difficulty controlling her emotions. She has great expectations when she is assigned to be class helper of the day but when she arrives at school and finds that her teacher is absent, Brianna’s hopes are dashed and she has trouble handling surprises throughout the day.  Lana Button has introduced readers to a lively endearing character who is learning to control her emotions and cope with life’s unexpected mishaps. Like Ramona Quimby and Junie B. Jones, Brianna Banana is a spunky character who helps readers understand that making friends, being a friend and self-regulating our emotions isn’t always easy. This is an engaging, amusing story centred on emotional health. Lana Button sure knows kids who often struggle to fit in. Sequel: Helper of the Day.

 

>>>   2 BRITISH TREASURES: Something old, something new

A BEAR CALLED PADDINGTON by Michael Bond; Illus. Peggy Fortnum (ages 7 – 9) / 1958

This novel is the first in a series about a beloved bear who arrived from Darkest Peru at Paddington Station in London and came to be part of the Brown household.  There are about 13 to 15 core books in the series. This classic piece of literature  in various iterations has sold over 30 million copies and has been translated into 30 languages. Three terrific Paddington movies have added to the bear’s popularity in recent years.I chose to re-read this book in preparation to see the hugely successful musical Paddington, now playing in London. It’s a smash hit that will surely be playing for decades! The creation of the bear character for the stage is a marvel.  And of course there’s a lively song about Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Marmalade.  What the musical does well is depict Paddington Bear as ‘other ‘ an immigrant stranger in a strange land  trying to find his way in a new home which helps to make this a timely universal story.  

 

SMALL WONDER by Ross Montgomery / 2025

For those who like exciting adventure stories, British author, Ross Montgomery’s books provide captivating, heart-racing narratives to dig into. I first encountered Montgomery’s work with I Am Rebel, the story of a faithful dog who who will stop at nothing to save the human he loves when the farm boy chooses to join a rebellion.  That novel won Waterstone’s Book of the Year in 2024. I loved that book – one of my favourites of 2025. Small Wonder has all the ingredients for an exciting adventure that includes  a dark forest, perilous mountains, bandits, knights, a deadly assassin and a quest to find safety at a place called King’s Keep and warn the ruler of the kingdom of the enemies approaching.  With only six moons to reach their destination, orphaned Tick and his younger brother, Leaf – and a loyal horse named Pebble – bravely conquer each danger that comes their way.  The words of advice from his grandfather who died, spur Tick on to survive and make each brave dead count.  cliffhangers that end each chapter help to make this thrilling narrative that moves at a pace to quicken the adventurous reader’s heart. 

 

>>>   2 CHARACTERS WHO ARE PASSIONATE READERS  SEEKING COMPANIONSHIP (by 2 Queer Authors)

 

CHRIS MAKES A FRIEND by Alex Gino / (ages 9 – 12)  /2025

Alex Gino is a genderqueer author of middle years novels. The book Melissa (originally published as George (2016) ) was the winnr of The Stonewall Book Award,  and Lambda Literary Award,  is an important story about a fourth-grade  transgender girl. It is  abook that has been challenged for its sexual references and for being against ‘traditional’ family structures. It is a seminal contemporary story to help readers of all ages understand issues of gender identity. Other titles by Gino are must reads: You Don’t Know Everything Jilly Pi (deaf culture and Black Lives Matter); Rick (a student comes to terms with asexuality), Alice Austen Lived Here (queer history) and Green (non-binary middle-schooler who fights for gender free casting).  Chris Makes a Friend introduces readers to a girl who is passionate about reading . When Chris’s mother is scheduled to have surgery, Chris and her younger annoying sister, Becky, are forced to spend the summer with their grandparents.  For Chris, it means not being part of the GS72BC project (Great Summer 72 Book Challenge (i.e. 72 days of school break)) with her friend, Vicky,  but Chris rather enjoys alone time, as long as she can read, read, read.  The title of the book is a spoiler alert of some sort as introverted Chris  finds someone named Mia to spend time with, but is Mia the true friend that Chris needs. This is another great novel by the award-winning author. . Sexuality is not front and centre with this novel (Chris’s mother has a lesbian partner) . This is a another thought-provoking story  by the award-winning author/ How bad can a book be about a kid comes to understand the importance of having a loving family, a caring sibling and a true friend.  How bad can a book be about a kid who is addicted to reading books

Applause for the appendix that presents Chris’s Log listing the titles of 72 great summer reads. 

 

RECOMMENDED READING by Paul Coccia / YA / 2025

Eighteen-year-old Bobby Ashton loves books. Bobby seems to be realistic about how others see him (…”they’ll see me as a poor unwanted, unloved Bobby Ashton, the chubby gay who helps everyone else find love but gets his own heart broken.”)  Hopelessly romantic, he enjoys being a matchmaker and helping people find each other. In the preface to the book, we learn of an embarrassing incident where Bobby’s plan for a romantic proposal on a his current crush, ends up in an unfortunate scene of rejection. Bobby is determined to carry on. Bobby is also eager to find a boyfriend for himself and when hunky-looking Luke enters his world, he is eager to pursue a relationship. But although Bobby and Luke seem to know their own selves, they don’t  seem to know what they want from each other. It is the summer before college and Bobby ends up working in his uncle’s run-down book store providing his with the opportunity to be the local Book Whisperer, connecting readers to the right book to uplift them.   A cast of interesting characters add to the appeal of this book (Bobby’s co-worker, the crotchety Gladys, is a hoot!). Reviewers of this novel have praised the book for being ‘cute’ and ‘sweet’.  I’m not sure that I would pick up a novel that is described as ‘cute’. However, like many readers, I found myself cheering on  the romantic, witty Bobby Ashton in his pursuit of finding love with a guy who he claims is a ‘love Grinch’. Yes, Coccia tells a sweet, harmless, Rom-Com story of homosexual romance, where sex and lust do not play a part in the checklist of  ‘Bobby Ashton’s plans for the Perfect Summer Before College. .’  

>>>  2 NOVELS WITH THE WORD “LION” IN THE TITLE / Antisemitism + The Holocaust

 

 DON’T FEED THE LION by Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi  / Antisemtism  (age 11+) / 2025 

Journalists Goldodryga and Levi recognized a significant need to write a novel that helps young teenage readers come to understand the impact of antisemitism and the urgent need to combat hate.  The book is centred on Theo Kaplan, a middle school student who loves being on his school soccer team. He is enamoured with a soccer hero Wes Mitchell who starts a fury when he makes a derogatory remark agains Jews. Some of Theo’s classmates (and school staff) claim that the slur was ‘no big deal’. but when Theo discovers a swastika drawn on his locker he is caught in a web of moral ethics. Theo’s younger sister, however, decides to take action and secretly gets involved with social media until her plan to speak out backfires on her. Family and friendship (and his approaching Bar Mitzvah) moves Theo  find courage to speak up and speak up for what’s morally and ethically right. The compelling story book is presented in chapters centred on different characters and conveys authentic insights into school life, team obligations and tweenage social interactions. The two journalists have written a  necessary story about resilience in the face of hate and the importance of confronting personal and social agency and the quest to find the courage to not feed the lions. It is a story to help readers Stop the Hate and to bravely fight antisemitism – and all forms of bigotry – .  This book is needed NOW! 

Excerpt

“Listen, the full quote from Hillel (Jewish sage and scholar) is, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me if I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when, when?

 

THE LION’S RUN by Sara Pennypacker / (ages 11 +) /  2026

Lucas Dubois is the hero of this historical fiction novel that takes place during WW II in France which is under the occupation of Nazi Germany. We first meet the orphaned “Petit Eclair Lucas when he is being picked on by other boys and quickly learn how resilient and resourceful the thirteen-year-old boy is when he rescues a a group of newborn kittens from being drowned and then hides them in an old stable. But kittens aren’t the only one’s in hiding. A teenage girl named Alice who is using the stable to keep her filly from being taken by German soldiers.  There have been many novels for young people about this period in history, but Pennypacker introduces a significant piece of history by introducing readers to ‘Lebensborn’, a birth house controlled by  the Nazies where woman are forced to birth racially pure babies. Lucas is responsible for delivering for local greengrocers thus giving him reason to move throughout the community. Secret stories of hidden kittens, a hidden race horse, a young mother who desperately wants to keep her baby and the possibilities of joining the resistance movement intertwine in this richly told narrative of courage, chance, and hope. Each of the 58 chapters in this novel are rather short, adding a sense of tension to the storytelling. Hats of to Sara Pennypacker for brilliantly weaving in true events into a fictional  emotional account of war through the adventures  of a brave, resourceful protagonist. The Lion’s Run is outstanding novel, full of intrigue,  sure to engage – and inform -` readers. 

>>>.  2 BOOKS ABOUT BOOK BANNING

 

NOT ANOTHER BANNED BOOK by Dana Alison Levy

Molly is a grade eight student who is grieving over  the death of her older brother. Being a member of Ms. Lewiston’s  Book Club (LBC) brings her comfort through weekly meetings that allow her and  her friends to talk about books. Early in the novel, Ms Lewiston is approached by the principal of the school who informs her that she is being suspended and that the book club needs to come to an end because of books that have been discussed that are ‘not appropriate’ for young readers. . Molly and her friends take action  to investigate why this has happened and fight back to fight for the freedom to read.  Stories like this are so  important, especially in current times, helping young people to consider injustices and find the truth about book challenges, censorship and banning. Dana Alison Levy tells a compelling, serious, and even humourous story about middle years students standing up for what is right. 

 

WAKE NOW IN THE FIRE: A story of Censorship, Action, Love and Hope by Jarrett Dapier; Art by AJ Dungo / fictionalized true story/ graphic (Ages 12+)  / 2026

In 1963, copies of the book Persepolis byMarjane Satrapi was ordered to be removed from the classrooms and library in Chicago High Schools.  This graphic memoir is a coming-of-age story of a Satrapis personal struggles with politican oppression and cultural changes in Iran in the 1980’s. Some thought this book with its graphic depictions of torture, violence and sexual content was inappropriate for teenage readers. Librarian, Jarrett Dapier examines this piece of history and tells the story of the students at one school who fought to overcome those in power who challenged and banned books.  This fictionalized account of a true event is  told as a graphic novel. The author had done extensive research including conducting interviews with the real-life students and using transcripts to tells the history of one book ban that took place over a decade ago but absolutely resonates with institutional censorship that has emerged in recent years. Wake Now in the Fire recounts the incident from multiple perspective examining the lives of teenagers, taking action, loving and hoping. The art work is in monochromatic shades of teal, with no more than 6 panels per page. The color red only appears when the book Persepolis predominates the action. There are several examples of fiction that dig into the quest to defend books and free speech (Answers in the Pages by David Levithan; Ban This Book by Alan Gratz; This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed) . Dapeir and Dungo’s book is another  significant  testimony to the courage and resilience to fight for what is right. 

 

>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<

SHOUT OUT / Nonfiction

LAST KNOWN ADDRESS: THE STUMBLING STONES OF EUROPE

by Kathy Kacer (age 12+) / 2026

I wasn’t familiar with the Stolperstein (Stumbling Stones) monument, Some facts:

> The memorial project began in 1995 by artist Guner Demnig as a way to honour victims of the Holocaust.

> Stones are small brass plaques chiseled with names and dates  and fates and are placed outside the last address of the person  before being arrested and often taken to concentration camps.

> Plaques are dedicated not only to Jewish people but also those who were persecuted for being Romani, disabled, queer. Not all shared the same fate.

> Gunter Demnig, working with a partner Michael Friedrichs-Friedlander  has been placing plaques into cobblestone streets and concrete sidewalks in over seven hundred cities.

> as of early 2026, there have been 116,00 stones laid across 31 countries. About  6000 stones are added annually. 

After stumbling upon a stumbling stone in Rome, Kathy Kacer became intrigued to find out more about the largest monument of the Holocaust in the world. In Last Known Address the author  tells 13 stories of those whose names have been engraved in the memorial artifacts.  The stones bring humanity to those whose lives were lost. Moreover, each stone is a marker of a human story to those who perished and reading these stories brings honor to those who perished in the Second World War and the Holocaust. Gunter Demnig believed that ‘ a person is forgotten only when their name is forgotten.’  There is sadness and awe in reading these stories of those who were arrested but learning about the families, the friends, the communities, the businesses,  the pleasures of those who once lived in freedom helps us to understand history and value that ‘if we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it.” (American philosopher George Santaya). 

Kathy Kacer is a hero for her writing for young people about antisemitism, the evil of the Nazi regime and the unbelievable stories of courage and resilience of those who lives who have been cut short. Any single historical fiction, nonfiction and picture book by Kathy Kacer helps young readers to grasp some understanding of the horrors of World War II.  Last Known Address is a must-read stellar collection of stories that help readers of all ages to dig into the lives of only a few of someone who lived and possibly perished in the Holocaust. Thank you, thank you for this remarkable, well-researched, heartfelt nonfiction title, Kathy. The sepia-toned  illustrations of the monuments and artifacts by Julian Neufeld  add to the power of the book. and  has inspired me to stumble upon stumble stones should I travel to Europe.  Moreover each story in the book serves as a monument to a life lost by bringing authenticity to help me better understand those lives.  And as statistics inform us, there have been 116,000 stones laid in 31 countries. 116 000 stones represent 116 000 stories of those ‘who lived here’.   In the afterword, Kacer writes words of inspiration:

Keep readng

Keep learning.

