Author: Karina Glaser

This fun book shows runners all over the world training and getting ready for one of the biggest races in the world: The New York City Marathon! I love how it shows the diversity of the runners and the details of the challenging and iconic route.

This incredibly inspiring book follows marathon runner Fauja Singh, the first person over the age of 100 to complete the marathon! After a lifetime of working hard, Fauja Singh decided to run a marathon at the age of 81. He continued to run and break records everywhere!

Even though this book won’t publish until next summer, I wanted to highlight it because of its gorgeous illustrations and wonderful story. Indigenous athlete Lorena Ramírez runs in the traditional clothes of the Rarámuri, “the light-footed people,” rather than embracing the newest running trends and high-tech gear. I can’t wait to read this book when it comes out!

Kathrine Switzer was the first registered female runner for the Boston Marathon, and this book follows her childhood to her historic race in 1967. She defied conventions and experienced backlash for running in a race considered for men only, paving the way for women everywhere to participate in this race.

In this beautifully illustrated and informative book, readers are treated to a broad view of a vast and diverse country. It highlights certain geographical areas as well as places of interest, like the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Udaipur’s Lake Palace, and the Chandigarh Rock Garden.

This historical fiction novel follows Anjali and her family in the 1940s after Gandhi asked each family to give one family member to the freedom movement. Her mother joins, and the family all makes sacrifices to stand up to the British government. It is a beautiful and eye-opening book that reveals the cost of colonization and the will of the people to regain control of their land and culture.

This beautifully illustrated book by one of my favorite artists is a celebration of Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors. Two siblings collect flowers to make into colorful powders as they look to celebrate fresh starts, friendship, and forgiveness.

I love this sweet book that explores the many meanings of the word “namaste.” A young girl finds that the richness of the word extends out into her city, through greetings but also through loving the world and sharing kindnesses.

This beautiful picture book follows a family who celebrates two New Years: Rosh Hashanah in the fall and Lunar New Year in the spring. The book is so beautifully written. My favorite spread has these two sentences: “They represent different peoples with different histories, cultures, and traditions. But in many ways, they are also alike.” The book continues to share the many similarities between the two New Year celebrations, including the different foods they eat.

I spent a couple of weeks in India back in early 2000, and I remember vividly the chai tea that I purchased daily from train platforms and street vendors. Reading this book brought me back to that delicious, fragrant tea. In this story, a young boy loves to do things fast, fast, fast! And his grandfather tends to do things slow, slow, slow — including making masala chai. Can Aarav learn to slow down so he can make tea as delicious as his grandfather does?

In this mouthwatering book, Grace Lin creates an epic collection of stories behind fabulous Chinese dishes! Earlier this year, I joined Grace for a meal at Peking Duck House with some fellow authors and our editor, and she entertained us with all the stories behind what we were eating. This illustrated full-color book is a real treat!

Bilal can’t wait to introduce his friends to his favorite food: daal! But as he helps prepare the food, he begins to question whether his friends will like it as much as he does…

This carefully researched picture book highlights the work of the highly trained first responders who manage the health of our forests and fight fires during the ever-increasing length of fire season.

When forest fires plagued Australia in 2019 and 2020, over three billion animals were threatened. Wombats (who we must agree are the CUTEST) shared their deep burrows with other animals while the fires raged. This picture book shows how a wombat saves a skink, an echidna, and a wallaby and her baby.

This middle grade novel follows Maudie and her dad, who have to move after fires force them to relocate to a beach town. I always love Sally’s books (have you read The Someday Birds?), and I admire her ability to weave relatable middle school emotions into her stories.

In this stirring middle grade book, Addy is traumatized by a fire that killed her parents. After years of being raised by her grandmother, she is sent off to a summer camp in the wilderness. When the campers find themself in the midst of a forest fire, they have to work together to survive.

One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new city is look at the murals that adorn the sides of buildings. Many murals are a result of an activist looking to share about a cause that is dear to them, and that is what this picture book is all about. A young boy combines his art with activism in this beautifully illustrated book.

Ruth Asawa’s legacy is everywhere. The USPS recently issued gorgeous stamps featuring her intricate wire sculptures. The Whitney Museum of American Art has an exhibit of her drawings. Ruth Asawa grew up in California, but her family was forced to leave their home in 1942 as part of the U.S. government’s World War II isolation policies toward Japanese Americans. She found support among the other artists during her internment and went on to have a large family of her own and continued to create stunning sculptures throughout her life.

In 1899, a baby boy was born on a farm in Idaho. His parents named him James Castle. He was deaf, mute, autistic, and probably dyslexic. Caldecott Medalist Allen Say reimagines James’s boyhood in this stunning picture book, revealing all the challenges he overcame as he pursued his art. Ultimately, James Castle had his artwork displayed in major museums around the world.

Judith Scott was born with Down syndrome, and her childhood was marked by creating stunning art. She was ultimately institutionalized until her sister became an adult and fought to have Judith live with her. Even though Judith was deaf and never learned to speak, she went on to become an artist of renown, with her work displayed in museums and galleries around the world.

