Barry Swanson a 70-year-old widower moves into Blue Loon Village a senior living center in Minneapolis Minnesota at the insistence of his daughter. He’s not entirely ready to give up on living an active life but he’s also not one to rock the boat. His attitude changes though when he discovers that his old high school girlfriend Beth is living in the same residence. Beth is as lively as ever and she quickly recruits him for some serious boat-rocking—with little concern for potential legal consequences. When they discover that their neighbor’s granddaughter is a victim of domestic abuse they make a plan to kidnap and terrorize the husband to scare him straight. The mission is a success so the pair hit the road to enact more DIY justice: They rob a shipment of Spam and distribute it to unhoused people; they pick up Jenny Callahan from Des Moines who’s on the run from an abusive husband and she becomes their sidekick; and all three later get caught in a mass shooting during which Barry makes good use of a can of Spam. Later adventures send them to Florida and toward a final showdown. Overall Essen delivers a smart gripping read that adults of any generation will enjoy but it’s likely to appeal particularly to readers around the same age as the gray-haired heroes. Its overriding message that people of any age can make a difference in the world has universal appeal. The novel never takes itself too seriously and it’s chock full of funny moments despite the sometimes-dark subject matter. The book will also be a great fit for animal lovers as the gang helps many creatures including alligators on their journey; Barry’s beloved leopard gecko Gertrude is effectively a member of the team. The narrative does simplify some issues surrounding vigilante justice but few readers will object to the Silver Squad’s courage even when they’re on the wrong side of the law.

Parker Hanson is a New Hampshirite and former investigative reporter now doing PI work. But sitting long hours on stake-outs without falling asleep requires a “generous amount of caffeine” which (“along with a poor family history”) factored into Parker’s recent heart attack before his 45th birthday. On a current case when he’s not watching baseball or going to cardiac rehab Parker is shadowing Mark Bowman deputy chief of staff in Governor Jack Gordon’s office.  Mark’s wife Brooke an attractive woman in her mid-30s hires Parker to find out if her suddenly distant husband is having an affair. “If he is then he’s an idiot” Parker thinks. But when trailing Mark Parker sees him get into a woman’s car. Then a truck intentionally hits the couple’s car engulfing it in flames and the truck driver flees. Mark and the woman—who turns out to be Parker’s former co-worker reporter Maggie Malone—are dead. Parker noses around the newspaper and talks to Maggie’s roommate discovering that the journalist was investigating a private forest management concern called Tree Kings that had been awarded a state contract by the Gordon administration; a government IT staffer discovered that Tree Kings’ bid for the contract had been tampered with after the submission deadline and Mark wouldn’t let the matter rest. The writing is crisp but the plot is predictable. Still Parker is an engaging character one to root for. The theme of fatherhood weaves through the narrative; another thread follows Parker’s recovery efforts after his heart attack (the camaraderie at cardiac rehab fleshes out the protagonist). Baseball references pepper the text but there’s no need to italicize them—or such other emphasized comments as “Good question.” The late-stage introduction of the sweet bloodhound Minerva is a welcome extra.

Justyce Dreadmiller the self-made owner-manager of the boutique grocery store Mildred’s Market has long suffered the routine shoplifting of “pouting young nymphet” Yvette Cartier. Every few days the entitled beautiful Yvette pilfers several high-end items—perfumes cosmetics lubricants and the like—from Justyce’s shelves. Justyce has just purchased a Japanese-made novelty conveyor belt (the eponymous At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor) to help set the Market apart a substantial investment that makes Yvette’s shoplifting increasingly hard on his bottom line. When Yvette purloins $700 worth of inventory in a single day he knows he must do something to put her in her place. Justyce believes in “solving his own problems in his own ways on his own initiative and at his own convenience in as straightforward a manner as was practicable” an approach that has in the past meant leaving his high school bully drugged and castrated in a swamp. For Yvette the plan is slightly less grisly: He will simply humiliate her in the most sadistic manner imaginable. For that he will need among other things the help of his seductive son an aphrodisiacal ointment that delays climax and a few novel augmentations of the At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor. Landon’s prose is nearly Joycean in its verbosity which in addition to slowing down the novel’s pace creates an ironic friction with the ribald subject matter. Here the author describes Yvette’s magnetic effect on men: “Gentlemen from all walks of life would ogle our subdebutante everywhither she set her pretty young feet and to boost her libidinal ego she would play little games with these poor sitting ducks by coyly making goo-goo eyes at the throbbing love muscles inside their trousers.” The book builds to a preposterous (and literal) climax—aided by what amounts to a Rube Goldberg machine composed of sex toys—that is almost too abstracted to either scintillate or offend. Readers who enjoy both high postmodernism and BDSM will have fun with this one.

