Children & YA | Chapter 16

Making Beautiful Stories

The Southern Festival of Books is a lot like the state fair—but better

By Alice Randall | October 9, 2015

October 9, 2015 Twenty-seven years ago, if you had asked me about the best time to visit Nashville, I would have said the second weekend in October—the weekend of the Southern Festival of Books. It’s a guaranteed good time. Rain or shine. At the festival, just showing up to hear the same author is considered invitation enough to engage your seatmate in conversation. Attending the Southern Festival of Books is the closest a visitor can come to being an instant insider in Nashville, where the New South begins. If you asked me that question today, I would say the same damn thing.

Living Kindly in the World

Cynthia Lord’s new middle-grade novel is almost a parable of empathy

By Susannah Felts | October 7, 2015

October 7, 2015 In Cynthia Lord’s latest middle-grade novel, A Handful of Stars, the blueberry barrens of coastal Maine present a rich backdrop for a story of two new friends, Lily and Salma, whose families’ livelihoods are dependent on the local agricultural economy. Lord will appear on October 10, 2015, at 1 p.m. in the Commons Room of the Nashville Public Library. The event, part of the Southern Festival of Books, is free and open to the public.

Sabrina

September 29, 2015

” Sabrina is the tale of a…special kind of squirrel who finds herself in a strange new home after a run in with an owl. Follow along as Sabrina learns how to survive, and then thrive, in her new environment.”

–From the publisher

What It Was, Was Football—and Segregation

A front-yard football game ignites a controversy in Taylor Kitchings’s new middle-grade novel, Yard War

By Corabel Shofner | September 17, 2015

September 17, 2015 Trip Westbrook did not expect his world to fall apart just because he asked his housekeeper’s son to play football in the front yard. Yard War, a new middle-grade novel by Taylor Kitchings, takes place in segregated Mississippi, and what follows this game of pickup ball surprises and confuses young Trip. Kitchings will appear at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on September 24, 2015, at 6:30 p.m.

Stumbling on a Wasp’s Nest

In Ronald Kidd’s new middle-grade novel, a girl comes of age in the civil-rights era

By Tracy Barrett | September 14, 2015

September 14, 2015 Thirteen-year-old Billie Sims, the heroine of Ronald Kidd’s middle-grade historical novel, Night on Fire, is just becoming aware of prejudice all around her. Then the Freedom Riders come to town. Ronald Kidd will discuss his most recent novel for young readers at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 9-11, 2015.

Proud To Be An American

September 12, 2015

“ritten by Greenwood in the words of “God Bless The U.S.A.,” and fully illustrated with colorful, vibrant images by Amanda Sekulow, Proud To Be An American follows a man and his grandson across the U.S. to various national landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, Arlington Cemetery and more.”

–From the publisher

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker