List

The engineer known as the "space mechanic" speaks to both our future and past in this breathless memoir of his journey from Ecuador to NASA and beyond.

Elio Morillo's life is abruptly spun out of orbit when economic collapse and personal circumstances compel his mother to flee Ecuador for the United States in search of a better future for her son. His itinerant childhood sets into motion a migration that will ultimately carry Elio to the farthest expanse of human endeavor: space.

Overcoming a history of systemic adversity and inequality in public education, Elio forged ahead on a journey as indebted to his galactic dreams as to a loving mother whose sacrifices safeguarded the ground beneath his feet. Today, Elio is helping drive human expansion into the solar system and promote the future of human innovation--from AI and robotics to space infrastructure and equitable access.

The Boy Who Reached the Stars is both a cosmic and intimate memoir spun from a constellation of memories, reflections, and intrepid curiosity, as thoroughly luminous as the stars above.

A wry, tender novel about a Peruvian immigrant mother and a millennial daughter who have one final chance to find common ground

Thirtysomething Flores and her mother, Paula, still live in the same Brooklyn apartment, but that may be the only thing they have in common. It's been nearly three years since they lost beloved husband and father Martín, who had always been the bridge between them. One day, cleaning beneath his urn, Flores discovers a note written in her mother's handwriting: Perdóname si te falle. Recuerda que siempre te quise. ("Forgive me if I failed you. Remember that I always loved you.") But what would Paula need forgiveness for?

Now newfound doubts and old memories come flooding in, complicating each woman's efforts to carve out a good life for herself--and to support the other in the same. Paula thinks Flores should spend her evenings meeting a future husband, not crunching numbers for a floundering aquarium startup. Flores wishes Paula would ask for a raise at her DollaBills retail job, or at least find a best friend who isn't a married man.

When Flores and Paula learn they will be forced to move, they must finally confront their complicated past--and decide whether they share the same dreams for the future. Spirited and warm-hearted, Melissa Rivero's new novel showcases the complexities of the mother-daughter bond with fresh insight and empathy.

On the eve of their college graduation, best friends Javier Báez and Marisol Campos swore never to date someone the other doesn’t approve of. Now, almost a decade later, Javi has a problem. Mari, the woman he’s secretly pined for since sophomore year, is engaged—and Javi didn’t even get the chance to vet the Pedro Pascal knockoff she plans to marry.

A successful entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles, Mari is no longer seeking Javi’s dating advice or waiting for him to declare his love. Instead, she’s made a different pact—with herself. And to succeed, Mari’s vowing to build a future with someone who wants to commit to her.

With his life and career finally on track, Javi’s ready to confess his feelings. Except Mari’s changed the script and moved on without him. Javi has just six weeks to convince Mari this marriage is a flop. If that means he needs to ruffle some feathers to help her avert disaster, well, he’s up for the challenge. After all, isn’t that what best friends are for?

From the author of the Read with Jenna Bonus Pick A Little Hope, an uplifting and emotionally resonant novel set in a Delaware beach town about a local restaurant owner at a turning point.

Three generations of Schmidts have run their family’s beachfront restaurant and Jack has been at the helm since the death of his father. Jack puts the demands of the restaurant above all else, with a string of failed relationships, no hobbies, and no days off as proof of his commitment to the place. He can’t remember the last time he sat on the beach, or even enjoyed a moment to himself.

Meanwhile, the DelDine group has been gradually snapping up beloved eateries along this stretch of coast and are pursuing Jack with a very generous offer to take Schmidt’s off his hands.

Jack craves companionship and maybe even a family. He wonders if closing the door on the restaurant might open a new window for him. But who would he be without Schmidt’s, and can he trust DelDine’s claims that they will continue to employ his staff and honor his family’s legacy?

When he receives startling news from the past, Jack begins to reshape his life and forge unexpected new friendships. But will he really let go of the very things that have defined him?

Edith has Alzheimer's. The idea that she will someday forget her son, her life, even her self, plagues her constantly. So there is something important she must do beforehand: she has to find Sven, the love of her life she was supposed to meet on a bus bench twenty-seven years ago and run away with.

Her son, Blade, is struggling to keep an eye on her. His mother's full-time caregiver, he resents the fact that he gave up most of his life to look after her. But what wouldn't he do for his mother? Track down her decades-old flame before her mind fails her? Sure, he can do that.

Sophia is fiercely working to keep her business afloat. Her uncle left his flower shop to her and her brothers after he died, and she needs to show her family that the business is worth saving. So when an opportunity comes along that takes her all over Sweden, she can't say no.

While Edith is desperately trying to hold on to her memories, she discovers friendship as she sits daily at the bus stop. While Blade is out looking for Sven, he learns to embrace his relationship with his mother more fully. While Sophia is fighting to keep her dream alive, she comes to terms with the therapies that were forced upon her in response to her autism diagnosis. Life is happening all around them, and like in life, there's always still good to be found.

Ninetysomething Mama Laverne is determined to find all of her great-grandchildren their perfect match before going home to glory. So far, her success rate is 100 percent--and she intends to keep it that way.

After sustaining injuries in Iraq, Chancellor Madaris was told he'd never walk again. Chance credits his great-grandmother Mama Laverne with giving him the will to heal and prove the doctors wrong. He has a healthy respect for her meddling ways and knows he'll eventually end up next on her matchmaking list.

When Zoey Pritchard was eight, she survived a car accident that took the lives of her mother and father, and was sent to live with her great-aunt who refused to speak about her parents. Zoey has no memory from before the crash, but she's been having the same dream over and over...

Searching for answers, Zoey travels to Houston, where she uncovers a scandal involving her parents and the wealthy and powerful Madaris family. Her trail leads her straight to Chance's door. The dislike and intense attraction are instant and simultaneous. But to help Zoey restore her memory, he grudgingly introduces her to his great-grandmother...

Was it chance, or Mama Laverne's plan, that threw this pair together?

 

For lovers of women's fiction with characters who linger long after the close of a book, Lunch Ladies immerses readers in lives and relationships that are joyful, troubled, and emotionally charged. Characters' intertwined lives, their dreams and heartbreaks, their histories, and their secrets, emerge as this story develops with startling honesty and depth.

Lunch Ladies offers a spot-on depiction of the 1970's in small-town America. As the book opens, it's 1976 and there's a bicentennial parade in the works. Is this a task for the school district's lunch ladies? Their answer would be "no." And yet Crystal, Coralene, and Sheila find themselves crafting food stands to feed parade goers, come the Fourth of July.

Crystal has other things to do: matching lonely travelers from the newspaper obituaries with kind souls still living. Coralene doesn't need this nonsense. She has a home and family, and a nephew she must save before it's too late. Is it already too late for Sheila? Her safe harbor is a booth at Denny's on Friday nights, with the only person who might help her move beyond her past.

In language both lyrical and stark, Lunch Ladies serves up a poignant, tender, and humorous view of the flawed and fascinating citizens of Hanley. The novel is peppered with wit and insight, as it captures the absurdities of family and community life, while revealing the humanity of those who've been lost, or left behind.

What’s the best way to cure a gloomy day? A trip to the library! Based on the hit song by Tom Chapin and Michael Mark, here is an affectionate, exuberant, uproarious celebration of books, reading, and—SHHH!—libraries!

The rain is pouring, Dad is snoring, and the same old stuff is on TV—boring.

What is there to do today?

Go to the library, of course!

Who will we meet there? Let's find out!

Winner of the 2015 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

Two fuzzy creatures can't agree on who is small and who is big, until a couple of surprise guests show up, settling it once and for all!

The simple text of Anna Kang and bold illustrations of New Yorker cartoonist Christopher Weyant tell an original and very funny story about size—it all depends on who's standing next to you.

“A subtle, deceptively simple book about inclusion, hospitality, and welcoming the ‘other.’” —Kirkus Reviews

“A boundlessly inclusive spirit...This open-ended picture book creates a natural springboard for discussion.” —Booklist

“This sweet extended metaphor uses an umbrella to demonstrate how kindness and inclusion work...A lovely addition to any library collection, for classroom use or for sharing at home.” —School Library Journal

In the tradition of Alison McGhee’s Someday, beloved illustrator Amy June Bates makes her authorial debut alongside her eleven-year-old daughter with this timely and timeless picture book about acceptance.

By the door there is an umbrella. It is big. It is so big that when it starts to rain there is room for everyone underneath. It doesn’t matter if you are tall. Or plaid. Or hairy. It doesn’t matter how many legs you have.

Don’t worry that there won’t be enough room under the umbrella. Because there will always be room.

Lush illustrations and simple, lyrical text subtly address themes of inclusion and tolerance in this sweet story that accomplished illustrator Amy June Bates cowrote with her daughter, Juniper, while walking to school together in the rain.

Caldecott Award-winning author-artist Ed Emberley has created an ingenious way for children to chase away their nighttime fears. Kids can turn the pages of this die-cut book and watch the Big Green Monster grow. Then, when they're ready to show him who's in charge, they'll turn the remaining pages and watch him disappear! This lavish reissue features dramatic die-cut eyes and sparkling foil on the cover.

This interactive bedtime story proves nighttime isn't scary at all. The gentle journey from sunset to sunrise shows even the youngest children the magic of the nighttime sky—and lets them make magic happen! A companion to the popular and acclaimed Tap the Magic Tree.

What happens while you're sleeping? With lush, beautiful watercolors and cut-paper collage, Christie Matheson reveals the magic of the nighttime sky, using the same kinds of toddler-perfect interactive elements as her acclaimed Tap the Magic Tree. Wave good-bye to the sun, gently press the firefly, make a wish on a star, rub the owls on their heads, and . . . shhhh. No two readings of this book will be the same. That along with the gentle, soothing rhythm, makes Touch the Brightest Star a bedtime winner—no matter how many times you and your child read it.

“This exploration of the world at night should be inviting to even the very youngest children, who will also enjoy its imagination-fueled and child-powered interactivity.”—The Horn Book

On a simple trip to the park, the joy of music overtakes a mother and daughter. The little girl hears a rhythm coming from the world around her- from butterflies, to street performers, to ice cream sellers everything is musical! She sniffs, snaps, and shakes her way into the heart of the beat, finally busting out in an impromptu dance, which all the kids join in on! Award-winning illustrator Frank Morrison and Connie Schofield-Morrison, capture the beat of the street, to create a rollicking read that will get any kid in the mood to boogie.

Press the yellow dot on the cover of this book, follow the instructions within, and embark upon a magical journey! Each page of this surprising book instructs the reader to press the dots, shake the pages, tilt the book, and who knows what will happen next! Children and adults alike will giggle with delight as the dots multiply, change direction, and grow in size! Especially remarkable because the adventure occurs on the flat surface of the simple, printed page, this unique picture book about the power of imagination and interactivity will provide read-aloud fun for all ages!

WINNER OF THE 2013 CALDECOTT MEDAL!

From the creator of the #1 New York Times best-selling and award-winning I Want My Hat Back comes a second wry tale.

