Book News & Features

Everybody in the Red Brick Building, written by Anne Wynter and illustrated by Oge Mora

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WaaaAAH! Rraak! 'Everybody in the Red Brick Building' is awake!

8:47am January 08, 2022

by Samantha Balaban

Baby Izzie howls, Rayhan's parrot screeches, Benny and his friends play flashlight tag, and Natalia launches her rocket in the new children's book by author Anne Wynter and illustrator Oge Mora.

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Rare Toni Morrison short story to be published this month

3:11am January 07, 2022

by The Associated Press

"Recitatif," written by Morrison in the early 1980s, follows the lives of two women from childhood to their contrasting fortunes as adults.

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'BookTok' is a new force driving book sales and publishing deals

8:06am December 26, 2021

by Jim Zarroli

"BookTok" — that's the world of book lovers on TikTok — is becoming a major force in the publishing industry, as buzz from the short videos drives sales and new publishing deals.

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Author Joan Didion poses for a portrait in her New York apartment on Sept. 26, 2005.

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Writer Joan Didion, whose 'electric anxiety' inspired a generation, has died at 87

6:12pm December 23, 2021

by Susan Stamberg

When Didion started writing in the 1960s, she put a certain kind of voice on the page — neurotic, female — that hadn't been there before.

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The Sour Cherry Tree, written by Naseem Hrab and illustrated by Nahid Kazemi

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In 'The Sour Cherry Tree,' a child keeps memories of her late grandfather close

2:43pm December 18, 2021

by Samantha Balaban

The day after her beloved Baba Bazorg dies, a little girl remembers some of her favorite things about him: his striped slippers, the mints in his pockets and the fig cookies he always shared.

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Amos McGee Misses the bus, written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead

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Return to a world of caring and kindness, in 'Amos McGee Misses the Bus'

11:57am December 11, 2021

by Samantha Balaban

In Erin and Philip Stead's follow-up to 2010's A Sick Day for Amos McGee, the fastidious zookeeper gets help from his animal friends to finish his chores, so they can go on an exciting outing.

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Books We Love: Ari Shapiro picks 'Build Your House Around My Body'

4:35pm November 24, 2021

The 2021 NPR Books We Love list is here. NPR's Ari Shapiro shares one of his favorite books from this year, Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith.

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Here are the Books We Love: 360+ great 2021 reads recommended by NPR

3:39pm November 24, 2021

Books We Love (formerly known as NPR's Book Concierge) is back with a new name and 360+ new books handpicked just for you by NPR staff and trusted critics.

Thanksgiving cookbooks to keep it simple.

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These 5 cookbooks help keep Thanksgiving simple — and focused on family

10:19am November 23, 2021

by T. Susan Chang

For many, Thanksgiving will be the first holiday where family gathers since the start of the pandemic. We offer some cookbooks that aim to keep meal prep easy, so there's more time for loved ones.

Robert Bly won a National Book Award in 1968. He is pictured above in 2008.

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Poet Robert Bly, anti-war activist and 'men's movement' leader, dies at 94

5:20pm November 22, 2021

by Euan Kerr

Bly won a National Book Award and was a tireless advocate for poetry. But he knew he could rub people the wrong way. "I do remember people wanting to kill me," he said, "but that's not unusual."

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