What We're Reading

Sarah L. Kaufman is the author of Verb Your Enthusiasm.(Contributed / Book cover—Penguin Random House, Author photo—Asa Rogers)

Writer Sarah L. Kaufman calls verbs the “underrated stars of the English language.”

We’ve all learned in school that verbs are action words necessary for a complete sentence, but in her new book Verb Your Enthusiasm: How to Master the Art of the Verb and Transform Your Writing, Kaufman makes the case for exploring the treasury of verbs at our disposal to really elevate our writing.

Verb Your Enthusiasm offers lots of tips and writing examples, and exercises and has chapters on brushing up on grammar, dealing with that pesky passive voice, the science behind the power of verbs and more. This book would great for new writers who may want some tips on honing their style as well as seasoned writers who may be looking to liven up their craft.

In a recent What We’re Reading interview Kaufman explained why verbs are magical.

“They have so many mysterious powers. They connect our nouns, our thoughts, our ideas. They fuel our stories. But they're not only action words, or as we learned in school, the engine of a sentence. They are little fireballs of language. But by that, I mean, they're really an artistic tool. And that's what's so exciting for writers.”

Kaufman was a long-time dance critic for The Washington Post and strived through her writing to share “how it felt to be in the room with this very active, dynamic art form.”

She explained, “The use of verbs tied in very powerfully with what I wanted my writing to deliver.”

Aside from helping to improve writing, Kaufman noted that Verb Your Enthusiasm will help reveal something true about ourselves. She explained that the book will “inspire writers of anything, whether it's an e-mail or a blog post or a novel, a poem, non-fiction, journalism, to really search their imaginations, open up their creativity, to interpret actions, in ways that feel very, very authentic to what they're seeing, very honest, very true and authentic. And verbs are such a wonderful key to unlocking this potential in your mind.”

Sarah L. Kaufman’s book Verb Your Enthusiasm is published by Penguin Random House.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

What We're Reading is KAXE's show all about books.(Tammy Bobrowsky / KAXE )

KAXE is turning 50! Fifty years of connecting our northern Minnesota communities with music, news, local stories and books!

What We’re Reading rolled out in 2015 following Heidi Holtan’s footsteps with Realgoodwords, which started around 2001. And don’t forget Pine River librarian Marlys O’Brien could be heard on the airwaves before that. Clearly, book talk has been an important part of KAXE through the decades.

To celebrate KAXE’s 50th, I dug into the archives of What We’re Reading for some of my favorite interviews—not realizing how impossible this would be. I’ve interviewed hundreds of writers and book people, from nationally renowned authors to writers from our own back yard, and I have gotten something special from each conversation: from humor and comfort and kinship to insight, curiosity, and wonder--in short, all the things that make us human.

Happy birthday KAXE! And thank you to our listeners and especially our members for making all of this possible and being a part of this amazing community. Here’s to many more years of music, news, conversation, learning, and of course, books.

Some interviews referenced in this segment:

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Children's librarian Tracy Kampa reviews and recommends new books.(Tammy Bobrowsky / KAXE)

From a middle-grade sci-fi thriller to a Word War II story of resistance; a yeti who yearns to dance and a story about combating boredom--Grand Rapids Area Library children's librarian, Tracy Kampa, shares this new batch of recommendations with What We’re Reading.

Abominable Snow Dancer, by Steph Lau

Tracy’s take: "Have you ever had a dream? Something that felt so far away, yet you still yearned, regardless how far down into your heart you squished that dream. Well, so did Otto. But tradition prevented Otto from living that dream, for you see, Otto was a yeti. Or rather, an abominable snowman. A most excellent, dedicated, and accomplished yeti, to be sure. He scaled mountains, scared off beasts, and spent his days doing all the yeti things.

"Deep in his heart, however, Otto had one desire. Otto wanted to dance. But as the story tells us, “Dancing felt too big and shiny to ever happen to him.” Besides, everybody knows that yeti don't dance, and even when he tried, it ended in failure. Until the fateful day when Otto somersaulted down a mountain and found himself in a sparkly unicorn place where there were dance auditions happening. This must be fate. Otto, however hard he tried, though, just doesn't have quite what it takes, especially when asked to dance the can-can with the unicorns. As Otto slunk away in defeat, though, his unique talents and abilities are demanded as he is required to save the day. How does he do it? I certainly don't want to spoil the ending for you. Rather, I encourage you to check out Abominable Snow Dancer, by Steph Lau."

