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An absolutely beautiful and important book on protecting the earth and fighting for what’s right. This powerfully moving picture book is based on an Ojibwa prophecy and written by Ojibwe/Métis author Carole Lindstrom and gorgeously illustrated by Tlingit artist Michaela Goade. This book also includes an earth steward and water protector pledge for earth activists of any age to sign.

Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award-winning author Renée Watson grew up in Portland and brings to life the story of Ryan Hart, a young girl living in the Rose City facing issues in Portland today. Money is tight, her family has to sell their second car, move out of their rented house since it’s been sold, and her dad has to work the night shift, but Ryan faces each day with optimism, a positive attitude, and a warm and open heart. Beautifully written and perfect for ages 7 and up!

It’s amazing to me that there has never been a biography written for adults about the musical powerhouse and folk music activist Odetta! Ian Zack chronicles Odetta's early life in Birmingham, AL, and her leadership in the 1960s folk revival in San Francisco, with interviews with Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Carly Simon, and Judy Collins. Zack reminds us of Odetta's influence on politics and the protest songs of today.

I’m eager to read this book, a mix of literary forms, essays, poems, and narrative nonfiction, that tells the story (so far) of this remarkable person.

N. K. Jemisin is a great, gifted writer, and this is the story of how New York becomes a person, or how persons became the city, or how one universe fights another. I can’t wait.

Ken Liu makes my brain light up and my heart break. In other words, he makes me think and feel. I bet this book will be no different.

I’ve followed Lulu Miller for years, starting with her work as a producer and contributor to WNYC’s Radiolab (still the best podcast there ever was) and then Invisibilia, a podcast she cocreated for NPR. Miller’s radio stories were always gems, full of insight and charm, and I’m so looking forward to her debut book about a fish biologist losing everything, and what it takes to keep going.

As I mention at every opportunity, my favorite book is Robert Caro’s The Years of Lyndon Johnson (specifically, volume three: Master of the Senate), and I share Caro’s obsession with political power: how it is amassed, how it is wielded, and how its use reverberates. I’m always on the hunt for biographies in the same vein, and this looks to be a contender. Here’s the story of James A. Baker III, who could legitimately be called by the (overused) sobriquet “the Ultimate Washington Insider.” The writers are two of the most dialed-in journalists in DC: Peter Baker of The New York Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker. They were given complete access to Baker and his papers, so: insiders with inside info on the insider. This book is going to be 800 pages of insideryness, and I want in.

Consumerism is such a tricky friend. I"ll be the first to admit that I'm attracted to something new and shiny, even when the item I'm replacing could be repaired easily. I'm convinced that there must be a happy medium in there somewhere, and the rise of the repair café culture definitely brings that point home. Repair Revolution: How Fixers Are Transforming Our Throwaway Culture reminds us that we don't always need to upgrade, and that loving what we already have is a really good option.

Your Brain on Food brings to mind everything my mom told me about eating my vegetables, and while it's true that the carrots didn't keep my eyeglasses at bay, I've never doubted for a minute that food — very specific food — can be a game-changer for our minds and our bodies. I love the idea of food/body manipulation, and experimenting with different food combinations for optimal health. So, if particular dairy products can help sharpen my short-term memory, I'm willing to use that as an excuse to eat more cheese.

I was so excited when I heard that one of my favorite graphic novelists was writing about basketball, and Dragon Hoops does not disappoint! Yang chronicles the Dragons' varsity basketball season as they pursue the state championship, mixing in his own experiences writing and learning to love the sport. If you love graphic novels and/or basketball, add this one to your TBR list.

I have just begun this debut novel by Portland author Koya and am really enjoying it. Amina moves to DC to further her career and be close to her family in the years following 9/11. There, she develops a relationship with her nephew, who is fascinated by their East Indian heritage and is searching for answers. This is a well-crafted story about second-generation Americans finding their place in the world.

I admit, the gorgeous cover on this one drew me in and I’m so glad it did. The Flores family is struggling to survive in Hawaii even as one of the kids has a gift from the gods. All three kids end up moving to the mainland to try to find a better life, but can’t seem to shake the hold the island has on them. This book is beautiful, heartbreaking, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

The Spirit of Springer is the true story of the cutest orphaned baby orca you ever did see, and the community of people (made up of scientists, Indigenous groups, activists, and others) who went to extraordinary measures to get her reunited with her family in Canada. This happened right when my family moved to the Puget Sound area, so we’re all very emotionally invested in this story and have been waiting anxiously to get a sneak peek of this book — and it definitely lived up to our expectations. It’s beautifully illustrated, extremely touching, and filled with helpful scientific info — a great Pacific Northwest title that will appeal to kids of all ages. Grab a box of tissues and get ready to dig in!

