Author Kristen B.

The colorful cover illustration shows a young woman sitting on the back of a caravan, with a cat at her feet, in front of a small campfire gazing out at a small town and a night sky.

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Kristen B. Leave a comment
The colorful cover illustration shows a young woman sitting on the back of a caravan, with a cat at her feet, in front of a small campfire gazing out at a small town and a night sky.

by Kristen B.

Cozy fantasy is such a wonderful antidote to real life stress and chaos. The Teller of Small Fortunes brings all the good vibes. It’s a story full of found family and small stakes – but ones that become more important as the story progresses. Sometimes, one person making good decisions at the right inflection point can truly make a difference. I really need to believe that these days.

Tao travels in her custom-made wagon with her mule as her sole companion, setting up shop to tell regular people their small fortunes. Nothing too momentous, but important just the same. She brings a little happiness and diversion from mundane days. It’s a good life, if at times a little lonely. When she finds her road blocked by a tree, two new friends come into her life who also provide a little extra security – Mash and Silt, who used to campaign together and now are life-long friends. They are looking for Mash’s missing daughter and happen to be traveling in the same direction. Silt is a bit of a rogue, and Mash is one of the best friends anyone could wish for.

At their next stop, they meet Kina, the baker’s apprentice whose wares taste delicious but don’t always look particularly polished. She wants to see the world, or at least more than her seaside town that smells overwhelmingly of fish. Eventually, the group picks up a stray cat – who might be magical or might just be a cat. In one of my favorite episodes, Kina and Tao invent fortune cookies to sell in places where Tao’s magic might be less welcome.

As the travels continue, the small group forms tight friendships. It also becomes clear that there’s more to Tao than just small fortunes as their group is hounded by a representative from the kingdom’s official magicians. Tao doesn’t want to be involved in large scale politics, mostly because of bad childhood memories and her mother’s reaction to her magic. She just wants to be left alone to live her chosen life – but sometimes, friendship encourages us to overcome our fears and work for the greater good. For every problem introduced, a resolution comes along through a combination of good will, assuming the best, and being a good friend. If only it worked as well as that in real life.

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong is available as a book, e-book, and e-audiobook.

Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball (but not all at the same time).

Our next chapter starts soon when the blog moves to the newly redesigned hclibrary.org. All the same great reviews and news, plus more library information!

The covers of all six books of the Queen's Thief series.

The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner

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The covers of all six books of the Queen's Thief series.

by Kristen B.

A long time ago, when I first started working for the library, I was trading “have you reads” with another staff member. She asked if I – and my then elementary-aged children – had yet read The Thief. We had not but quickly rectified the situation, and I have spent the past two decades recommending that book and its sequels in turn. I re-read them this summer, one after the next as a complete series, and was blown away all over again. There are six books, and each one is excellent in its own way. They may have call numbers that place them in Children’s and YA fiction, but these books are for everyone. Honestly, I do not understand this marketing at all – these books tackle freedom, politics, religion, disability, war, espionage, being true to yourself, falling in love, friendship, loyalty, and so much more.

Part of the delight of these books comes from the fact that the author excels at turning the tables; things are often not quite what they appear. We learn in the first book not to trust the main character Eugenides, the Queen’s Thief of Eddis, any farther than you can throw him – but also, you can trust him with your life. The next five books continue to play with expectations and appearances. I don’t want to ruin the pleasure of discovery – so here’s a quick peek at each book in the series:

The Thief
We are introduced to a small peninsula of three countries, Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis, trying to survive in a world where large empires are greedily subsuming smaller states. Hamiathes’ Gift, a divine object, conveys the right to rule the mountain kingdom of Eddis, except it’s been lost for generations. A wise man, his apprentices, a guard captain, and a notorious thief removed from prison go on a quest to recover it.

The Queen of Attolia
What happens when the Thief gets caught? Eugenides suffers horrible personal consequences and must overcome them to advance his own interests and to keep the allied countries free from the Mede Empire. This book is not for the faint of heart, as it portrays dismemberment and consequent depression. However, it offers an amazing look at how people can suffer major setbacks and continue to achieve their dreams.

The King of Attolia
What happens when the Thief gets what he wants? This is my absolute favorite book of the series, mostly because it’s funny to read about Eugenides coming to terms with the life he has literally begged, bartered, and stolen for. This installment also expands the cast from the point of view of a new character, the soldier Costis, and it is better for it.

