MADreads

This gorgeously illustrated nonfiction picture book shows the unique ecosystem of a whale fall. A massive blue whale dies, and her decomposing body nourishes various marine life, from scavengers to microorganisms, on the ocean floor over more than a century. Jason Chin’s watercolors beautifully depict the process in all its phases.

Chooch is the baby. Well, he's not really a baby anymore, but anytime Chooch makes a mess, everyone says, "He's just usdi. Let him help." To Sissy, it feels like Chooch can get away with anything. He helps Elisi paint a mural, Etsi sew moccasins, and Edutsi make grape dumplings. Anyone who has ever let a toddler "help" with something can imagine how this goes, and when he helps Sissy make a clay pot she finally loses patience.

A heroine who just wants to read and works in a bookstore? How is that not going to be added to my tbr list? But books that are added to my list are often bumped by the next items added. Thus we have The Bookish Life of Nina Hill added to my list a few years ago and only now, at last, happily read.

After eight years on a prison planet, for a crime they did commit - to be fair, Edie Morikawa, thief and con artist, gets out and is determined to live the straight and narrow life. First challenge? Getting a ship off the planet. And waiting for Edie is Angel Huang. Angel is the person who sold them out and left them to their fate on the icy prison planet. But transportation off the rock aren't plentiful and Edie knows that they can accept the ride and still reject Angel's plan for one more big score.