“How many bookshelf feet do you need?” This was my husband’s question after I requested some more bookshelves. My response: “I can fill whatever you give me.” Limits are useful, aren’t they? Unless they’re curtailing my book collection. I have books stacked on top of each other, books perched precariously on nightstands, books in my purse, library books piled in a milk crate (my local library has a special crate just for my hold requests), …. My family is about to move back across the country. Seven years ago, when we moved from Tennessee to Washington, I purged lots of books. Movers charge by the pound, and books are relatively…

Brilliant physicist Lise Meitner, overlooked by history, receives her due in this well-written and -illustrated biography. The Woman Who Split the Atom: The Life of Lise Meitner by Marissa Moss. Abrams, 2022, 199 pages + timeline, glossary, bibliography, and index. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-15 “Women of science” was not a feature of late-century Vienna, but Lise Meitner was blessed by both parents, who encouraged her to follow her interests. Those interests were, almost exclusively, physics and math—she even slept with a math book under her pillow! Though Austria was not open to women seeking high education, Meitner’s outstanding gifts helped her become the first…

Aside from one graphic-novel romance series, novels about death and murder dominate the current YA scene. Where’s hope? What are kids reading these days? As we all should know, “best-seller” doesn’t mean good. In fact, it’s relatively rare that a wildly popular novel will meet high standards either of literacy or common morality (much less Christian morality). Even so, it’s an interesting cultural exercise to browse some of the most popular YA titles to see what the kids are reading (the ones who are reading, whose number shrinks every year). Harry Potter still rules the Amazon list of YA top sellers, currently shared with the 6-volume Crave fantasy series and…

In The Last Mapmaker, a low-born but spirited girl, an aged craftsman, and high stakes at sea make for a satisfying adventure. The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat. Candlewick, 2022, 355 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-15 Fortune favors the bold Sadsai Mudawan, or Sai, was lucky to attach herself to the old mapmaker Master Paiyoon. Otherwise she would be merely a girl of the Fens, daughter of a con man with no gold lineal rings designating her achievement or status. And thus, no future. But fortune beckons when the Queen of Mankong assembles a naval expedition to explore the far-flung islands she acquired in…

Can the Elk King guard and protect the animals of Glenariff in the face of treachery? This talking animal story will delight fans of The Green Ember and similar series. The Elk King by Jenn Discher. Independently published, 2022. 285 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended For: Middle grades, ages 10-12. The Elk watch over the other animals of Glenariff, guarding and protecting them from such threats as the Mountain Lions. Prince Draven, due to inherit the throne from his father Venstrom, is out cavorting with the other young Elk when he notices them drinking from the stream. That’s funny. All Elk are supposed to drink only the…