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U is for the Untold story of Jean Wright and NASA seamstresses: SEW SISTER, by Elise Matich (Nonfiction Picture Book) #AtoZ

Apr24
Book cover of Sew Sister: the Untold story of Jean Wright and NASA's Seamstresses, written and illustrated by Elise Matich. Shows a girl in dress and knee high socks, sitting cross-legged, pulling needle and thread toward her after stitching around image of Space Shuttle taking off surrounded by swirling stitches of its rocket exhaust and patterns of stars.

The Space Shuttle!
Technological wonder,
astronauts’ orbiting home,
covered with blankets…

Yes, each of the space shuttles had a coat of unique fabric panels for protection from the blazing heat of its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Who made them? How?

Jean grew up learning to sew and became a huge fan of NASA’s space program after men landed on the Moon when she was a young teen in Flint, Michigan.

But how could a girl without a college education ever work for NASA?

Years later, when her husband retired from the Navy, they settled in Florida near Cape Canaveral so she could see rockets and space shuttles launched.

Look at this news article! NASA employed seamstresses to construct the many-layered fireproof panels needed for each shuttle!

Jean immediately applied to join the team and began studying shuttle blueprints because every panel had to be uniquely shaped to fit its spot on the shuttle’s exterior.

She waited and applied again and waited – finally, she was called to join the Sew Sisters whose work kept shuttle astronauts safe during launch, orbit, and re-entry.

Different quilts for different protective purposes – against atmospheric friction, solar radiation, roaring engine noise.

The Sew Sisters had to create a pattern for each and every quilt section so all 1400 pieces fit perfectly around a shuttle’s curved outer skin.

Oh, no! Atlantis tore a blanket loose on take-off! The Sew Sisters rushed to test blankets with various repairs in a wind tunnel and while wearing bulky space-suit gloves.

Jean and the Sew Sisters anxiously watched as Atlantis’ on-board camera showed the astronauts fix their dangerous problem on a space walk, by using a surgical stapler!

A long-held dream, long-practiced skills, and persistence brought Jean into the Sew Sisters – now we know about their vital part in the Space Shuttle program, too.

What quiet behind-the-scenes work would you like to see in a picture book?
**kmm

Book info: Sew Sister: the Untold Story of Jean Wright and NASA’s Seamstresses / Elise Matich. Tilbury House Publishers, 2023. [author site https://elisematich.com/] [publisher site https://www.tilburyhouse.com/product-page/sew-sister] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

S is for A SORCERESS COMES TO CALL, bringing her daughter, danger, and doom! by T. Kingfisher (YA fiction) #AtoZ

Apr22
Book cover of A Sorceress Comes to Call, by T. Kingfisher. Shows 2 curving, gnarled brown trees on either side of the title, on a dark background spangled with stars.

Isolated in a small house by Mother’s choice,
oft-ensorcelled, only a white horse as her friend,
daughter of a sorceress longs to escape!

Mother decides to find a new ‘benefactor’ in the city, and just-14 Cordelia suddenly finds herself in the magic-dazzled Squire Samuel’s mansion, tasked with posing as the 17-year-old debutante daughter of ‘Lady Evangeline’ to distract his sister.

However, Lady Hester immediately senses that Doom and her daughter have arrived – but which of them is planning to wed Samuel who’s avoided marriage so long?

Cordelia finds a friend in the middle-aged lady who teaches her embroidery and answers questions so kindly. If only she could keep Mother from controlling the minds of these nice people and using her horse-familiar to report all that happens outside the manor walls…

The Squire invites friends to visit so that Evangeline and Cordelia may stay longer at his estate, as polite society dictates. Now glamorous Mrs. Green is flirting with the Squire, and Mother is livid with rage.

What?! Mrs. Green is found with a murder weapon, Mother wants Cordelia to marry the mature Lord Evermore, and a huge ghostly beast is seen stalking the manor woods..

Can Hester save her besotted brother from evil Evangeline?
Can Cordelia’s new allies save her from her mother’s plans?
Can they save the very land and its people from the sorceress’s doom?

Another compelling and magical tale from the author of Nettle and Bone (recommended here https://booksyalove.com/?p=12858 ). Find it at your local library (worldcat.org/libraries) or independent bookstore (indiebound.org/indie-store-finder).

Have events ever made you wonder if magic was involved?
**kmm

Book info: A Sorceress Comes to Call / T. Kingfisher. Tor, 2024. [author site https://redwombatstudio.com/about-the-author/] [publisher site https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250244079/asorceresscomestocall/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

R is RAISED BY GHOSTS, she drifts through school and life, by Briana Loewinsohn (YA Graphic Novel) #AtoZ

Apr21
Book cover of Raised by Ghosts, graphic novel by Briana Loewinsohn. Shows girl with long brown hair seated at a desk, looking down at her sketches which rise into the air as white outlines of images on a dark stream.