When a tiny fish shoots into view wearing a round blue topper (which happens to fit him perfectly), trouble could be following close behind. So it's a good thing that enormous fish won't wake up. And even if he does, it's not like he'll ever know what happened. . . . Visual humor swims to the fore as the best-selling Jon Klassen follows his breakout debut with another deadpan-funny tale.

Exuberant rhymes and wild illustrations celebrate self-acceptance and self-love, from the New York Times bestselling creators of I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!

High on energy and imagination, this ode to self-esteem encourages kids to appreciate everything about themselves--inside and out. Messy hair? Beaver breath? So what!

Here's a little girl who knows what really matters. At once silly and serious, Karen Beaumont's joyous rhyming text and David Catrow's vibrant illustrations unite in a book that is sassy, soulful . . . and straight from the heart.

I Like Myself belongs on the shelf alongside such favorites as The World Needs More Purple People and I Am Enough.

The acclaimed interactive picture book about the changing seasons. “Like Hervé Tullet’s Press Here, Matheson’s Tap the Magic Tree proves you don’t need apps for interactivity,” praised the New York Times.

Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. Now that’s interactive—and magical!

It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. The collage-and-watercolor art evokes the bright simplicity of Lois Ehlert and Eric Carle and the interactive concept will delight fans of Pat the Bunny. Combining a playful spirit and a sense of wonder about nature, Christie Matheson has created a new modern classic that is a winner in every season—and every story time!

And don't miss the follow-up, Touch the Brightest Star!

"A rollicking, simple story that never loses its bounce" --Boston Globe

Here they come, a flock of rollicking sheep in their sturdy red jeep. Will their outing be a success?

Jeep goes splash! Jeep goes thud! Jeep goes deep in gooey mud!

Here is a lively, funny tale, perfect for reading aloud. The youngest lap sitters will quickly learn to chant along with the reader as the brisk story unfolds, and they'll delight in the colorful portrayal of the hapless sheep.

This proven winner for sharing and circle time will have your little ones giggling along.

"The bright-colored pencil drawings and lean text make this a great choice for preschool storytimes, as well as for beginning readers who want a funny story." --School Library Journal

Pete the Cat goes walking down the street wearing his brand new white shoes. Along the way, his shoes change from white to red to blue to brown to WET as he steps in piles of strawberries, blueberries, and other big messes! But no matter what color his shoes are, Pete keeps movin' and groovin' and singing his song...because it's all good. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes asks the reader questions about the colors of different foods and objects.

Don't miss Pete's other adventures, including Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, Pete the Cat Saves Christmas, and Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses.

Supports the Common Core State Standards

Baby sign language makes it easy to communicate with your child, and Nita makes it fun! Nita's First Signs teaches ten essential signs for every parent and child to know, including eat, more, hungry, milk, all done, ball, play, love, please, and thank you. A simple story about Nita and her parents teaches each sign in context, and repetition throughout each story makes them easy to practice. Even better, each page slides open to reveal accurate instructions on how to make each sign, plus tabs on the side of each page make it simple to locate every sign for later reference. Baby sign language collections aren't complete without Nita!

In an exuberant display of color, Lucy Cousins invites little ones to imagine themselves as brilliant birds.

Birds of all feathers flock together in a fun, rhyme-filled offering by the creator of Maisy. From the rooster’s “cock-a-doodle-doo” at dawn to the owl’s nighttime “tuwit, tuwoo,” the cheeps and tweets of many bright and beautiful avian friends will have children eager to join in as honorary fledglings. This day in the life of birds will hold the attention of even the smallest bird-watchers, whether at storytime or just before settling into their cozy nests to sleep.

All the colors of the rainbow are hidden in the garden, but can the little bee find them--with help from the reader Christie Matheson, author of the popular and acclaimed Tap the Magic Tree, brings a garden to life in this bright, interactive picture book about the natural world--and our place within it.

One little bee peeks out on a world of gray and snow.

She's looking for bright colors and needs you to help them grow.

Bees need a healthy and colorful garden to survive. Luckily, all the colors of the rainbow are hidden in this garden--but the bees need the reader's help to find them. Brush off the camellia tree, tickle the tulips, and even blow a kiss to the lilac tree. With every action and turn of the page, a flower blooms and more bees are drawn to the feast.

Christie Matheson is a master at creating simple picture books that encourage children to engage with the natural world. In The Hidden Rainbow, she introduces the colors of the rainbow, counting, and the basic ecosystem and vocabulary of a garden. Beautiful collage-and-watercolor art captures all the bold colors of a garden throughout the seasons, and the interactive text will captivate young readers at every story time.

A TIME BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR



A WASHINGTON POST BEST FEEL GOOD BOOK OF 2023



For fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, a charming, internationally bestselling Japanese novel about how the perfect book recommendation can change a readers' life.



What are you looking for? So asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian. For Sayuri Komachi is able to sense exactly what each visitor to her library is searching for and provide just the book recommendation to help them find it.



A restless retail assistant looks to gain new skills, a mother tries to overcome demotion at work after maternity leave, a conscientious accountant yearns to open an antique store, a recently retired salaryman searches for newfound purpose.



In Komachi's unique book recommendations they will find just what they need to achieve their dreams. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is about the magic of libraries and the discovery of connection. This inspirational tale shows how, by listening to our hearts, seizing opportunity and reaching out, we too can fulfill our lifelong dreams. Which book will you recommend?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical quest when a charming young physicist wanders into the shop, in this dreamlike fantasy novel.

FEATURES A UNIQUE ORIGAMI JACKET that folds into a boat, joining the characters in an enchanting way. The jacket artwork is also printed directly onto the hardcover case underneath.

“Race through a lush world of pure wonder and romance—kites made of wishes that become stars, origami that holds time in its folds, and a night market in the clouds—in this lovely, cozy fantasy reminiscent of Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea.”—Booklist (starred review)

On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones—those who are lost—will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.

Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop’s new owner to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike its other customers, for he offers help instead of seeking it.

Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice—by way of rain puddles, rides on paper cranes, the bridge between midnight and morning, and a night market in the clouds.

But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own—and risk making a choice that she will never be able to take back.

“Highly recommended . . . Readers who have been swept up in the cozy charm of Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi and The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee will fall hard for the mix of magical realism, fantasy mystery, and star-crossed romance.”—Library Journal (starred review)

The bombing of Pearl Harbor propels America into WWII and two Japanese Americans into chaos. Separated by the Pacific, each embarks on a tumultuous path to survive childhood and live the American dream. Ruby Ishimaru loses her liberty and uproots from her Hawaii home to incarceration camps on the mainland. Koji Matsuo strains under the menacing clouds of the Japanese war machine and atomic bombing while concealing a dangerous secret-one that threatens his family's safety.

When destiny brings Ruby and Koji together in California, their chemistry is magnetic, but wounds of trauma run deep and threaten their love as another casualty of war.

Inspired by the true stories of the authors' family, Of White Ashes crosses oceans and cultures, illuminating the remarkable lives of ordinary people who endure seemingly unbearable hardship with dignity and patience. Their experiences compel us to reflect on the resilience of humanity and the risk of history repeating.

A subversively cozy Japanese crime novel with an ingenious Groundhog Day twist: a teenager’s time-loop race to solve—and possibly prevent—his grandfather’s murder!

Contemporary Japanese legend Yasuhiko Nishizawa makes his English-language debut with this slick, funny murder mystery which adds a sci-fi twist to an age-old setup: a murder in a wealthy family with an inheritance at stake.

Hisataro, a young member of the wealthy Fuchigami family, has a mysterious ability. Every now and then, against his will, he falls into a time-loop in which he is obliged to re-live the same day a total of 9 times. Little does he know how useful this ability will be, until one day, his grandfather mysteriously dies...

As he returns to the day of the murder time and again, Hisataro begins to unravel its secrets. With a sizeable inheritance up for grabs, motives abound, and everyone is a suspect. Can Hisataro solve the mystery of his grandfather’s death before his powers run out?

Written in a witty, lighthearted voice, this clever and playful book will appeal to fans of both traditional murder mysteries as well as readers of cozy mysteries. It's a delightful treat for fans of the intricate plotting of Agatha Christie, the gentle humor of Richard Osman, and audacious inventiveness of Stuart Turton.

**A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
**Recommended by the New York Public Library among its list of '50 Best New Comics for Adults' in 2023

What happens when the living risk their lives to save the souls of the dead?

Every summer, in an isolated Japanese village, a celebration known as the Festival of Shadows takes place. The villagers are entrusted to assist the troubled souls or "shadows" of those who died tragically, and to help them come to terms with their deaths and find eternal peace.

Naoko, a young girl born in the village, is given a year to save the soul of a mysterious young man. She develops strong feelings for her shadow--a handsome young man, an artist--but he seems haunted by a terrible secret. She has a year to find out what happened to him, to help him come to terms with his past, and if she fails, his soul will be lost forever...

As the year goes by, Naoko finds herself teetering between the worlds of the living and the dead. What is the terrible secret that seems to be haunting her shadow? And could she be risking her own life to help someone who has already lost his?

Naoko puts her own life on the line to save the soul of this man she loves, in an exciting, moving and beautifully drawn story that takes the reader on a journey from the beautiful Japanese countryside to glamorous Tokyo art world.

"Uketsu's strange riddles are chilling and addictive - I couldn't put it down." --R. F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface

"Delightfully macabre and fiendishly clever. Seemingly unconnected stories tie themselves into a complicated knot, which Uketsu masterfully unravels."--G. T. Karber, author of the national bestseller Murdle

"Wonderfully complex and carefully crafted . . . Uketsu keeps readers guessing until the very end." --New York Times Book Review

The spine-tingling "triumphant international debut" (Publishers Weekly starred review) that has taken Japan by storm--an eerie fresh take on mystery-horror in which a series of seemingly innocent pictures draws you into a disturbing web of unsolved mysteries and shattered psyches.

An exploration of the macabre, where the seemingly mundane takes on a terrifying significance. . . .

A pregnant woman's sketches on a seemingly innocuous blog conceal a chilling warning.

A child's picture of his home contains a dark secret message.

A sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments leads an amateur sleuth down a rabbithole that will reveal a horrifying reality.

Structured around these nine childlike drawings, each holding a disturbing clue, Uketsu invites readers to piece together the mystery behind each and the over-arching backstory that connects them all. Strange Pictures is the internationally bestselling debut from mystery horror YouTube sensation Uketsu--an enigmatic masked figure who has become one of Japan's most talked about contemporary authors.

Translated from the Japanese by Jim Rion.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

"Gate to Kagoshima is an action-packed adventure that opens in Scotland and makes its way to Kagoshima, Japan, as our heroine flees the ghosts of relationships past only to find new loves―and new heartbreak. Set at the close of the Samurai era, the story blends Outlander by way of Before the Coffee Gets Cold."--Marie Claire

"A terrific 'what if' time-travel novel with an intriguing historical element, epic battles, and a dash of romance."--Adrian Cousins, author of The Jason Apsley series

In this exciting historical romantasy in the spirit of The Hurricane Wars and The Time Traveler's Wife--Outlander set in Japan--a young Scottish woman is magically transported to the last Samurai era, where she encounters ghosts from the past, her own Japanese ancestry, and a love that transcends time.