Pass the history on.

 

Remembering

Leone Sabatello: Rome, Italy

Ann Frank: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Ettie Steinburg Gluck: Dublin Ireland

Willy Zimmerer:  Frankfurt, Germany

Ada Van Dantzig: London, England

Max Josef Freund: Munich, Germany

Jan and Amalie Daniel: Brno, Czech Republic

Carl Becker:Krefeld, Germany

Matvy, Ajzinberg: Belrade, Serbia

Vera Katch Shiff,: Prague, Czech Republic

Max Windermueller,: Emden, Germany

Salman Schocken:  Berlin, Germany

Attila Petschauer: Budapest, Hungry

 

 

Three piles of books (fiction, nonfiction, middle years novels)  are staring at my from my bookshelves. Reading memoirs is a genre of choice I particularly enjoy these days and on a recent trip to London i acquired some titles by some distinguished authors.  Other nonfiction titles seemed to appear on top ten lists at the end of the year.  Moving into 2026 had me immersed in nonfiction and I still have ten other nonfiction titles awaiting me when spring comes. Spring is coming… Yes?

 

MEMOIRS

 

DEPARTURE(S) by Julian Barnes

At 80 years of age (born 1946), distinguished British author Julian Barnes (The Sense of an Ending, Flaubert’s Parrot) declares that Departures will be the last book he will publish in his lifetime. In the opening section, ‘The Great I Am’  Barnes talks about  about memories, specifically involuntary autobiographical memory (IAM) where a single memory triggers memories of all experiences connected to that memory. For example,  tasting apple pie would trigger memories of all pies that have been tasted.  The second section of the  book is a story “lived in two parts, with a long gap beween them.” Barnes tells the story of a man called Stephen and a woman called Jean, who fell in love when they were young and again when they are old. The author played a part in both episodes of the couple’s lives.  In the later part of he slim book (158 pages), the author shares his experiences of aging where illness and fading memories ultimately help he author – and the reader – to consider what really matters in life and what the meaning of happiness and fulfillment might mean.  The book jacket tells us that “Departure(s) is a work of fiction – but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.” This clever  book seems to be a blend of novel, autofiction, and philosophy, narrated by a clever man named Julian. 

Excerpts

“I have been keeping back something Jean said to Stepheb, she never spoke these words o me, but I very much doubt he misheard them, or misreported them. Here we go; ‘Happiness,’ Jean said, ‘doesn’t make me happy.’ It is a thought – also a rebuke to centuries of ficion, = which I have been turning over in my mind ever since.” (p. 109)

“There is memory, and then there is death, which erases all memory. Leaving survivors with memories of the dead, which seem at fist as vivid and full of motion as when the person was alive. Btut this is a brief illusion.” (p. 144)

 

FUNNY THING, GETTING OLDER by Michael Morpurgo

I am a Michael Morpurgo fan. So are hundreds of thousands of others. I haven’t read teh 100+ titles by the award-winning, British Children’s Laureate author, but after being knocked out by War Horse, i sought out many other titles by this remarkable author. His new book is a gathering of essays, public speeches and reflections from a lifetime of writing. This book is a collection of thoughts about nature, childhood and old age, writing and reading, peace and war. The collection includes essays, poems, a play and stories that shine a shine a light on Morpurgo’s personal, political and life as an author. The book is divided into five sections: Childhood, Peace and War, Telling Tales, Searching for Wonder. The following quote is one to savour – and act upon.

“To give up on books is to give up on education, and if you give up on education then you can easily give up on hope, give up on your future. This way, you can so easily urn children away from books and feading, and that can be a life sentence, a life without books. So many avenues are barred, so many possibilities never imagined, so many discoveries never made, so much understanding of yourself, of others stunted for ever. “(p. 201)

 

LEAVING HOME: A memoir in full colour by Mark Haddon

Mark Haddon’s claim to fame was the publication of the brilliant award-winning 2003 book “The Curious Incident of the Dog In he Night-Time’. He has since published other books (A Spot of Bother  (2007), The Porpoise (2019), Dogs and Monsters (stories) (2024)) .  Leaving Home offers a unique approach to memoir publications. It is filled with over 100 drawings and photograph and images from the author’s. childhood and artistry. Haddon presents an honest account of a remarkable life lived as an independent creative spirit who seems to have survived living under a mother and father who didn’t really know how to love their children.  Haddon also recounts his experiences as a cartoonist, a care assistant, a teacher, a runner, someone who is afraid of flying,  a person who survived heart surgery and a brother, father and husband. Leaving Home is not a ‘typical’ chronological account of a life, but is presented as 87 passages (vignettes) that tell fascinating stories of a fascinating creative author and artist. 

Excerpts

“The people we interact with every day aren ‘t just actors in our lives; they are, for better, or worse, the means by which our names will loive on in the world. And it’s especially true of parents.” (p.74)

“Blessed as I am, I can’t help but think it’s intimately connected to our ability to tell stories, not primarily about gods and heroes but those about ourselves, hwat we might do tomorrow, what we should or could have done yesterday… As soon as we are able to tell these kinds of stories we all enter the Garden of Forking Paths. Life is no longer a single track but a journey through branching junction after branching junctiion, towards multiple unpredictable futures…” (p. 118)

 

POWSELLS AND THRUMS: Tales from a Creative Life  by Alan Garner

Alan Gsrner is a British author of distinction whose books (The Owl Service, Treacle Walker). In this distinguished memoir, the author reflects on the creative journey and the influences that have shaped his life. The title of the book is a salute to his great-great-grranfather’s trade of handloom weaving. Powsells and Thrums are the snippets of leftover fabric and threads that can be brought together “to make something whole and new. As with weaving, so is writing.”  Garner shares experiences growing up as a working-class child during World War II, being educated at Oxford University, an encounter with a mathematician (Alan Turing) and life at Blackden, a medieval hall nestled beside a giant telescope and shares how this ancestor’s craftsmanship and folklore influenced his life.  As good memoirs  about creative artists do, this book provides Alan Garner to share his process, his influences and his tales from a creative life. 

Excerpts

“Creativity, whether in the humanities or in the sciences is play. The creative mind keeps hold of childhood.” (p.151)

“I remember a single instance of conversation about his (Turing) work. He asked me whether, in my opinion as a classical linguist, artificial inelligence was possible. Could a mchine be made to think? I said that, in my opibionb, it could no. And that was that, He said no more.” (p. 44)

 

TELL MY MOTHER I LIKE BOYS by Suvir Saran

Im not a foodie, so I’ve never actually heard of Suvir Saran, particularly known for his owning Devi, the firt Indian restaurant in North America to earn a Michelin star.  In my quest to find some intriguing memoirs, the title of Saran’s autobiography drew my attention. However, I would say that the title Tell My Mother I Like Boys does not exactly tell the truth of the book.  Though the author speaks of his coming out, it doesn’t seem to have been troublesome for his mother, nor his family. The author recounts experiences of living in New Delhi, Bombai, Brooklyn and Manhattan and conveys how each of  thse settings influenced him. He aptly recounts his journey of becoming a celebrated chef who took great care to prepare Indian dishes often influenced by the mentorship of others. Along the way, Saran speaks of his gay relationships, in particular, his life with Max, completely devoted to him as they shared  life on a farm. Gazing into a mirror is an image sustained throughout as the author questions his identity, his talents, his relationships, his desires as a citizen of India and as a U.S. Immigrant. I found, however, that Suvir Saran’s narrative has as more holes than a colander. Characters and events are often introduced but they seem to be pieces of a life, without unpacking the story behind these people and events.  Mention is made of a passionate relationship with Robert but this merely takes up one page and we don’t much about their time together. He introduces people that were important to him personally and professionally but doesn’t give much story about their connection. Saran tells but doesn’t show and I was often left wondering about the mention of fragments that helped shaped his life.  We are provided details of his partnership with Charlie, but when the author (spoiler alert) heads back to India it seems that he merely abandoned Charlie. An epilogue does not wrap up or extend Suvir’s life story. Interesting enough, an acknowledgement section is almost 20 pages. It seems that Suvir owes a lot to friends and family. I don’t think his mother needs to be told that he likes boys.

Excerpt

“And so, I walked on, one step at a time, willing to live, willing to grow, willing to dream. Becaue if Manhattan had taiught me anthing it ws this: the rhythm of life is relentless, but if you learn to dance to its beat, the possibilities are endless.” (p. 100)

 

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NONFICTION

 

EVERYDAY I READ: 53 ways to get closer to books by Hwang  Bo-Reum, Translated from the Korean by Shanna Tan

I brush my teeth everyday I read every day  Those in schools and businesses  certainly read every day. However statistics inform us that the habit of reading for pleasure is declining both for both adults and young people. Research studies claim that daily reading as a primary leisure is declining year by year and fell by 40% in the past twenty years. (Note: data was taken from more than 236 000 Americans who participated in the American Time Use survey. The 2023 study was published in the journal of iScience) .Hwang  B0-Reum offers a list of 53 strategies presented as mini essays to help us consider how to move towards a life habit of daily leisure reading, no matter the genre. Sample tips include: Read Bestsellers (1) , You Don’t Have to Finish It (17); Read to Seek Answers (22);Read Widely, Then Deeply (39)Read Book Reviews  (42) Write Book Reviews (43); Read Books That Preserve Your Sense of Self (51). Notable too, are book recommendations are blended within each piece. Each essay invites readers to reflect on their reading habit and explore ways to encourage bookloving. 

 

EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

The title of this book the precise truth of what this this remarkable nonfiction publication is about. For John Green, “everything is tuberculosis, and tuberculosis is about everything.”. This is an A+ thesis about a disease that has resulted in death for millions of victims  throughout the world, for many centuries.  The thoroughly researched book expertly tells scientific facts about the history of the disease and it’s impact on humanity.  Green delves into such topics as TB being a malady of poets, a disease of poverty, diagnosing the disease, the significance of having sanitoria, the quest for a cure, the stigma of having TB, noncompliancy of taking drugs,  classism,  racism, inequality associated with the disease.  In 2019, The author became acquainted with A young tuberculosis patient named Henry Reider that he met in Sierra Leone and it is Henry’s story, woven throughout that brings a certain humanity to Green’s account. Curable, preventable and deadly, tuberculosis continues to kill over a million people each year. John Green is a renowned author of Ya books (Looking for Alaska; Turtles All the Way Down and the Fault in Our Stars).  His 2021book The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centred Planet was a a terrific read shining a light on human behaviours and interests. The book showed John Green to be a master at tackling nonfiction topics.  High praise now goes to this for an astonishing book about the past, present and future where “everything is tuberculosis.” 

Excerpts

“People who are treated less than fully human by the social order are more susceptible to tuberculosis. But it’s not because of ther moral codes or choices or genetics; it’s because they are treated as les than fully human by the social order.” (p. 86).

“In the long history of tuberculosis in man, despair follows hope, triumph and tragedies succeed each other (Annik Rouillon, researcher, 1991) Here again we see the cost of human biases, and how the repercussions of hose biases are borne by the poorest and most marginalized among us. Even as TB became curable, he cure oftendid not reach the places that needed it the most.” (p,. 116)

 

HIDDEN LIVES: Stories from Child Survivors of the Holocaust, Second Story Press

Since its inception in May 1971, “The Hidden Child Foundation” has been committed to adding the accoutns of Child survivors to the annals of Holocaust history. From 1991-2020l an annual bulletin, THe Hidden Child has published articles that have been contributed by Child survivors. Hidden Lives is a collection of stories from Hewish children who escaped death and survived after being hidden in such places as convents, orphanages, haylofts and forests. These remarkable stories are testimonials of perseverance, resilience and courage painting a strong picture of desperation which compelled parents to make the agonizing decision to leave their children with strangers or left them to fend on their own. Most children were orphaned, nay were reunited with family. The book is divided into ten sections (e.g. ‘Separation and Displacement’; ‘The Youngest Survivors’, ‘The Teenagers’, The Liberation’, ‘The Rescuers’). Each of the 50+ harrowing accounts is led by a title that encapsulates how these Jewish men and women came to survive: Am I Still a Little Catholic Inside?; Still Searching for the Hidden Child; A Survivor’s Affirmation of Life, Jews Rescuing Jews; Escape to Russia and Beyond etc. One and a half million were murdered in the Holocaust. The recorded memories that appear in this collection honour a commitment to remembrance and commemoration.