A Conspiracy of Kings
Once again, the narrative shifts to a new character – Sophos, the heir of Sounis. His coming-of-age story has larger ramifications for the little peninsula. The Medes continue to encroach, the local barons continue to scheme, and Sounis has to decide if he’s up to the task of being king. Eugenides still figures greatly, if not obviously.

Thick as Thieves
So … about those Medes. The fifth book seems like a side story, until you realize exactly how far Eugenides will go for some revenge. After all, why have only one reason to do something when you can have many? The story follows Kamet, who had a minor role previously, as he escapes his enslavement with the help of our favorite Attolian guard. Only, Kamet has no plans to leave his powerful position until he thinks he has no choice.

The Return of the Thief
Not many series get an ending as excellent as this one – and it’s just about perfect! All of the threads and themes from the previous five books come together in this stunning conclusion. War comes at a price, and that price is paid in many ways by many people.

Eugenides and the rulers are the common elements across the series, but mostly it’s about the titular Thief. It’s a fascinating look at how someone raised and trained to work outside of the conventional hierarchy behaves once he becomes synonymous with said power structures. On the other hand, these books contain some of the best stories written in the past decades, filled with humor, adventure, and a rip-roaring good time. You should read them!

Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball (but not all at the same time).

The book cover depicts the four half-siblings in the story on their road trip in a red Volkswagen bug. One of them holds a handheld video camera as he is leans out of the window and is filming a chicken who appears to be following the car.

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson

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The book cover depicts the four half-siblings in the story on their road trip in a red Volkswagen bug. One of them holds a handheld video camera as he is leans out of the window and is filming a chicken who appears to be following the car.

by Kristen B.

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson is the story of what might be the weirdest road trip ever conceived. If “found family” is a popular theme in books these days, what do you call it when you actually find your family? As in siblings you never knew existed.

Reuben Hill drives a rented PT Cruiser and is on a quest to locate his father, who disappeared when he was a child, and his half-siblings who live across the United States. Here’s the catch: the siblings don’t know that each other exists. Rube (nicknames are a thing) hired a private investigator after his mom died to get some answers to his life’s mysteries. He finds Madeline Hill (Mad) working the roadside stand at the organic farm in Tennessee where she and her mom live. From there, they head to Oklahoma to find the next sister (Pep, which is short for Pepper), who plays women’s collegiate basketball at the highest level. Then, on to Utah and finally to California.

It’s a quirky setup, filled with snacks and shared life experiences. Their mutual father (Chip, Chuck, Charlie, Carl Hill) left each of his families, although he still keeps in contact with the moms, as he headed ever further westward. The Hill progeny are all blessed with strong mothers – not perfect, but certainly able single parents. Each child has mostly fond memories of their father, but also justifiable frustration and anger over his abandonment of them. With each new family, Mr. Hill became an expert enthusiast in a different area – from writing to farming to basketball to film.

When the book wraps up at a wealthy wilderness retreat in California, the Hill half-siblings really, truly feel like family to one another. Sometimes exasperated, but always lovingly so, they realize that their connections to each other matter – maybe more so than the relationship to their missing parent. They have each already grieved and processed that fact of life to greater or lesser extents. About that missing parent: I will give author Wilson full credit for NOT redeeming him entirely. While I was left wanting more about this bunch of cool, nerdy, confused but ultimately good-hearted folks, it was a lovely summer read filled with good emotions and hope. There’s nothing weird about that.

Run for the Hills is available from HCLS in print and as an e-book and an e-audiobook from Libby/OverDrive.

Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball (but not all at the same time).

The Illustrated cover in many shades of green with a yellow snake and a purple bird evokes the tropical setting of the book.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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The Illustrated cover in many shades of green with a yellow snake and a purple bird evokes the tropical setting of the book.

by Kristen B.

My book club (Books on Tap) left for our August summer break on something of an odd note. At a previous meeting, we had a discussion about adapting books to TV shows and movies. I had recently read glowing reviews of the Netflix adaption of One Hundred Years of Solitude, and I proposed reading the Latin American classic. Everyone agreed that it had been awhile since we tackled something, perhaps, weightier, and – per usual for this great group of people – they were game to try.