Pencil and paper,
imagination and image,
better than reality…

In middle school, the other kids “seem to understand how to be in the world in a way that I do not,” notes Briana (pg. 5) during the mid 1990s.

Mum absolutely unpredictable, Dad completely predictable, distant from one another in the same house, distant from only child Briana, too… as they skirt the edges of being poor, is anyone the parent here?

At her Berkeley high school, Briana has a hard time concentrating in classes… is there a point?

Notes to friends, sketching on homework pages, notes from friends, making mixtapes instead of doing homework, repeat, repeat, repeat.

She literally draws herself into a dark place of loneliness, then draws herself back out into the real world again.

This graphic novel memoir chronicles the artist’s school years in muted tones, often sadly somber, yet ending with hope as she continues to draw: “Dear paper, dear pencil, you are saving my life…” (pg. 200). She shares three ways to fold a note and her favorite mixtape playlist, too.

What notes and messages from friends would you save forever?
**kmm

Book info: Raised by Ghosts / Briana Loewinsohn. Fantagraphics, 2025. [author site https://www.instagram.com/brianabreaks/] [publisher site https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/raised-by-ghosts] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

P is GREEN PROMISES: Girls Who Loved the Earth, by Jeannine Atkins (YA fiction) #AtoZ

Apr18
Book cover of Green Promises: Girls Who Loved the Earth, by Jeannine Atkins. Shows 2 women in old-fashioned dresses and hats, one sitting on riverbank and sketching its tall grasses, one wading in the river and examining rocks she has picked up there.

Grasses swaying in the breeze,
different rocks in the river,
what stories do they tell about time and change?

Now packed into Grandmother’s small Chicago flat with her siblings and widowed mother, Agnes misses green meadows, learns to draw sidewalk flowers on old envelopes, wishes for school past 8th grade.

School soon for Marguerite, exploring the river’s edge with its intriguing rocks, across from Washington DC where her father and other Black men labor. Her parents never learned to read, yet she dreams of going to high school.

Agnes becomes a talented botanical artist, is asked to travel and survey grasses of the west at her own expense (because she’s a woman), at last working in the Smithsonian.

Marguerite longs to become a teacher, to make a difference in her world, to envision what factors increase flood risks in the nation’s capital.

Women march for the right to vote in 1913! Agnes jailed with other white women protestors, Marguerite and other Black women shunted to the end of the parade.

Will Agnes’s decades of work to find and catalogue the grasses of the world be recognized?
Can Marguerite find a university where she can earn degrees in geology?
How many women will they both inspire to learn and discover and succeed?

This evocative novel-in-verse brings us the lives and work of women who persevered in natural sciences when society’s expectations tried to limit them.

By the author of Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner’s Call to Science (recommended at https://booksyalove.com/?p=12527) and Stone Mirrors: the Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Lewis (here https://booksyalove.com/?p=8212).

What’s your favorite museum of natural history?
**kmm

Book info: Green Promises: Girls Who Loved the Earth / Jeannine Atkins. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2025. [author site https://www.jeannineatkins.com/] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Green-Promises/Jeannine-Atkins/Girls-Who-Love-Science/9781665950572] Review copy & cover image courtesy of the publisher.

L is for the Statue of LIBERTY – inspiration, symbol, promise! by Julian Voloj and Jorg Hartmann (YA graphic novel) #A2Z

Apr14
Book cover of Liberty, written by Julian Voloj, art by Jorg Hartmann. Image of top-hatted sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi on platform of Statue of Liberty's upraised lit torch in French workshop during construction.

Lady Liberty welcomes all,
her light held high above the harbor –
a symbol that almost didn’t arrive!

You probably know that the Statue of Liberty in New York was a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States and is now a national monument (https://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm).

But what about the backstory of this American icon as its creator struggled for years to get it financed, built, and installed?

Displaced by war in Europe, renowned French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bertholdi sojourned in America during the 1870s. He traveled from coast to coast by train and envisioned his dream of a monument celebrating the historic connections between both countries.

Where? Philadelphia for the 1876 Centennial? Ah, Bertholdi’s extensive search finds Bedloe’s Island in New York harbor, confirmed by the U.S. Congress as the statue’s future home.

Now, back to France, so the sculptor can build “Liberty Enlightening the World” with money from rich donors and many thousands of everyday French citizens.

The arm and torch were ready in time to exhibit at the Centennial! Americans flocked to see it and climb inside, learning that it’s part of a larger statue to come.

Oh, the cost of shipping and installing Liberty is quite high! How will the money be raised for that?