 

A MARRIAGE AT SEA by Sophie Elmhirst

The words on the cover of his book read “A true love of love, obsession, and a shipwreck.” What a story this is,  a harrowing story of a man and wife survival in the depths of the Pacific. The reporter, Sophie Elmhurst has done extensive research to tell Maurice and Maralyn’s perilous adventures at sea for 117-118 days (March 4 – June 30, 1973). When a whale strikes the British couple’s  boat, it slowly sank and the husband and wife are adrift in the deep Pacific, hoping that one day they will be rescued from their tiny rubber raft.  How they  survived makes for a compelling, mind-boggling read. This is not just the story of a battle against nature, but is tale of a husband and wife’s marriage put to the test. Maurice is a loner and obsessive, Maralyn is resourceful and ambitious. That they found each other is a marvel.  But there is no doubt that they depended on each other with  deep devotion as they fulfilled a daydream to sail across the world and were put under horrifying circumstances.  We know that they survived and the aftermath of the experience, the publicity, social interactions, health and continuous pursuit of dreams is the stuff of a ‘true story of love.’ A Marriage at Sea is a staggering strange but true, tale of interdependency, courage, and Tenacity, with a capital T. 

 

SHOUT OUT

GOOD DAYS: An ABC of Hope and Happiness by Michael Rosen (26 essays)

From the introduction (p. 3)

“I’m going to make a big claim: we can’t do anything about the things that brign us don., if we are oppressed and depressed by hem. We have to have hope. We need to be hopeful creatures in order o live…

“I can’t make you feel hopeful. I can’t guarantee that you’ll be happy. What I can do (and it’s what ive tried to do is tell some stories and give some thoughts, which i hope, in themselves will give you a moment of cheer… I think having moments of cheer is one of the ways we can have hope. Happiness and hope are linked.” 

This is a book filled with wisdom, inspiration and biography.  Through 26 essays, Michael Rosen helps readers to consider how there is joy in living each day of our lives. Rosen’s musings are drawn from his experiences as a writer, teacher, father, brother, son, husband, academic and as a regular guy living from day to day. , The book is arranged alphabetically and to say the least the topics for each piece are unexpected. . (e.g. ‘A is for Arouet’ , apparently Voltaire’s real name ‘H is for Hummus’, ‘K is fof Kvell and Kvetch’, ‘V is for Van Morrison’.). Each essay stimulates reflection (Would that work for me?).  I chose to read the book in chronological order but such titles as ‘ I is for If’;   ‘G is for Grounded’,  ‘L is for LIttle by Little’,. ‘M is for Memory’, ‘N is for Nights’ may seduce readers into dipping into a single essay. On a practical level, Rosen offers suggestions a the end of each essay for readers to consider: (e.g., “As an experiment, you can try writing a line hat begins ‘Every day is…” (p. 19) “Find time to play -trial and error withoug fear of failure. Something joyful, or silly or purposeless in any medium you like.” (p. 159); “The basic one is in his section – make your own lists. Then there’s the motehr of all lists, the list of lists: explore the possibility that life is a list.” (p. 169). Whether we (I) take action to implement each of Rosen’s treasures, the book does help us (me) consider that each day is filled with treasure (s) that can make lift the spirits and make us believe in hope – and happiness. Rosen claims that his book is not a guide but is designed to spark inspiration and help us consider, “I cold give that a go’ or ‘I could do something like that.’  Good Days is a  wise and entertaining and funny book to make us appreciate what we have and do and to prod us into being optimistic and more fulfilled  by small things.  Shout out goes to Andrzej Krauze’s brilliant illustration that introduced each easy. 

Excerpts

“…To experiment, is to do something new, its to discover someEvents themselves dont’ have feelings attached to them. What makes us human is that we have those feelings. When we something in the world around us, it’s to discover something about A yourself.”And a big discovery (or it may be a reminder) is that we don’t have to be passive receivers of what the world thross at us. We can take any part of the world and experiment with it, see what happens if…” (p. 48)

metme together and start taoking, we are in a way researching whehter my feelings are like your feelings are like his feelings are like her feelings. It’s a very tentative experimental time. This means that talking is a way in which we acquire a bit of wisdom.” (p. 187)

 

Hooray for Michael Rosen

Perhaps not as well known in North America, British author Michael Rosen is a star. He is smartHe has written over 200 books including titles for children and adults. My first introduction to the author was his first poetry anthology for young people entitled Mind Your Own Business followed by Wouldn’t You Like to Know. The picture book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (1989) would likely be considered hs most popular book. From 2007 to 2009 he was appointed Children’s Laureate. Some recent publications that I acquired convey the range of his talent: One Day: A True story of courage and survival in the Holocaust, illustrated by Benjamin Phjillips (picture book); Out of this World (poems to make uyou laugh, smile and think) and two staggering autobiographical  accounts about his near death experiences surviving coronavirus; Getting Better: Life Lessons On,  Going Under, Getting Over it and Working through It and Many Kinds of Love: a story of life, death and the NHS.  Rosen is a journalist, a BBC broadcaster, a professor of Children’s Literature at Goldsmiths (University of London), an activist.   I can’t keep up with the author’s R prolific oeuvre and would  sure like like to have any/all of Rosen’s work in my reading brain, but I am so grateful to be able dig into any new releases such as Good Days. Years ago, I met Michael Rosen on a trip to Toronto when he came to participate in the Ontario Ministry’s rich Oracy Research project (David Booth, Richard Courtney, Gordon Wells).  I enthusiastically applaud Michael Rosen’s talent, storytelling, perseverance, intelligence, and humanity. And heart. You are a hero, Mr. Rosen.

P.S.I just ordered anoher batch of Michael Rosen titles.  

This posting lists some fiction titles published in 2025 (unless designated otherwise).  A batch of graphic novels have come my way and I was pleased to see some titles that have transformed noteworthy prose fiction into graphic format.  Each of the publications listed below can be connected to a multicultural tough topics theme. 

 

ALL THE BLUES IN THE SKY by Renee Watson (Verse novel) / Death Loss and Remembrance

The opening lines of this novel read: “I didn’t know / best friends could die.”  On 13 year old Sage’s 13th birthday, he best fiend was killed by a drunken driver. Sage is overcome with grief and when she chooses to join a counselling group, she comes to learn that all losses are not the same and dealing with grief is filled with sadness, guilt and slow healing. She must also deal with carrying on, knowing that each day is filled with coping with feelings of anger and joy (a first kiss). “Death Loss and Remembrance” is a chapter  I present in my book Teaching Tough Topics and it is a topic that many teachers feel uncomfortable about unpacking in their classrooms because it can trigger deep feelings. Still, children’s literature is a special way to help young people deal with any loss in their life and there are a number of picture books (Our Lake by Angie Kang, Always with You by Eric Walters) and novels The Final Year, by Matt Goodfellow A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness that provide narratives about students coping with grief. Such literature can be bibliotheraputic for some readers. Many students hearts will be filled with emotion and perhaps comfort with in Renee Watson’s fine verse novel, winner of the Caldecott Medal, 2026.

 

A BIRD IN THE AIR MEANS WE CAN STILL BREATHE by Mahogany L. Browne / Poverty / Mental Health (YA)

A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe (beautiful title) digs into stories of teen characters, their families and communities who grapple with the of surviving the pandemic, living with fear, poverty and isolation. The short novel (145 pages)  is presented through mixed voices and mixed forms (i.e., story, letter, list, poetry). The book  is set in New York city  and each of the character’s stories offers insight into the loss and pain, resilience and hope of teenagers trapped by the perils of COVID-19 lockdowns. The book’s style is rather poetic inviting readers (of any age) to look back on the pandemic (or learn about it) and the seperation as well  as the coming together of the time. 

Excerpt (p. 143)

“Listen to young people, we know more than you can realize. We have ideas about what is next. And we’ve been taking notes from adults for years. Which is to say, you can learn a thing or two from us!

 

A WORLD WORTH SAVING by Kyle Lukoff / Gender Identity/ Transgender (YA)

This novel intertwines elements of Jewish mythology with an examination of transphobia. Lukoff presents a unique narrative of a 14- year old trans character named ‘A’ whose coming out experience was tenuous at best, especially cames to the forced attendance to Save Our Sons and Daughters (SOSAD) meetings his parents drag him to. A’s best friend Yarrow disappears after one of the SOSAD sessions run by bigoted demon.  Kyle Lukoff cleverly weaves in the character of the golem  to save Yarrow  and the use of judaic mythology to overcome bigotry as demons.  (Note: A golem is an animated anthromporphic character from Jewish folklore,  traditionally created from caly or mud to act as a protector or servant).Not being a lover of fantasy narratives, full disclosure, I did ended up losing interest in the story and stopped reading. The Jewish content of the story, important though it is, may baffle some YA readers but any piece of fiction that uncovers the  trans experience and addresses anti-trans legislation is worthy of attention. A World Worth Saving was a 2025 National  Book Award finalist. 

 

SHOUT OUT

BUNNS RABBIT  by Alan Barillaro  / Physical Challenges / Kindness

C.S. Lewis, author of the Narnia series claimed: “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”   Bunns Rabbit is a book for any age of reader. Middle Years readers may read this title independently. Adults may choose to read this aloud to an audience of young listeners II’d say that this is an ideal read aloud for junior classrooms),. Teenage readers might be somewhat reluctant to read a book with the title Bunns Rabbit or pick up a book that is heavily illusrated, but they should get much reading pleasure from experiencing a story filled with adventure, allegory and heart.   I am fond of fiction with animal characters (Dominic by William Steig, The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo, The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate). Those who enjoyed the 2024 Newbery award-winning book The Eyes and  the Possible by David Eggers , illustrated by Shawn Harris are certain to be taken away with Barillaro’s book.

Alan Barillaro is an Academy Award winning creator of animated films and his studies in animation and twenty-five year experience at Pixar Animation Studio confirm him to be an artist of high quality. The art work in Bunns Rabbit is staggering. Each spread features awesome visual images of animals and landscapes presented in a painterly style.  Holding this book is like having an art gallery exhibit in your hand.  

Bunns Rabbit is a special kit born with small blunt ears. Although his family gives him warmth and affection, the elder superstitious  rabbits of the warren assume that Bunns is responsible for the appearance of Spirit Fox and imminent danger and so he must he disfigured rabbit must be banished. Bunns Rabbit sets of on her own to find Spirit Fox who supposedly grant a wish and transform Bunns into a ‘normal rabbit’. The young rabbit’s journey is filled with perilous adventure shared by animal characters she meets along the way, a hummingbird, a loon, and hundreds of butterflies  The author brilliantly weaves in tales of mythological folklore,  (presented in graphic format style).  Bunns Rabbit works on many levels. Being physically challenged and not ‘fitting in’ is at the centre of the narrative. It is also a story of kindness, perseverance and the quest to find a place of belonging.   Wishes, dreams, entrapments, spirits, survival  and heartsong are all part of the compelling telling  A visual and verbal treasure, this book gets a five star rating from Dr. Larry. Spoiler; I’m not fond of books that ‘scream’ sequel upon book’s end, but I look forward to reading more about this heroic rabbit in future sequels. 

Excerpts

Bunns tossed in the night. “I don’t belong.” she whispered in her sleep until a darkness grew in the pit of her stomach like a deep-holed ringed with sharp, thorn-like pinches… ThA-thum, thump thump… thA-thump, thump, thump… (p. 60)

“The two birds suddenly caught sight of Bunns and cocked their heads in unison. “My, my,” they chirped. “Look at those short ugly ears! How horribly different! How differently horrible.” (p. 85)

“A red glow appeared on the horizon. Cinders danced up into the sky, becoming the stars above. The night wind became the Fox’s breath, the moon a milky blind eye. Bunns no longer knew whether she was awake or if she was falling deeper and deeper into a dream.” (P. 227)

 

SHOUT OUT

THE KITES ARE FLYING by Michael Morpurgo; Illus. Laura Carlin

/ Diversity, Kindness

I read this book after it was first published in 2009. With the Israel / Palestine Gaza conflict in recent years,  this story seems to have a stronger impact. For centuries, Arabs and Jews have been fighting over this small piece of land and the conflict has aroused political and humanitarian upsets, especially since so many children have been wounded and killed. Michael Morpurgo wrote this story to uncover how children’s hopes and dreams for peace fly above walls that divide communities and religions. In this slim novella (my version I have is 77 pages), the author tells the story from the point of view of Said. a young fatherless boy whose brother was killed in the conflict. Said, now a select mute, has terrible  nightmares that express his fears. Still, the boy  is committed to carrying on the tradition that his brother, Mahmoud ,once had of  carrying for the sheep and flying kites to the other side.  Interspersed throughout the narrative is a reporter’s accounts that capture the culture, the tension and the hopes of Palestinian citizens as he inspects and reflects on the life of ‘the best shepherd boy in all of Palestine. Stories can help  make sense of the world around us. The tale that Morpurgo tells in The Kites Are Flying may now, 16 years after it was written bring readers  understanding and questions of a complex and divisive conflict and why it doesn’t stop.  Laura Carlin’s astonishing art work conveys a powerful sense of character and setting through evocative and expressive images. On the front cover of the book, we read the words “Friendship Knows No Barriers”. Stories like this one can help to reflect on friendship, barriers and dreams for a better, safer tomorrow. Staggering! 

Excerpt

“Every time I fly a kite, little brother, I’m thinking it’s me up there, and that I’m far away from all this down here, far away from the soldiers and the checkpoints and the tanks. Up there I’m out of it. I go wherever the wind takes me, and no one can stop me. No soldiers, no checkpoints, no tanks,’  you said (p. 16)

 

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GRAPHIC NOVELS

The first 3  titles are ones that have. been transformed from prose to graphic format. I’m in favour of seeing a movie or reading other interpretations of popular books that have engaged and informed readers.  I would argue, however, that the original text should be read first. Just sayin’. 