Bored, by Felicity Sala

Tracy’s take: "Rita is bored, but her family doesn't seem to care. They didn't respond to her seven loud bored yawns, nor could she surprise herself by jumping in and out of view in front of her mirror. In her boredom, she daydreams about other bored people in the world. Maybe all the other bored, yawny people could be invited on a bus, and they might be taken to a non-boring place. Their boredom, however, causes them to float in the air through the bus windows, and they all land on Bored Island.

"On the island, they discover their boredom is the seed that creates wonderful advancements in humanity. A girl from Dubai yodels and discovers how to communicate with whales. A professor was so bored that he accidentally discovered three new galaxies. And on it goes. So many adventures, so many breakthroughs, so much wonder, all springing from boredom. And when it comes time for dinner, Rita is far too busy to join her family. If you yourself need a little motivation, or perhaps you know people suffering from boredom, you may find inspiration in Felicita Sala's wonderful picture book, Bored. And side note, the cover illustration will put you right in the mood."

Boy 2.0, by Tracey Baptiste

Tracy’s take: "As we may have established, science fiction as a genre is not my go-to. There are some like A Wrinkle in Time that I love, but I generally prefer my reading to be of the feet planted firmly in the ground, reality-based sort. And then came Cole.

"Cole Keegan is a foster child, and we meet him as he's being transported to a new home. He is processing a great trauma, as his foster father of three years just had a mental break and is hospitalized. His new family seems welcoming, though, and Cole is relieved when he finds he can still attend the same school and see his friends. Cole likes to draw, and chalk is his preferred medium. On his first day with the new family, his foster brother shows Cole a news story, in which a black woman was killed by the police. Trying to process this, Cole went for a long walk and brought his chalk along, planning on drawing a memorial to the life taken. However, as Cole was drawing, a man came out of his house, threatened Cole, and shot at him.

"Cole ran, ultimately hiding behind a dumpster. The police searched for him, but even though they were looking directly at him, they didn't seem able to see him. Cole looks down at his skin and realized he was invisible. And all of this in the first 40 pages of the book! Now, normally, when I get to the boy turns invisible part of the story, I quietly close the book and return it to the shelf. I was so invested in Cole, however, that there was no way I was going to put this book down.

"Layer by layer, we learn along with Cole about his past and about how he came to be with his foster family. It wasn't coincidence, and the turning invisible part may not be simply a superpower, but indeed something that is hidden within Cole's very DNA. This book has villains and heroes, an evil military medical facility, jump drives and notebooks hidden in the floorboards, and a storyline that just doesn't stop. I can't give it a more enthusiastic thumbs up than to tell you that I've already started the sequel. If you are looking for a science fiction-y adventure mixed with a whole lot of humanity, pick up Boy 2.0, by Tracy Battiste, and then follow that up with the brand new sequel, Kid X."

The Lions’ Run, by Sara Pennypacker

Tracy’s take: "As a reader, I am continually amazed at both the depth and the breadth of World War II stories. There are so many angles to the horrors, and I learn a bit more with each read. Sarah Pennypacker, in her stunning novel The Lions’ Run, set in occupied France, introduces me to the Lebensborn, or the houses where young women pregnant with the babies of German soldiers and others who display the correct coloring and genetics are very well taken care of, as they are literally carrying the future of Germany. Taken care of, at least, until they give birth. The baby is then taken from them and sent to Germany, where it will be raised by German people, who are, of course, very loyal to the Führer.

"Enter Lucas, a French boy who is being raised in a local orphanage. Lucas saves a litter of kittens after some boys attempt to drown them and takes them to a stable to hide them. There, he is surprised to find Alice, a young woman from a wealthy family who is hiding her horse. All horses have been conscripted by the Nazis to be used for the war effort, but Alice thinks she has a way to get her horse out of France to freedom. Lucas also befriends Claire, a young mother from the Lebensborn, who is nearing the end of her six-week period of nursing her son Felix. She knows they will be soon separated but is convinced that she will know her son and will find him after the war. Jacob knows that if Felix is allowed to leave France, Claire will never see him again.

"So, the plot lines are drawn with boy, baby, and horse all needing to escape. I'm not giving any spoilers, but at one point I cheered out loud at Lucas's ingenuity. The adventure in this book finds little parallel, but where I really think this shines is in the acknowledgement and illustration of how nearly every character Lucas knows is somehow a part of the resistance. While he doesn't learn this until he himself is needed as a courier, it proves that each individual act of resistance snowballs into a way that maybe will have an impact on this terrible war. Indeed, it is probably these individual acts of resistance that allowed the Allies to claim victory. For a unique take on the courage, strength, and resourcefulness of the people living through this horrible war, check out The Lions’ Run, by Sarah Pennypacker.

"Happy reading!"