Rory a former Honor Warrior loves Ingefær a battle wizard very much. They have traveled together for years working as bounty hunters and are ready to begin the next part of their journey together: marriage. While Rory has been hesitant to propose to Ingefær after so many of his loved ones have died Furæyar Shrine with its dazzling colors and beautiful view feels like the right place to finally pop the question (“the gardens were the grandest spot for romance in Vanaby perhaps the entire Realm”). However as soon as Rory gets down on one knee the shrine erupts in flames. He and Ingefær rush to help people but in the aftermaththey are arrested for suspicion of causing the magically created fire. Lieutenant Smergasil is quick to point fingers at the outsiders and while Rory is released Ingefær is kept in jail until the trial leaving Rory to find the true fire mage who started the conflagration and free her. The task proves difficult as things have changed recently in the city of Vanaby with military control giving lieutenants an incredible amount of power—and humans are not looked upon kindly in this land. Vecka creates compelling difficulties and character challenges that help drive the fast-paced plot and add to the already exciting mystery narrative. The lieutenant and his men watch Rory like a hawk as he’s challenged to use his wits and words to figure out how to free Ingefær. If he lifts a finger against a resident of Vanaby he’ll find himself back in jail as well; for a former Honor Warrior this is a great strain and the author effectively shows how Rory struggles with it. Similarly Ingefær must struggle to choose between escaping to live as a fugitive or staying locked up until her innocence is proved by the identification of the true culprit.

Hammam Khalil and Hussam writes Barber “are ordinary people living in an extraordinary context.” All three are Palestinian men who came of age during the intifada and Israeli occupation of their home in the Gaza Strip. While the book’s insightful introductory chapter offers readers ample historical context the author a professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee emphasizes that this is not “a book about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.” Instead it is a story of resilience survival and trauma told from the perspectives of its three main subjects. Barber’s research on childhood trauma in war-torn environments took him on multiple trips to the Gaza Strip over the last three decades where he developed a close relationship with the three young men. Stories shared by the trio range from the typical trials of adolescence—Hammam for instance spends entire chapters stressing over his school exams—to confrontations with the Israeli military. In one particularly harrowing anecdote involving both physical and sexual abuse Hussam tells of witnessing a Palestinian assuring soldiers that he would “confess to anything” if released. Many of the stories defy Western narratives about Palestinian youth: In addition to getting highlights of Khalil’s day-to-day family life readers learn of his history of political activism as he eschewed joining “the front lines of the stone throwers” to participate in behind-the-scenes organizations of demonstrations. As the author of multiple scholarly books on childhood psychology Barber approaches the stories of Hammam Khalil and Hussam with an empathetic style that gives them space to tell their own stories. The book’s final section looks at the events of October 7 2023 from a Palestinian perspective providing an intimate exploration of the ways in which the subsequent Israeli response impacted the lives of three average Palestinian families. The book’s engaging narrative is supplemented by research footnotes though it never reads like an academic text. The book includes photographs maps and other visual elements that complement its accessibility.

While enjoying their lunch break outdoors on Elita Island home to a federal penitentiary two prison guards encounter a feral child who appears to be around 12 but is actually 17. Because the girl who’s being called Atalanta Doe doesn’t speak the social worker assigned to the case is elated when she hears about Professor Bernadette Baston: “A woman child development specialist! How interesting I thought” she tells Bernadette when they meet. Bernadette a curiosity as a woman in the psychology department at Seattle’s state university specializes in language acquisition but explains that she’s a scholar and can’t be expected to teach Atalanta to talk. Nevertheless over the course of her visits with the girl Bernadette becomes determined to learn how Atalanta got to the island which will mean asking the area’s residents unwelcome questions. As it happens Bernadette too knows something about surviving on one’s own: Her husband left four years earlier when their daughter was an infant. Lunstrum builds her fathomlessly rich plot with sentences that suggest she has as Bernadette describes a novelist’s job “taken a polishing cloth to the surface of every word.” (Readers should be patient with early chapters that minutely recount what Bernadette acknowledges is “the teeming wildness” of her thoughts.) The novel succeeds as both a mystery and a pitiless look at the burdens that have historically been particular to female parents and professionals. As Bernadette observes a Tacoma detective’s lack of affect she accepts that his “flat stone-faced approach is a privilege she’ll never have.”

