Earth Shattering Events
Robin Jacobs, illus. Sophie Williams | Cicada Books | 9781908714701 | April 2020
“Dynamic illustrations paired with illuminating text will entice even a reluctant reader to revel in this selection; an excellent addition to any nonfiction library.” —School Library Journal, starred review
God’s Green Earth
Noelle Kocot | Wave Books | 9781950268023 | May 2020
“At once modest and resplendent, this is a profound affirmation of poetic necessity.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Slum Virgin
Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, trans. Frances Riddle | Charco Press | 9781999722708 | August 2020
“Cámara’s breakout tale is mind-blowingly good.”—Publishers Weekly
Under My Tree
Muriel Tallandier, illus. Mizuho Fujisawa, trans. Sarah Klinger | Blue Dot Kids Press | 9781733121231 | April 2020
“A story filled with pure love and adoration for the rainbow of nature and the opportunities it presents to us.” —School Library Journal
Wake Up, Let’s Play!
Marit Törnqvist | Floris Books | 9781782506263 | June 2020
“A celebration of childhood and friendship, replete with imagination, ambition, and even a bit of mischief.” —Kirkus Reviews
DMZ Colony
Don Mee Choi | Wave Books | 9781940696959 | April 2020
“This way of seeing, at once prophetic and hardboiled, weaves through all her poetry.” —Poetry Foundation
Temporary
Hilary Leichter | Coffee House Press | 9781566895668 | March 2020
“If a Salvador Dali painting were reimagined as a contemporary novel, it would be Leichter’s Temporary, a trippy commentary on workplace culture and the gig economy. With beautiful prose and colorful imagery, it’s a poetic tour de force.” —Parade
Girls Lost
Jessica Schiefauer, trans. Saskia Vogel | Deep Vellum Publishing | 9781941920954 | March 2020
“A powerful novel about gender, sexuality and power relations that will have you turn page after page without even realizing it.”—Words without Borders
Stitched & Sewn
Jody Savin, photo. Ann Elliott Cutting | Prospect Park Books | 9781945551765 | April 2020
“Strobel’s compelling testimony demonstrate art’s power to heal, and by showing how one artist overcame the virus of hate she endured, the book offers a message of hope. At this historic moment of global crisis, Strobel’s art and life story call us to remember the danger of losing our humanity in a time of crisis.”—Cultural Weekly
Paraguayan Sea
Wilson Bueno | Nightboat Books | 9781937658748 | November 2017
“Paraguayan Sea stages a polylingual monologue of love and tragedy set in a Brazilian beach town, delivered by a fluid and floozy narrator, exuberant and fragile. Enriching the pleasure of the text is an array of paratexts by numerous authors, from introduction to commentary to interview to glossary, offering an unparalleled reflection on the process and politics of translation.”—The Bind
Sports is Hell
Ben Passmore | Koyama Press | 9781927668757 | February 2020
“Like all of Passmore’s work, Sports Is Hell is engaging and crafted with a searing mix of storytelling technique, creativity, fearlessness, honesty, and smarts.”—Comics Bookcase
When I Colored in the World
Ahmadreza Ahmadi, illus. Ehsan Abdollahi, edit. and trans. Azita Rassi | Tiny Owl Publishing | 9781910328491 | May 2019
“When I Colored in the World is a book for children who know more about the world than we usually give them credit for, and gives them a wonderful creative agency to make it better. With crayons.”—Baby Bookworms Storywraps
Sansei and Sensibility
Karen Tei Yamashita | Coffee House Press | 9781566895781 | May 2020
“Yamashita’s dizzying amalgamation of fiction and history results in something that is both speculative and truthful. . . . Offers such Sansei/Janeite delights as an LA County Mansfield Park, a 1960s Emma with revolutionary inclinations, and a Lady Susan consisting of post-war postcards and aerograms between Tokyo and California. . . . A gratifying jigsaw puzzle of a book, certain to enrapture readers with both its individual pieces and the larger picture those pieces create.”—Arkansas International