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Annalee Newitz is the author of Automatic Noodles.(Contributed / a klass)

The year is 2064 and California is recovering from a war, having seceded from the United States. A group of surviving robots decide to start a small neighborhood Biangbiang noodle restaurant.

This is the story behind science journalist and writer Annalee Newitz’s 2025 cozy sci-fi novella Automatic Noodle. Newitz is the author of several books and has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Popular Science and Scientific American, among many other publications.

In a recent What We’re Reading interview, Newitz described the main conflict in Automatic Noodle as stemming from customers leaving bad reviews on a food app, despite the robots' delicious noodles.

She explained, “One of the struggles that the robots have is that they keep getting delisted from this service because people complain that they're robot-owned. I wanted to have recognizable conflicts and technologies but also add in the absolutely speculative element of having robots who are basically human equivalent."

Newitz found that the robots made a great metaphor for all kinds of people who arrive at a new nation but whose citizenship status isn’t easy to define.

She said, “We think of it as citizen or non-citizen oftentimes, but that's not true. There's all these gradations in between, especially for new immigrants or people who've been newly recognized as people in this case. And so I really wanted to give people that combination of familiar and unfamiliar that I think is the magic of science fiction.”

But why noodles? Newitz has been a fan of Biangbiang noodles since introduced to them at Xi’an’s Famous Foods in New York City.

Newitz explained, “Biangbiang noodles are very special because they're very chewy and wide. And making them is a whole beautiful production where you kind of stretch the noodle by hand and smack it against the counter to keep stretching it and stretching it. And I just fell in love with them, partly because of the texture and partly because of the artistry in making them.”

Food, according to Newitz, is important to Automatic Noodle because “food is about care and it's about art and community — all the things that make us people.”

Learn more about Annalee Newitz and their work on their webpage.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Children's librarian Tracy Kampa (Contributed / Tracy Kampa)

Stalactites and stalagmites, an Icelandic dragon, and dealing with the ups and downs of being a 7th grader.

These are the stories behind three new books reviewed and recommended for What We're Reading by Tracy Kampa, children's librarian at the Grand Rapids Area Library.

Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave, by Drew Beckmeyer. Drew Beckmeyer's new book is Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave.(Contributed / Hachette Book Group)

Tracy's take: As water seeps through caves, they deposit bits of minerals. After millions of years, those deposits form nubs on the top and bottom of caves. We know these as stalactites and stalagmites, and they are the stars of this romp through history. Our story opens as we look from inside the cave out to a volcano that is spurting lava. We also see a little nub attached to the ceiling of the cave and another on the cave floor. And then creatures start visiting: a trilobite who just crawled from the sea, an Ichthyostega who looked a little like a fish but sports legs, a triceratops, a giant ground sloth, a bat, and finally, humans.

Between each visit, the stalactite and stalagmite fondly remember each visitor. After the triceratops visited, they wondered where it had gone, and then also remembered the pretty meteors that lit up the sky after its visit and how everything turned black and how acid rain prevented the plants from growing.

And through these millions of years, the stalactite and stalagmite grew closer together, relieved that as the distance between them shrank, they no longer had to shout. They wondered what would happen when they finally joined and became an entirely different cave formation. The final pages wordlessly depict the stalactite and stalagmite becoming a column.

The back matter includes brief descriptions of all the critters we met in the book, reminding us that, “Speleothems are cave structures that are made when minerals in water form little piles. Most cannot talk.”

Oh, and a bonus. This outstanding book just won a well-deserved Caldecott Honor Award. The illustrations are simply a treat, and sharp eyes can find a timeline of Earth's history running along the bottom of the page. This book is a treasure. Don't miss Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave, by Drew Beckmeyer.

Dreki: My Icelandic Dragon, by Mary Logue.

Tracy's take: I hesitate to admit this, but I'm not much of a
fantasy reader. I generally feel safer in a book where, for example, elves won't suddenly appear and the trees don't break out into song. It often makes little sense to my very literal self, and my left brain ends up meandering through several iterations of, “Wait, what?” I do, though, very much appreciate a fantasy book that is probably fantasy but is presented in such a way that allows the reader to think, “Well, maybe.”

Johan's parents are off on a cruise--a prize his father won through hard work selling CPAP machines. They will be gone for two weeks and will leave Johan a little reluctantly with Grandpa Siggy. This pair has been known to get into trouble in the past, and two weeks is a long time to expect them to behave. Shortly after Johan arrives, though, Grandpa has a medical event and falls ill. He realizes that he must tell Johan something that he has kept from him.

Mary Logue's new book is Dreki: My Icelandic Dragon.(Contributed / Hachette Book Group)

Grandpa has a dragon in his basement.