I had read and loved this book in college, when I was in the practice of reading complicated, challenging material. While I still enjoyed the book this time around, I definitely found it more difficult to read decades later. The full immersion into the Buendia family and the village of Macondo remained the same, enchantingly so. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is credited with inventing modern magical realism, where the odd and inexplicable are part of every day life.

The family was trickier this time around, with the generations sharing names and attributes. I – and my book club folks – got too caught up in trying to keep everyone straight. In talking about it, though, we realized that’s one of the joys of this inter-generational story. It’s as though your grandma or some other older relative is telling you the family history, with asides and doubling back and other random diversions before actually getting to the point. It’s not really necessary that you keep the Aurelianos, Jose Arcadios, and Ursulas straight because the novel moves in circular patterns more than as a linear “and then” plot. We were less thrilled with a rather dated assumption that the patriarchy meant that men could marry whomever they pleased, even barely adolescent girls and despite mistresses.

The particular smaller stories, though, share in all of humanity’s troubles and joys, often humorously so – the insomnia plague, the visiting gypsies who bring the miracles of magnets and ice to Macondo, the coming of the railroad and banana company, the feuds, and the love affairs. All of it mixed into a sort of memory soup filled with revolution, politics, and the destructive nature of colonialism and classism. It’s been called the Great Novel of the Americas, and I would agree with that assessment. There’s something quintessentially Latin American about the story, and absolutely universal about the way it is told. I was reminded of the spider from my family’s camping trip with Scouts that gets a little bit bigger every time the story is recounted, or the number of pies my grandmother would bake during the summer, or any other number of embellishments to tried-and-true chestnuts of familial tales.

If, however, the book doesn’t suit your current reading tastes – as many people found at book club – Netflix recently released the first half of an almost perfect adaptation of the book, with the second season coming soon, hopefully in 2026. Being able to see Macondo and its inhabitants helps keep it all straight, without losing any of the wonder or weirdness of the book. The voiceover of descriptions and commentary are taken directly from the original text, and it’s a perfect way to meld the classic novel with the new medium. The cast does a perfect job of inhabiting the characters and their often exasperated relationships. While the show’s original language is Spanish, the dubbing was not distracting. It’s also a rather frankly spicy (would be R-rated) depiction of various lovers and marriages. I hope it becomes available on DVD or via Kanopy soon, as it’s the perfect complement to the book.

Re-examining classics is always worthwhile to me, because the books may not change but we do as readers. I had memories of enjoying One Hundred of Solitude but couldn’t remember why. The town of Macondo, isolated in the jungle, and the Buendia family once again live in my imagination, and I am glad for it – if for different reasons than when I was in college.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is available in translation to English in print and as an e-audiobook. It is also available in Spanish.

Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball (but not all at the same time).

A warm painting shows a cozy cottage in dappled sunshine at the top of steps, on which a winged cat lounges.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Kristen B. Leave a comment
A warm painting shows a cozy cottage in dappled sunshine at the top of steps, on which a winged cat lounges.

by Kristen B.

Some books have it all: A courageous librarian, an ambulatory talking spider plant, winged cats, cloud bears, and a romantic interest who rides sea horses. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst gives you a warm hug in the form of a book. That’s not to say it’s only cozy vibes and no plot – there’s plenty of story to keep you reading.

Kiela and her assistant Caz (the sentient plant) flee political unrest that sets fire to the Great Library of Alyssium. Kiela, who has been preparing for this unfortunate reality, packs as many books as she can, herself, and Caz into a boat and sets sail for the island where her family originally came from. She makes it across open waters to Caltrey, where the cottage she remembers from childhood still stands.

It turns out that the political upheaval in the capital city has also had consequences on this faraway island. Imperial sorcerers no longer travel, and magic has become unbalanced, causing huge storms and other troubles. However, the books Kiela rescued are mostly magical spellbooks. The chapters where she and Caz test spells through pure trial and error are delightful. The drawback is that unlicensed magic is illegal, so Kiela ends up opening a jam shop and providing “remedies” on the side (fooling no one).