While in Japan researching her family's history, a vicious typhoon sends Isla Mackenzie 128 years back in time, to the dawn of the Satsuma Rebellion. There she meets her ancestors, and a charismatic samurai, Kei, with whom she unexpectedly finds romance.

But, unlike her Beloved, Isla knows about the looming Samurai rebellion--and Kai's fate. Should she attempt to change history or somehow make her way back to the life she'd had before?

Compulsively readable, historically grounded, and irresistibly immersive, Gate to Kagoshima is an unforgettable tale of duty, and of timeless love.

The book is beautifully designed and features colored and illustrated sprayed edges--purple with stenciled moonscape and cherry blossoms.

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE PEN TRANSLATION PRIZE*

An unfulfilled college student hurtles through four parallel realities to explore the what-might've-been and the what-should-never-be in this Groundhog Day meets The Midnight Library-esque novel from one of Japan's most popular authors.

Our protagonist, an unnamed junior at a prestigious university in Kyoto, is on the verge of dropping out. After rebelling against the dictatorial jock president of the film club, he and his worst and only friend, the diabolical creep Ozu, are personas non grata on campus. For two years, our protagonist has made all the wrong decisions, and now he's about to make another mistake. He and Ozu are preparing for revenge--a fireworks attack at the film club's welcoming party for new members. Then, a chance encounter with a self-proclaimed god sets the confused and distraught young man on a new course. Destiny will bring him together with Akashi, the blunt but charming sophomore he has a crush on--if he's brave enough to make a move. Yet our protagonist cannot get beyond his profound disillusionment and the moment is lost. But what if there's a universe where he did join the club of his dreams, ditched Ozu for good, and was confident enough to get the girl? A realm of possibility opens up for our protagonist as time rewinds, and from the four-and-a-half-mat tatami floor of his dorm room, he is plunged into a series of adventures that will take him to four parallel universes. In each universe, he is given the opportunity to start over as a freshman, in search of a rose-colored campus life.

The inspiration behind the much-loved anime series, Tomihiko Morimi's contemporary classic is a fantastic journey through time and space, where a half-eaten castella cake, a photograph from Rome, and a giant cavity in a wisdom tooth hold the keys to self-discovery. A time-traveling romp that speaks to everyone who has wondered what if, The Tatami Galaxy will win readers' hearts over . . . and over . . . and over again.

AN INDIE NEXT PICK!

From the #1 bestselling author in Japan comes a celebration of books, cats, and the people who love them, infused with the heartwarming spirit of The Guest Cat and The Travelling Cat Chronicles.

Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for--or rather, demands--the teenager's help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and the cat and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners.

Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey, where they enter different mazes to set books free. Through their travels, the cat and Rintaro meet a man who leaves his books to perish on a bookshelf, an unwitting book torturer who cuts the pages of books into snippets to help people speed read, and a publishing drone who only wants to create bestsellers. Their adventures culminate in one final, unforgettable challenge--the last maze that awaits leads Rintaro down a realm only the bravest dare enter . . .

An enthralling tale of books, first love, fantasy, and an unusual friendship with a talking cat, The Cat Who Saved Books is a story for those for whom books are so much more than words on paper.

Translated from the Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai.

"Cats, books, young love, and adventure: catnip for a variety of readers!" -Kirkus

One of The Guardian’s “Top 10 Locked Room Mysteries”

An amateur detective races to solve a decades-old murder mystery in this “bloody and bizarre” Japanese crime novel with a twist hailed as “one of the most original” (Daily Mail).

Astrologer, fortune teller, and self-styled detective Kiyoshi Mitarai must solve a macabre murder mystery that has baffled Japan for 40 years—in just one week. 
 
With the help of his freelance illustrator friend, Kiyoshi sets out to answer the questions that have haunted the country ever since: Who murdered the artist Umezawa, raped and killed his daughter, and then chopped up the bodies of six others to create Azoth, ‘the perfect woman’?
 
With maps, charts, and other illustrations, this story of magic and illusion—pieced together like a great stage tragedy—challenges the reader to unravel the mystery before the final curtain falls.
 
This quintessential Japanese “logic mystery”—eerie, gory, and intriguing—combines the puzzle-solving of Golden Age Western detective fiction with elements of shocking horror and dark humor.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes our view of the world. This magnificent novel from the Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go is “an intriguing take on how artificial intelligence might play a role in our futures ... a poignant meditation on love and loneliness” (The Associated Press). • A GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick!

“What stays with you in ‘Klara and the Sun’ is the haunting narrative voice—a genuinely innocent, egoless perspective on the strange behavior of humans obsessed and wounded by power, status and fear.” —Booker Prize committee

Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Translated from the Japanese bestseller, a charming and magical novel that reminds us it’s never too late to follow our stars.

“Mochizuki dazzles in her beautifully crafted contemporary fantasy debut. . . . This gentle fantasy is not to be missed.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review (Best Books of the Year)

In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a glittering Kyoto moon.

This particular coffee shop is like no other. It has no fixed location, no fixed hours, and it seemingly appears at random.

It’s also run by talking cats.

While customers at the Full Moon Coffee Shop partake in cakes and coffees and teas, the cats also consult their star charts, offering cryptic wisdom, and letting them know where their lives veered off course.

Every person who visits the shop has been feeling more than a little lost. For a down-on-her-luck screenwriter, a romantically stuck movie director, a hopeful hairstylist, and a technologically challenged website designer, the coffee shop’s feline guides will set them back on their fated paths. For there is a very special reason the shop appeared to each of them . . .

Yume Kitasei's The Deep Sky is an enthralling sci fi thriller debut about a mission into deep space that begins with a lethal explosion that leaves the survivors questioning the loyalty of the crew.

They left Earth to save humanity. They’ll have to save themselves first.

It is the eve of Earth’s environmental collapse. A single ship carries humanity’s last hope: eighty elite graduates of a competitive program, who will give birth to a generation of children in deep space. But halfway to a distant but livable planet, a lethal bomb kills three of the crew and knocks The Phoenix off course. Asuka, the only surviving witness, is an immediate suspect.

As the mystery unfolds on the ship, poignant flashbacks reveal how Asuka came to be picked for the mission. Despite struggling through training back on Earth, she was chosen to represent Japan, a country she only partly knows as a half-Japanese girl raised in America. But estranged from her mother back home, The Phoenix is all she has left.

With the crew turning on each other, Asuka is determined to find the culprit before they all lose faith in the mission—or worse, the bomber strikes again.

*** 2019 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST ***
*** LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE AND THE 2020 TRANSLATED BOOK AWARD ***
*** NEW YORK TIMES 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR ***

A haunting Orwellian novel about the terrors of state surveillance, from the acclaimed author of The Housekeeper and the Professor.

On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses--until things become much more serious. Most of the island's inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten.

When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past.

A surreal, provocative fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss, The Memory Police is a stunning new work from one of the most exciting contemporary authors writing in any language.

A collection of tense thrilllers, each centered on a mystery and the unfortunate officer tasked with solving it, set in the world of Hideo Yokoyama's bestselling Six Four.

Four novellas: Each taking place in 1998. 

SEASON OF SHADOWS
"The force could lose face . . . I want you to fix this." Personnel's Futawatari receives a horrifying memo forcing him to investigate the behavior of a legendary detective with unfinished business.


CRY OF THE EARTH
"It's too easy to kill a man with a rumor." Shinto of Internal Affairs receives an anonymous tip-off alleging a station chief is visiting the red-light district—a warning he soon learns is a red herring.


BLACK LINES
"It was supposed to be her special day." Section Chief Nanao, responsible for the force's forty-nine female officers, is alarmed to learn her star pupil has not reported for duty and is believed to be missing.


BRIEFCASE
"We need to know what he's going to ask." On the eve of a routine debate, Political Liaison Tsuge learns a wronged politician is preparing his revenge. He must now quickly dig up dirt to silence him.

Prefecture D continues Hideo Yokoyama's exploration of the themes of obsession, saving face, office politics, and interdepartmental conflicts. Placing everyday characters between a rock and a hard place and then dialing up the pressure, he blends and balances the very Japanese with the very accessible, to spectacular effect.

Walking Gentry Home tells the story of Alora Young’s ancestors, from the unnamed women forgotten by the historical record but brought to life through Young’s imagination; to Amy, the first of Young’s foremothers to arrive in Tennessee, buried in an unmarked grave, unlike the white man who enslaved her and fathered her child; through Young’s great-grandmother Gentry, unhappily married at fourteen; to her own mother, the teenage beauty queen rejected by her white neighbors; down to Young in the present day as she leaves childhood behind and becomes a young woman. 

The lives of these girls and women come together to form a unique American epic in verse, one that speaks of generational curses, coming of age, homes and small towns, fleeting loves and lasting consequences, and the brutal and ever-present legacy of slavery in our nation’s psyche. Each poem is a story in verse, and together they form a heart-wrenching and inspiring family saga of girls and women connected through blood and history.

Informed by archival research, the last will and testament of an enslaver, formal interviews, family lore, and even a DNA test, Walking Gentry Home gives voice to those too often muted in America: Black girls and women.

Moving forward and backward in time, Jacqueline Woodson's taut and powerful new novel uncovers the role that history and community have played in the experiences, decisions, and relationships of these families, and in the life of the new child.

As the book opens in 2001, it is the evening of sixteen-year-old Melody's coming of age ceremony in her grandparents' Brooklyn brownstone. Watched lovingly by her relatives and friends, making her entrance to the music of Prince, she wears a special custom-made dress. But the event is not without poignancy. Sixteen years earlier, that very dress was measured and sewn for a different wearer: Melody's mother, for her own ceremony-- a celebration that ultimately never took place.

Unfurling the history of Melody's family – reaching back to the Tulsa race massacre in 1921 -- to show how they all arrived at this moment, Woodson considers not just their ambitions and successes but also the costs, the tolls they've paid for striving to overcome expectations and escape the pull of history. As it explores sexual desire and identity, ambition, gentrification, education, class and status, and the life-altering facts of parenthood, Red at the Bone most strikingly looks at the ways in which young people must so often make long-lasting decisions about their lives--even before they have begun to figure out who they are and what they want to be.

