Children & YA | Chapter 16

Found in Translation

Jennifer Uman discovered the story for her first children’s book through a language she doesn’t speak

By Susannah Felts | April 26, 2013

April 25, 2013 While many illustrated children’s books are collaborative efforts, few involve an international partnership quite like the one that resulted in Jemmy Button, a beautiful new work by Nashville illustrator Jennifer Uman and Italian illustrator Valerio Vidali. Their creation, based on a fascinating true story from the annals of Victorian-era exploration and colonialism, looks at the ways in which linguistic and cultural boundaries and identities can—and can’t—be breached or dismantled. But it also tells a story of estrangement, homesickness, and a journey across the sea that should engage young children and adult readers alike.

Finding Solace

R.A. Dickey makes the rounds to speak with 60 Minutes and the National Post about abuse and redemption

By Bradley Hartsell | April 24, 2013

April 24, 2013 In the Internet era with its unceasing news cycle, athletes tend to speak in platitudes and PR statements, but memoirist R.A. Dickey, the Toronto Blue Jays’ new knuckleball pitcher, has never resorted to trite or banal responses in interviews. Since the publication of his memoir, Wherever I Wind Up (newly released in both paperback and a young-readers’ edition called Throwing Strikes),

The Box of Hope

Memphis native Anna Olswanger has written a tiny but powerful book of Holocaust literature for middle-grade readers

By Susannah Felts | March 6, 2013

March 6, 2013 Anna Olswanger’s new children’s book, Greenhorn, tells the story of Daniel, a young Polish Holocaust survivor who arrives at a Brooklyn yeshiva in 1946. He’s carrying nothing but a mysterious small tin box, the contents of which he refuses to reveal. For his silence, Daniel is the object of both cruelty and compassion from his American peers. A tiny book with an enormous heart, as heartbreaking as it is brief, Greenhorn is a poignant, powerful addition to the canon of Holocaust literature for young people.

Decisions and Destiny

A new YA novel by Ruta Sepetys, bestselling author of Between Shades of Gray, tells a story of vice and victory in the Big Easy

By Tina LoTufo | February 6, 2013

February 6, 2013 “My mother’s a prostitute,” observes seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine. “She’s actually quite pretty, fairly well spoken, and has lovely clothes. But she sleeps with men for money or gifts, and according to the dictionary, that makes her a prostitute.” Thus begins Out of the Easy, the new young-adult novel from bestselling Nashville author Ruta Sepetys. As Josie fights her way to self-knowledge and a better future, one small victory at a time, Out of the Easy will remind readers of classic coming-of-age stories like Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Sepetys will appear at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on February 13 at 6 p.m.

One For the Records

At age twenty-five, Nashville resident Victoria Schwab has published her second YA novel, The Archived

By Sarah Norris | January 30, 2013

January 30, 2013 At only twenty-five, Nashville author Victoria Schwab has experienced the kind of success most authors only dream about. Her debut novel, The Near Witch, was published when she was barely twenty-three. Two years later, her second YA novel, The Archived, has just hit shelves. This year will also see the arrival of Vicious, Schwab’s first novel for adults. And she’s already sold the sequel to The Archived. Schwab will celebrate with a book signing and launch party hosted by East Nashville’s Art & Invention Gallery on February 1 at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Entertainment First

Dan Gutman talks with Chapter 16 about his bestselling strategy for getting kids to read

By Tina LoTufo | January 24, 2013

January 24, 2013 Coke and Pepsi McDonald never planned on a life filled with danger and adventure, but after the thirteen-year-old twins are invited to join the Genius Files—a group with a mission to solve the world’s problems—they find themselves dodging murderous villains and outsmarting zany attempts on their lives. Unfortunately for them (but luckily for their fans), a cross-country trip with their parents isn’t going to save them. In You Only Die Twice (The Genius Files #3) by bestselling author Dan Gutman, Coke and Pepsi’s journey home begins, and the action and suspense are exceeded only by the number of nutty roadside attractions their parents make them visit. Gutman will discuss You Only Die Twice on January 29 at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Brentwood.

Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones

By Dolly Parton with Holly George-Warren, curated by Rebecca Seaver
Ten Speed Press
336 pages
$50

“Featuring behind-the-scenes stories from Dolly Parton’s life and career, and the largest reveal of her private costume archive, this gorgeously photographed book spotlights her most unforgettable looks from the 1960s to now.”

~ the publisher