As she settles in, Kiela makes all sorts of wonderful friends. She also reconnects with Larran, a childhood friend who now happens to be a helpful, handy, and handsome neighbor. Although a natural introvert, Kiela soon discovers the importance of connections and trust within a small community. The found family at the center of the book comes together to see everyone through a series of mishaps and misfortunes, including a suspiciously behaved Imperial citizen who washes up during a big storm. Sorting out the unexpected visitor drives the second half of this gentle book.

The joy of this sort of cozy fantasy is that even though stakes are high, and certainly Kiela feels as though her world is ending, people help each other and make it through. Cozy fantasy is the counterweight to all the dread-full, grim-dark fantasy that has been dominating the genre in recent years. The Spellshop might be as far from A Song of Ice and Fire as a reader can get and still be reading in the same fantasy genre. And that’s okay. It’s good to have a wide variety of books to suit all different readers and moods. Honestly, while it might not make sense if you use strict logic, The Spellshop makes perfect sense to your heart with its hopeful outlook on a world in turmoil.

I am looking forward to reading the second book, The Enchanted Greenhouse, about the magician who created Caz and the second chances she is given.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst is available in print, e-book, and e-audiobook.

Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball (but not all at the same time).

The dark cover shows a pattern of birds in purples holding a variety of golden keys.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Kristen B. Leave a comment
The dark cover shows a pattern of birds in purples holding a variety of golden keys.

by Kristen B.

A good Gothic novel practically requires a spectacularly weird house with supernatural tendencies. Starling House might be the main character of its own novel – not quite but close. Our actual main character, Opal, routinely walks the long way home from her going-nowhere-fast job just to wander past the house. She dreams of it and its mysterious amber light. Opal is an unlucky high school dropout trying to make ends meet for herself and her academically talented younger brother, Jasper. They live in a room at the local motel, subsisting on Pop-Tarts and bad pizza. Their mom died in a car accident on a cold night when the mists rose off the Mud River, which is when bad things happen in Eden, Kentucky.

The Starling family is one of strays and orphans, who take the name and the ownership of the house. Arthur is the last in a long line of Starlings, although his parents raised him in the house before he ran away looking for a more normal life. The only major employer in Eden is the Gravely Power company and their coal mines, and the Gravelys and Starlings have a long, complicated history. When Opal finagles a high-paying housekeeping job from the anti-social Arthur, she finds a decades long domestic disaster. As Opal cleans, she realizes that the house has its own sort of sentience – and that it seems to like her. But rooms rearrange and corridors form mazes, and sometimes the space seems to move her to where she needs to be (like Casita in Encanto, but not as friendly).

The story trades points of view between Opal and Arthur, both of whom are disillusioned and suspicious of each other and the entire situation. The book intersperses their hostile encounters with different versions of the town’s past – about Eleanor Starling, her children’s book The Understory, and the house she built. There’s also a set of unscrupulous business consultants with an unwholesome interest in the Starling property and mineral rights, and they target Opal. Untangling the nest of rumor, legend, and sordid tales holds the key (literally) to resolving the tragedy that haunts the town, Opal’s family, and Starling House.

The book has a powerful engine of a plot, along with its engaging characters. I couldn’t help but root for Opal, despite her ingrained need to keep the world at arm’s length. Her carefully guarded heart sometimes misses the loving connections in her world in its desperation to remain stoically independent. Arthur isn’t much different, and these two lost souls truly need each other. The supernatural elements are just creepy enough to give the entire proceedings a sideways edge, which kept me wondering if the author was going to be able to pull it all off. I thought this was her best book yet (although I also loved Once and Future Witches) – it’s a lean, mean, twisty tale, where all the components are necessary to make the story work.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow is available in print, e-book, and e-audiobook.

Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball (but not all at the same time).

Exhibit poster shows the logo for the Equity Resource Center & Collection above a yellow panel with the photo of Mary Caldwell Dawson and exhibit information. The Howard County Library System logo is centered at the bottom.

Hidden Voices Exhibit

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Exhibit poster shows the logo for the Equity Resource Center & Collection above a yellow panel with the photo of Mary Caldwell Dawson and exhibit information. The Howard County Library System logo is centered at the bottom.

Organized in partnership with The Denyce Graves Foundation (DGF), the Hidden Voices exhibit illuminates the untold stories of marginalized musicians who shaped American classical music. It is dedicated to uncovering the contributions of composers, musicians, and educators of color whose work has often been overlooked in mainstream history.