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross is the companion book to the six-part, six hour documentary of the same name, airing on national, primetime public television in the fall of 2013. The series is the first to air since 1968 that chronicles the full sweep of 500 years of African American history, from the origins of slavery on the African continent and the arrival of the first black conquistador, Juan Garrido, in Florida in 1513, through five centuries of remarkable historic events right up to today--when Barack Obama is serving his second term as President, yet our country remains deeply divided by race and class.The book explores these topics in even more detail than possible in the television series, and examines many other fascinating matters as well, such as the ethnic origins--and the regional and cultural diversity--of the Africans whose enslavement led to the creation of the African American people. It delves into the multiplicity of cultural institutions, political strategies, and religious and social perspectives that African Americans have created in the half a millennium since their African ancestors first arrived on these shores. Like the television series, this book guides readers on an engaging journey through the Black Atlantic world--from Africa and Europe to the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States--to shed new light on what it has meant, and means, to be an African American.By highlighting the complex internal debates and class differences within the Black Experience in this country, readers will learn that the African American community, which black abolitionist Martin R. Delany described as a "nation within a nation," has never been a truly uniform entity, and that its members have been debating their differences of opinion and belief from their very first days in this country. The road to freedom for black people in America has not been linear; rather, much like the course of a river, it has been full of loops and eddies, slowing and occasionally reversing current. Ultimately, this book emphasizes the idea that African American history encompasses multiple continents and venues, and must be viewed through a transnational perspective to be fully understood.

In his village in Upper Kwanta, 11-year-old Kofi loves his family, playing oware with his grandfather and swimming in the river Offin. He's warned though, to never go to the river at night. His brother tells him "There are things about the water you do not know. "Like what?" Kofi asks. "The beasts." His brother answers.



One fateful night, the unthinkable happens and in a flash, Kofi's world turns upside down. Kofi soon ends up in a fight for his life and what happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves.



This spellbinding novel by the author of The Crossover and Booked will take you on an unforgettable adventure that will open your eyes and break your heart.



The Door of No Return is an excellent choice for independent reading, sharing in the classroom, book groups, and homeschooling.
 

Of all the many horrors of slavery, the cruelest was the separation of families in slave auctions. Spouses and siblings were sold away from one other. Young children were separated from their mothers. Fathers were sent down river and never saw their families again.

As soon as slavery ended in 1865, family members began to search for one another, in some cases persisting until as late as the 1920s. They took out “information wanted” advertisements in newspapers and sent letters to the editor. Pastors in churches across the country read these advertisements from the pulpit, expanding the search to those who had never learned to read or who did not have access to newspapers. These documents demonstrate that even as most white Americans—and even some younger Black Americans, too—wanted to put slavery in the past, many former slaves, members of the “Freedom Generation,” continued for years, and even decades, to search for one another. These letters and advertisements are testaments to formerly enslaved people’s enduring love for the families they lost in slavery, yet they spent many years buried in the storage of local historical societies or on microfilm reels that time forgot.

Judith Giesberg draws on the archive that she founded—containing almost five thousand letters and advertisements placed by members of the Freedom Generation—to compile these stories in a narrative form for the first time. Her in-depth research turned up additional information about the writers, their families, and their enslavers. With this critical context, she recounts the moving stories of the people who placed the advertisements, the loved ones they tried to find, and the outcome of their quests to reunite.

This story underscores the cruelest horror of slavery—the forced breakup of families—and the resilience and determination of the formerly enslaved. Thoughtful, heart-wrenching, and illuminating, Last Seen finally gives this lesser-known aspect of slavery the attention it deserves.

Born into slavery, by the 1840s Thomas Smallwood was free, self-educated, and working as a shoemaker a short walk from the U.S. Capitol. He recruited a young white activist, Charles Torrey, and together they began to organize mass escapes from Washington, Baltimore, and surrounding counties to freedom in the north.

They were racing against an implacable enemy: men like Hope Slatter, the region’s leading slave trader, part of a lucrative industry that would tear one million enslaved people from their families and sell them to the brutal cotton and sugar plantations of the deep south.

Men, women, and children in imminent danger of being sold south turned to Smallwood, who risked his own freedom to battle what he called “the most inhuman system that ever blackened the pages of history.” And he documented the escapes in satirical newspaper columns, mocking the slaveholders, the slave traders and the police who worked for them.

At a time when Americans are rediscovering a tragic and cruel history and struggling anew with the legacy of white supremacy, Flee North -- the first to tell the extraordinary story of Smallwood -- offers complicated heroes, genuine villains, and a powerful narrative set in cities still plagued by shocking racial inequity today.

We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?

In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.

Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?

Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.

A chronological account of nine decades of antislavery activity in Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia, culminating in the Civil War. Challenging slavery could entail negotiating for freedom by manumission; grasping freedom by flight or insurrection; or uniting with external allies in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, or the Civil War. Free black people also undermined slavery as workers, worshippers, teachers, and writers. Whites who aided black freedom seekers also played their part.

The newest Oprah's Book Club 2.0 selection.

The arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction. 

A debut of extraordinary distinction: Ayana Mathis tells the story of the children of the Great Migration through the trials of one unforgettable family.

In 1923, fifteen-year-old Hattie Shepherd flees Georgia and settles in Philadelphia, hoping for a chance at a better life. Instead, she marries a man who will bring her nothing but disappointment and watches helplessly as her firstborn twins succumb to an illness a few pennies could have prevented. Hattie gives birth to nine more children whom she raises with grit and mettle and not an ounce of the tenderness they crave. She vows to prepare them for the calamitous difficulty they are sure to face in their later lives, to meet a world that will not love them, a world that will not be kind. Captured here in twelve luminous narrative threads, their lives tell the story of a mother's monumental courage and the journey of a nation. 

Beautiful and devastating, Ayana Mathis's The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is wondrous from first to last—glorious, harrowing, unexpectedly uplifting, and blazing with life. An emotionally transfixing page-turner, a searing portrait of striving in the face of insurmountable adversity, an indelible encounter with the resilience of the human spirit and the driving force of the American dream.

In 1850s South Carolina, an enslaved woman named Rose faced a crisis: the imminent sale of her daughter Ashley. Thinking quickly, she packed a cotton bag for her with a few items, and, soon after, the nine-year-old girl was separated from her mother and sold. Decades later, Ashley’s granddaughter Ruth embroidered this family history on the sack in spare, haunting language. 
 
Historian Tiya Miles carefully traces these women’s faint presence in archival records, and, where archives fall short, she turns to objects, art, and the environment to write a singular history of the experience of slavery, and the uncertain freedom afterward, in the United States. All That She Carried is a poignant story of resilience and love passed down against steep odds. It honors the creativity and resourcefulness of people who preserved family ties when official systems refused to do so, and it serves as a visionary illustration of how to reconstruct and recount their stories today.
 
FINALIST: MAAH Stone Book Award, Kirkus Prize, Mark Lynton History Prize, Chatauqua Prize, Women’s Prize

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, NPR, Time, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Smithsonian Magazine, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Ms. magazine, Book Riot, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist

Devoted wife, White House maid, reluctant activist...

A stirring novel inspired by the life of an unsung heroine, and real-life crusader, Lizzie McDuffie, who as a maid in FDR's White House spearheaded the Civil Rights movement of her time.

I'm just a college-educated Southerner with a passion for books. My husband says I'm too bold, too sharp, too unrelenting. Others say I helped spearhead the Civil Rights movement of our time. President Roosevelt says I'm too spunky and spirited for my own good.

Who am I

I am Elizabeth "Lizzie" McDuffie.

And this is my story...

When Lizzie McDuffie, maid to Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, boldly proclaimed herself FDR's "Secretary-On-Colored-People's-Affairs," she became more than just a maid--she became the President's eyes and ears into the Black community. After joining the White House to work alongside her husband, FDR's personal valet, Lizzie managed to become completely indispensable to the Roosevelt family. Never shy about pointing out injustices, she advocated for the needs and rights of her fellow African Americans when those in the White House blocked access to the President.

Following the life of Lizzie McDuffie throughout her time in the White House as she championed the rights of everyday Americans and provided access to the most powerful man in the country, Let Us March On looks at the unsung and courageous crusader who is finally getting the recognition she so richly deserves.

In the summer of 1954, educator Septima Clark and small businessman Esau Jenkins travelled to rural Tennessee’s Highlander Folk School, an interracial training center for social change founded by Myles Horton, a white southerner with roots in the labor movement. There, the trio united behind a shared mission: preparing Black southerners to pass the daunting Jim Crow era voter registration literacy tests that were designed to disenfranchise them.

Together with beautician-turned-teacher Bernice Robinson, they launched the underground Citizenship Schools project, which began with a single makeshift classroom hidden in the back of a rural grocery store. By the time the Voting Rights Act was signed into law in 1965, the secretive undertaking had established more than nine hundred citizenship schools across the South, preparing tens of thousands of Black citizens to read and write, demand their rights—and vote. Simultaneously, it nurtured a generation of activists—many of them women—trained in community organizing, political citizenship, and tactics of resistance and struggle who became the grassroots foundation of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King called Septima Clark, “Mother of the Movement.”

In the vein of Hidden Figures and Devil in the Grove, Spell Freedom is both a riveting, crucially important lens onto our past, and a deeply moving story for our present.

Twenty-five years ago, after her maternal grandmother’s death, Robin Coste Lewis discovered a stunning collection of photographs in an old suitcase under her bed, filled with everything from sepia tintypes to Technicolor Polaroids. Lewis’s family had survived one of the largest migrations in human history, when six million Americans fled the South, attempting to escape from white supremacy and white terrorism. But these photographs of daily twentieth-century Black life revealed a concealed, interior history. The poetry Lewis joins to these vivid images stands forth as an inspiring alternative to the usual ways we frame the old stories of “race” and “migration,” placing them within a much vaster span of time and history.

In what she calls “a film for the hands” and “an origin myth for the future,” Lewis reverses our expectations of both poetry and photography: “Black pages, black space, black time––the Big Black Bang.” From glamorous outings to graduations, birth announcements, baseball leagues, and back-porch delight, Lewis creates a lyrical documentary about Black intimacy. Instead of colonial nostalgia, she offers us “an exalted Black privacy.” What emerges is a dynamic reframing of what it means to be human and alive, with Blackness at its center. “I am trying / to make the gods / happy,” she writes amid these portraits of her ancestors. “I am trying to make the dead / clap and shout.”

One of Oprah’s Best Books of the Year, Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.

This is the dramatic, exciting, authoritative story of the experiences of African Americans from the time they left Africa to their continued struggle for equality at the end of the twentieth century.

Since its original publication in 1947,From Slavery to Freedomhas stood as the definitive his-tory of African Americans. Coauthors John Hope Franklin and Alfred A. Moss, Jr., give us a vividly detailed account of the journey of African Americans from their origins in the civilizations of Africa, through their years of slavery in the New World, to the successful struggle for freedom and its aftermath in the West Indies, Latin America, and the United States.

This eighth edition has been revised to include expanded coverage of Africa; additional material in every chapter on the history and current situation of African Americans in the United States; new charts, maps, and black-and-white illustrations; and a third four-page color insert. The authors incorporate recent scholarship to examine slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the period between World War I and World War II (including the Harlem Renaissance).

From Slavery to Freedomdescribes the rise of slavery, the interaction of European and African cultures in the New World, and the emergence of a distinct culture and way of life among slaves and free blacks. The authors examine the role of blacks in the nation's wars, the rise of an articulate, restless free black community by the end of the eighteenth century, and the growing resistance to slavery among an expanding segment of the black population.