Seventeen-year-old Eliza Loft’s high-school experience in Whitehall—a “Podunk” town in the Adirondack Mountain region of New York—isn’t exactly idyllic. After her mother died of cancer when Eliza was 12 years old the teen rebelled and on a drunken night with her two best friends up in the woods she did some regrettable things. In an inebriated haze she also witnessed the brutal murder of an older girl from her school district. After vowing with her friends to never share the events of that night with anyone four years pass and Eliza becomes estranged from the two other girls who become popular while she ends up a loner. When each of the three girls finds a photo of the dead girl with a message (“I know what you did”) in their lockers panic ensues—no one else could possibly know. When one of Eliza’s (now former) best friends turns up dead shortly thereafter Eliza not only becomes a suspect but also the killer’s next potential target. With her new friend Simon—a hardcore bigfoot enthusiast—accompanying her she attempts to discover who or what is behind the murders. Carlisle’s story is a real page-turner. While the bigfoot element is certainly intriguing it’s the author’s insightful depiction of the teenage experience—battling self-doubt dealing with bullying and crushes finding one’s place in the world—that makes Eliza’s story so emotionally resonant and compelling. Her grief over her mother’s death is particularly powerful: “But death doesn’t care about what you need. It comes without warning takes everything from you until all you’re left with are a bunch of broken pieces and no picture to guide you on how to fit them back together.”

A grown-up rabbit and a young bunny head into nature for a day “packed with play.” They draw jump run sail toy boats build a fort and make necklaces out of berries. Other animal pairs join them for picnic-party fun and games. The bunnies bake cupcakes for their neighbors which sends a lovely message about the importance of honoring community. That evening after the others bid them farewell the adult sings “silly songs” while rocking the child to sleep. Proffering a Valentine’s Day card the grown-up whispers those words all children bunny or otherwise want to hear most: “I love you.” Receiving a tender kiss the young rabbit snuggles up with a stuffed bunny toy and drifts off. The delightful final scene depicts the pair flying a heart-shaped kite. This warm story expressed in gentle though at times treacly verse is well suited for young audiences on Valentine’s Day or any occasion when adults want to assure little ones they’re much loved—and that’s at any time. The inclusion of pages to write on (and an invitation to affix a photograph) makes this book better suited as a personal purchase rather than for schools and libraries. The colorful illustrations are as lushly delicate as bunny fur.

Pete Barnes finds a terrified young Black boy named Alex Broadnax—shivering from the cold and covered in blood—hiding in his father’s milk barn in Leakesville North Carolina. Alex witnessed the murder of his entire family by the Ku Klux Klan and is now on the run. Poppa Barnes despite his unabashed racism takes Alex in and puts him to work and he grows up side by side with Pete working the farm and attending school (albeit a segregated one for Black children). Pete quickly comes to love Alex and sees him as another brother but Alex by far the more thoughtful of the two never loses sight of the distance between himself and his adopted family a bitter awareness movingly captured by the author: “I was never a son to Poppa. Every night at dinner we thanked God for his enveloping love but come Sunday it was clear that love did not extend to me.” Immediately after graduating high school both boys join the army and are sent to Europe to fight in World War II. While there Alex is stung by the military’s refusal to acknowledge his heroism and Pete wrestles with his resentment toward his father and the Baptist faith he tries to abandon. The relationship between Alex and Pete is a profoundly complex one and is rendered with impressive subtlety by Newman who admirably refuses any facile sentimentality. Alex is a particularly memorable protagonist—it is both fascinating and heartbreaking to see how he manages to maintain both gratitude and anger in his heart in equal measure. The novel is affecting but not cloyingly manipulative an increasingly rare accomplishment in the field of contemporary literature.