 

GHOST BOYS: The Graphic Novel  by Jewell Parker Rhodes; Illus. Setor Fiadzigbey 2018 / 2025 / Anti-Black Racism

In he opening pages of Ghost Boys, Jerome,  a twelve year old Black boy is shot by a white police officer. As a ghost, Jerome is given the chance to learn how the community and the family is dealing with his death but also to observe the unjust killing is being handled in the courts.  Along he way another Ghost Boy named Emmet Till is introduced and Jerome (and readers) learn about a profound event in racist history.  Jerome also encounters, Sarah the daughter of the police officer on trial and as she grapples with her father’s actions, readers are given a perspective that further reveal the complexities of American Blackness in a contemporary world. This novel helps to illuminate too many stories that have emerged over the past decades in the United States. Ghost Boys is a powerful,novel and the graphic version offers readers a rather cinematic approach to what is happening through dynamic and gripping art work.  Jewell Parker Rhodes’s book, in both versions, is a poignant, must read experience for middle age readers. 

 

REFUGEE: The Graphic Novel  by Alan Gratz, art by Syd Fini /  2017 / 2025 /Refugee Experience

Alan Gratz is the master of historical fiction for young people (e.g., Ground Zero, Allies, Grenade, Prisoner 8-3087). His novel Refugee, published in  2017, has been read in classrooms all over he world and is a must read.  Gratz often presents his  novels through two or more voices. Refugee is in fact the story of three refugees: Joseph a Jewish boy escaping Nazi Germany in the 1930’s who’s family boards the MS St. Louis ocean liner in order to escape the threat of being sent to a concentration camp; In 1994, Isabel’s family sets out on a raft from Cuba with hopes of finding find safety in America; In 2025, Mahmoud’s family escapes  war-torn Syrian homeland hoping to find refuge in Europe. Though set in different time periods,  the three refugees are connected  by stories of escape, danger and  dreams. The novel has been transformed into a graphic novel with stark visual images that bring the original novel to life.  Though some narrative captions appear throughout much of the print is presented as speech bubble dialogue. Josef, Isabel’s and Mahmoud’s  perilous journeys are presented in brief, five or six page episodes. Each page is splashed with trauma – and resilience.This grapic version is a brilliant companion to the Alan Gratz’s original brilliant masterpiece. 

 

TUCK EVERLASTING : The Graphic Novel by Natalie Babbitt /  1975 / 2025 / Kindness

I would say that Tuck Everlasting is one of the best novels that I chose to read aloud to my students decades ago. It begs the question (and the dilemma), if you could drink water from a hidden spring that would make you live forever, would you choose to do so. Natalie Babbitt’s book was first released in 1975 and this graphic novel interpretation is a worthy companion to the original text. The art work brings the characters to life and provides a wonderful sense of atmosphere in pages that are often monochromatic to enhance each part of the story. Tuck Everlasting is an intriguing adventure story about immortality, kindness and growing up.  This novel is an everlasting treasure!.

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HALFWAY TO SOMEWHERE by Jose Pimienta / Diverse Cultures / Gender Identity

Halfway to Somewhere is a strong sroy about divorced families,  moving to a new country and coming of age and trying to fit in to new community. Ave was  born in Mexacali but when her mother acquires a new teaching position at the University of Kansas, she and her younger brother are forced to leave he past and find a place of belonging in a new school with some classmates who are like her and many who don’t. Pimienta’s story is a strong narrative about cultural displacement, particularly from the perspective of a Mexican family.  Although Ave’s English isn’t fluent, the speech bubble captions, except in a few cases, don’t highlight Ave’s discomfort. Somewhat mystifying is the fact that this graphic novel was awarded the Stonewall Book prize given to a book that recognizes exceptional merit related to LGBTQIA+ identity.  There is only a glimpse of Ave’s nonbinary world early in the book (“.. they weren’t expecting a nonbinary child. They’ve always accept you. Even before you told them.”?  Ave is fortunate to have been ‘accepted’ by family and it doesn’t seem to be an issue when she becomes enrolled in her knew school. Being nonbinary might have been explored further (to warrant a Stonewall award).  Still, Ave’s worries about adjusting to a new life are presented with empathy and authenticity and fulfills’ he authors goal of exploring the question “If I don’t live in Mexico, what makes me Mexican.”  This is an important  question that could be asked by any newcomer, no matter their country of origin. 

 

SONG OF A BLACKBIRD by Maria van Lieshout  / Historical Fiction / The Holocaust (YA)

This book is a stellar examples of graphic novel publication. The story, art work and skill at weaving past and present together made for an intriguing specimen of historical fiction. The novel is set in two time periods. In 1943 Amsterdam, Emma Bergema witnesses Jewish families beding deported to concentration camps. In this setting, we learn of Emma’s choice to join the Dutch Resistance that includes smuggling Jewish children, forging ration coupons and a bank heist. In 2011 Amsterdam, Annick’s search of a bone marrow for her beloved oma leads to discovery about her grandmother’s past as an adopted child. Art prints, with the signature “Emma B” link both narratives. Most of the illustrations are in black, white and gray with splashes of flat red or sienna on each page (mostly character’s clothing). The arrangement of panels and panels within panels bring a unique style to the graphic format. Special, too, is the inclusion of black and white historical photographs that appear as background setting to life in Amsterdam. A blackbird takes wing throughout the novel whose song serves narration and philosophical commentary and a symbol of freedom. (“Have I mentioned my work is a LIFELINE sometimes? I believe I have, but let me repeat it. When nothing goes right, listen for my SONG, so that things wil begin to bend right again.” (p. 169.  Maria van Lieshout has created a remarkable piece of historical fiction of memories of loved ones and memories of events drawn from her own family’s story.

 

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NEWBERY AWARDS 2026

Newbery Medal Winner

All the Blues in the Sky by Renee Watson

 

Newbery Honor Books

A Seas of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvaez by Maria Dolores Aguila

The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli  written and illustrated by Karina Van Glaser

The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartmen; Ill. Marcin Minor

The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri

 

 

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Some very beautiful picture book titles have recently been released, several of which are centred on emotioins and how to deal with them. 

 

CHIDORI: A Story of one thousand birds by Jennifer Maruno; Ill. Miki Sato / Death, Loss and Remembrance

This is the story of the arrival of a Tsunami  in a small village in Japan and the impact it had on your Hana as she watches the storm in horror.  Hana is finally reunited with her father and grandmother and she eagerly takes up painting the the birds to honour her mother. Jennifer Murano is spot on with her storytelling using concise language to describe devastating events and at the same time evoking feelings of endurance and broken hearts. Miki Sato’s collage art using paper textiles and watercolour paint vivid pictures of the village community during destruction and at peace. Bravo to Murano and Sato for a beautiful heartwarming story. 

Excerpt

“A wave, darker than the one that had taken their village, washed over Hana’s heart.” 

 

THE DRAGON’S EYES by Megan Chew

While helping to prepare for the Lunar New Year, a young Chinese girl named Li-Anne finds a box of stuff in the basement of her house and comes upon her grandmother’s ‘kong ming’ lantern and is eager to restore it to better condition. The lantern is lit and flotas up in the air when it is lit. Li-Anne attends to her grandmother’s lantern with care, tracing the dragon’s original form. When she carefully paints the eyes, the dragon comes to life and transports Li-Anne to China where she meets several  relatives she had only nown from their photos.  During her visit, Li-Anne attends a reunion dinner, an important family tradition. The Dragon’s Eyes is not only a magical adventure story, but it celebrates Chinese cultural roots,  customs and connections through the eyes of second-generation immigrant child. Megan Chew tells an engaging and informative story accompanied by bold illustrations often accompanied with graphic speech bubbles. Lovely!

 

NO MORE CHAIRS by Dan Gill; ill. Susan Gal / Racism; Kindness

 Dan Gill recounts a touching story about a teacher (himself)  who chose to display an empty chair in front of his classroom. His students are curious about the story about the chair and Mr. Gill recounts a true experience from his childhood about a turning point in his life with his friend Archie. Archie and Dan were invited to a party at an upper scale apartment and when they arrived, the mother who was hosting the party turned the two boys away saying there were ‘no more chairs’.  Archie is black, Gill is white. The author invites readers to share stories of allyship: “May you have a chair in your heart for anyone who comes knocking at your door filled with anticipation.” The lively art work is appealingly presented in bright vibrant colours. NOTE: The Day War Came by Nicola Davies  is another special picture book about ‘sharing chairs’. 

 

POPO THE XOLO by Paloma Angelina Lopez; ill. Abraham Matias / Death, Loss and Remembrance

The issue of Death, Loss and Remembrance seems to be a tough topic for many teachers. It is a sensitive topic that may trigger strong emotions with students. Children’s literature can help bring connection, compassion and empathy to those who have experienced loss and grief. There are many picture books, novels and nonfiction titles and strategies to support educators with teaching this tough topic (see: Chapter V ). Popo the Yolo is a story of losing a loved one and the rituals are rooted in Indigenous cultural understandings of Mexico. Popo is Nana’s beloved pet, and when she passes, Popo takes her on a journey where they pass a river and hills, s. a black stone, of molten lava, a snowstorm, a jaguar etc. all part of the Nine Levels of Mielan where the people go when the day.  Spanish words are filtered throughout. Brightly-coloured  Illustrations ideally capture the realism and mysticism of souls passing on and of memories kept alive. What a unique picture book and a rich resource to discuss cultural customs of honouring lost loved ones.  Popo the Xolo is a beautiful beautiful book of remembrance and love. 

 

TAP! TAP! TAP! by Herve Tullet (2022/ 2023)

Tullet has created some wonderful picture books (Press Here;  Mix It Up) that require action and interaction as readers follow instructions and play with the images on the page  Tap! Tap! Tap! is another entertaining book that is full of energy, whimsy, and art. Readers fingers and hands move and dance on each page that burst with dynamic lines and shapes in primary colours. The simple expository text that appears in each spread invite readers (of any age) to Tap, Tap, Tap and Dance, Dance Dance. (e.g. “Put your hand here and Whoooosh!, Circle  around the page three times – First one direction – Ziiiip then the other, Zooop!”.) Fun !Fun! Fun! that encourages repeated , let’s do it again, visits. 

 

SOMETIMES I FEEL THAT WAY TOO by Hannah Beach; ill. Rebecca Bender / Emotions

This book recounts the day in the life of a young boy who’s every day encounters brings a range of emotions: the coziness of a teddy bear; the excitement of a balloon in flight; the silliness of a playful hamster; the loneliness of an orange that didn’t get picked for a snack; the frightened feeling of a snail tucked in its shell; the love of family. Each interaction reminds the youngster that ‘sometimes he feels that way too’ which provides an ideal resource  for young readers, to share their own   stories and feelings.  Rebecca Bender’s wonderful illustrations beautifully help to bring each event to life and help to inspire students’ personal connections to the these events. 

Excerpt

“Hello boots, all together just right. I see you happily belonging.

Sometimes I feel that way too.’

 

TIME TO LEAVE, LAVERNE! by Lana Button; Illus. Yong Ling Kang / Emotions

Laverne is an exuberant young girl who bursts into a room “like a sunbeam”. However, when it’s time to leave the library, the park, a restaurant, a birthday pary she is sad and mad  and “nohing seemed o calm Laverne’s thunderstorms.”  When bad weather forces Laverne to stay inside one day, she holds a family meeting and explains that each of her sguffies have some sad, bad, disappointed feelings. Eventually, Laverne comes to deal with her emotions and with one foot in front of the other, the storm inside her start to subside. Many young readers will identify with Laverne’s strong feelings and learn wys to “weather all kinds of storms.” Any book that deals with identifying and controlling feelings is worth sharing and Time To Leave, Laverne, with an engaging narrative and expressive illustrations is a gem. 

 

THE WOMAN WHO TURNED CHILDREN INTO BIRDS by David Almond; ill.. Laura Carlin (2022)

When Nant Solo comes to town, she claims she can turn children into birds. The adults in the community thinks that this is plain daft. (“It’s total trash. It’s piffle, twaddle, balderdash.”) and they warn the children to stay away. But children, being children can’t resist and when Nancy Solo whispers words into  young Dorothy’e ears, the young girl becomes a swallow ‘swooping into the blue.’ but only for a few minutes before returning home.  The whispers continue and Colin transforms into a sparrow, Susan a goldfinch, Walter a rook and Wolfgang a a parakeet.  The sky became filled with children who had turned into birds. Will the adults join in the fun and dare to fly? What an exhilarating  whimsical story. David Almonds tells a simple, funny and a flight of imagination. Laura Carlin (a favourite illustrator of mine) art work soars. The Woman Who Turned Children Into Birds is a joyous reading adventure. that takes flight from beginning to end. 

 

SHOUT OUT

OUR LAKE by Angie Kang / Death, Loss and Remebrance

A young boy and his brother head off to swim in the cool waters of the lake on a hot sweltering day. The experience helps the boys connect to special times they spent with there father who is no longer with them. The simple, poetic language and the astonishing gouache illustrations depicting various perspectives work together to tell a heartwarming story of healing, comfort and remembrance. I was so pleased to read that this picture book was recently declared to be a Caldecott Honor book. I look forward to sharing this beautiful beautiful book with young readers. Five stars from me!