The book deals in considerable detail with the period after slavery, including the arduous struggle for first-class citizenship that has extended into the twentieth century. Many developments in recent African American history are examined, including demographic change; educational efforts; literary and cultural changes; problems in housing, health, juvenile matters, and poverty; the expansion of the black middle class; and the persistence of discrimination in the administration of justice.

All who are interested in African Americans' continuing quest for equality will find a wealth of information based on the recent findings of many scholars. Professors Franklin and Moss have captured the tragedies and triumphs, the hurts and joys, the failures and successes, of blacks in a lively and readable volume that remains the most authoritative and comprehensive book of its kind.

Journey along the famed Tokaido Road--an ancient thoroughfare with a modern twist.

The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido is the best-known work of the great 19th century Japanese woodblock artist Utagawa Hiroshige. The series of 53 masterful woodblock prints depicts stops along the ancient Tokaido Road--which, from the eleventh to the nineteenth century, was the main thoroughfare between Tokyo and Kyoto.

Though the road itself is now submerged under Japan's twenty-first-century urban landscape, French artist Philippe Delord set out to see if he could find the original locations, with just a moped, sketchbook, watercolors and a book of Hiroshige's prints.

Hiroshige's Japan allows readers to make the journey alongside Delord, venturing from Tokyo and Mount Fuji to mountain passes and rugged coastlines. Inside are all 53 original scenery prints made by Hiroshige, alongside their modern-day equivalent by Delord. A lively commentary about his experiences as he tries to locate each of the 53 scenes (without speaking Japanese!) offers readers an insightful, and often humorous, look into both modern and historical Japan.

Part travelogue, part work of art, this book is sure to delight armchair travelers, history buffs, art enthusiasts and Japanophiles alike!

With a combination of inventive wrapping designs, inspiring personal essays, and step-by-step techniques, Megumi Inouye invites readers to transform the act of wrapping into a gratitude practice.

Drawing on the gift-giving traditions of her Japanese heritage, Inouye explores how the act of giving a thoughtfully wrapped gift can be a creative, caring act for both the giver and the receiver. Using recycled and repurposed materials, Inouye's approach inspires readers to think intentionally about the presentation of every gift, whether it's a tip for an unseen hotel housekeeper, a simple gift of fresh fruit for a neighbor, or a special birthday gift for a beloved family member. Detailed step-by-step photos teach Inouye's artful approach to every aspect of wrapping--including tape-free folding, paper and fabric bows, clever message tags, and one-of-a-kind approaches for odd-shaped items--and guide readers in creating their own unique gift presentations.

The complete backstory of Japanese cuisine explained in richly illustrated manga style!

This book explores the fascinating history, lore and practice of Japanese cooking through the eyes of Manabu, a young man who aspires to become a professional Japanese chef. Each chapter presents a new set of topics which help the reader to appreciate the great depth and complexity of Japan's amazing food culture.

Dozens of mini essays with hundreds of charming color illustrations and photos explain:
 

• The importance of fundamental ingredients like rice, soybeans, seaweed and fish
• The beauty of traditional utensils including lacquer ware, ceramics and knives
• The key role played by fermented ingredients like miso, soy sauce and sake in Japanese cooking
• The history of sushi, which developed from a traditional method of preserving fish
• The concept of "umami" as one of just seven flavors that can be detected by the human tongue
• How all these elements come together in a multicourse Kyoto-style Kaiseki dinner

There is even a quiz at the end so you can see how much you've learned along the way!

What makes Japanese music sound Japanese? Each genre of Japan's pre-Western music (hogaku) morphed from the preceding one with singing at its foundation. In ancient Shinto prayers, words of power recited in a prescribed cadence communicated veneration and community needs to the divine spirit (kami). From the prayers, Japan's word-based music evolved into increasingly more sophisticated recitations with biwa, shamisen, and koto accompaniment.

This examination reveals shortcomings in the typical interpretation of Japanese music from a pitch-based Western perspective and carefully explores how the quintessential musical elements of singing, instrumental accompaniment, scale, and format were transmitted from their Shinto inception through all of Japan's music. Japan's culture, with its unique iemoto system and teaching methods, served to exactly replicate Japan's music for centuries. Considering Japan's music in the context of its own culture, logic, and sources is essential to gaining a clear understanding and appreciation of Japan's music and dissipating the mystery of the music's "Japaneseness." Greater enjoyment of the music inevitably follows.

This book provides easy, step-by-step instructions showing how to create six basic box lunches with many variations, and over 125 different recipes in a rainbow of colors -- the key to making your lunchbox look great.

Learn how to make fun and easy bento lunch boxes with a variety of basic preparations, such as:
 

• Steamed rice with teriyaki chicken, sesame spinach and sauteed root vegetables
• Egg salad sandwiches with crunch carrots and cucumbers
• Ramen noodles with warm dipping sauce, savory pork and spinach
• Picnic bento with nori rolls, crispy mackerel, miso green beans and glazed sweet potatoes

Author Sachiko Horie is a trained nutritionist who provides calorie counts for each recipe along with tips for healthy, balanced lunches that appeal to kids and adults. Detailed menu plans, make-ahead instructions, and color-coded assembly diagrams ensure that the entire family will be out the door on time with beautiful bento lunches in hand!

The daughter of a Buddhist priest, Tsuneno was born in a rural Japanese village and was expected to live a traditional life much like her mother’s. But after three divorces—and a temperament much too strong-willed for her family’s approval—she ran away to make a life for herself in one of the largest cities in the world: Edo, a bustling metropolis at its peak.

With Tsuneno as our guide, we experience the drama and excitement of Edo just prior to the arrival of American Commodore Perry’s fleet, which transformed Japan. During this pivotal moment in Japanese history, Tsuneno bounces from tenement to tenement, marries a masterless samurai, and eventually enters the service of a famous city magistrate. Tsuneno’s life provides a window into 19th-century Japanese culture—and a rare view of an extraordinary woman who sacrificed her family and her reputation to make a new life for herself, in defiance of social conventions.

 

Discover modern Ikebana, the Japanese art of floral design, to form and cultivate internal peace and creativity. You can create minimalist decor with Ikebana, otherwise known as Kado, a disciplined art form that brings together nature and the inner self through flower arrangement.

Judo Formal Techniques is "The most detailed explanation of Judo that has ever been published" (The Japan Times). A comprehensive training manual to the basic "free practice" forms of Kodokan Judo (the Randori no Kata), the book provides essential instruction in the throwing and grappling kata (Nage no Kata and Katame no Kata) that every Judo practitioner needs to master.

The authors are two of the world's top instructors--Donn F. Draeger and Tadao Otaki. Both were instructors at the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo--the headquarters of international Judo, which was founded by the creator of the martial art, Jigoro Kano. Draeger, considered by many to be the first non-Japanese Budo master, was an authority on Asian martial culture who held high ranks and teaching licenses in several martial arts. He was a prolific writer and was the first non-Japanese Judo instructor at the Kodokan. Otaki was not only a successful Judo instructor but also a university professor who was widely praised for his research on the role of Judo in education.

Draeger and Otaki based their text on Jigoro Kano's published and unpublished personal writings. Recapturing the original spirit and intent of the essential Judo kata, they are presented in the standard Kodokan versions as refined by generations of practitioners. Richly illustrated with over 1,000 photos and drawings, Judo Formal Techniques offers complete step-by-step instructions for the roles of both training partners. In addition to the core techniques of throwing and grappling, it explains the important transitional movements as well as grips, stances, and postures.

First introduced as an Olympic sport at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Judo is returning to its home city on the world stage at the 2020 Olympics. Practiced by more than 20 million people worldwide, Judo is only expected to continue growing in popularity.

A new foreword by Judo instructor Neil Ohlenkamp sheds light on the book's lasting importance as the classic "Kata bible" for Judo students and instructors alike and an indispensable resource for all martial arts practitioners.

Make delightfully miniature amigurumi you'll love to squeeze and snuggle! From Genna Tatu, the beloved creator of Crochet by Genna, comes this beginner-friendly collection of small yet spunky crochet plushies that will fill your days with an extra dose of cuteness. Use simple stitches to work up the body of your plushies, and add darling details like blush and facial embroidery with the help of Genna's savvy step-by-step tutorials. What's more, absolutely no sewing is required to assemble these sweet little toys, so you can have an assortment of new companions to display, sell or give to friends in record time!Long-time animal lover? From the boundless forest and the bustling farmyard to the mysterious waters of the ocean, there's an endearing pattern for animal enthusiasts of every kind. Feeling peckish? Foodies will be delighted to discover an entire whimsical chapter devoted to all their favorite snacks. Stitch up a Dazzling Dragon to sell at the next local craft market, make a Cuddly Cow to give as a thoughtful gift or add a Savory Sushi to your own personal plushie collection. With 40 irresistibly cute and undeniably easy patterns to choose from, these tiny amigurumi are guaranteed to bring you enormous joy. This book will have 40 patterns and 40+ photos, plus step-by-steps.

Discover everything you’ve ever wondered about the legendary spirits, creatures, and figures of Japanese folklore including how they have found their way into every corner of our pop culture from the creator of the podcast Uncanny Japan.

Welcome to The Book of Japanese Folklore: a fascinating journey through Japan’s folklore through profiles of the legendary creatures and beings who continue to live on in pop culture today.

From the sly kitsune to the orgrish oni and mischievous shape-shifting tanuki, learn all about the origins of these fantastical and mythical creatures. This gorgeous package is complete with stained edges and stunning four-color illustrations. With information on their cultural significance, a retelling of a popular tale tied to that particular yokai, and how it’s been spun into today’s popular culture, this handsome tome teaches you about the stories and histories of the beings that inspired characters in your favorite movies, animes, manga, and games.

Adventure, mystery, and amazing tales await in The Book of Japanese Folklore.

A gorgeous guide to creating a beautiful, comfortable home based on Japanese traditions from the founder of the beloved lifestyle brand Fog Linen Work.

For anyone who dreams of a home filled with well-organized closets, eye-catching flower arrangements, perfectly draped blankets, and thoughtfully curated shelves, here is a guide to cultivating an elegant home.

Yumiko Sekine, founder of the internationally celebrated lifestyle brand Fog Linen Work, shares lovely rituals and simple techniques based on Japanese traditions, including practices for decorating, organizing, preparing food, and more. From the kitchen to the bedroom and every space in between, here are tips for refreshing a home each season--arranging and displaying fresh flowers in spring, choosing the right sheets and linens for summer, taking warm herbal baths in autumn, and draping blankets and layering rugs to cozy up a space for winter. Brimming with easy-to-follow tips for elevating any space and packed with hundreds of photographs showcasing gorgeous interiors, this book is an invitation to create a home that nourishes, rejuvenates, and inspires--all year long.
 