Johan must tend to this dragon until Grandpa is well enough to return to the task. With great trepidation, Johan does as he's asked and encounters a tiny dragon. While the dragon is eating, Johan dares to draw closer, and the dragon lashes out, marking Johan's arm with a permanent half-moon-shaped wound. Johan races upstairs to show Grandpa, who is unsurprised.

Grandpa eventually unravels the story for Johan, including how he brought the egg with him as a memory of his homeland when he immigrated from Iceland as a young man. and how the egg didn't hatch until many years later, on the day Johan was born. Grandpa Siggy also tells Johan that the dragon, or Dreki, must be returned to live its life among the other dragons in the sea, protecting the people of Iceland. And although Grandpa is becoming increasingly ill, the time has come. They must travel to Iceland and return Dreki to his home.

The adventure is fraught with moments of certain discovery, encountered with bits of magic which allowed them to get Dreki on a plane and back to Iceland. Once there, though, getting Dreki to the sea is harrowing, requiring help from new people who must not be told the secret amid the realization that both Grandpa and Dreki are becoming dangerously ill.

The moments before Johan gets to the sea are so real that I felt the iciness of the water and the weight of the dragon now growing exponentially bigger as Johan struggles the last few feet to release Dreki to his purpose. What a story. I was on board for all of it--the moments of connection between generations of family, the trip back home, the finding of new friends, the historical bits about Iceland, the wonder again about Icelandic sagas, and especially my left brain's forays into the realm of, “Well, maybe?”

This book kept me up long into the night, immersed into this fantasy world, which I dearly hoped was more than fantasy. I highly recommend you check out Dreki: My Icelandic Dragon, by Minnesota author Mary Logue.

The Moon Without Stars, by Chanel Miller.

Tracy's take: There are a few authors who are on my automatic purchase list. These are authors who have proven to write books that are wildly popular among my readers, or they write books that I know will add something important and relevant to our collection. Usually, it takes years and many books for me to feel confident to add an author to my list. I think, though, that I may add this next author after only two books.

Chanel Miller's new book is The Moon Without Stars.(Contributed / Penguin Random House )

For those of you who have been listening to me ramble on about this children's literature passion of mine for a while, you may remember a book titled Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All, which was the first foray into children's literature by Chanel Miller. It was such a unique mystery story as Magnolia and her friend attempted to find the owners of the lost socks from her parents' laundromat. And while they ferreted out the owners, they also learned their stories. That book went on to win a Newbery Honor Award--pretty impressive for a novice author.

The prologue of Miller's new book explores how one's life can change after uttering a single word. A girl one year ahead of Luna in school has died, and Luna is asked by Poppy's mother if she would like her books. Taken aback and hesitant, Luna utters the word that changed her life: “Okay.”

Over the next 10 days, Luna devours the books and is left with a sense of wonder at what Poppy has read and also at how little she is prepared for her life or even for 7th grade. “Truth is, I'd always assumed life would begin later when I was older. My real life. That middle school was just the part I had to get through. Poppy's books were nudging me to pay attention because life was already happening and I should be ready to feel everything.”

What a fantastic way to set up a story. Thus, Luna starts middle school with her best friend Scott by her side. During all the hustle and bustle of the first days of school, Luna is aware of the hurts of her friends and fellow students. She thinks back to the treasure trove of books that she inherited from Poppy and starts matching books to people who she thinks could use them. At first, it is anonymous, but soon everybody is on to her, and she gains an identity as the book doctor.

A few weeks into the year, Luna's art teacher presents a unit on how to create zines, which are small magazines. These zines spread through the 7th grade faster than a cold virus after a middle school dance, and they turned out to be the entry ticket for Luna to be one of the cool kids. This is new territory for Luna, and perhaps she doesn't handle the transition as well as she would hope. Ultimately, Luna has to decide what she is willing to give up to embrace a new identity.

If anybody remembers Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, you might get a similar vibe from this wonderful story. It is, to me, a spot-on reminder of how difficult, confusing, and painful middle school can be. However, it is also a spot-on reminder of how middle school kids rise to the challenge and how kind and compassionate they are if given the chance. Growing up is not at all easy, and this book doesn't whitewash that fact, but rather serves as a guidebook of sorts on how to make it through. I loved the time I spent with Luna. Please check out The Moon Without Stars, by Chanel Miller.

Happy reading!

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty are the authors of Sea of Grass.(Contributed / Penguin Random House)

The North American Prairie is rapidly disappearing.

Only 1% of our eastern long grass prairie remains in the Midwest today, while 1 million acres of the western short grass prairie is being plowed up yearly for agriculture.

