Two new children's books view the natural world as a site of personal growth
Two new picture books explore how the outside world can transform our relationships with our communities and ourselves. First, Kiese Laymon is out with a children's book about three Black boys who connect during a transformative summer in the South. With City Summer, Country Summer, Laymon says he wanted to explore the experience of getting lost as a kind of experimentation. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about his wish to write a book about the emotional tenderness of Black boys. Then, The Littlest Drop is Sascha Alper's debut children's book, based on a parable from the indigenous Quechua people of South America. Brian Pinkney took over illustrations for the project after his father, Jerry Pinkney, died in 2020. In today's episode, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe brings Alper and Brian Pinkney together in conversation. The author and illustrator discuss the collaboration between father and son and Alper's desire to broaden the story beyond the climate crisis.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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A new cookbook by Darjeeling Express chef Asma Khan was inspired by seasonal cooking
Asma Khan grew up in India, where late summer means monsoon season. But it wasn't until she moved to England in the '90s that she learned how to cook. At 45, after earning a PhD in constitutional law, she opened Darjeeling Express. The London restaurant made her into a celebrity chef and an authority on Indian food. Now, Khan is out with a new cookbook called Monsoon, which celebrates a seasonal approach to cooking. In today's episode, Khan speaks with NPR's Asma Khalid about making a big career change in her 40s, her commitment to an all-women kitchen staff, and the meaning of modular cooking.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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Rex Ogle's 'When We Ride' is a novel-in-verse about a best friendship under pressure
Seventeen-year-old Benny is studying hard and working as a busboy, hoping to attend college. Meanwhile, his childhood best friend, Lawson, is on a different path, dealing drugs – and is always in need of a ride. Rex Ogle's When We Ride is a novel-in-verse about their relationship, which becomes strained as differences between the two young men come into focus. In today's episode, Ogle joins NPR's Ayesha Rascoe for a conversation about the book. They discuss friendship breakups, what we owe our oldest relationships and an unlikely high school romance between the author's own best friends.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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'Adventures in the Louvre' will teach you how to fall in love with the famous museum
Elaine Sciolino has one mantra: "Never go to the Louvre on an empty stomach or with a full bladder." The former Paris bureau chief of The New York Times has written a guide filled with her best advice for enjoying the world's most-visited museum. Her new book, Adventures in the Louvre, is part journalism, part memoir and part art history. In today's episode, Sciolino speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the contested origins of the museum's name, the staff's love-hate relationship with the Mona Lisa, and why some Louvre visitors might feel underwhelmed.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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An obituary writer makes a grave error in John Kenney's 'I See You've Called in Dead'
John Kenney's I See You've Called in Dead is about an obituary writer named Bud Stanely. One late night after a particularly bad date and too many glasses of Scotch, Bud drunkenly writes his own remembrance – and hits publish. The newspaper where he works wants to fire him, but can't legally terminate a dead person. But the error sets off a change in Bud's life as he begins to attend the funerals of strangers. In today's episode, Kenney joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation about the college journalism assignment that sparked the idea for the novel, the author's experience of male friendship, and a nugget of dark humor from Kenney's late brother.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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