This is a must-have book for origami folders of all ages and skill levels--from novice on up. It provides all the instructions you need to create the classic and most beautiful origami models with simple and inexpensive squares of paper! This jam-packed book shows you how to fold the models everyone loves to make. It is fully illustrated in color with simple and clear step-by-step instructions for every model.

The first comprehensive cookbook to fully cover all aspects of Japanese cuisine--with 600 recipes!

This book is the culmination of a lifetime steeped in two cultures. Born in Tokyo and raised in New York, Makiko Itoh grew up in the heart of her mother's acclaimed Japanese restaurant, a culinary landmark for over twenty years. Now a celebrated bilingual food writer and translator, she brings a rare perspective--uniquely equipped to bridge the gap and share the soul of Japanese cuisine with the world.

 

Creating bonsai, an ancient art form that encourages meditation and contemplation, can be an intimidating art to start because of its intricate and precise nature. But David Squire's new book, Complete Starter Guide to Bonsai for Beginners, is a gentle but complete beginner's guide to the craft. Starting with the definition of what bonsai is, the author discusses the spirit and aesthetics of creating bonsai then continues with the materials needed--including the right species of tree to get--how to prune, pinch, water, feed and display your piece. The book also includes chapters on indoor bonsai species, outdoor bonsai species and how to deal with pests and diseases, then concludes with a beautiful gallery of bonsai trees. Feel calmer and more focused by learning how to raise bonsai trees.

The idea of the sword-wielding samurai, beholden to a strict ethical code and trained in deadly martial arts, dominates popular conceptions of the samurai. As early as the late seventeenth century, they were heavily featured in literature, art, theater, and even comedy, from the Tale of the Heike to the kabuki retellings of the 47 Ronin. This legacy remains with us today in the legendary Akira Kurosawa films, the shoguns of HBO's Westworld, and countless renditions of samurai history in anime, manga, and video games. Acknowledging these common depictions, this book gives readers access to the real samurai as they lived, fought, and served.

Much as they capture the modern imagination, the samurai commanded influence over the politics, arts, philosophy and religion of their own time, and ultimately controlled Japan from the fourteenth century until their demise in the mid-nineteenth century. On and off the battlefield, whether charging an enemy on horseback or currying favor at the imperial court, their story is one of adventures and intrigues, heroics and misdeeds, unlikely victories and devastating defeats. This book traces the samurai throughout this history, exploring their roles in watershed events such as Japan's invasions of Korea at the close of the sixteenth century and the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. Coming alive in these accounts are the samurai, both famed and ordinary, who shaped Japanese history.
 

The Japanese people have always seen themselves as a nation uniquely apart. Their exquisite art forms and elegant culture, military prowess and technological precision, have long been the envy of friend and foe alike. Today, even as Japan adapts to a rapidly changing world, its traditional culture and consensus-based philosophy have proved remarkably resilient.

Culture Smart! Japan will broaden your perception and understanding of this complex, rich, and dynamic society. It will guide you through modern Japan s shifting social and cultural maze, and equip you with the tools to avoid the pitfalls of cultural misunderstanding. It provides practical tips and invaluable insights into people s attitudes and behavior to help make your visit a more meaningful and successful experience.

Have a richer and more meaningful experience abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on history, values, attitudes, and traditions will help you to better understand your hosts, while tips on etiquette and communicating will help you to navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Japan is the forge of the world’s fantasies: karaoke and the Walkman, manga and anime, Pac-Man and Pokémon, online imageboards and emojis. But as Japan media veteran Matt Alt proves in this brilliant investigation, these novelties did more than entertain. They paved the way for our perplexing modern lives.

In the 1970s and ’80s, Japan seemed to exist in some near future, gliding on the superior technology of Sony and Toyota. Then a catastrophic 1990 stock-market crash ushered in the “lost decades” of deep recession and social dysfunction. The end of the boom should have plunged Japan into irrelevance, but that’s precisely when its cultural clout soared—when, once again, Japan got to the future a little ahead of the rest of us.

Hello Kitty, the Nintendo Entertainment System, and multimedia empires like Dragon Ball Z were more than marketing hits. Artfully packaged, dangerously cute, and dizzyingly fun, these products gave us new tools for coping with trying times. They also transformed us as we consumed them—connecting as well as isolating us in new ways, opening vistas of imagination and pathways to revolution. Through the stories of an indelible group of artists, geniuses, and oddballs, Pure Invention reveals how Japan’s pop-media complex remade global culture.

Famous in Japan for his three-dimensional pop-up art, Seiji Tsukimoto now offers the secrets (well, actually clear, easy-to-follow instructions) to making amazing globe-shaped paper artworks using only paper and scissors. These 3-D spheres feature images, intricate patterns, and even messages like "Happy Birthday." Each folds down to a flat surface, and when pressed at both ends, it shifts back to a sphere. The projects feature a variety of themes, each shaped as a show-stopping sphere: landscapes, nature scenes, animals, text, and more. The designs use small, medium, or large spheres, and as you master them, they can be varied. Included are not only reusable patterns, but also a ready-to-cut copy of six designs, supplied on cardstock at the back of the book. Enjoy creating unlimited paper globes to display, to offer as gifts, and to share greetings in a handcrafted, surprising way. This ingenious design method is easy enough for beginners and versatile enough to challenge advanced paper artists.

When the Cassidy-Shaws' autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver's seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work. Yet each family member harbors a secret, implicating them all in the tragic accident.

During a weeklong recuperation on the Chesapeake Bay, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash. Noah tries to hold the family together as a seemingly routine police investigation jeopardizes Charlie's future. Alice and Izzy turn strangely furtive. And Lorelei's odd behavior tugs at Noah's suspicions that there is a darker truth behind the incident--suspicions heightened by the sudden intrusion of Daniel Monet, a tech mogul whose mysterious history with Lorelei hints at betrayal. When Charlie falls for Monet's teenaged daughter, the stakes are raised even higher in this propulsive family drama that is also a fascinating exploration of the moral responsibility and ethical consequences of AI. 
 

Culpability explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and other nonhuman forces in ways that are thrilling, challenging, and unimaginably provocative.

Chesapeake Bay's favorite sleuth unearths a vineyard's poisonous secrets. Real Estate Rule #4: Beware a house covered in tangled vines, for they conceal deceit. Realtor Helen Morrisey is smiling. Her family is close. Her business solid. Her feelings for a local detective stronger than ever. When a string of her clients' homes are graffitied, Helen writes it off as petty efforts by bored teenagers. Until they raise the stakes. One by one 'Your agent is a crook' is splashed across buildings in blood red letters. Her hometown's growing distrust in Helen chips away at her resolve, and her business. Overnight, she's fighting a vengeful vandal to protect her name. Why is she a target? Her phone rings. Her heart sinks. A local business leader and friend is dead. Last to see him alive, Helen convinces police her friend's death is no accident. It's murder. Days later, she discovers an eccentric vineyard owner slashed with a bottle of his prized wine. Two distinctly different backgrounds. How can these two crimes be related? Or are they? Helen is long on loyalty but short on time. Retreating is not in her DNA. She faces two choices. Does she track down the person out to destroy her? Or dig into the dead men's list of enemies to expose their killers? Can her sleuthing smarts outwit them? Or will Helen be the next victim? Award-winning author Judy L Murray weaves Villain in the Vineyard, fourth in her Chesapeake Bay Mystery Series, with enduring characters who band together to ensure good overcomes evil.

The latest cookbook by the "Culinary Ambassador of the Chesapeake" encourages us to cook in a way that is not only healthy for us but also for the Bay.

Captain John Smith, upon entering the Chesapeake, wrote in his diaries that the fish were so plentiful “we attempted to catch them with a frying pan.” That method sums up classic Chesapeake cooking—fresh and simple. In The New Chesapeake Kitchen, celebrated Maryland chef John Shields takes the best of what grows, swims, or grazes in the Bay’s watershed and prepares it simply, letting the pure flavors shine through. Honoring the farmers, watermen, butchers, cheese makers, and foragers who make the food movement around the Chesapeake Bay watershed possible, along with the environmental and food organizations working to restore the Bay, the land, and food security, Shields promotes a healthy locavore diet and a holistic view of community foodways.

In this scrumptious book, enhanced with beautiful full-color images by former Baltimore Sun Magazine photographer David W. Harp, Shields urges readers to choose local, seasonal ingredients. Presenting what he dubs “Bay- and body-friendly food,” he advocates for a plant-forward and sustainable diet, one that considers how food consumption affects both your health and the environment. Shields presents creative and healthy options that nourish us while protecting the Bay, including one-pot recipes for meals like Fishing Creek Seafood Chili, Old Line Veggie Creole Oyster Stew, and Spring Pea Soup with Tarragon-Truffle Oil. To round it out, this holistic cookbook includes directions for canning, preserving, and fermenting.

Shields offers many vegan- and vegetarian-friendly options, as well as innovative new takes on Chesapeake classics. You’ll find recipes for dozens of delicious dishes, from Aunt Bessie’s Crab Pudding and Hutzler’s Cheese Bread to “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Crab” Cakes, Blue Cat Seafood Hash, and an array of savory soups, braised meats, luscious desserts, and green breakfast smoothies—even recipes for a locavore cocktail party!

Shards of blue carry love through time and tides.

Follow the trail of a cobalt blue poison bottle and its shards once it is tossed into the river after a devastating series of events involving life, love, and murder in the 1800s. The bottle wends its way to the Chesapeake Bay where it shatters, the shards then riding the tides, becoming pieces of a new life and romance over a century later.

Anna Grace is trapped in an abusive marriage with a man she does not love, forced to live on a Maryland plantation far from her Philadelphia home. An innocent cobalt blue medicine bottle becomes her way to freedom and love.

Beth flees an abusive relationship, making a fresh start on the coast of the Chesapeake. She discovers a love for sea glass, finding shards along the bay shoreline. With the discovery, she'll find a piece of a rare cobalt blue poison bottle that will lead her to unexpected love.

Both women will find their courage and the love they deserve, both tied to the simple cobalt blue bottle through time and tides.

This book collects over 40 Old Line Plate posts, with lavish illustrations and a bibliography of Maryland cookbooks. Stories include White Potato Pie, Crab Cakes, Maryland Fried Chicken, Baltimore Snowballs, and more.

THIS IS NOT A COOKBOOK: Recipes are historic and as such, may be unsuitable for everyday use.

Immerse yourself in a unique blend of literature and lore about Chesapeake Bay, including classic passages, original essays, poems, and natural history

• Curated story collections explore the rich and diverse legacies of Chesapeake Bay
• Contributors include Tiya Miles, Annie Marhefka, Gilbert Byron, Tom Wisner, James Michener, Audrey Scharmen, Makshya Tolbert, and RagghiRain
• Local recommendations for outdoor exploration, select cultural activities, camping options, gateway towns, and more
• "How to Visit Well" and "Community Resources" sections offer tips on sustainable travel while highlighting cultural, Indigenous, and conservation organizations

Expanding on the bestselling Campfire Stories volumes, which feature shareable tales from our national parks, this new series from Ilyssa and Dave Kyu immerses readers in the storytelling endemic to America's beloved natural spaces, offering unique tours through diverse histories, lore, and landscapes.