Founded by renowned opera singer Denyce Graves, DGF seeks to bring these hidden figures to the forefront, ensuring they receive the recognition they deserve. Through Hidden Voices, DGF aims to expand the public’s understanding of the multicultural roots of classical music, highlighting the diverse individuals who made groundbreaking contributions.

The exhibit presents a rich collection of artifacts, music, and multimedia presentations, all designed to engage visitors and foster a deeper appreciation of the diverse voices that have shaped America’s vocal arts. Not just a tribute to the past, the installation also serves as a platform for emerging artists.
By showcasing the achievements of those who have come before, Hidden Voices offers inspiration to young artists from all backgrounds, empowering them to pursue careers in the arts without limitations. This initiative is part of the DGF’s broader mission to promote inclusion, access, and representation in the classical music world, providing opportunities for all artists to thrive.

Tour the Hidden Voices exhibition on the second level of the Central Branch in the Equity Resource Center and Collection (ERCC) in June and July. Drop by during regular library hours to view.

Broad red banners with the title and author in black lettering appear acroos the image of a minaret.

Damascus Station by David McCloskey

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Broad red banners with the title and author in black lettering appear acroos the image of a minaret.

by Kristen B.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a really good stand alone spy thriller. Damascus Station kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering how it was all going to end. Sam Joseph is a CIA agent, with a specialty in recruiting assets and a penchant for high stakes gambling in Vegas. He’s managed not to become too cynical about his work. We meet him while he’s trying to get another CIA agent and a scientist out of Syria before the scientist is arrested. The operation goes bad, and it fuels the rest of the story.

Mariam Haddad is the privileged daughter of a Christian family who works in Assad’s government in Damascus, but not entirely happily. She’s aware enough to understand the deal with the devil her family has made for its own survival. When she is asked to coerce an opposition member to come back to Syria, mostly by threatening the woman’s family, Mariam begins to ask serious questions about what she’s doing with her life.

The book spends close to the first hundred pages setting all the pieces on the board, and there are a lot of them beyond our two main characters. Author McCloskey does a great job of making the secondary characters well drawn and interesting, from Mariam’s rebellious cousin to the CIA station chief. My favorites are the three BANDITOS brothers who help Sam run surveillance. The Syrian players are equally interesting, including rival factions within the regime’s security offices and a pair of Sunni rebels from Douma who carry out assassinations. Ali Hassan is a top level Syrian counter-intelligence operative, who is feuding with his brother Rustum, the man in charge of secret prisons and political interrogations. Ali is a good man caught in a bad situation, whereas Rustum is a monster planning to use sarin gas against his fellow Syrians.

The ever increasing stakes are ratcheted by questions of who has been “made” and who is safe. The emotional stakes are high, too, as Sam and Mariam have an immediate, mutual attraction. The rules forbid their entanglement, but their hearts know differently. The book moves quickly, from Syria to the US to France and Italy, then back again. As the plot moves from setting up the board through to the fast-paced, brutal end game, you have to race to keep up with all the characters and figure out what’s really happening. The payoff is worth it!

The author leavens the tension with enough humor and personality that I really invested in the story and the characters. Station Chief Artemis Proctor is a Class-A Character! She seems to be the recurring character in other books by McCloskey (Moscow X and The Seventh Floor), which are now at the top of my summer reading list. His background with the CIA informs his novel with detailed spycraft and knowledge of how things work, but doesn’t slow down the story too much. After all, the trade of espionage is part of what makes the genre so much fun to read.

Damascus Station by David McCloskey is available in print.

Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball (but not all at the same time).

A person in armor, hiding another person, appears in black and white against a red background with golden lettering.

Meet the Author: Neon Yang

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Photo of the author looking seriously straight at the camera.
A person in armor, hiding another person, appears in black and white against a red background with golden lettering.

Meet Author Neon Yang
Wed, May 7 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Online. Register at bit.ly/Author-Yang to receive the link for the event.
For adults.

Neon Yang is a queer non-binary author based in the UK. They have been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Lambda Literary, Ignyte, and Locus Awards, and their Tensorate series of novellas (The Black Tides of Heaven, The Red Threads of Fortune, The Descent of Monsters, and The Ascent to Godhood) was an Otherwise Award Honoree. In previous incarnations, Neon was a molecular biologist, a science communicator, a writer for animation, games and comic studios, and a journalist for one of Singapore’s major papers.