This beautiful, storied and complex ecosystem is chronicled in the new book Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie, written by Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty, former Star Tribune editor and journalist, respectively.

In a recent What We’re Reading interview, Hage described just how complex even a very small portion of prairie land is.

“If you scooped up 1 tablespoon of prairie soil in your hand, that tablespoon of prairie soil contains more microorganisms than the human population on Earth. So, the prairie is a rich, living, complex thing,” he said.

However, how we envision prairies today is nothing close to reality. Many of us likely think of prairie lands as rolling hills, waves of grass, stretching for miles and miles as far as the eye can see. Marcotty explained that this vision is now a myth.

“When we read books like Little House on the Prairie or books by Willa Cather, or the history books that tell the story of the European colonialism, we sort of think of the prairie as something that's still there, that it's part of our history and that it's there if we go look for it, she said. "But for most of the Midwest … it's gone. And it's a mythological landscape in many ways, in the sense that there's only 1% left. And that 1% is scattered in tiny, tiny little plots all over the Midwest."

Agriculture

The role that agriculture has played on the destruction of our prairies cannot be overstated, nor can the negative effects that artificial fertilizers and certain farming techniques are now having on the environment. But Hage and Marcotty pointed out that the problem lies with “modern industrial scale agriculture” and not farmers.

Hage noted, “We met a lot of wonderful farmers. They're trying to make a living. They're trying to put their kids through college, trying to keep the family farm solvent. We met farmers in western Minnesota — they borrow $1 million every spring just to put a crop in the ground, diesel, seed, fertilizer.

" … They make one little mistake, they take one little gamble that doesn't work out, they could lose the family farm. It would be a catastrophe. And we all know in Minnesota how horrible and sad that would be.”

But can farmers adopt conservation farming techniques and still keep their farms solvent? While some farms have found success in improving their soil, rotating crops and reducing their use of artificial fertilizers, Marcotty noted that on a larger scale, federal policy changes on agriculture are needed.

She said, “I think that in order for the vast majority of conventional farmers to change what they do, it would be really important to change federal policy on ag policy, in terms of the enormous price supports that crops like corn and soybeans get compared to other crops that would allow farmers to diversify. … The insurance and the protections that farmers get from the federal ag bill is very lopsided toward just a handful of crops.”

Conservation and restoration

While there are growing efforts to conserve and even restore prairie lands, progress is mired in the deep cultural divide on what we believe land is for.

Marcotty explained, “There are people who believe that land is and should remain … in a natural state. But there are so many other people, particularly in rural areas, who depend on agriculture for their economy. They think land is there to make money; land is there to be farmed. And the more farmland you have … the healthier your economy.”

Despite this divide, conservation and restoration efforts have been successful. Hage and Marcotty devote a chapter in Sea of Grass to the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge located in northwestern Minnesota and known as the “largest prairie restoration project in U.S. history.”

Navigating the local politics needed to buy and restore land is tenuous, but Hage and Marcotty noted that the people behind Glacial Ridge found ways to cooperate with the local counties, so they weren't losing revenue and in return were able to get a supply of clean water from the restoration efforts.

While clawing back the land from agriculture was difficult, working with the community to help them understand what the advantages were and what the risks were for continued farming of that land was key to the success of the restoration project.

Sea of Grass is a remarkable book — exhaustively researched, well-written and bound to be included among critical works on the American prairie. Not only does the book illuminate the history and science of this important ecosystem, but it also reminds us of its beauty and biodiversity.

As Hage noted, “If you pull over to the side of the road, if you step out of your car and wade into that tall grass, it's just a riot of color and sound. It's meadowlarks and bobolinks and prairie asters and coneflowers — yellow, purple, red. It is one of the richest sensory experiences you can have anywhere.”

Sea of Grass has recently been named a Minnesota Book Award finalist. Learn more about the book here. Bonus content from the interview can be found below.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

W.M. Akers' new book is To Kill a Cook.(Contributed / Book cover—Penguin Random House; Author photo—Gianna S)

After New York food critic Bernice Black stumbles across a severed head floating in a mold of aspic, two big questions arise: Who would want the famed French chef Laurent Tirel dead? And who had the skills to make such a perfect aspic?

Bernice is determined to solve this murder mystery set in the fine dining restaurant world of 1970s New York City in W.M. Akers’ new book To Kill a Cook.

Akers is the author of the mystery novels Critical Hit, Westside, and Westside Saints and the creator of the bestselling game Deadball: Baseball With Dice.

In a recent What We’re Reading interview, Akers noted that after time spent as a playwright, he returned to fiction writing and specifically mystery novels.