Excerpts

“At the peak, the domed sky swaddles us in heat and the water glistens below.”

“The wind whistles it’s approal as I head back to earth.” 

NOTE: Our Lake is a perfect companion to the Governor General and Marilyn Baillie award-winning book When You Can Swim by Jack Wong. This is a glorious book that celebrates the joy of swimming and invites readers of all age to thnk about memories of learning to swim, competitive swimming, and swimming adventures they’ve had in pools, lakes, oceans and seas. 

 

SHOUT OUT

BROKEN by X. Fang / Emotions

A young girl named Mei Mei accidentally broke Ama’s cup.  Oh the guilt.?Oh the blame! (it was the at, Mimi’s fault). Will Ama get mad at her granddaughter, yell at her, abandon her or love her like Ama always does.  The story is told in simple text. The illustrations are full of expression; I particularly admire the way several images fill and explode on the page.  Broken is a great story, a great marriage of text and great art and a wonderful message – “Every patch and every repair tells a story.” It is a story about worry and shame balanced out with forgiveness and comfort.  It is a story that is sure to evoke different emotions with readers (i.e, worry, sadness, relief, compassion, love). There was a buzz that this title was a strong contender for the Caldecott Medal. I’d hve been quite  happy if it won. 

 

 CALDECOTT WINNERS 2026

Medal winner

• Fireworks by Matthew Burgess; illustrated by Catia Chien

 Honor Winners

• Every  Monday Mabel by Jashar Anwan
• Stalacitte & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave by  Drew Beckmeyer
• Our Lake by Angie Kang
• Sundust by Zeke Pena

Book by book, I was hoping to get through my 2025 purchases. As the year ends there are several top ten lists that appear online and in newspapers. I was curious about several titles that received rave reviews and were considered favourites and are now added to my ‘to read’ piles. Many of these books are 2025 publications so this posting gives attention to them. I wouldn’t consider all of these titles to be as great as others thought. That’s OK. I hibernated a little over the holiday weeks and am catching up with fiction titles. I’m not sure that any of these titles will be on my 2026 list of favourites. These books are mostly hardback, mostly published in the last year. I have a batch of some appealing nonfiction books to get to next.

 

The Ultimate Best Books of 2025 List

The following link presents a round-up of the most favourite book titles of 2025, by listing the number of times a book appeared on a top ten list from different reviewers.

Source: Literary Hub
https://share.google/594trnFL7iTUwrxIw

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AUDITION by Katie Kitamura

The novel is presented through the voice of an unnamed narrator, an accomplished actress. The book is divided into two parts. in the first section , we learn about her life as a loving wife to Tomas  and her dedication to bringing truth to a role she is rehearsing for a new play. We also meet Xavier,  a young man who is old enough to be her son and even approaches the actress to find out if she is indeed his mother. She is not. In part two, a new narrative unfolds where Xavier is her son and he returns home to live with his parents. They welcome him, even though his living in the apartment is somewhat intrusive (especially when he brings a girlfriend to live with there too. Kitamura’s is a fine writer but I can’t say that this was ultimately a satisfying read for me. The narrative is more or less a monologue and there were some gaps in the storytelling, especially with the context of the play that is being performed and the transition from part one to part two. Lots of questions. Ultimately, this seems to be a book about relationships, about the roles we play in theatre and in life. Are we all putting on a performance for others? A mask? The actress/ narrator is ultimately her own therapist throughout observing and questioning the behaviours and actions of herself and others. She is her own audience looking at her performance of creating and performing of, living and loving. Audition was shortlisted for The Booker Prize 2025.  

Excerpt

“You can be entranced by an idea, I said, and at a certain point you can no longer see the edges of it…. I’ve experienced it myself. I continued, it’s something that happens every time I prepare for a role. In some ways the part is only working if I lose sight of the shore. But by the same time, it’s important to be able to come to the toehr side, you have to be able to come u

 

BRING THE HOUSE DOWN by Charlotte Runcie

The setting is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Critic, Alex Lyon, son of a famous actress, is known for giving either one star or five star reviews attends an opening night performance of Hayley Sinclair’s show and Lyon ends up writing a scathing one-star review.  But – there’s a always a but – on the night following the performance Alex picks  Hayley up and they end up having sex. Hayley was unaware of what Alex had written by her and when she does she is of course furious. How could this guy be so evil, so unscrupulous? The actress then chooses to revamp her show critiquing Alex Lyons and inviting any woman who attend her performance to lay bare their souls about times that they’ve been jaded or harassed. Through her vindictiveness, Hayley becomes a festival and viral sensation. Lyons reputation is destroyed and he will not apologize. He himself claims: “I’m a massive sexist misogynist, terrible person.”  Readers are bound to make judgments about which of these  two ‘victims’ is in the right. . The story is told from the point of view Sophie of who works in cultural journalism (and dealing with her own issues of marriage and motherhood). She shares a flat with Alex and observe her colleague’s downfall, sometime intervening to console. Charlotte Runcie tells a dynamo story about being an artist, being a critic and the peril of being honest even at the expense of others.  It is a story about ethics, gender power relations and the challenges and realities of artists whether they are performers or journalists. Bring the House Down is an electric “Me Too” story. Brutal and funny, this novel was a great read!

 

HEART THE LOVER by Lily King

This is a book that received several rave reviews. I did not read Lily King’s Writers and Lovers, a precursor to her new novel. This one is a stand-alone. The book is framed in three sections. First, we are introduced to the narrator a college senior who comes to be friends with Sam and Yash, two honour students in the English Department. Jordan (as she came to be called by the two men) serve as a guide to both her college and relationship experiences. The narrator loved Sam but now loves Yash. In the second part, we learn that ‘Jordan’ has had thriving writing career. She is now a wife and mother. In this section she is visited by Yash, a man she was deeply in love with until he abandoned her. This narrative is told in the 2nd person as Jordan addresses Yash, questioning who what became of his life and what it will become. Happily married, Jordan still has deep love for Yash and this love is deepened when Jordan, in the third section goes to visit Yash who is dying of cancer in the hospital. Her feelings are further complicated with the illness of her young son who is awaiting brain surgery.  For me, the narrative got richer and deeper in the later part of the book, as the author explores the tangles of friendship and the journey of the heart. Four, not five stars, from me. 

 

MAZELTOV by Eli Zozovksy

The cover  of this debut novel captured my attention on a recent visit to a book store. The title intrigued. The book blurb motivated me into buying this book about  Jewish boy confronting his sexuality as about to have his bar mitzvah. The jacket description suggested that this would be a novel i’d enjoy: An adolescent character, a Jewish family, a chorus of different voices, the threat of war, ‘queer lust’ and a book less than 200 pages.  I only got to 100 pages. In recent years I’ve given myself permission to abandon books and I though 100 pages would be a fair chance. We are told about Adam Weismann’s life from different perspectives but even at reaching half  the book presented in short story manner, I didn’t get to know this young adolescent and  found only glimpses of the narrative promised in the book blurb. A disappointment. Oh well!  

 

THE SAFEKEEP by Yael Van Der Wouden

This story set in takes place in the Dutch countryside fifteen years after World War II. Isabel lives a rigid life in her late mother’s country home. She is disciplined, cantankerous following a strict routine where everything needs to be in its place. All is disturbed, when Isabel’s older brother arrives demanding that his newest girlfriend, Eva,  come to stay in the home until he returns from a work mission that takes him far away. Isabel and Eve’s relationship is tenuous at best but eventually  the two women connect and find love for each other. Hidden secrets about Eva’s past offer a stark revelation about struggles, displacement  and trauma of wartime. This debut novel, shortlisted for The Booker Prize, 2024 and was the  2025, Women’s Prize Winner for fiction is an extraordinary love story.  I knew (from a friend) that a twist was coming and about 2/3 of the way through I was growing impatient but in the end Van Der Wouden’s novel is suspenseful, dramatic and passionate love story. 

 

SNAP by Susin Nielsen

Canadian autyhor, Susin Nielsen has written seven terrific middle grade novels about young teenagers facing some problems large and small (i.e., We Are All Made of Molecules; The Reluctant Journal of Henry K , Larsen, No Fixed Address)  Words on the cover of the book lets readers know that they are in for a story about “Three Good People/ Three Big Mistakes.” Frances Partridge is a beloved childrens author who gets in trouble for presumingly assaulting a student during one of her book talk visits. Geraint Blevins, an auto mechanic  whose life is upturned when he attacks his boss for having an affair with his wife. Parker Poplawski, is just staring her career as a wardrobe assistant and is guilty of attacking an elderly actor who tried to seduce her. The three characters lives intertwine when they are forced to enrol in court-mandated anger management class.  How will this trio  each other? Each seek justice and revenge? Learn to cope with being pushed to edge with life’s unfortunate turn of events?  Susin Nielsen is a great storyteller whose books are filled with humour and insight into the foibles and adventures of getting through each day as best we can.. Snap is the author’s first ‘grown-up’ novel and is told with the verve, quirkiness and yes, snap. his was a fast-paced, funny read about anger and redemption.

 

THE SLIP by Lucas Schaeffer

On the first page of this novel, we learn hat Nathaniel Rothstein, a sixteen year old boy who had been living with his aunt and uncle in Austin for the summer had disappeared. You’d think that at 484 pages readers would come to eventually would learn about how this mysterious vanishing but the novel unfolds in spirals within spirals and a cast of somewhat wonky characters and wonky events that involve a sex hotline, a transgender love relationship,  fake passport, an illegal immigrant, a rookie cop, working  at senior’s residence, stolen pills, a guy’s quest to transform his skin colour, an arrest, a wayward coyote, a police course in crime attended by Jewish ladies and a boxing match. Lots of boxing. Much of the setting takes place in Terry Tucker’s Boxing Gym where we meet a rather bizarre cast of intriguing characters, all shapes and sizes and ages. One review I read called The Slip ‘whackadoodle’ which I think is an apt choice of words  to describe this audacious, non-linear, adventure-packed novel where both character and setting create a strong picture of America in the early decades of the 21st century. A friend recommended this novel to me, declaring that it was his #1 favourite of the year, but even though I found the writing to be quite original and funny stuff, I can’t say that this was a five star read for me. The spiral within a spiral unspiraled for me in the last 1/4 of the book which was a bit of a slog for me.  There are lots of fans for this novel and applause goes to Lucas Schaeffer for this  fascinating outrageous debut.. The Slip was the Kirkus fiction prize 2025 winner.

Excerpts

“At Terry Tucker’s’Boxing Gym, the after-work influx had begun. Now other sounds subsumed the staccato smack of the speed bag, the pa! pa! pa!s Felix Barrowmen let loose inthe ring. The rowdy salaams of bros reunited, the slightly unhinged chatter of the deskbound finally unleashed.” (p. 50)

“She’d grown up in West Texas endowed with sparkle and skepticism and, though they wouldn’t bloom unil her late teens, two breast so perfectly round that more than one man would compare them to the map theyd seen in their grade school geographyprimers of the western and eastern hemispheres side by side.” (p. 163)

 

THE TIGER AND THE COSMONAUT by Eddy Boudel Tan

Casper and Sam Han are the twin sons of Chinese immigrants who grew up in a remote town in British Columbia.Casper, now an adult is in a loving gay relationship returns home when he learn as that his father had gone missing.  Memories from the past haunt Casper, especially since his twin brother went missing twenty years ago and the mystery of his disappearance has never been solved. Casper is also tortured by the quiet, obedient ways his parents chose to live without confronting the Anti-Asian racism and homophobia that they encountered. The Tiger and the Cosmonaut is a compelling, heartbreaking  account of the secrets and dreams of each of the members of an immigrant family. It is also  as a suspenseful narrative that unravels with unexpected twists. Eddy Boudel Tan is a beautiful storyteller  guiding readers into the heart and  strength, love and anger of  of each character. The book was shortlisted for the 2025 Giller Prize. 

 

TRAIN DREAMS by Denis Johnson / Novella / 2002 / 2011

The movie, Train Dreams was on many top ten lists and it certainly was one of my favourites of 2025. The movie is based on the novella by Denis Johnson which first appeared in 2002 (Paris Review) but was then published in 2011,  It is the start of the twentieth century and  Robert Grainier is a day laborer in the American West. His job entails felling trees helping to build bridges and railroads that will stretch across the country. Grainier is committed to his work but when tragedy strikes and he loses his wife and daughter he is haunted by his past. Grainier is not defeated and carries on to contribute to  help build the landscape of America. The book is 116 pages and Johnson writes rather spare passages that are indeed cinematic capturing the both the reality of the logger’s life and the inner turmoil of an unsung hero, living the life of a hermit,  coping with sadness and fate. Episodes of supernaturalism and hallucinations (e.g., the appearance of wolf-boy, train dreams) are filtered throughout. I look forward to seeing the movie once again. The book – and the film – are highly recommended. 