Buying books for the climate change section can get a little depressing sometimes, so when a book with “hope” in the title comes along, I pay attention! This title is part of a growing area of climate literature that focuses on big picture changes individual folks can make — in this case, how to make your backyard part of a conservation corridor for wildlife in order to help boost biodiversity. Practical, inspirational, and full of scientific and historical information, this accessible guide is sorely needed, both by the world at large as well as by me personally. I can’t wait for spring when I can put some of these ideas into action!

I am a huge pencil nerd, so when I heard about a store devoted to pencils opening up in New York City (CW Pencil Enterprise) many years ago, I immediately became a fan — and, ahem, frequent online customer. Now the folks behind that wonderful little jewel of a store have created this wonderful little jewel of a tribute to the pencil and I couldn’t be more excited! I haven’t seen the finished product yet, but I completely trust the CW Pencil folks and I’m 100% sure it’s going to be a great resource for artists and pencil enthusiasts alike.

I love a good anthology, and this one blew my roof clean off. This is N. K. Jemisin’s How Long ‘Til Black Future Month for the YA set, a sci-fi/fantasy exploration of the experiences of Black women and gender-nonconforming individuals with settings ranging from folklore to Afrofuturism. The 16 exquisite stories in this collection (from astronomically talented authors of color including Elizabeth Acevedo, Justina Ireland, Rebecca Roanhorse, and Ibi Zoboi) will stick with you long after you finish reading; editor/author Patrice Caldwell is one to watch.

PNW author Margaret Owen had me hooked from the first line of her 2019 debut, The Merciful Crow: “Pa was taking too long to cut the boys’ throats.” The caste-driven fantasy world of plague tenders and bone magic that unspooled from there kept me glued to the page until I’d devoured the whole thing as quickly as I could. I’m now counting down the days until the sequel, The Faithless Hawk, publishes in July; the brief excerpt that’s been made available has me on pins and needles to see what fate befalls my grumpiest fave, Fie.

Set in South Africa, seven years into an epidemic, I was immediately drawn in by Faith, who collects corpses and scraps of information. The novel moves fluidly through a strange and twisted world filled with even stranger inhabitants, where reality becomes elusive. Definitely a writer to watch.

Pregnant at 18, delivering pizza in suburban LA, watching infomercials late at night: when people ask the narrator what she wants to do next, “I don’t know,” is her answer. The protagonist of Pizza Girl is exactly like someone you know, or maybe nothing like anyone you’ve ever met. Either way, she will stick with you. She doesn’t like to be hugged, she’s grieving the loss of her father, and she has a huge crush on one of her customers.

The first full-length Murderbot book! It was such a delight to have more of this snarky, complicated AI protagonist. A longer format allows Wells room for most welcome elaboration and expansion. If you’ve read the novellas, you’ll find some familiar characters here. I gulped Network Effect down in several sittings and I recommend that Murderbot fans do likewise.

Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of Barack Obama and Amy Sherald’s portrait of Michelle Obama obsessed the nation when they were first revealed in early 2018. The Obama Portraits is the first book to examine the creation and significance of these iconic works. This is an undeniably exciting new release, full of behind-the-scenes photographs, interviews with the artists, and more.

Taken between 1997 and 2002, Justine Kurland writes of her photographs, “I staged the girls as a standing army of teenaged runaways in resistance to patriarchal ideals.” Set in what looks like a wilderness at the edge of town, the girls appear completely unselfconscious — they are fierce and free, tender and supportive. Kurland’s vision is entrancing and subversive.

I was fortunate enough to take a workshop with the authors of Mending Life, and they’ve put all of their knowledge, values, and gentleness into this book. You’ll learn practical techniques such as patching and darning, and read stories of beloved yet ragged items that were rescued and made whole. Mending is a small act, but perhaps a more meaningful one than we might think.

This debut novel is the first queer female romance to be published by Berkley and I couldn’t be more excited to read it. If this book has even half of Meryl Wilsner’s wit and humor, then it will be pretty brilliant.

If I could choose anyone to write my diary, it would be Samantha Irby. Her writing is hysterically aggressive, reluctantly tender, occasionally crass, and absolutely irresistible.

Sometimes it’s easier to view difficult history through a specialized lens. In How to Feed a Dictator, we look at a few modern dictators through the eyes of their kitchen staff. Award-winning journalist Witold Szablowski interviewed personal chefs to bring us a fascinating inside look at these brutal and power-hungry people in their own homes/palaces.

The Kitchen Without Borders is from the NYC catering company Eat Offbeat, which is staffed by refugee and immigrant chefs. The chefs hail from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea, Venezuela, and other countries. These are their recipes and their stories. This is authentic, good food filled with heart and soul that's meant to be shared with family and friends. A portion of each book sold will benefit the International Rescue Committee.