“I just think there's something wonderfully simple and fun about a story that starts off with a dead body, and being able to play with the conventions of the detective investigating a killer and interviewing suspects and running all over town," he said.

To Kill a Cook is a highly entertaining and delicious murder mystery. Akers’ 1970s New York City is gritty and fast-paced; the hero Bernice Black is witty and also fast-paced. And she knows her food.

“She is somebody who absolutely lives to eat, and she's equally at home at a lunch counter or the absolute most luxe French restaurant in New York City. She moves between them with ease," Akers said. "She says that she is excited to eat anything as long as she feels like the cook isn't wasting her time. And that there's nothing she doesn't like except lima beans, and even those she'll probably eat if you put enough butter on them.”

Solving the murder also means saving her job. The investigation takes Bernice all over Manhattan and into Brooklyn. She is consumed by finding the murderer, even though her relationship with her fiancé is in trouble, and all the while, she is aware of a growing attraction to another woman.

Akers explained, “She has what should be a very comfortable heterosexual relationship, but she's feeling this urge to explore her sexuality and figure out what that means. And part of the story of the book is her trying to figure out how to come out to her fiancé and what that's going to mean for their future.”

One might be thinking by now: of all the foods in the world, why feature aspic in the story?

Akers dug deep into culinary history for To Kill a Cook.

“One of the reasons that I set this book in 1972 is, I really love that moment in culinary history. Because you've got all of this stuff that seems sort of frighteningly old-fashioned, like ham and aspic, but you've also got the beginnings of what we see as what fine dining looks like today, like fresh ingredients, seasonal cooking, all that kind of new American stuff," he said.

"So it's like a cool moment in history where those two things are colliding. … The head in aspic was the first idea that I had for this novel, because to me, it just symbolizes all of that very old school, very difficult, very challenging, but to us, very weird types of cooking.”

Learn more about W.M. Akers and his work on his webpage.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Kao Kalia Yang's new book is The Blue House I Loved.(Contributed / University of Minnesota Press and Kao Kalia Yang)

ST. PAUL — Kao Kalia Yang is the Hmong American writer of several award-winning books, including The Latehomecomer (2005) and The Rock in My Throat (2024). Her newest book is a lovely picture book sharing the memories of her aunt and uncle's old blue house--Kalia's first memory of a home. It's called The Blue House I Loved.

In a recent What We’re Reading interview, Kalia shared the story behind the blue house.

She explained, “I live only a mile away from where the blue house once stood. And my aunt and uncle used to live in that house. It was my first memory of a home in America, really. We lived in the housing projects. They lived in the blue house.”

Kalia described how the blue house was where she and her cousins would play, their families would come together and talk, listen to music and cook. While an empty lot is all that remains of the blue house, Kalia noted that just the memory of the house conjures even the taste of the past.

“I can still taste the sweetness of the sugar that we put into our rice and water. You know, my cousins and me, each of us balancing a little bowl on our knees. Rice and water and sugar--that taste, it brings me back and it reminds me again of the sweetness that was there in our lives, that continues to be there.”

The Blue House I Loved is illustrated by artist and architect Jen Shin and is her first book. Kalia met Jen at a Soros Fellowship conference where Jen revealed that one of her dreams is to become an illustrator. Kalia had the opportunity to do something about that. She said, “I'm listening and learning, and in my head I'm thinking, ‘I have this manuscript that I've just sold, and it's about a [house]. I want an architect to illustrate this book.’”

With the Minnesota Book Awards just around the corner it’s worth noting how 2025 was a very successful and historic year in books for Kao Kalia Yang. She had a historic night at the awards ceremony last April--winning in 3 categories.

Kalia described the night, “I was convinced that I was dreaming…And somebody said, ‘How are you going to take these [awards] back?’ Because they're pretty heavy. And I answered, ‘There are so many hands here. I brought many hands to help.’… My family, long before that moment, had decided that this life journey was going to be special. And it was just such a joyful experience to share that with book lovers across the state and to say that our stories, that they truly matter.”

Learn more about writer Kao Kalia Yang.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

David Hakensen is the author of Her Place in the Woods.(Contributed / University of Minnesota Press)

To Helen Hoover and her husband Ade, the cabin and property on Gunflint Lake was idyllic, almost exactly what they’d wanted: leaving behind the bustling city of Chicago and trading the quiet beauty of northeastern Minnesota.

To the locals, there were many concerns about whether this couple would make it through their first winter. This is just one of the insights into the nature writer’s life from David Hakensen’s debut book Her Place in the Woods: the Life of Helen Hoover.