Kalaichandran a pediatrician and journalist starts by revisiting her travails working at an Ontario hospital where she says the hostility of senior staff caused her to develop anxiety depression and high cholesterol levels. The ordeal prompted her to research connections between mental and physical healing and embark on a tour of alternate therapies. The journey took her to a yoga training retreat in Mexico; a mass hypnosis session which opened insights into the placebo effect (fake surgeries can be as effective as real ones in alleviating orthopedic pain and disability she reports); new foods (she adopted the Mediterranean and Portfolio Diets and light fasting); and a trip on MDMA—ecstasy—to see whether psychedelics really do alleviate intractable mental problems. (As advertised the experience showed her “a side to our existence that felt sublime and…connected to the larger universe” she writes.) Kalaichandran also probes darker aspects of the medical profession that contribute to the unhappiness of doctors. These include residents’ sleep deprivation from 24-hour shifts (the practice was popularized by a cocaine-addicted surgeon she notes) toxic hospital office politics and bullying campaigns conducted by powerful doctors against underlings because of personal grudges racism and sexism—a dynamic that she credits with causing her own mental health issues. Kalaichandran presents a lucid nuanced account of the science behind the unconventional ideas she explored amid an intricate analysis of social and psychological determinants of disease drawing on observations of her own patients. Beyond the lucid exposition of studies and theories there’s an evocative spiritual richness in her prose as when for example she analyzes the importance of accepting the inevitable through a plangent recollection of a patient dying of cancer: “And so Priya had passed away as a slow withering out of this world while her mother fought her own resistance around letting go among the machines and cords and fluorescent lights of a small ICU room.” The result is a fascinating hopeful meditation on sickness and recovery.

In their debut nonfiction collaboration von Seldeneck and Alexander draw on their very different experiences in the world of executive recruitment. In the 1970s von Seldeneck founded Diversified Search Group (DSG) which Alexander later joined and the book alternates between exchanges of dialogue between the two and a shared narration of their evolving leadership ideas informed by their pasts. Von Seldeneck got a job as a typist in President John F. Kennedy’s Department of Commerce and lived through the turmoil of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement; Alexander was on active duty in the United States Army during the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks and entered a very different corporate world than that of her co-writer one in which many glass ceilings for women had already been shattered. “If our stories prove anything” they write “it’s that there is no single right way to lead” and yet the two authors agree on many commonalities of good leadership. “If you don’t leverage your position and power to do the maximum amount of good for the maximum number of people” they write “you’re ignoring one of your greatest assets – and a crucial component of true leadership.” Belying the fact that the book is a collaboration the uniform tone throughout is very convincing. The sense of listening to two friends and colleagues hashing over the lessons of their lives is both vivid and enormously instructive. The give-and-take feels natural: “You used your power position to help me out and I trusted you right away because of it” says Alexander. “That’s a win for me then” von Seldeneck responds. Their shared leadership principles are wonderfully human: “Leaders shouldn’t be gatekeepers” they write “we should be gate openers.” Readers will want much more of this dialogue.

As the youngest member of a student environmental club known as the Sea Musketeers 9-year-old Gabby Torres is eager to stand out and she decides that starting a social media account for the group is just the ticket. The others are encouraging but Gabby’s worried parents lay down some guidelines for online safety. Her best friends Kat and Priya who also hope to join the Sea Musketeers are supportive but Gabby makes a mess of things. Kat and Priya are upset when the test to join the Sea Musketeers proves harder than they realized Gabby ends up breaking her parents’ social media rules and when she notices a rude anonymous comment on the club’s page she begins to levy accusations against everyone around her. Short paragraphs of text are mixed with traditional comic art. Zippy cartoon illustrations adeptly convey emotions while ample white space and simple backgrounds keep the focus on the endearingly earnest protagonist. Set in the same world as Dominguez’s Stella Díaz series the tale offers a nuanced and compassionate depiction of forgiveness as Gabby works to make amends and realizes that making a mistake can be an opportunity to learn and grow. Gabby is biracial (her mother presents white while her father is Mexican American) and Spanish words are occasionally used; Kat appears white; Priya is Indian American.

The brown-haired light-skinned narrator and their parents are a tightknit family. With their mom the protagonist bakes draws and builds cardboard houses; with their dad they go on walks make up stories and roughhouse. They love their time with each parent but when all three are together things don’t always go as smoothly. Mom and Dad often argue make up with the help of their child and return to normal until they inevitably argue again. This vicious cycle culminates with the narrator’s father leaving their home permanently to live elsewhere. The main character is understandably distraught asking “Why aren’t we happy together instead of having those sad feelings apart?” With a helpful piece of advice from their mother they learn to embrace their separate lives with each parent and their respective partners and to accept the changing less conventional shape of their family. Here Nikolova tackles a topic more common in real life than in children’s literature. Her writing is somewhat stilted and occasional time skips may require assistance for young readers to fill in the gaps. Popova’s illustrations almost always portray the child with one parent at a time; when the father leaves she removes all color from the otherwise visually vivid story as the main character struggles with their sadness.