The Black Tides of Heaven & The Red Threads of Fortune

Review by Kristen B.

A person with long black hair and a determined scowl, dressed in black robes, sits cross-legged upon a cloud. The art is ornate and swirling like classic Asian paintings.

How do fate and free will coexist? Can they? Is a person’s fate preordained no matter their actions, or can they swim upstream against the current? The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang examines this conundrum through a set of turning points in Sanao Akeha’s life. Born an unexpected twin, Akeha lives their life always in the shadow of their more famous sibling, Mokoya the prophet, who has visions of future events. This novella considers Akeha’s opposition to the roles and responsibilities of being a member of the ruling dynasty. In a series of vignettes from childhood through early adulthood, Akeha makes choices that affect himself and his relationships, his twin, his mother, and maybe the entire nation.

In these books, the magic system is based on elemental powers, such as air, water, and earth, that weave through the Slack. Magic users “tense” to employ the energies available. I really like the idea of tense/slack as a way of projecting power. In another interesting piece of world-building, children are genderless. Each person confirms their chosen gender as they approach adulthood. The twins’ mother, the Protector, rules as a complete authoritarian, with an iron fist in the form of Tensorate pugilists who train at the Great Monastery. Akeha discovers a rebellion of Machinists, who employ physics and chemistry to rival the Tensors. Yang does an excellent job building a rich world that seems both familiar and foreign.

The Red Threads of Fortune follows Mokoya, after the devastating and tragic events of the first book. She has moved on from her role as prophet and now hunts magical beasts in the desert. She’s following rumors of a particularly large and dangerous naga, a dragonish serpent from the Quarterlands where gravity is lighter so the monsters can fly. Rider, who comes from the Quarterlands astride a tamed naga, hunts the same creature, and they team up with Akeha and the Machinists rebellion after the naga attacks a small city. Moyoka eventually finds an answer to the unwanted prophecies that seem to ruin her life. I look forward to reading the next two installments in this complicated world.

Their latest book, Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame, is a stunning queer novella about a dragon hunter finding home with a dragon queen. New York Times bestselling author Olivie Blake calls it, “A lovely, intricate gem of a fairy tale about finding yourself in another person and traveling distant lands to finally come home. I loved it.”

Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball (but not all at the same time).

Two boys walk through a camp with the ground dusky blue and brilliant stars against a graduated sky - either dawn or sunset. The boys are Black, with short hair and wearing T-shirts and shorts.

Meet Battle of the Books 2025 authors: Victoria Jamieson and Matt Phelan

Kristen B. Leave a comment
Two boys walk through a camp with the ground dusky blue and brilliant stars against a graduated sky - either dawn or sunset. The boys are Black, with short hair and wearing T-shirts and shorts.
The illustration shows the three animals, sheep, rooster and duck, in a hot air balloon basket against a grey sky. The red balloon bleeds off the top of the cover and the title appears in script on the balloon.

Tue, Apr 8 | 7 – 8 pm
online
For ages 5-11. Register at bit.ly/2025-BoB

Battle of the Book featured authors Victoria Jamieson and Matt Phelan answer your questions about their books, When Stars Are Scattered and The Sheep, the Rooster, and the Duck. When you register, you have the opportunity to submit questions to them. The authors will answer selected questions during the virtual presentation. You receive an automated email confirmation containing the Zoom link when you register.

Victoria Jamieson
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed is a graphic novel based on co-author Omar Mohamed’s life growing up in a refugee camp in Kenya called Dadaab. It is told to New York Times bestselling author and artist Victoria Jamieson by Omar Mohamed, the Somali man who lived the story.

Victoria Jamieson is the creator of Newbery Honor Book Roller Girl. She received her BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and worked as a children’s book designer before becoming a full-time illustrator. She now lives with her family in Pennsylvania.

Matt Phelan
The Sheep, the Rooster, and the Duck is an adventure full of secrets, fun, and re-imagined historical events. Author Matt Phelan is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author/illustrator of picture books, middle grade novels, and graphic novels for young readers. In 2014, Matt was awarded the Free Library of Philadelphia/Drexel University Children’s Literature Citation. Matt also teaches on the faculty for Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.