In a recent What We’re Reading interview, Hakensen explained how that first winter in 1954 proved rough for the Hoovers; having never experienced a Minnesota winter, they were woefully unprepared. They ran into issues with their food supply, keeping the cabin warm enough, and they even lost their car in an accident right before winter — but they persevered.

Eventually Helen started writing about Ade’s and her experiences and the wilderness they observed and interacted with daily. After having several articles published, Helen’s first book, The Long-Shadowed Forest, was published in 1963. She’d go on to publish seven adult and children’s books during her years in Minnesota and is considered a contemporary to nature writers like Sigurd Olson and Rachel Carson.

Hakensen paints a vivid picture of the intellectual and determined woman behind the books: her early career in the sciences, her tense relationship with her mother, the popularity of her books, and what drove her husband and her to eventually move on from Minnesota.

After 40 years in public relations, Hakensen explained he was inspired to write Her Place in the Woods after someone gave him a copy of Helen Hoover’s third book A Place in the Woods. He read it and then moved on to her other books, but realized a biography of her life didn’t exist, so he set about to write one. Though it is his first book, Hakensen found that his background in corporate communications helped in the writing.

“What I hope I brought to the biography is if you know Helen's work and you want to know a little bit more about her, that's great," Hakensen said. "But she also had this incredible career beforehand in metallurgy, where she received a couple of patents for her work and became very successful and then walked away from that to go live in the woods.”

Her Place in the Woods was recently named a finalist for the 2026 Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction. The winner will be announced at the Minnesota Book Awards ceremony on May 6.

Learn more about Her Place in the Woods, published by the University of Minnesota Press.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson is the 2026 Newbery winner; Fireworks illustrator Cátia Chien is the winner of the Caldecott Medal.(Contributed / Bloomsbury; HarperCollins)

The 2026 American Library Association Youth Media Awards were recently announced celebrating children and young adult literature, authors and illustrators.

Tracy Kampa, children’s librarian at the Grand Rapids Area Library and avid enthusiast of children’s books and the awards season, recently recapped the award ceremony and her reaction to the winners with What We’re Reading producer and host Tammy Bobrowsky.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Tammy Bobrowsky: Tracy, you and I have had a couple of days to recuperate from Newbery Monday, where we heard the winners of the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards. Before we get into the awards, let's remind people why these are so important: Why do we even take the time to talk about them?

Tracy Kampa: Well, I can tell you why I think they're important. I think overarching everything, books themselves matter. Books engage. Books can heal. Books teach. Books provide refuge. Books matter because kids need them and kids really matter. I also am fascinated by the historical component of the awards. They've been happening for over 100 years. And it's fascinating to me to see what won, say, 50 years ago compared to what wins today. And have things changed? Maybe, although not as much as one might think. But this always remains the same. The Newbery committee works hard to flesh out what they think is the best, and it's 15 people. It's not just three people, it's 15. And they have to come to a consensus every year. And I always find it fascinating to compare my best with theirs. It's also really fascinating to me to see how the awards as a body of work itself evolves. We have over 20 categories of awards, including books that best represent the Jewish experience, the Latino experience, award books by American Indian authors and illustrators, African-American authors and illustrators, books written for young adults, books written for beginner readers, and specifically non-fiction books, among others. And although these categories are specific in their books, most of these books are also eligible for the Newbery. So, it's fun to see books win more than one award. So what did you think, Tammy, about the Newbery winner? Did you know anything about All the Blues in the Sky?

Tammy Bobrowsky: I knew that it was on your list because I worked with you on putting that out last week. So, I recognized it right away. And that made me happy--I know it's a good book because you recommended it. How did you feel when you saw that?

Tracy Kampa: I was surprised. First of all, I was really surprised that it didn't win a Coretta Scott King Award, which goes to Black American authors and illustrators, just because Renée Watson has won Coretta Scott King Awards in the past. For people who have been listening for a while, you may remember a poetry book that I really liked last year called Black Girl, You Are Atlas — that's also written by Renée Watson. So I've known her work for a while, and I really appreciate her. This one ... I loved the book. I'm surprised it took the whole Newbery.

Tammy Bobrowsky: Can you remind us what the book is about?

Tracy Kampa: Absolutely. The book is about a young girl named Sage. And the book actually starts after her best friend has been killed by a hit-and-run driver. And Sage's best friend was actually on her way to Sage's house to celebrate Sage's birthday with her when she was killed. And so the entire book is a book of healing. It's also a book about Sage coming to terms with the fact that she did not cause her friend's death because she firmly believed that it was her fault. She also meets with a grief group at school, and Sage eventually realizes that she has to lean on them as new friends because her best friend is gone.