The sweetly likable Traci now 23 has amassed a huge following with her website The Baker Next Door and on social media. Against the advice and self-interest of the people who over-manage her career she decides to find out what happened to her father. Cole quickly determines that he was last seen at the SurfMutt hamburger stand where he gave a ride to Anya Given a troubled 15-year-old whose mother Sadie was late in picking her up from the skate park across the street. With the reluctant help of a scattered young woman who used to work at the burger joint Cole tracks down Anya and Sadie who is eventually revealed to have a criminal past. For his efforts he’s jumped by a small gang of men who send him to the hospital with the worst beating of his life. (Asked by a nurse what his name is the best he can guess is “Los Angeles.”) Still in recovery Cole and Joe Pike his ex-Marine partner trace his attackers to Sadie with unexpected results. As ever Crais draws the reader in via his protagonist’s casual dryly humorous manner and the book’s relaxed ties to classic noir. Slowly but surely the plot gains intensity and deadly purpose. Just when you think the missing persons case is solved Crais ratchets things up with a devastating follow-through. This is the L.A. novelist’s 20th Cole mystery following such efforts as The Watchman (2007) and Racing the Light (2022). It may be his most powerful.

Casey and Kyle McCray’s marriage seemed like storybook material. They began as childhood friends in Potsdam New York moved on to a teenage romance and married young. For 21 years they saw themselves as a solid team. But as this novel opens they’re on opposite ends of the country—Kyle has fled all the way to Spokane where he’s working as a mechanic—and scarred by a bitter divorce two years earlier. When Kyle learns that his father Danny a retired firefighter has suffered a stroke he reluctantly goes home to help care for him. Kyle knows he can’t avoid seeing Casey—she’s Danny’s neighbor and main caretaker. At first the two keep their distance but soon Casey a middle school teacher who helps run the hockey team turns to Kyle for help coaching the kids. He was a high school hockey star and the game was always a bond in their relationship. Even more than the present tension between them the plot is driven by the slow skillful revelation of what shattered their marriage in the first place. Unfortunately the story gets bogged down in snowbanks of extraneous description—everything from the outfits and hairstyles of minor characters to the color of a dog’s license tag not to mention an avalanche of middle school hockey minutiae. The novel delves into the limitations of small-town lives set on their tracks early such as that of Casey’s brother Wyatt. Seriously injured as a child in the car crash that killed their father he uses a wheelchair and has forged a career doing custom woodwork. Even though he longs to move to a city he still lives with his sister an arrangement that’s held him back more than protected him. The unfolding of Casey and Kyle’s secrets keeps the story interesting although an anti-feminist subtext that emerges may disturb some readers.

Wolfgang—a gray wolf with a large gray guitar case strapped against his red-jacketed back—puts up a poster on a tree: “WOLF SEEKS GANG to form a rock band…Let’s howl!” Wolfgang becomes increasingly disappointed when no one responds. Just as he’s about to tear down the sign a white rabbit named Rex—clad in a dark jacket and yellow boots—shows up. Though Wolfgang initially views the bunny as a “tasty snack” he changes his tune when Rex plays his guitar and sings. The two jam together until other woodland animals—and light-skinned Red Riding Hood—show up listen and applaud. The increasingly popular team figures out a name: the Big Bads. Whenever Wolfgang’s rumbling tummy threatens their relationship Rex breaks out the music and Rex’s thoughts quickly shift: “It was as if the music was magic!” Sadly that strategy doesn’t work when the pair encounter a trio of porcine hunters but the Big Bads continue playing until they’ve inspired even their nemeses to make music not violence. Spare text translated from French and funny carefully composed illustrations reminiscent of William Steig’s work combine for a charming tale. The pacing feels a bit rushed at the end but overall text and art are delightful slyly interspersing old and new.