In this fantastic, genre-bending middle-grade book, a Little Free Library sprouts up in the sleepy town of Martinville. When 11-year-old Evan plucks two books from the library, everything changes. The story is told in three voices, each in a different genre. It is a ghost story, an animal story, and a mystery, all wrapped up into one.

This stunning picture book is a love letter to libraries. With Nikki Giovanni’s gorgeous poetic verse, she brings to life the importance that libraries hold for so many different people in a community. The illustrations are luminous!

Last year I saw this picture book on so many Mock Newbery Club lists, and when I read it I immediately knew why. It’s a beautiful story of perseverance and strength in the midst of unimaginable hardship and humiliation. When Tama is sent to an incarceration camp in the desert following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she finds solace working at the tiny library. But she’s not the only one in the library day after day. George is there too, his arms filled with books, and their friendship grows and blossoms.

This is not a book specifically for children, but the fun illustrations will interest kids and the recipes and ideas are great for families to check out. With 80 recipes, this is a great place to begin if you’re looking to reduce food waste and use up foods lingering in your refrigerator.

I love this book that analyzes the history of garbage, answering questions such as:

What is garbage?
Where does our garbage come from?
Why do we make so much garbage?
Where does our garbage go?
What can we learn from our garbage?
How bad is our garbage problem?
How can we do better?

This is a great book that provokes discussion around an issue that everyone must confront as we consider what to do with the enormous cost of garbage on our world.

This is a wonderful primer about trash in general, including the impacts of trash on our world. Did you know about the floating mass of trash the size of the United States in the Pacific Ocean? Have you ever considered how long it takes for a toothbrush to decompose? (Spoiler alert: every single one of the plastic toothbrushes ever made still exists.)

This lovely picture book brings it all back to how we can care for one another and for the earth. It is a beautiful reminder that we are responsible for the fate of the earth and that we all have a role in making the world a more beautiful place.

Globally renowned shark scientist Melissa Cristina Márquez recounts her childhood growing up in Puerto Rico, where she spent her days on the beach. Tide pools fascinate her, and then one day, Jaiba, a crab, invites her to join him on an underwater adventure where she learns the importance of shark conservation, setting her off on a lifelong journey as Mother of Sharks.

I love Chris Sasaki’s illustrations, and his books are always an auto-buy for me. In this wonderful book, I learned so much about how animals construct the most incredible structures.

This graphic novel doesn’t release until October 3, but I wanted to get it on your radar now because it’s so good! The illustrations are luminous and gorgeous. Written by a Vietnamese wildlife conservationist, environmental activist, and writer, known for tackling the illegal wildlife trade in Africa and Asia, this book follows Chang, who rescues an injured and abused elephant named H’Non. But can she find someone who can teach H’Non to live independently in the wild after decades of abuse?

I adore Jennifer Thermes, and not just because she is the creator behind the gorgeous maps that grace all of my Vanderbeeker books. She tackles wonderful topics in her books, including the history of Manhattan and explorers like Grandma Greenwood and Tom Crean. In this book, she examines the relationship between people and horses and their role in changing history.

Written by one of the world’s best soccer players, this adorable chapter book series is inspired by the author’s own experiences. It addresses common childhood experiences like bullying, taking risks, and following your dreams.

I just ADORE Meg Medina (our National Ambassador for Children’s Literature!!!) and her Merci Suárez series. In this third and final book trilogy, Merci is in 8th grade. That means a new haircut, experiencing the ups and downs of being a teenager, and lots of football (soccer) games. And while she might not be the captain of her football team, might she be befriending the actual captain, super popular Avery?

Oh hi, Carli Lloyd, who scored three goals in the first 16 minutes in the World Cup finals in 2015! As one of the best soccer players in history, I loved this deep dive into her life and the hard work she put into this sport. She is such an inspiration!

I listened to the adult edition on audiobook through Libro.fm (and loved it), and my younger kiddo (who plays soccer) read the young readers edition (and loved it). How could we not? Megan Rapinoe is a soccer icon, but she also uses her platform to fight for equity and justice. I love her determination to fight for equal pay in her field. As an American, I am proud that she represents our country.

This book, told in alternating points of view, follows two friends who struggle to find belonging in 6th grade. Unlike other middle-grade books centered around friendship, this one doesn’t center on drama or a falling out. Instead, the two friends continue to support each other through the ups and downs of middle school. I really love this book!

Middle school is filled with unspoken rules, which Talia finds out when her best friend suddenly doesn’t want to be friends with a girl. Furthermore, when the mathletes captain doubts her abilities, Talia leans into girl power. She’ll start her own all-girls mathletes team!

This novel-in-verse, inspired by the author’s experience living on the spectrum as someone who largely “passes” in society as neurotypical, follows a neurodivergent girl who always sticks to her rules for being normal. But when an incident at school causes her to lose friends and even face expulsion, Selah needs to figure out how to get the school to realize that different doesn’t mean damaged.

Torrey Maldonado is a middle school teacher, and he writes from such an authentic experience about growing up in New York City. In What Lane?, Stephen, a mixed kid, finds that rules are different depending on who he’s hanging out with. Can he figure out how to be his authentic self?