MADreads

Step into this wonderland of words! Marshmallow Clouds: Two Poets at Play among Figures of Speech by Ted Kooser & Connie Wanek, illustrated by Richard Jones, definitely feels playful, fun – and so delightful! Poems are grouped into four sections featuring the four elements (fire, water, air, and earth). They offer unique spins on everyday objects like trees, marshmallows, and flyswatters. Some poem titles include “Butterfly Luck,” “Why Pets Don’t Write,” and “Winter Ponies.” Softly painted illustrations add a dreamy feel to the collection.

Ghosts may make their unwelcome presence in a house for any variety of reasons, but the specter haunting the Hacienda San Isidro is there for reasons so deeply rooted in the land that it might never be fully purged. In Isabel Cañas’ assured debut The Hacienda, the ghost of the eponymous home is meant to be a sanctuary for Beatriz, a young woman trying to piece some security together after her general father is killed as a traitor following Mexico’s brutal War of Independence.

Thirty award-winning authors and illustrators share stories and discussions about "the talk" - the conversations they have with their children about race and racism, identity, and self-esteem. For some parents it's a way to prepare their kids, for others it's a way to protect them, for still others it's a way to explain. All of the talks and the reasons for the talk are varied, just like humans are varied. 

Travis Baldree's debut novel is a member of what's being called 'cozy SFF' in some parts of the interwebs (okay, I admit I found it on #booktok). Cozy science fiction and fantasy is just that, it's certainly imaginative and involves beings and creatures fresh and innovative, but it's also warm,  good hearted and even funny. Sample titles, in case you need more of an idea, All Systems Red by Martha Wells or The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J.