Excerpt

“By most Januaries, when the snow had deepened, the valley seemed stopped with perpetual silence, but as a matter of fact it was often filled with the rumble of trains and the choirs of distant wolves and he nearer mad jabbering of coyotes. Also his own howling, as he’d taken it up as a kind of sport.” (p. 81) 

 

WILD DARK SHORE by Charlotte McConaghy

  A woman  named Rowan is washed up on the shores of Shearswater, a tiny islnad far from Antarctica, an island, home of the world’s largest seed bank. Many researchers lived there but threats of rising sea levels forced them to leave. The soul remaining  inhabitants are Dominic Salt and his children Fen, Raff and Orly each with their strong attachment to the island. Rowan is rescued by the family and secrets of why she set out for Shearwater slowly unfold.  The precious seeds need extreme  protection. Otherwise, all life is ‘drowned, burned or starved.’ The novel is presented in different voices, Rowan and Dominic passages told in the first person, Fen, Raff, Orly’s narratives are in the third person. Charlotte McConaghy’s research is astonishing as she presents precise knowledge of the Arctic environment and its wildlife.  The book reads as nonfiction, even though here is a gripping mystery that unfolds.  The exotic setting and an extraordinary tale of climate change makes this a fascinating read.  I bought this book because it was on many top ten lists. Reading Goodreads reviews gave much praise that Wild Dark Shore was absolutely the ‘best read of the year. And of course several comments argued otherwise. It was not my favourite read of 2025. I guess I’m somewhere in the middle. No doubt McConaghy’s writing is remarkable and the relationships amongst the three characters was intriguing.  The quest to survive the brutal conditions was so stark and the scientific facts so precise, I sometimes found the narrative hard to grasp and ultimately this wasn’t the gripping thriller that many felt it was.

Excerpts

“These seeds given a chance, would all be able to work out how to coexist across the globe, how to feed and help and sustain each other, and there is something truly wonderful about that.” (p.118)

“It is the storm again. The churn of the sea dragging me under. My body battered. My lungs exploding. I am tumbled head over tail and have no sense of up or down, it takes an eternity for me to grasp any stillness, any hgint of calm among the maelstrom, enough to right myself and kick, reach, gasp the air of the roaring surface?” (p. 172) 

I read 140 books (* not all titles were published in 2025)
I saw 99 plays
I saw 75 movies .

MISCELLANEOUS: (concerts, NT live screenings, streaming (TV)

items are listed alphabetically by title

(I gave up trying to reduce lists to only five titles)

* shout outs !!!

 

PICTURE BOOKSBroken by X. Fang

Clara and the Man with Books in the Window by Maria Teresa Andruetto; ill. Martina Trach *

Gray by Laura Dockrill; ill. Lauren Child

One Day: A true story of survival in the Holocaust by Michael Rosen; ill. Benjamin Phillips

Punch!  A story about kindness by Michael Hall

The Wild Robot on the Island by Peter Brown

 

PICTURE BOOKS: Canadian

Everybelly by Thao Lam *

I’m Afraid, Said the Leaf by Danielle Daniel; ill. Matt James

Little Shoes by David A. Robertson; ill. Maya Mckibbin

Mad at Dad by Jane Hao

My Street Remembers by Karen Krossing; ill. Cathie Jamieson

Memory Stones by Kathy Kacer; ill. Hayley Lowe

SOS Water by Yayo *

 

FICTION: Middle Years

Bad Badger by MaryRose Wood

Bunns Rabbit by Alan Barillaro

The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow (also: The First Year)

I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery *

Lost Evangeline by Kate DiCamillo

Old School by Gordon Korman

Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate *

Popcorn by Rob Harrell *

The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner

 

FICTION: Grown-ups

Air by John Boyne

The Artist by Lucy Steeds

This Bright Life by Karen Campbell

A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar *

Clear by Carys Davies

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Hermit by Chris McQueer

My Friends by Fredrik Backman ***

The Names by Florence Knapp

Only Son by Kevin Moffett

The Trees by Percival Everett

When The Cranes Fly South  by Lisa Ridzen*

 

NONFICTION: Grown-ups

All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley **

The Heart-Centred Teacher by Regie Routman

Lessons From My Teachers by Sarah Ruhl *

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad

Spring: The Story of a Season by Michael Morpurgo

 

MEMOIRS: Grown-ups

Actress of a Certain Age by Jeff Hiller

All The Little Monsters by David A. Robertson (slso: Black Water)

Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls (Graphic Autobiography;  Pulitzer Prize)

How to Share an Egg by Bonny Reichert

I Am! I Am! I Am! by Maggie O’Farrell

I Am Full by Dan Yashinsky (re-read)

Knife by Salman Rushdie *

Playing with Myself by Randy Rainbow (also:Low Hanging Fruit)

Shattered by Hanif Kareshi *

 

THEATRE: In Canada

Ava (Toronto; Mirvish)

Blues for an Alabama Sky (Shaw Festival)

Cock (Talk is Free Theatre)

Goblin Oedipus (Stratford)

Kim’s Convenience (Soulpepper) *

Tales of an Urban Indian (Talk is Free Theatre)

Trident Moon (Crow’s Theatre)

 

THEATRE

Giant (London) *

Hamlet (Teatro La Plaza  Peru) *

Liberation (New York) *

Little Murmer (New Victory Theatre) *

Little Bear Ridge Road (New York)

Oedipus (New York)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (New York)

Prince Faggot (New York)

 

SCREENINGS

The Fifth Step  (NT Live)

Inter Alia (starring Rosamund Pike) ‘NT Live

La Boheme (Met LIve)

Macbeth (Donmar / NT Live)f i             

La Sonnambula (Met Live)

Vanya (starring Andrew Scott) / NT Live *

 

MUSICALS

Evita (London)

Gypsy (New York)

Inside American Pie (Toronto; Mirvish)

Just in Time (New York)

The Producers (London)

Ragtime (New York)

 

MOVIES

Hamnet

Nickel Boys

One Battle After Another

The History of Sound *

Steve (Netflix)

Train Dreams *

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Prime)

 

MOVIES: International 

Cactus Pears (India)

It Was Just an Accident (Iran, France, Luxembourg)

No Other Choice (Korea)

Sentimental Value (Norway)

The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia, France) *

 

STREAMING / TV

Adolescence ***

Heated Rivalry

Somehody Somewhere

Short Story Long

 

CONCERTS

Michael Feinstein *

Mandy Patinkin

Isaac Mizrahi

Cecile McLorin Salvant (Oscar Petersom celehration) *

 

MUSIC (CD’s)

Jon Batiste: Big Money

Cecile Mclorin Salvant: Oh Snap!

I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Wainwright does Weill by Rufus Wainwright

The Essential Dave Brubek

Kisses on the Bottom by Paul McCartney

The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift

Lionel Hampton: The Essential Recordings

Oscar Peterson; The Classic Verbe Albums Collection

 

An award does not necessarily make a good read. Tastes differ and every reader has different choices of ‘winning’ titles. This poting outlines some recent announcements of Canadian, American and book awards abroad. I’ve read each of these titles and, for what it’s worth, I would have given the majority of these titles a personal vote as a winning book. 

 

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

 

MAD AT DAD by Janie Hao

 > On Oct 4, this picture book was announced the winner of the CBC Children’s Kids Reads <

A young girl is MAD at her dad. She really is MAD. She then feels BAD. She feels SAD realizing she doesn’t really like being MAD and tries everything to help her be less MAD (counting, drawing, deep breathing). Eventually the DAD that she is MAD at helps her feel better. The words and pictures in this book explode off the page and , along with the lift-the-flap construct, seem to punctuate the angry feelings of this young girl. This is a great interactive picture book that beyond being entertaining, helps young readers think about their frustrating emotions and how to deal with them. I’m so glad, Janie Hao wrote Mad at Dad. Congratulations, Janie Hao on being voted a kids favourite. 

 

THE TEACHER OF NOMAD LAND: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri

 > NATIONAL BOOK AWARD, Young People’s Literature <

 

I was intrigued by three things on the cover of the book; The word ‘teacher’ is in the title and i like reading stories about teachers; the author Daniel Nayeri is an Iranian-American author who’s autobiographical novel Everything Sad is Untrue (A True Story) was a wonderful autobiographical story that i enjoyed a lot; the image of a child carrying a blackboard on his back reminded me of a wonderful Iranian film called Blackboards where a nomadic man wandered through the countryside seeking students to read and write. This book is set in 1941 and German Armies are storming across Europe and Iran, a neutral country is occupied by British anbd Soviet forces. Bahak and his Sana are orphans who made a vow to stick together, Babak, the older brother,devises a plan to carry a chalkboard strapped to his back to carry on his father’s job of being a teacher to the nomads as they make their annual trek across the mountains. Brother and sister find themselves on a treacherous journey struggling to survive through hunger and danger. Encounters with a British ally, a Nazi spy and a Jewish boy hiding from the spy, add to the two Iranian children’s race for survival. Daniel Nayeri has written a fine adventurous piece of historical fiction where languages, literacy, perseverance and resilience are central to a story set in World War II. 

Excerpt (p.103)

“They are scorched by the sun. Afer long evening of hiking, when they’re sore and their tongues lol in their mouths desperate with thirst, as the sun gutters behind a hill they finally spot a spring-fed channel of cold, clear waer down ina narrow valley. And at the same time, they realize they are all alone in the wilderness – Baba help them – and they’re being followed.”

 

TIG by Heather Smith 

 > GOVERNOR GENERAL’S AWARD FOR YOUNG PEOPLE’S TEXT <

Bravo to Heather Smith for winning the Governor General’s award for young people’s text. Tig tells the story of a young girl struggling to find peace within herself after being abandoned by her addict mother and taken in by her uncle and his partner. This is a  heartbreaking story about resilience, imagination and coping.  Heather Smith’s writing is oh-so-glorious and this publication is so deserved of Governor General’s award recognition. 

NOTE: This Land is A Lullaby writtern by Tonya Simpson and  illustrated by Delree Dumont was the winner in the young people’s illustrated book category.

 

EVERYBELLY by Thao Lam 

 > KIRKUS PRIZE <

Everybody has a belly. Bellies may be small, big, flat, or shy. Some bellies grow, some bellies make great tables, some bellies feel like home. In this terrific picture book, artist Thao Lam uses coloured textured papers to illustrate a cast of characters each with a unique story, each with a unique belly (i.e., tattooed, stretch marks, six-pack, freckled, squishy, wobbly etc.). Readers view the world of bellies through the eyes of young girl, Maddie has a unique perspective on ‘everybelly’ that  gathers together in the community pool. Why a wonderful story about self-acceptance by the author  who shares her the pride she has for her own full belly! What a wonderful tribute to the diversity of the human body! What a wonderful wonderful picture book! Bravo to Thao! Bravo to Groundwood Books! Bravo to bellies.

 

SOS WATER by Yayo

 > Marilyn Baillie Picture Prize, Canadian Children’s Book Centre <

Any book that can help young readers think about climate change and their part in taking care of the environment is worth sharing.  This picture book tells the story of a sailor named Lalo and a goldfish named Rosa in search of a safe place in the world for Rosa to be safe. However, every place they visit from the North Pole to tropical jungles, from deserts to Paris is  is strewn with plastic bottles. The cover illustration is spectacular (Lolo rowing is rowing a boat in a sea of thousands of plastic bottles.  Simple text, humour, imagination and  a thoughtful message about recycling  and glorious illustrations (often comic like) help to make SOS Water  is a treasure of a picture book.  This book is a winner!  Thank you, Yayo.

I dreamed I had magical powers to clean the world.

“What can I do? ” I asked the sea.

 

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ADULT BOOKS

 

THE TRUE TRUE StORY OF RAJA THE GULLIBLE (and his mother) by Rabih Alameddine

> NATIONAL BOOK AWARD, FICTION <

I was motivated to read this book after hearing about it’s award recognition. I hadn’t any novels by Rabih Alameddine. The brief synopsis of this National Book Award winner intrigued and I was glad I bought and read this book. The setting is Lebanon and the narrative takes place over several decades (1960 – 2023). Raja and his mother, Zalfa have an extraordinary love-hate relationship and are not afraid to call each other ‘stupid’. Raja is a high school philosophy teacher and the fact that he is a homosexual is not hidden from his family or community.  Zalfa, in her 80’s is a fearless dynamo who wants to know every detail of her sons work life and love life. We learn of different episodes in Raja, The Gullible’s life: Living through the pandemic,  a journey to America to attend an all-expenses paid writing residency,  and a large section that recounts a perilous adventure as a teenager of being kidnapped in a garage and having sexual adventures with his kidnapper who demands that Raja teach him to Cha, Cha, Cha. Alameddine is a great storyteller, a wickedly witty narrator, a wonderful inventor of memories, who presents unforgettable characters with the background setting of Civil War in Lebanon adding danger  for those who experienced trauma of war. I was pleased to read that this novel won an award and quite pleased to meet the unique style of a unique author. 

