Review by: Brynne Diggins How do you get a bully to leave you alone? Be so good at something that no one can criticize you – that’s what Rahul Kapoor thinks, at least. In The Best At It by Maulik Pancholy, 12-year-old Rahul wants to find something he can be the best at in order…
Review by: Theresa Haider Voted as one of NPR’s Best Books of the Year, and a nominee for YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults 2021, Nic Stone’s Dear Justyce ensnares readers in America’s juvenile justice system and leaves them asking what can be done to change it. Can Quan overcome what so many around him…
Do you like to be hugged? Not everyone does, which is the case for Benny, an autistic boy who likes many things, but hugs are not one of them. In Benny Doesn’t Like to be Hugged, the unnamed narrator tells the unique characteristics and needs of her friend Benny. For example, Benny knows many facts…
Review by: Taylor Lohman Keywords: Picturebook, Early Reader A beautifully illustrated children’s book portraying the indigenous-led fight against a monstrous, miles-long black snake, this true-story of the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline is both fantasy and reality, told through a lens both indigenous and feminist. This 2020 picturebook is narrated by a young girl…
Reviewed by Emily Naik Ganesh and the Little Mouse is inspired by a myth of Hindu gods, Ganesh and Karthikeya, racing around the world. Joshi adapts the original myth to include themes of friendship, family, and perseverance for a modern audience. Ganesh was born with the head of an elephant, which sometimes makes him feel…
Children's Literature at UMN 