For years the Princess has been endlessly digging Snow—which continually falls in a scientifically modified self-replenishing form. She’s desperate to restore her kingdom of Mistmir to the way it was but ever since she wished for “perfect” snow the wintry precipitation has been unrelenting and everyone has fled except her father the King. One day the Princess’ shoveling reveals her flutterbye toy which was made by the Strangers who created the Snow and she’s excited to show the King this sign of hope. But before she can do so she meets a girl 12-year-old Indian American Ela who has stumbled into Mistmir from our world. Ela is shocked to recognize the Princess from “the Book” Snow Princess that her mother used to read to her. Realizing that the surprise visitor is the key to fixing the kingdom the Princess invites Ela to her castle. Ela follows her hoping to uncover the truth behind the Book and the oddly vivid memorylike images in her head and they form an unexpected friendship. This story combines science and magic to create an engaging and moving setting with charming detailed worldbuilding that’s tinged with eeriness and sadness. While the start is slow the storyline eventually picks up revealing family secrets schemes and drama. Trehan weaves in themes of loneliness belonging forgiveness and power. In the brown-skinned dark-eyed Princess’ kingdom Hindi is known as their Naming Language.

Pope Francis’ Life: My Story Through History (2024) acted as a basic set of memoirs but this newest work is a more in-depth look at the life of the pontiff. Francis born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio dives deep into his family story memories of his youth years of struggle and conflict in Argentina as a church leader and finally his role as head of the Roman Catholic Church. Readers will find this autobiography replete with intriguing and sometimes surprising and even disturbing stories from the pope’s life. Francis’ worldview was shaped by a concern for the poor and the displaced; his father was an Italian immigrant and his mother was also of Italian descent. He references war as the great evil and tragedy of humankind returning to the theme again and again. Francis does not hide his own mistakes or peccadilloes nor does he boast of his own accomplishments. His is a modest and humble story centered less on himself than on the myriad of people he has encountered through the decades. This includes many people who have suffered through political oppression warfare disease and more. This makes Francis’ life story quite moving at times. Nevertheless the work has a choppy feel both in diction and in organization. The pope tends to wander from one topic to another and often writes in pithy moralistic declarations. Toward the end he veers off from autobiography to his views on humanity and life itself. He upholds the book’s title with this statement: “For we Christians the future has a name and this name is hope.” Hope is indeed another recurring theme even in the midst of the world’s evil and dysfunction which he has seen firsthand.

The author a longtime yogi and prolific self-help writer here focuses her attention on the concept of aging. While acknowledging that genetics and lifestyle choices greatly influence how one ages she also draws attention to the cultural and spiritual aspects of the process. Heavily influenced by Eastern practices Moran alternates between concrete suggestions (for good skin care wear sunscreen and eat herbs like Tulsi amla and ashwagandha) and more esoteric musings (“just think of your inner being as soul or spirit or whatever word you like. Terminology aside that inner being is the real you and it does not age. The more thoroughly you can identify with the part of yourself that has been you all your life the more youthful you will feel and appear”). Occasional text boxes contain “Practices for the Path” with additional exercises for readers to try like “Adapt an appropriate and appealing asana routine for yourself.” Moran includes plenty of personal anecdotes such as her experience bungee jumping at age 43 as well as yogic parables like the tale of the blind sea turtle. The author’s voice remains warm and conversational throughout easing readers into sometimes rather complex concepts—the idea of the body’s three doshas (or energies) for example with the dominating one being “solidified at the moment of conception as your body type.” In addition to all of the spiritual notions that Moran introduces she also addresses some very practical issues including the importance of a living will. It is the deftness with which Moran handles this delicate balance between the metaphysical and tangible that makes her guide such a pleasure to read. Her approach to aging may hover in the periphery of the mainstream but there is valuable information here—whether or not one subscribes to all of the ideas.

Fried peanuts always make an appearance at Meng’s family’s New Year celebrations. Dad mentions that the food has an extra-special meaning because of Meng’s great-grandmother or tài nǎi nǎi: “When she spoke everyone listened.” He tells Meng about the time that Tài Nǎi Nǎi noticed an unfamiliar pregnant woman wandering the neighborhood. Days later Tài Nǎi Nǎi discovered the woman who had recently given birth with her head in her hands; the baby was cold and crying. Tài Nǎi Nǎi respectfully bowed to the mother asking if she could adopt the little one. The woman agreed and eventually the child—Meng’s great-uncle—was given the nickname of Little Peanut in the hopes he would be as hardy as the peanut plant. Traditions rituals and history are deftly explained within the dialogue and in small captions with Mandarin words and their meanings; when Meng expresses dismay at the idea of a mother neglecting her own child Dad replies that the woman was alone her husband having left to serve in the Chinese Civil War. James fills every inch of the page with appealing cartoon portrayals of characters surrounded by textured scenes in a warm palette. More information about Lunar New Year and Chinese culture follows along with a recipe for fried peanuts.