The book is a book-in-verse, and it's a really, really fast read. I'd highly recommend it because the book is really good and it ends on such a positive note. Although the ending made me cry. And that doesn't happen a lot in books, but this one I was crying. After the Newbery's were awarded, I messaged my husband and I said, ‘Hey, you know that book-in-verse that made me cry when I was reading it? It just won the Newbery.’ He said, ‘Well, that's cool, I guess, but I wish they would have picked a happy book.’ And I thought, 'That's, I guess, kind of true.’

And maybe that's the perception of the Newbery for a lot of people who aren't inside of the Newbery, that they aren't very happy books, although some of them are pretty good. Any list that includes Frog and Toad--you know that's a good list.

Tammy Bobrowsky: Another book that popped out at me is Will's Race for Home, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, because I think you've actually talked about this a couple times. You reviewed it once, and then you also mentioned it on your segment on Monday with your Newbery hopefuls. What happened with that title?

Tracy Kampa: It did win a Coretta Scott King Author Award, and so I'm thrilled for that. Jewell Parker Rhodes is the author, and she has written some really, really amazing stuff over the past several years. The book itself is just one of those books that I really love handing to people because it's got history. It's about a black family who heard about the Oklahoma land rush and they went to participate in that. And so we have all of the excitement of racing across the state to try to find a place and how their color hampered them, certainly. But it wasn't the only thing that hampered them. And how they eventually got their land and the journey was just a really great adventure story. So anybody who's looking for just a really good adventure, I highly recommend it.

Tammy Bobrowsky: Were there any other highlights from the awards for you?

Tracy Kampa: Something did happen in this year's awards that has never happened before. Candace Fleming is the author of Death in the Jungle--that's the non-fiction book that follows Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. And I spoke about it just last week. Death in the Jungle not only won an Excellence in Nonfiction Award, but Fleming herself--this is amazing--she won the Margaret Edwards Award, which is given for a body of work for young adults. And she won the Children's Literature Legacy Award, which is given for a body of work for children's books. She's the only person to ever win both in the same year. And only three people in the history of the awards have won both of these awards: Jacqueline Woodson, Walter Dean Myers, and Madeleine L'Engle. So, she is in some amazing company. But it was so cool to see her recognized for both her young adult work and her children's work because she is outstanding.

Tammy Bobrowsky: Are there any books that did not receive any kind of award or honor that you still really want people to check out?

Tracy Kampa: Absolutely. My first favorite of this year was The Trouble with Heroes, and that's by Kate Messner. And that is the story of a young man who is having some great difficulty in accepting his father's death. The story opens as he is in front of a judge for vandalizing a cemetery, and somebody steps up and says 'Can I give this young man a challenge rather than sending him to juvenile detention?' And the book itself is exciting. It ends in a really great note. And I just it brings a lot to the table for me. And we see so much character growth, which I love seeing in children's literature.

The Winter of the Dollhouse , by Laura Amy Schlitz. I love anything that she writes. The Winter of the Dollhouse, I think, has a pretty specific kind of audience because you have a young girl growing up, going through all of the difficult stages of life on one hand. And those chapters are alternating with literal dolls in a dollhouse, and they are also telling their story as well until, of course, the two stories come together. I was surprised at the ending of that because there's some really good historical significance at the ending of that book. So if you're just looking for a good book, I highly recommend The Winter of the Dollhouse.

I've talked previously about Blood in the Water, by Tiffany D. Jackson. That's just a really great mystery. And then two books I really wish had been recognized—one was Bad Badger: A Love Story, by Maryrose Wood. This book is just all heart and love. If Frog and Toad were a full-length book, it would be Bad Badger. And then the other one that I really wish had gotten some notice was the picture book, The Five Sides of Marjorie Rice: How to Discover a Shape, by Amy Alznauer. I talked about this months ago, but I still think it's one of the best picture book biographies I've ever read.

Tammy Bobrowsky: What happens next for these award-winning books?

Tracy Kampa: Well, these books, when you have a Newbery label on them, you're pretty much guaranteed not to go out of print, which is important in children's literature because books go in and out of print a lot. And that doesn't mean that books that are out of print now won't come back into print because they do. But these books you can probably get your hands on at any time you want to. So that's important for the book, for the story. But what happens for me is that I'm now looking at 2026. So I'm starting to look at copyrights of 2026 and start thinking, ‘Oh, well, that's a good book. Maybe that one.’ I won't get serious about it until midsummer, but it's fun. It's a fun time of year.

The full list of 2026 Youth Media winners are available here.

Curious to see how many Newbery Award books you’ve read? This checklist includes all of the Newbery Medal and Honor books dating back to 1922.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.