Excerpts

“My memory is a god, and I, its servant.” (p. 97)

“I know you think I’m being childish because I always mention I want to kill my mother, but that’s metaphorical. I mean I want to kil my mother but I don’t want to hurt her. That’s just silly. My mother is my muse of matricide.” (p. 233)

 

ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS, Omar El Akkad

National Book Award, Nonfiction

The New York Times Critics suggested that this current events titl is one of 100 notable book for 2025. Their annotation of this book reads: “This agonized book about he devastation of Gaza asks American readers to think of Palesinain victims  not as ‘them’ but as ‘us’. Part memoir and part pelemic, it offers an eloquent cry against our tolerance for calamity.” (06/ 11/ 22025, p. 33). The following words have been used in reviewing this book: ‘a howl’; a cry from the heart’; ‘rallying cry’ ‘fury’; ‘lionhearted’; ‘ferocious’ To be sure, Akkad’s book is a raw and honest spewing of views and questions from a political journalist who was born in Egypt, lived in Qatar, Canada and the United States. From the book jacket: This is El Akkads nonfiction debut, his most raw and vulnerable work to date, a heartsick breakup letter with the West.” El Akkad has reported on the War on Terror, Ferguson, climate change, Black Lives matter protests and he is angry / furious about the fact that much of what the West promises is a lie. The war on Gaza raises the author’s temperature in believing that privilege takes over the pretence that Westerners have treating others with full humanity.

This is not the type of book that I usually read and I found myself revisiting sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph in the ten essays that comprise this book trying to grasp  El Akkad’s views of unspeakable violence, complicity in genocide believing that one day, everyone will always have been against this. I did in fact turn down the corners of several pages when reading some of the author’s striking insights and queries.The book is filtered with chilling stark images of brutality (“The cartoon character on her shirt is still visible. He face is not. She’d hurt no one.”  / “A soldier shoots a teenage girl and is found not guilty. Life goes on for some but not others.” Within each essay,   questions that storm inside  El Akkad;s head are raised with the goal of instigating questions about a readers’s moral and ethical beliefs. In addition to  carrying the fury of the writer, the book is autobiographical as they immigrant author reports on his journey as a reporter and the speaking engagements and book conferences he attended. To be sure this is a book for our time’  The writing is strong and  brilliant and  is sure to make divide readers.  Will Western politicians read the book?  Will politicians ever work towards making a difference to reach a day against inhumanity in all its forms?

Excerpts

“They say what you’re supposed to do in this line of work is comfort the afrlicted and afflict the comfortable. I heard that saying a lot as a young journalist.” (p. 40)

“What power assumes, ultimately, is that all those who weren’t directly affected by this, who only had to bear the minor inconvenience of hearing about the deaths from afar, will move on, will forget.” (p. 55)

“In reality, it doesn’t much matter what or how vigorously I condemn. I am of an ethnicity and a religion and a place in the caste ordering of eh Western world for which there exists no such thing as enough condemnation.” (p. 149(

“How does one finish the sentence: “It is unfortunate that tens of thousands of children are dead but…”

 

 

THE ELEMENTS by John Boyne / Irish

THE PRIZ DU ROMAN Fnac NOVEL PRIZE (France) <

I am a huge fan of John Boyne’s work.  The Elements was originally published as a collection of four separate novellas: Water, Earth, Fire and Air. Although character’s from one book appear in other titles in the series, the stories are more or less stand alone reads. Each narrative represents different perspectives on a criminal act told from the points of view of the enabler, the accomplice, the perpetrator and the victim. We meet a mother escaping her past (Water) , a gay soccer star on trial (Earth), a surgeon dealing with childhood trauma (Fire), a father on a journey with his son (Air). As with any  book by this brilliant author, I found the stories to be compelling  and often gasp-worthy shattering.  Moreover, each story invites readers to consider the complexity of guilt or innocence. I’d give any one of these stories an award and it’s thrilling to have the four elements collected together.

 

CLEAR by Carys Davies / Welsh

 > ONDATTJE PRIZE (for books that evoke ‘a spirit of place’) <

The setting is a remote Scottish island in 1843. John Ferguson, a church minister is sent to evict Ivar, the soul inhabitant on the island in order to turn the island into grazing land for sheep. John’s mission, known as The Clearances’ whereby hundreds of ministries rebelled against the system of patronage, allowing Scottish landowners to forcibly remove the rural poor from their homes. John, desperate for money makes the choice to travel to the remote island in Northern Scotland to inform  the lonely Ivar of  his future awaits. When Ivar finds John laying unconscious on the beach, he takes him into his home. Even though the two men do not have a common language (John speaks English, Ivor’s only means of communication is Norn a Norwegian dialect).  the two men come to form a bond during Ferguson’s month-long visit, The short book (146 pages) unfolds in 52 short chapters that dig into the minds and hearts of Ivar and John and John’s wife Mary who longs for her husband’s return ‘The Royal Society Ondaatje Prize’ is an award  given to a book that evokes the ‘spirit of place’.  Clear was an absorbing, poignant read. It is a hear squeezing story of loneliness and connection and longing.I loved it so. 

Excerpts

“He stood for a long time in the softly falling rain and eventually he spoke to himself silently in his own head: “I have the cliffs and the skerries and the birds. I have he white hill and the round hill and the peaked hill. I have the clear spring water and the rich good pasture that covers the tilted top of the island like a blanket. I have the old black cow and the sweet grass that grows between the rocks. I have my great chair and my sturdy house. I have my spinning wheel and I have the teapot and I have Pegi, and now, amazingly, I have John Ferguson too.” (p, 66)

“He went down to the inlet. The surface of the sea had a scraped, scrubbed look. Long, skittish shadows, hurrying in front of the wind, raced across it. Cormorants glinted, gulls hung in the air with their mouths open. Dark, heavy clouds rested on the horizon and he found himself wondering what Ivar would call them 0 would he say they were homers or bunker? Elias or glodreks? (p. 126)

 

THE ARTIST by Lucy Steeds

> Waterstones Book of the Year / Waterstone’s  debut fiction prize  <

The Setting: Province, France, Summer, 1920 .. An artist’s residence

The Characters: Joseph: a journalist from Britain who has come to write a profile about the artist, 

                              Edouard Tartuffe: a reclusive artist of renowned, known for being the ‘master of light’

                              Ette: The artist’s niece who has been living with him, after her mother abandoned her

The Story:  Joseph is eager to prepare an article(s) for an arts publication but is up against a cantankerous, sometimes volatile artist who is reluctant to reveal any secrets. Joseph ends up sitting as a model for Tata’s painting ‘ Young Man with Orange’. When the painting is finished, Joseph is pleased to be given permission to stay on where he ends up falling in love with Ette. Ette is totally obedient to her uncle, cooking, cleaning and preparing all his artist tools. Ette has dreams of her own about becoming an artist but feels obligated to stay with the demanding, domineering Tats. And besides, being an artist is not part of a woman’s world.  When a romance with Joseph unfolds, Ette wonders if she is forever trapped to serve her uncle. Her secrets and mysterious behaviours add tension and intrigue to Ette’s life and her future.

Style: This was a compelling read. Lucy Steeds knows the French rural countryside well. She  expertly paints a picture of an artist’s painting pictures. The book is presented in alternative voices of Joseph and Ette. Steeds vividly portrays the lives and secrets and passions of each of her characters along with  digging into the pasts that haunts them.  I was transported into the the sun-drenched atmosphere, the dedicated creative process, the intriguing mystery , and the yearning love found within The Artist. 

Excerpts

“Voices, voices, voices. And Tata, he is laughing. He is growling. One eye is mirthful, he other angry. He is the god of light and shade and at this moment he is everything wrapped up in one., Fury. Passiob. Madness. Ecstasy.” (p, 186) 

>>>>>

“Why did you come? she whispers, and she is so close he can feel her breath on hgis skin.

Joseph finds the answer on the tip of his tongue without even realizing ir was there. “To feel alive,” he says.  (p. 197-198)

 

FLESH by David Szalay

 > BOOKER PRIZE <

This novel follows a man from adolescence to old age. Istvan is the hero of the story and we first meet him as a fifteen year old Hungarian teenager and as the years pass, sexual encounters, life in a detention centre, army experiences, working as a security guard and a chauffeur, encounters with the super-rich, a strange marriage, a troubled fatherhood, make Istvan the rather detached man he is.  This book raises questions about how fate control can control us as well as the importance of  taking action to try and live a life of worth.

The book was on 16 top ten lists of best books of 2025. There will be many readers who won’t like Flesh, as much as I did. And I don’t think I liked Flesh as much as the Booker jurors did. But I was engaged reading about the ups and downs of Istvan’s life. The book is framed in ten chapters, much like a ten part television streaming series – (just sayin’) .  Each chapter is like a short story in which Szalay captures different stages of his protagonists life. In much of the book, the author writes with simple sentences, If chapter appear on the page, they are rather short and unfussy. There are many gaps in the narrative leaving the reader to fill in what may seem like important events, especially as each chapter ends. The dialogue is rather clipped and we have to be satisfied with such answers as ‘Yeah’, ‘Okay’ and “I don’t know’.   I liked that staccato rhythm of conversation which brings an authenticity to Istvan’s often laid back approach to life.  I like your style, Mr Szalay. I liked Flesh a lot. 

Excerpt

‘How are you?’ he asks.

‘What do you mean?’

‘What d’you mean what do I mean?’

‘It’s a weird question,’ she says. 

‘Is it?’

‘Yeah.’ 

‘Why is it a weird question?’ 

‘I don’t know. it’s the kind of think grown-ups ask each other.’

 

PICK A COLOUR by Souvankham Thammavonsa / Canadian

 > GILLER PRIZE <

This story takes place during a single summer day in a nail salon named Susan.  Anyone who has gotten a mani-pedi at any salon anywhere will know the atmosphere, the customers,  the manicurists,  the procedures, the conversations (in English or otherwise) described in this novel. Each of the employees (each with the name tag, ‘Susan’) buff and clip and polish and tweeze as they listen to stories and complaints  about husbands having affairs, online dating, taking care of children. Ning runs Susans with precision and acute observation (“I want to know, then realize there are some things I don’t need to know. I was there. I saw it all” (p. 165). As a retired boxer, Ning brings stamina and resilience to the workplace. Gossip abounds throughout the day, much of which is in a language that customers don’t know.  A short novel (180 pages) Pick a Colour brings strong insight into the life of an immigrant and the complexity of power dynamics. 

 

MY FRIENDS by Fredrik Bachman

 > GOODREADS:   Choice Award , Fiction <

Add my one vote to the `167, 509 people who voted this their favorite fictional read in 2025. 

One day, this summer, my good friend, Adrienne,  told me that I ‘must read’  MyFriends.  That night I turned on TV to watch The Tonight Show and Jimmy Fallon declared My Friends to be his summer book club read. The book had been on my ‘to-read’ pile( I loved Backman’s A Man Called Ove) and so decided to finish off my summertime reading by picking up this Swedish writer’s newest publication.  I loved loved loved this book. A lot. I’ve read some great books in the last few months but My Friends is at the top of the list and will likely be so by year’s end. I’d make this a desert island choice, a book that I want to read again. And again. I loved this book.

The narrative unfolds in two time frames. We learn about the life of four teenagers about twenty-five years earlier and the deep loyal friendship that helped them to cope from their bruised lives at homes.  In the present a senior citizen, Ted,  encounters a bold, feisty, troubled and loveable character,  Louisa , who just inherited a famous painting (but that’s another story).  Much of the book unfolds on a train ride with Louisa hounding Ted to tell her the story of the infamous painting and she listens to the special time where Joar, Kimkim, Ali and Ted played together and kept each other together.  My Friends is a story of profound friendship. of dreams, of fate, of spousal abuse, of taking dares of being an artist, of fitting in and not fitting in of how the past informs our present and future lives. That is just an encapsulation of this brilliant book. It is Backman’s  great humour, description of wild and brave mischievous s adventures, philosophical statements (hundreds), a  microscopic look at everyday events, a microscopic look at what fills our hearts,  unparalleled depiction of a special adolescent friendships, and critical insights about the meaning of art that made this a very special read. I shall soon be gifting book to my friends and I thank my friend Adrienne (and Jimmy Fallon) for their high praise of this novel. 

I found myself folding down page after page with brilliant, moving storytelling and precepts. I will re-read this book,  perhaps with a highlighter marker in my hand to help shine a light on Backman’s wordsmithing. I will need n bucket of markers. I laughed. I wept. I loved this book. JUST READ IT!!! 

 

Some excerpts from  so many turned-down corners of the pages of this book. So many gems!

“Art isn’t chronological, Everything the artist drew from a place in his head that could only get to if he wasn’t looking for it.” (77)

“A lack of self-confidence is a devastating virus. There’s no cure.” (p. 77)

“You can’t love someone out of addiction, all the oceans are the tears of those who tried. We’re not allowed to die for our children, the universe won’t let us, because then there wouldn’t be any mothers left.” (p. 215)

“Human beings are capable of such unbelievable stupidity. We speak of the birth of a child as a miracle, but really the miracle is everything that comes after.” (p. 275)

 

 

A few of the titles in this list are amongst my favourite reading pleasures of the past year*.  Most of he ten books were published in 2025, but three were from 2023. 

