Sponsored by Flatiron Books, publisher of The Yellow Bird Sings by Jennifer Rosner
In Poland, as World War II rages, a mother hides with her young daughter, a musical prodigy whose slightest sound may cost them their lives. Inspired by the true stories of Jewish children hidden during World War II, Jennifer Rosner’s debut is a breathtaking novel about the unbreakable bond between a mother and a daughter. Beautiful and riveting, The Yellow Bird Sings is a testament to the triumph of hope—a whispered story, a bird’s song—in even the darkest of times.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf! This is your guide to help librarians like you up your game when it comes to doing your job (& rocking it).
PLA was very interesting, and car problems made getting back home a little too interesting. But I’m back now, so let’s jump into some more library stuff!
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
- Lucasfilm announces The High Republic, a major cross-medium publishing project that will take place two centuries before The Phantom Menace, and will feature titles by Daniel José Older, Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, and more!
- How Coronavirus is affecting Italian publishing.
New & Upcoming Titles
- Put ALL of these Book Expo Buzz titles on your radar.
- Rep. Elijah Cummings’ book, We’re Better Than This, will be published posthumously in June.
- Former Congresswoman Katie Hill is writing a book that’s part memoir, part “gender-equity battle plan” called She Will Rise.
- Jane Goodall announces a new book in 2021.
- Simon Cowell is planning a book series for kids.
- There’s going to be an Office kid’s book spinoff called The Office: A Day at Dunder Mifflin Elementary.
- Karen McManus’ latest YA thriller is pitched as “murder mystery + Ferris Bueller.” Um, YES PLEASE.
- Deanna Raybourn announces a new series about female assassins.
- R.L. Stine is publishing a new series based on the Garbage Pail Kids.
- Holy cats! This Spring 2020 list of Latinx books has over 100 titles!
- PopSugar has the best books for spring.
- Most anticipated books for March from Barnes & Noble, Entertainment Weekly, Tor.com (SFF, YA SFF, and genre benders), and the Washington Post.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
- Apartment – Teddy Wayne (New York Times, NPR, USA Today)
- Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court’s Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America – Adam Cohen (New York Times, NPR)
- The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz – Erik Larson (New York Times, NPR)
- Facebook: The Inside Story – Steven Levy (New York Times, NPR)
- Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman’s Search for Justice in Indian Country – Sierra Crane Murdoch (LA Times, New York Times)
RA/Genre Resources
- The best crime fiction small presses.
On the Riot
- Put these 2020 LGBTQ+ romance novels on your TBR now!
- 30 small press books for 2020.
- What’s the appeal of dark, sexy academia novels?
- Queer representation in horror.
- On becoming a romance reader.
All Things Comics
- Bong Joon-ho’s storyboards from Parasite will be turned into a graphic novel.
- Graphic novels are real books. Obviously.
On the Riot
- What’s with all the Star Wars manga?
Audiophilia
- Jude Law and other Harry Potter actors will narrate the new Tales of Beedle the Bard audiobook.
On the Riot
- Here are some short story collections for your audio TBR.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
- 17 children’s books with queer characters.
- 30 picture books with black male protagonists.
- 20 kids series to read after Harry Potter.
- 12 YA novels that prove we’re ready for the dystopian renaissance.
- 17 plot twists in YA novels that you never saw coming. (SPOILERS AHEAD!)
Adults
- 6 works of Canadian fiction to read for Black History Month.
- 16 of the best books by black women.
- 6 books that contextualize the Harvey Weinstein verdict.
- 13 romance novels that should be on every woman’s bucket list.
- 52 books for 52 places.
- Book recommendations for Eleanor Shellstrop from The Good Place. (Proceed with caution – I can’t guarantee if there are any season 4 spoilers because I haven’t seen season 4 yet, and I don’t want to spoil it for myself!)
- 7 mysteries from the past.
- 5 books about dysfunctional rich families.
On the Riot
- 7 board books for woke babies.
- 21 awesome bilingual children’s books.
- 15 of the best true crime authors for genre fans.
- 11 authors who write like Gillian Flynn.
- A reading pathway for Danielle Steel.
- 15 must-read black-authored historical romance novels of the last 25 years.
- 5 new books about mental health written by women.
- 6 short novels to pull you out of a reading slump.
- 20 must-read black American memoirs.
Level Up (Library Reads)
Do you take part in LibraryReads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
Catch you on Friday!
Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.