Deeply researched and intricately illustrated, this graphic novel brings us the statue’s inspiring history, as well as its enduring symbolism of welcome for all.

Have you visited the Statue of Liberty?
**kmm

Book info: Liberty / words by Julian Voloj, art by Jorg Hartmann. Nobrow/Flying Eye Books, 2024. [illustrator site https://www.instagram.com/joerg_hartmann/] [publisher site https://nobrow.net/book/liberty/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

E is EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT INDIANS BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK (Young Readers Edition), by Anton Treuer (YA nonfiction) #AtoZ

Apr5
book cover of Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition), by Anton Treuer; shows intricate Native American beadwork design including cattails, vines and different flowers

“When did Natives really get to North America?”
“How many tribal languages are spoken in the Americas?”
“Why is there such a fuss about nonnative people wearing Indian costumes for Halloween?”

If you’ve wondered about questions like these, but didn’t know where to get reliable information, this book is for you!

Dr. Treuer (tribally enrolled Ojibwe https://www.mnhs.org/fortsnelling/learn/native-americans/ojibwe-people) clearly and unflinchingly answers 200 questions about terminology, history, religion, culture, and identity, powwow, tribal languages, politics, economics, education, and social activism related to Native peoples of North America.

Some are fact-based like “What is a sweat lodge?” and “When did the U.S. government stop making treaties with Indians and why?”

Other answers express a range of responses, such as “What general terms are most appropriate for talking about North America’s first people?” and “Why are Indians so often imagined rather than understood?”

Adapted by the author from his widely-acclaimed title for adults, this book concludes with questions and answers on Perspective: Coming to Terms and Future Directions, the author’s Conclusion: Finding Ways to Make a Difference, and recommended reading for each section.

Search online for Anton Treuer to find his many videos about Native culture, Objiwe language, and more. See the publisher’s site https://www.levinequerido.com/anton-treuer for this book’s teaching guides, too.

Whatever you ever wanted to know about Indians/Native Americans/First Peoples, this book is an excellent place to start – and you’ll find answers to questions that you didn’t realize that you needed to ask.
**kmm

Book info: Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition) / Anton Treuer. Levine Querido, 2024. [author site https://antontreuer.com/] [publisher site https://www.levinequerido.com/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-indians] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

D is for Dan: MONUMENT MAKER: DANIEL CHESTER FINCH AND THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL, by Linda Booth Sweeney & Shawn Fields (MG non-fiction) AtoZ

Apr4
book cover of Monument Maker: Daniel Chester Finch and the Lincoln Memorial, by Linda Booth Sweeney; illustrated by Shawn Fields; shows detailed ink sketch of the sculptor on a platform watching workers use ropes & pulleys to lift the left arm of Lincoln's seated marble statue in Washington DC's Lincoln Memorial.

Imposing, inspiring Lincoln Memorial anchors the great public spaces of Washington, D.C., but do you know who made it?

Dan Finch was just 14 when Lincoln was assassinated; fifty years later, the noted sculptor was asked by architect Henry Bacon to create a colossal statue of the beloved president for the newly commissioned Lincoln Memorial, saying “It must seem to have a soul.” (pg. 35)

Before the first bit of clay was carved, Finch researched Lincoln’s life, talked to Robert Todd Lincoln (the president’s son), and looked at plaster castings of Lincoln’s hands that had been made while the president was alive.

From a small clay “sketch” model to a larger working model to a 7 foot high model, the sculpture of Lincoln became more detailed and life-like as Finch worked in his Massachusetts studio over many months.

After the famed Piccirilli brothers enlarged that final model to carve Lincoln’s seated image from 28 huge blocks of marble, the Lincoln Memorial was officially dedicated in May 1922, seven years (and a world war) after Bacon offered Finch the opportunity to create a statue that would unite all Americans.

This wide illustrated non-fiction book turns the reader sideways for its tall double-page spreads of Finch’s famous Minuteman sculpture and the sculptor’s own awe-struck visit to the completed Lincoln Memorial, all sketched in great detail with pen-and-ink.

The extensive back matter includes a detailed timeline of Finch’s life, artistic training, and sculptures, plus notes from the author and a resources list, as befits a book jointly published by the Concord Museum of his hometown.

Have you ever visited the Lincoln Memorial?
**kmm

Book info: Monument Maker: Daniel Chester Finch and the Lincoln Memorial / Linda Booth Sweeney; illustrated by Shawn Fields. Tilbury House Publisher in association with the Concord Museum, 2019. [author site https://lindaboothsweeney.com/monument-maker/] [illustrator site https://www.shawnfields.com/] [publisher site https://www.tilburyhouse.com/product-page/monument-maker] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher via Publisher Spotlight.