Part story collection and part travel companion, each eye-catching volume begins with an anthology of "campfire stories"--from classic passages to original poetry, historical excerpts to fresh perspectives, treasured folk songs to local myths. Through the magic of storytelling, readers are deeply drawn into each distinctive terrain. These tales are then followed by a mini-guide: community-sourced recommendations for outdoor activities, cultural landmarks, and historical points of interest that will enrich the reader's experience, as well as tips on how to best travel lightly and respectfully through these scenic and varied public lands.

Once again James A. Michener brings history to life with this 400-year saga of America's great bay and its Eastern Shore. Following Edmund Steed and his remarkable family, who parallel the settling and forming of the nation, CHESAPEAKE sweeps readers from the unspoiled world of the Native Americans to the voyages of Captain John Smith, the Revolutionary War, and right up to modern times.

Adam Nicolson explores the marine life inhabiting seashore rockpools with a scientist’s curiosity and a poet’s wonder in this beautifully illustrated book.

The sea is not made of water. Creatures are its genes. Look down as you crouch over the shallows and you will find a periwinkle or a prawn, a claw-displaying crab or a cluster of anemones ready to meet you. No need for binoculars or special stalking skills: go to the rocks and the living will say hello.

Inside each rock pool tucked into one of the infinite crevices of the tidal coastline lies a rippling, silent, unknowable universe. Below the stillness of the surface course different currents of endless motion—the ebb and flow of the tide, the steady forward propulsion of the passage of time, and the tiny lifetimes of the rock pool’s creatures, all of which coalesce into the grand narrative of evolution.

In Life Between the Tides, Adam Nicolson investigates one of the most revelatory habitats on earth. Under his microscope, we see a prawn’s head become a medieval helmet and a group of “winkles” transform into a Dickensian social scene, with mollusks munching on Stilton and glancing at their pocket watches. Or, rather, is a winkle more like Achilles, an ancient hero, throwing himself toward death for the sake of glory? For Nicolson, who writes “with scientific rigor and a poet’s sense of wonder” (The American Scholar), the world of the rock pools is infinite and as intricate as our own.

As Nicolson journeys between the tides, both in the pools he builds along the coast of Scotland and through the timeline of scientific discovery, he is accompanied by great thinkers—no one can escape the pull of the sea. We meet Virginia Woolf and her Waves; a young T. S. Eliot peering into his own rock pool in Massachusetts; even Nicolson’s father-in-law, a classical scholar who would hunt for amethysts along the shoreline, his mind on Heraclitus and the other philosophers of ancient Greece. And, of course, scientists populate the pages; not only their discoveries, but also their doubts and errors, their moments of quiet observation and their thrilling realizations.

Everything is within the rock pools, where you can look beyond your own reflection and find the miraculous an inch beneath your nose. “The soul wants to be wet,” Heraclitus said in Ephesus twenty-five hundred years ago. This marvelous book demonstrates why it is so.

Includes Color and Black-and-White Photographs

Tangier Island, Virginia, is a community unique on the American landscape. Mapped by John Smith in 1608, settled during the American Revolution, the tiny sliver of mud is home to 470 hardy people who live an isolated and challenging existence, with one foot in the 21st century and another in times long passed. They are separated from their countrymen by the nation’s largest estuary, and a twelve-mile boat trip across often tempestuous water—the same water that for generations has made Tangier’s fleet of small fishing boats a chief source for the rightly prized Chesapeake Bay blue crab, and has lent the island its claim to fame as the softshell crab capital of the world.

Yet for all of its long history, and despite its tenacity, Tangier is disappearing. The very water that has long sustained it is erasing the island day by day, wave by wave. It has lost two-thirds of its land since 1850, and still its shoreline retreats by fifteen feet a year—meaning this storied place will likely succumb first among U.S. towns to the effects of climate change. Experts reckon that, barring heroic intervention by the federal government, islanders could be forced to abandon their home within twenty-five years. Meanwhile, the graves of their forebears are being sprung open by encroaching tides, and the conservative and deeply religious Tangiermen ponder the end times.   

Chesapeake Requiem is an intimate look at the island’s past, present and tenuous future, by an acclaimed journalist who spent much of the past two years living among Tangier’s people, crabbing and oystering with its watermen, and observing its long traditions and odd ways. What emerges is the poignant tale of a world that has, quite nearly, gone by—and a leading-edge report on the coming fate of countless coastal communities.

This collection gathers David Healey's previously published stories and essays about the Chesapeake Bay region. The essays here touch on everything from the origins of the unique dialect known as Delmarvese to an after-school job running a trapline. In the fiction pages, ride along with Confederate cavalry gone astray on the way to Gettysburg and root for a widowed lightkeeper who makes a desperate stand against a German U-boat attack. Encounter Captain Kidd during a confrontation with pirates on the Delaware shore. In "The Wheatfield War," discover the tragic fate of Lord Byron's cousin-in-law during the War of 1812. In the Chesapeake Bay region, there is no shortage of stories wherever the past meets the present.

"Her Helm: Chesapeake Bay" is a photographic book to celebrate women boat captains. These female leaders in a male-dominated environment are expanding the boundaries of traditional gender roles on the water. Showcasing beautiful portraits of women around the Chesapeake Bay, captains of all walks of life are profiled. Guest writers and artists add to the tribute, sharing even more stories of meaningful moments for women and the Bay. Increasing the visibility of women in command of a boat helps to make the water a more equitable and balanced place where people of any gender are welcome.

Sisters Amanda Foster and Erin Turner have little in common except the childhood bedroom they once shared and the certainty each feels that her way of life is best. Amanda follows the rules--at the school where she works; in her community; and as a picture-perfect daughter, wife, and mother-to-be. Erin follows her heart--in love and otherwise--living a bohemian lifestyle on a shoestring budget and honoring her late father's memory with a passion for music and her fledgling bath-products business.

The sisters are content leading separate but happy lives in their hometown of Potomac Point until everything is upended by lies that force them to confront unsettling truths about their family, themselves, and each other. For sisters as different as these two, building trust doesn't come easily--especially with one secret still between them--but it may be the only way to save their family.

The adventure is over but life goes on for an elf mage just beginning to learn what living is all about.

Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her?

Decades after their victory, the funeral of one her friends confronts Frieren with her own near immortality. Frieren sets out to fulfill the last wishes of her comrades and finds herself beginning a new adventure…

When awkward schoolgirl Haru rescues a cat on her way home from school one day, the last thing she expects in return is to be honored by a feline royal family! Before she knows what’s happening to her, Haru is drawn into a world inhabited entirely by talking cats—and recruited to be the next Cat Princess! Only the dapper cat Baron and his friends, a magical crow and a comical fat cat, along with a friend from Haru’s past, can help her return home.

"LOST IN THE WILDS OF HEAVEN"
Being a space-trucker sounds like a cool job, but the reality is can be boring as hell. So when recently-widowed GIL gets a long-haul gig across the universe, he figures it's safe enough to bring his young son KADYN along for the ride -- that is until their "big rig" gets bitten in half by a gigantic Space Leviathan! Now separated from his young son -- with a breached suit that's venting oxygen at an alarming rate -- Gil must defy the odds and stay alive long enough to rescue Kadyn.

Meanwhile, Kadyn seems to be getting all the help he needs from a talking Space Mon-key riding a Space Dolphin...or maybe it's the strange powers he's suddenly manifest-ing?!

From the writing duo of JASON AARON (SOUTHERN BASTARDS, Thor) and DENNIS HOPELESS (Cloak & Dagger, Vader: Dark Visions), with dazzling art by STEPHEN GREEN (Hellboy & the BPRD) and cosmic colors by Rico Renzi (SpiderGwen) comes a brand-new science fiction series, with all the scope and heart of the THE NEVEREND-ING STORY crossed with imaginative weirdness of Miyazaki -- an intense, galaxy-spanning adventure that's suitable for fans of all ages!

COLLECTS SEA OF STARS 1-5
 

Best of the Year — AV Club, New York Public Library, Nerdist, SYFY Wire, Chicago Public Library

"Harry Potter meets Kiki's Delivery Service!" -AV Club 

A beautifully-illustrated story about a girl who longs for magic in her life and learns that, on the inside, she already is what she wishes she could be. Reminiscent of Studio Ghibli, this lushly-drawn story has captured the hearts of fantasy fans worldwide. 

In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: She wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch...until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she's never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody "knows" might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem...

Amazon Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book of 2018

One of Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best YA Books of 2018

One of Publishers Weekly's Best YA Book of the Year

A National Indie Bestseller

Longlisted for Irish YA prize Great Reads Award

Lose yourself in the fantastic world of the arks and in the company of unforgettable characters in this French runaway hit, Christelle Dabos' The Mirror Visitor quartet.

Plain-spoken, headstrong Ophelia cares little about appearances. Her ability to read the past of objects is unmatched in all of Anima and, what's more, she possesses the ability to travel through mirrors, a skill passed down to her from previous generations. Her idyllic life is disrupted, however, when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, a taciturn and influential member of a distant clan. Ophelia must leave all she knows behind and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the capital of a cold, icy ark known as the Pole, where danger lurks around every corner and nobody can be trusted. There, in the presence of her inscrutable future husband, Ophelia slowly realizes that she is a pawn in a political game that will have far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world.

The World of the Arks

Long ago, following a cataclysm called the Rupture, the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands, now known as arks. Over each, the spirit of an omnipotent and immortal ancestor abides. The inhabitants of these arks each possess a unique power. Ophelia, with her ability to read the pasts of objects, must navigate this fantastic, disjointed, perilous world using her trademark tenacity and quiet strength.

An unforgettable heroine, a rich and bountiful universe, intrigue and suspense: A Winter's Promise is perfect for readers of Margaret Rogerson's An Enchantment of Ravens, Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood, V.E. Schwab's "Shades of Magic" series, Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone, Kenneth Oppel's "Airborne" series, and N.K. Jemisin "Broken Earth" series.

Extract:

I think we could have all lived happily, in a way, God, me and the others, if it weren't for that accursed book. It disgusted me. I knew what bound me to it in the most sickening of ways, but the horror of that particular knowledge came later, much later. I didn't understand straight away, I was too ignorant.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A princess in exile, a shapeshifting dragon, six enchanted cranes, and an unspeakable curse... Drawing from fairy tales and East Asian folklore, this original fantasy from the author of Spin the Dawn is perfect for fans of Shadow and Bone.

"A dazzling fairytale full of breathtaking storytelling." --Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval

Shiori'anma, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted. But it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother.

A sorceress in her own right, Raikama banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes. She warns Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die.

Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and uncovers a dark conspiracy to seize the throne. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in a paper bird, a mercurial dragon, and the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to forswear--no matter what the cost.