 

THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans * / novel

When is the last time you wrote someone a letter? When was the last time you received a letter from someone? (Let’s not count email correspondents.) Throughout her life, Sybil Van Antwerpt has been dedicated to writing letterrs to friends, families, neighbours, authors, businesses etc.  and this book is written as a series of  Sybil’s letters (and yes, emails). Sybil , now in her sevenies, is living alone in Annapolis, Maryland and her letter writing provides her with the opportunity e to complain to the Dean of a college, to help a troubled young teenager deal with his mental health, reflect on a challenging relationship with her estranged daughter, learn some truths through DNA testing, recount her current romantic experiences and sometime helping others to cope with their life circumstances and carry on. Most of all, Sybil is haunted by memories of significant mistakes that  riddles her with guilt and she can’t seem to let go of. Virginia Evans gives us an unforgettable character whose secrets and opinions and worries we get to know through beautiful writing (Evans and Antwerpt). Her letters reveal Sybil to be a smart, kind, cranky, and honest character. The letters we write are often meant to be private but this epistolary novel invites readers into the world of an opinionated  senior citizen who looks back on her life, attempts to repair wrongdoings and confronts regrets, dreams and the reality of getting older (and losing her eyesight). Virginia Evans and Sybil Van Antwerp invite us to consider the relationships in our lives and think about  the small and large things, the could have been, should have been events that are part of our life journeys. I highly recommend this novel. It’s wonderful!

 

HIRSHFELD’S SONDHEIM: by David Leopold /  poster book *

This book is a treasure for lovers of art, and fans of Stephen Sondheim.  Hirschfeld’s Sondheim  is a collection of twenty-five posters created by Al Hirschfeld to celebrate the openings of Sondheims work from 1967 (West Side Story) to 1996 (Getting Away with Murder).  Besides the full-page reproductions, additional pieces depicting scenses from past and present musical productions and staggering portraits of Sondheim. Hirschfeld’s brilliant black and white art  work dances off each page, adding music to the composer’s work. Awesome!   Two thumbs up! Make that four thumb up for two artistic geniuses. 

 

HONEY, BABY, MINE by Laura Dern & Diane Ladd: A mother and daughter talk abou Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding) / 2023 / nonfiction / conversations

In 2019, actress Diane Ladd was diagnosed with chronic hypoxic failure and was told she only had months to live. One doctor advised Ladd that taking long walks would help to strengthen her lung capacity and so her daughter Laura was determined to help her mother gain health and so mother and daughter went walking, despite weakness and exertion felt Ladd. To distract her mother was to get her talking by reminiscing and telling stories “as if in a Santa Monica version of The Arabian nights.” This book offers transcripts of fifteen conversations between mother and daughter, conversations about love, divorce, fame, celebrations, sex, ambition, arguments and legacy. Honey, Baby, Mine is an honest, close-up view of mother and daughter’s memories and confessions and appreciations.  If nothing else, the walks and the talks, gave Diane Ladd about  another 6 years of life. She died at the age of 89 on November 3, 2025. The shared anecdotes, and many photographs spread throughout provide a compelling testament of lives well-lived and a document of personal interviews where nothing seem to be left unsaid. The book provides inspiration to talk – really talk- to those we love the most, before it’s too late and in so doing we can come to better  understand one another and ourselves.

Excerpt (p.111)

Laura: I know how you feel, Mom.. truly. What’s the expression – “A mother is only happy as her saddest child”? We pour it all into this person. Then they grow up. Wow.

Diane: I know. It’s so beautiful, and man, it can just be hell. 

True Story: I slept in Laura Dern’s bed. Sometime in he 1990’s I travelled to Sedona Arizona with some friends and we rented a house that happened to be owned by Diane Ladd. My friend slept in Diane’s bed. I slept in Laura Dern’s bed. It was a great holiday. 

 

THE LAND OF SWEET FOREVER by Harper Lee / stories and essays

Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960 and became – and continues to be – an iconic read throughout the world. A sequel of sorts, Go Set A Watchman, (which was written before To Kill a Mockingbird) was released in 2015, alas to not great acclaim. The Land of Sweet Sorrows offers short stories and short nonfiction pieces written early in Lee’s career. The posthumous collection of 8 short stories and 8 short essays was  found in the New York apartment the author lived in before returning home to Alabama. The book serves a as a curiosity of sorts for die-hard fans of Lee’s work offering glimmers of characters and setting that appear in Mockingbird. As with most collections, there are often hits and misses but for the most part this is not a must-read.  

 

THE OLD MAN BY THE SEA by Domenico Starnone /novella

The title captured my attention. The story is set in Italy and the fact that the sea is in Italy, pleased me. The story of an 82 year old man, Nicola, thinking about his past, present and future, intrigued me. Nicola spent his life writing and now  by the sea, the old man records the world he is now experiences and also reflects on the woman who shaped his passions.  A good portion of the narrative tells stories of his infatuation with the women he encounters and meets in a local dress shop. The purchase of a kayak is a symbol for Nicola’s determination to have a project to live for, a sport adventure that involves some risk and new learning.  The Old Man By The Sea has been translated from the Italian and offers readers a story of observation, of memory and melancholy: 
“Old age was increasingly a balcony from which one had a view on meaninglessness.” (p. 105)

Excerpt (p. 104)

“When you fail at everything, you truy anything.”

“Are you working on a book now?

“Yes.”

“Here at the beach?”
“Yes.”

“What’s it about?
“It’s a summary of everything I haven’t been able to write well.”
“What doe writing well even mean?”
“Finding the right words that give meaning to all the pointless things that happen to us while we’re alive.”

 

ONLY SON by Kevin Moffett / novel *

This is a novel about being a son.  This is a novel about being a father. This is a book about the bewildering, fraught and tender relationship between fathers and sons.  The book is presented in three sections: 1) a nine-year old boy (unnamed narrator) living in Florida tries to cope with his father’s death 2) twenty-five years later the boy is now a father,  a writer living in the desert outside of Los Angele 3) spurred on by a travel journal his father had kept, the father and son go on a road trip retracing the father’s mystifying journey. I loved this book. Moffett navigates what it means to deal with grief, and profoundly explores what it means to do the best you can as a parent, without having a strong role model. I’m a fan of any character that rests on the shoulders of J. D. Salinger’s Holden Caulfield, and like Caulfield the young boy observes and judges the world around him with a cast of quirky characters.  I’m intrigued with inventive style  in fiction and Moffett’s narrative is presented as vignette’s in passages that are most often less than one page in length.  I like books that appeal to my tuned-in  reading fiction for middle age readers and this book digs into the life of a pre-teen and teenage character).  I love reading books with humour and heart.  I love books that help us understand the psychology of our behaviours, and how parents, (or lack of good parenting) for better or worse help to shape who we become and how we relate to others.  As a writing teacher, Moffett’s character tells his students: Notice what you notice. I tell them to look closely at things. We’ll try, they say.  On my drive home I struggle to remember the last time I looked closely at things.” (p. 105). Kevin Moffett is an an author who notices things and encourages readers to do the same. I loved Only Son,  one of my favourite novels of the year.  

Excerpt

“I read somewhere that memories are temporary constellations, projected by the mind only for as long as they’re needed. Years from now when my son looks back, what I’d like is for him to remember me as a vial but inconspicuous presence, rushing ahead to open doors and stepping aside.” (p. 81)

“Children are the living messages. Maybe that’s the problem. Something got lost between my father and me and me and my son. The baton dropped. Maybe the only reason I wrie about him is in the hopes of finally getting it right.” (p. 135)

 

RIGHT FROM WRONG: My story of guilt and redemption by Jacob Dunne / 2023 / autobiography

When he was a teenager in Newcastle, Jacob Dunne, drunk and drugged, got into a fight (defending his gang) who threw a a fatal punch at James Hodgkinson who later died in the hospital. Dunne was sent to prison for manslaughter and after fourteen months, he was released only to find himself, unemployed and struggling with shame and guilt. In a desperate attempt to find purpose, Jacob Dunne embarked on restorative justice programming.  Support from others and especially from the compassion of the victim’s parents, Dunne gradually got things back on track and as a result has spent time helping others to do the same.  This is a heroic story of forgiveness and reform and finding the light out of darkness despite dire family circumstances (his single mother was an alcoholic).  The book is the story of making right from wrong. Dunne asks big questions about self-worth, making choices and moving on.  Dunne’s story was made into a play, entitled PUNCH (UK and Broadway), which inspired me to read this compelling autobiography. 

SHY by Max Porter / 2023 / novella

Shy is the name of the troubled, angry, dangerous teenager who has failed his parents, teachers and frienbds and now lives at Last Chance, a boarding school filled with other disturbed teenagers like him.  Instead we get inside he anguish of Shy’s head as he deals with his violent past and works toward a calmer future (unlikely). There are passages of stream of consciousness ranting and parts presented in various typefaces. Shy is more poetry than prose and for want of flow of narrative plot, this can be frustrating. Still, Porter’s use of language dazzles beyond lyricism. This style isn’t for everyone, but I was intrigued with his inventive wordsmithing to tell a story of a pained character whose life seems hopeless but you want to move on, carry on and deal with his mental anguish before reaching the end of 122 pages. 

What inspired me to read this book is the fact that it was  made into a movie shown on Netflix. The title of the movie is Steve and stars Oscar winning actor Cillian Murphy (astonishing!) and Tracey Ullman (astonishing!).  Steve, the headmaster has drink and substance abuse problems of his home and like the boys who reside in Last Chance, he is filled with rage.  Like the book (screenplay by Max Porter), the film tells a gut-wrenching story of teachers and a cast of mentally, angry adolescent boys set in a boarding school:  Bleak, unsettling and brilliantly done.  How does anyone reach these violent adolescents? How does anyone teach these adolescent? Does listening help? Will a hug or two help?

Excerpts

“He’s spayed, snorted, smoked, sworn, stolen, cut, punched, run, jumpled, crashed an Escort, smashed up a shop, trashed a house, broken a nose, stabbed his stepdad’s finger, but it’s been a while since he crept. (p.6)

His mum has written down: Like a person being devoured/ animal that’s in him/ skin? on him/ trapping himn/ Shy’s inside, but the skin is also him, so angry, so true. (p. 16)

“The night is a shattered flicker-drag of hese sense-jumbled memories, like he’s dropped bu he’s stone-cold not, he’s just traipsing along, conducting memories.” (p. 45)

 

WHAT’S WITH BAUM? by Woody Allen / novel

The cover of this novel says much. A cartoon-l ike character walking across a bridge ‘borrowed’ from Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”. The  skyline of Manhattan, and bare trees serve as a background to the character’s angst. This black and white image gives evidence to a character who seems to be losing his mind, a mind invented by the creative, clever, seemingly neurotic Woody Allen. Disclaimer: I’m a fan of Woody Allen’s movies where the director often appears as a creative, clever, seemingly neurotic soul. In this, his first novel, Allen presents us with a middle-aged Jewish journalist and playwright to is consumed with anxiety. Baum talks to himself:  “He wasn’t sure of anything anymore except he was the only person he could talk to and sometimes even he couldn’t understand himself.” (P,. 110). Asher Baum is a Worrier, worrying about his book sales, his being dropped by his publisher (accused of sexual harassment with a young journalist), his rocky third marriage, his envy of his younger brother, his contempt of his stepson who is enjoying a huge success as an author. What’s a fellow to do but scream! ? This novel is everything you’d expect from Woody Allen, “a portrait of an intellectual crippled by neurotic concerns about futility and emptiness of life.” (from the book jacket). I enjoyed this book, not only for its insight into the publishing world but for being a love letter to a life in New York (that I think I’d like to have).   What’s With Baum? shows Woody Allen at his observant, philosophical and witty best. Nothing wrong about reading about a kvetch and thinking about things to kvetch about in your own life. 

Excerpt (p. 37)

“My play was failing in rehearsal, then the heart attack –
“You didn’t hve a heart attack.”
“A kidney stone can mimic a heart attack.”

“You didn’t have a kidney stone.”

“Arthritis can mimim a stone and I have arthritis.”

 

SHOUT OUT

A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF by Megha Majumdar / novel

The setting of this book is he near future in Kolkata.. Flood and family has had dire consequences on the citizens of India ravaged by climate change and scarcity of food.  The story is centred on two protagonists. Ma, her two year-old daughter and her elderly father are days away from departing the collapsing city. Ma is desperate to join her husband who has been working in Michigan. All seems to be in order but Ma awakens to discover that =immigration documents has been stolen from her purse. Boomba who we come to learn is the one responsible for stealing the treasured papers is desperate to care for his family as food shortage worsens. Boomba is both a guardian and a thief and as we come to learn, so is Ma. The novel unfolds in a one week time period adding tension to the story.  Megha Majumdar’s novel is a tale of desperation, hope and ferocious love of family. From the reviews I’ve read for A Guardian and a Thief, much praise has shone on this novel. When it was recently deemed an Oprah’s Book Club choice, I decided to get a copy. I’m so glad that I did. Thank you Oprah. Five stars from Dr. Larry.

Excerpt (p. 126)

“It was her duty, as a guardian, to put into acion the beautiful ideal of hope. Ma thought harshly: This is what it looked like. Hope for the future was no shy bloom but a blood-maddened creature, fanged and toothed, with is own knowledge of history’s hostilities and the cages of he present.”