In TENMILE mining town, what future does she have? by Sandra Dallas (MG book review)

May9
Back of young girl with long hair, looking at old western town at base of mountains - book cover of Tenmile, by Sandra Dallas

Beautiful mountains above,
gold in the ground below,
the many toiling to benefit a few..

Some have enough, most have little, a few have so much – life in their Colorado gold mining town isn’t fair, her widowed doctor father tells 13-year-old Sissy.

“She’d asked him once why he hadn’t moved to Denver, where there were beautiful houses and grass and leafy trees. ‘Because people in Tenmile need me,’ he’d replied.” (p.85)

When their fathers are injured in the mines, some of her friends must drop out of school to support their families, working as maids, clothes washers, even down in the mines as young teens…

Willie Gilpin’s big brother died of scarlet fever, so his worried mother keeps him home from school. The rich mine owner’s son has gotten spoiled and mean; 13-year-old Sissy will tutor him, but not put up with his bad behavior.

Oh, no! Another mine accident! Sissy runs to help.
Doc has taught her many treatments and remedies; she helps him setting broken bones and delivering babies – but no one thinks a girl can be a doctor in 1880!

Look for this 2022 release in hardcover, paperback, or eBook at your local library or independent bookstore (not affiliate links).

What dream job are you aiming for, despite what others say?
**kmm

Book info: Tenmile / Sandra Dallas. Sleeping Bear Press, hardcover 2022. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

They search to see WINGS IN THE WILD – wings of hope? by Margarita Engle (YA book review)

May8
Standing brown girl paints mural of tropical birds while seated brown boy serenades her with guitar - book cover of Wings In the Wild, by Margarita Engle

Creative people caged like birds,
our overheating planet –
where is justice?

Fleeing Cuba when their massive wood sculptures protesting the imprisonment of artists are revealed by a hurricane in 2018, Soleida is separated from her parents – the sixteen year old animal rescuer must continue out into the world, alone.

Yet another wildfire consumes his parents’ California mansion and the forest where Dariel serenades animals with Cuban love songs. Better to leave their elite expectations and go with Abuelo to help interview Cuban refugees stranded in Costa Rica, experience its natural wonders before climate change destroys them, too.

In spring 2019, Soleida and Dariel meet among the sea of refugee tents – her hopes of freedom shredded to the bone, his anger at these injustices burning hot.

What will she think of the tropical animals and birds that move in closer and closer to hear his songs and guitar?
What will he think of her journey-story, surviving fear and flood and hunger, leaving her parents behind?

Together, they find her artist cousin nearby in the cloud forest.
Together, can they let the world know about her parents, trapped in Cuba?
Together…can they have any future together?

Watching incredible birds, painting them, singing them near, pondering what could be – this novel-in-verse traverses difficult situations and wonder-filled landscapes.

Readers will recognize Soleida’s neighbors Liana and Amado from Your Heart, My Sky (recommended here), much like the interwoven stories of people who have left Cuba connect with those remaining there. Just released in paperback on April 23, 2024.

How far would you go to be free?
**kmm

Book info: Wings in the Wild / Margarita Engle. Atheneum, hardcover 2023, paperback 2024. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

U is THE UMBRELLA HOUSE and the stories it could tell! by Colleen Nelson (MG book review) #A2Z

Apr24
Two kids and dog entering an apartment building whose fire escapes hold many colorful umbrellas - book cover of The Umbrella House, by Colleen Nelson; Pajama Press

Young Voices video contest!
At Veracity News!
She just needs the right story to tell…

Growing up in Umbrella House with her grandmother, 12-year-old Roxy knows all about its origins as an abandoned building brought back to life by creative people who fought for the right to live there.

She and her best friend Scout love to show off the neighborhood on their EaVillKids video channel, from their umbrella-covered co-op to unique shops and restaurants to the 3-story high murals defiantly created by the mysterious Midnight Muralist some years ago. Surely Roxy’s contest entry will convince Veracity News to make a documentary about it!

Researching East Village history, Roxy finds out more about her late father (didn’t know he was such a talented artist!) and fellow residents, plus articles and photos about the murals and Umbrella House’s early days – who exactly was the Midnight Muralist?

Oh, no! A fancy real estate developer is buying up nearby properties – could he convince the city to change its rules and force the co-op owners to sell it?

Scout is being evasive about his photography portfolio – will he still have time to video and edit Roxy’s contest entry? Just three weeks till the deadline!

A tense meeting with the City Council, the whole neighborhood working together to save Umbrella House – if only the Midnight Muralist could help!

Although the secret Muralist is fictional, this book is based on the real Umbrella House‘s journey to legalizing the building as low-income co-op housing in 2010.

What stories could your home tell?
**kmm

Book info: The Umbrella House / Colleen Nelson. Pajama Press, hardcover 2023, paperback 2024. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.