Weaving together elements of The Wild Swans, Cinderella, the legend of Chang E, and the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Elizabeth Lim has crafted a fantasy like no other, and one that will stay with readers long after they've turned the last page.

"A stunning remake of a fairytale. Six Crimson Cranes is the perfect blend of whimsy and ferociousness, with twists and turns that will tug at your heartstrings." —Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights

"Fast-paced excitement is balanced with a satisfyingly intricate plot that weaves in elements from Western fairy tales and East Asian folklore." —SLJ, starred review


“A richly imagined landscape . . . vibrant, fast-paced.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
 

A New York Times Bestseller!

Axie Oh's The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is an enthralling retelling of a classic Korean folktale, perfect for fans of Wintersong, Uprooted, and Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking...

Praise for The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea:

An ABA Indie Bestseller

"On every page I found something marvelous and new, and I was eager to keep reading because I wanted to further explore this wondrous new world." —The New York Times

"A beautiful, mesmerizing retelling I wish I’d had when I was growing up. ... A heartfelt tale that I will be recommending for years to come." —Elizabeth Lim, New York Times-bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes

"A clever, creative, and exquisitely written tale of sacrifice, love, and fate." —Stephanie Garber, New York Times-bestselling author of Caraval

Also by Axie Oh
The Floating World
The Demon and the Light

A boy with a talent for machines and a the mysterious girl whose wings he's fixed will take you past the ordinary. In the tradition of the high-flying, resonant adventure stories of Studio Ghibli comes a gorgeous tale about the longing of young hearts for adventure and friendship!

Young Theo works as a mechanic, putting his knack for machines to use in the industrialized city where he lives. But when he finds an injured, amnesiac girl with wings, his life changes forever. Her name is Mia, and although Theo's talents make quick work of repairing her injured wing, their quest to find her home will take them beyond the clouds and further than they would ever have imagined.

Hayao Miyazaki’s own creation, the legendary Nausicaä manga is now all in one! A deluxe compilation of the classic manga series written and illustrated by Academy Award® winner Hayao Miyazaki.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is an epic fantasy tale written and illustrated by legendary Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, creator of My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. A modern masterpiece, the entire series is now available in this deluxe box set containing two hardcover volumes with interior color pages and a bonus poster.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is an epic fantasy tale written and illustrated by legendary Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, creator of My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo. A modern masterpiece, the entire series is now available in this deluxe box set containing two hardcover volumes with interior color pages and a bonus poster.

“Having ended Nausicaä doesn’t mean that everything has ended or come to a conclusion... I ended the story at the same point as we are now, at the starting point of an incomprehensible world.”

—Hayao Miyazaki, from Starting Point: 1979~1996

"Shuna, the prince of a poor land, watches in despair as his people work themselves to death harvesting the little grain that grows there. And so, when a traveler presents him with a sample of seeds from a mysterious western land, he sets out to find the source of the golden grain, dreaming of a better life for his subjects. It is not long before he meets a proud girl named Thea. After freeing her from captivity, he is pursued by her enemies, and while Thea escapes north, Shuna continues toward the west, finally reaching the Land of the God-Folk. Will Shuna ever see Thea again? And will he make it back home from his quest for the golden grain?"--

A fantastical coming-of-age drama based on the critically acclaimed novel with an anime film!

Kokoro is a junior high school student--but after years of bullying, she's become so anxious that she no longer goes to school. One day, she's pulled through her full-length mirror into a castle in another dimension by a girl in a wolf mask. The mysterious girl tells Kokoro and six other kids that they will compete in a scavenger hunt. If one of them finds a key that unlocks a secret room, that person will get one wish granted. As long as they observe the rules of the world, they can come and go as they please. The seven kids gradually grow closer as they explore the castle, but the scavenger hunt is never far from anyone's mind. After all, only one can win their heart's desire.

Perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli and The Tea Dragon Society, this is a magically heartwarming graphic novel about self-acceptance and friendship.

Sophie is a young witch whose mother and grandmother pressure her to attend the Royal Magic Academy--the best magic school in the realm--even though her magic is shaky at best. To train for her entrance exams, Sophie is sent to relatives she's never met.

Cousin Sage and Great-Aunt Lan seem more interested in giving Sophie chores than in teaching her magic. Frustrated, Sophie attempts magic on her own, but the spell goes wrong, and she accidentally entangles her magic with the magic of a young water dragon named Lir.

Lir is trapped on land and can't remember where he came from. Even so, he's everything Sophie isn't--beloved by Sophie's family and skilled at magic. With his help, Sophie might just ace her entrance exams, but that means standing in the way of Lir's attempts to regain his memories. Sophie knows what she's doing is wrong, but without Lir's help, can she prove herself?

* Featured on the Today Show * An SLJ Best Book of the Year * A Nerdist Best Comic of the Year * A Book Riot Best Book of the Year * A Mighty Girl's Best Book of the Year * An ALA Best Graphic Novel for Children *

"Through his creativity, technical wizardry and talent for storytelling, Hayao Miyazaki has left an indelible mark on Japanese animation and world cinema. The animation master has been able to create magical worlds for a children's story or a darker tale. But he has also known how to cast a cynical and innocent look on a world and its societies undergoing great changes and facing grim futures. And yet, his work is often reduced, firstly, to his handful of feature-length movies created under the auspices of Studio Ghibli, but also to a superficial view due to cultural elements that are extremely difficult to grasp for anyone outside of Japan. This work, which explains biographical elements and presents Studio Ghibli and the master's entourage, will give you a detailed analysis of Hayao Miyazaki's works, decrypting their themes and offering transversal keys to their understanding." --

The definitive examination of the art and animation of Studio Ghibli’s masterpiece of fantasy and flight, Castle in the Sky!

The latest in the perennially popular line of Studio Ghibli art books, which include interviews, concept sketches and finished animation cels from classics such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.

Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky was the first feature film produced by the legendary Studio Ghibli. Sheeta, a girl who has the power to defy gravity, is on the run from pirates when she meets the young inventor Pazu. Together they explore the secrets of Laputa, a flying city constructed by a long-lost race of people. All of Miyazaki’s major themes—the power of flight, the bravery of young women, and a world wrecked by change—are captured with beautiful animation and joyous storytelling.

From award-winning author and creative writing professor at Tulane University comes an intimate and powerful memoir exploring inherited trauma, family secrets, and the enduring bonds of love between mothers and daughters.

On her second birthday in 1967, Bernice McFadden died in a car crash near Detroit, only to be resuscitated after her mother pulled her from the flaming wreckage. Firstborn Girls traces her remarkable life from that moment up to the publication of her first novel, Sugar.

Growing up in 1980s Brooklyn, Bernice finds solace in books, summer trips to Barbados, and boarding school to escape her alcoholic father. Discovering the works of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, she finally sees herself and her loved ones reflected in their stories of “messy, beautiful, joyful Black people.”

Interwoven with Bernice's personal journey is her family's history, beginning with her four-times enslaved great-grandmother Louisa Vicey Wilson in 1822 Hancock County, Georgia. Her descendants survived Reconstruction and Jim Crow, joined the Great Migration, and mourned Dr. King’s assassination during the Civil Rights Movement. These women's wisdom, secrets, and fierce love are passed down like Louisa's handmade quilt.

A memoir of many threads, Firstborn Girls is an extraordinarily moving portrait of a life shaped by family, history, and the drive to be something more.

In a memoir where heroism meets humor, NBC News anchor and correspondent Vicky Nguyen tells the story of her family’s daring escape from communist Vietnam and her unlikely journey from refugee to reporter with laughter and fierce love.

Starting in 1975, Vietnam’s “boat people”—desperate families seeking freedom—fled the Communist government and violence in their country any way they could, usually by boat across the South China Sea. Vicky Nguyen and her family were among them. Attacked at sea by pirates before reaching a refugee camp in Malaysia, Vicky’s family survived on rations and waited months until they were sponsored to go to America.

But deciding to leave and start a new life in a new country is half the story…figuring out how to be American is the other. Boat Baby is Vicky’s memoir of growing up in America with unconventional Vietnamese parents who didn’t always know how to bridge the cultural gaps. It’s a childhood filled with misadventures and misunderstandings, from almost stabbing the neighborhood racist with a butter knife to getting caught stealing Cosmo in the hope of learning Do You Really Think You Know Everything About Sex?

Vicky’s parents approached life with the attitude, “Why not us?” In the face of prejudice, they taught her to be gritty and resilient, skills Vicky used as she combatted stereotyping throughout her career, fending off the question “Aren’t you Connie Chung?” to become a leading Asian American journalist on television. She delivers a uniquely transparent account of her life, revealing how she negotiated her salary in a competitive industry, the challenges of starting a family, and the struggle to be a dutiful daughter.

Funny, nostalgic, and poignant, Boat Baby is a testament to the messy glue that bonds a family. In the tradition of We Are Dreamers by Simu Liu and Dear Girls by Ali Wong, Vicky Nguyen offers an optimistic story full of heart that illuminates the promise of what America can be.

"The A-list comedian tells the story of his unlikely path to success while struggling with severe dyslexia. When Phil Hanley entered first grade, he realized something that would forever set him apart from his peers: he couldn't read. His teachers were ill-equipped to assist him and wrote him off as a hopeless case. Phil slipped through the school's cracks, year by year falling farther and farther behind his friends, only passing to each next grade because of his mother's interventions. Finally, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability that would shape the rest of his life. In Spellbound, Phil Hanley shares his experience living with debilitating dyslexia. Unable to pursue college or a traditional job, Phil was thrust into a life to be defined by unconventional twists. He moved to Europe and became a successful runway model, a job that suitably kept him away from pens and paper. In search of fulfillment that couldn't be found posing for a Docker's ad, Phil retreated home to Vancouver where, desperate to manage the mental health issues connected to living with dyslexia, he turned to an all-consuming obsession with Transcendental Meditation. Finally, he found himself on a stage with a microphone, a spotlight, and five minutes of jokes. Stand-up became the first pursuit that the more Phil put into it, the more he got out, and something that he compellingly argues, saved his life. Spellbound is a story of humor and also of struggle and heartbreak, of constantly living in a world that sees things differently than you, and of triumph over adversity. Phil shows us that dyslexia can be a huge challenge, but having it does not spell certain condemnation (nor can he). Just the opposite: dyslexia has been more than a blessing in his life-it's been his north star"--

Writing as Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler has led several generations of young readers into that special and curious space of being hopelessly lost, and joyfully finding yourself, in the essential strangeness of literature. The wondrous and perilous journey of the Baudelaire orphans sprung from the author's own path, from his childhood discovery of Baudelaire's poetry through the countless peculiarities of his pursuit of a literary life--abject failure and startling success, breakthrough and breakdown, concordance and controversy--lit along the way by the books and culture he loved best.



At once a personal memoir and a literary exploration, a how-to book and a critical inquiry, a sequence of stories and a series of events, And Then? And Then? What Else? is a book not just for anyone curious about the creator of Lemony Snicket, but for anyone who loved books when they were a child, and still loves them now.