School Library Journal: What makes a good unreliable narrator… in a picture book? One might argue that it’s very much the same qualities that make a good unreliable narrator in a work of fiction for older readers. There’s the choice the author must make as to whether or not to show their hand early or leave the reveal right up until the end. Then there are all the little details that appeared earlier in the book, leaving the reader to doubt everything they were told. That may sound a little heavy for a title whose intended audience is probably still a little unclear on the whole tying-your-shoes deal, but believe me when I say that when it comes to a book like Don’t Trust Fish, I feel inclined to pull out all my literary criticism tips and tricks. There are some picture books that you read that make you chuckle when you see the cover. There are some picture books where they might get one legitimate laugh out of the adult reader. There are some picture books that are funny to young readers. Now consider a book that makes everybody, and I do mean everybody, laugh from the cover onwards. THAT, my friends, is a picture book worth celebrating! That is a rarity! That… is I Don’t Trust Fish.
There are animals in this world that you can rely on. It has fur, is warm-blooded, and feeds its babies milk? That’s a mammal. Cold-blooded with scaly skin and lays eggs? Reptile. Feathers? Birds. Easy peasy. Then… there are fish. Fish don’t follow the usual rules, so you know what that means? “Don’t trust fish!” Don’t trust ‘em! Thanks to this book, you will learn the myriad reasons not to trust these sneaky denizens of the deep. Whale sharks? They’re the size of buses. “That is not okay”. Fish watch us. They plan. They scheme. With scintillating details and delightful art, young readers are given ample reasons not to trust our underwater brethren. But who, precisely, is imparting this information?
Patrice Sarath is an award-winning filmmaker and author living in Austin, Texas. Her novels include The Gordath Wood series (Gordath Wood, Red Gold Bridge, and The Crow God’s Girl), The Tales of Port Saint Frey (The Sisters Mederos and Fog Season), and The Unexpected Miss Bennet, a standalone sequel to Pride & Prejudice.
We take the edible trappings of flirtation for granted: chocolate covered strawberries and romance, oysters on the half shell and desire, the eggplant emoji and a suggestive wink. But why does it feel so natural for us to link food and sexual pleasure? Rachel Hope Cleves explores the long association between indulging in good food and an appetite for naughty sex, from the development of the Parisian restaurant as a place for men to meet with prostitutes and mistresses, to the role of sexual outlaws like bohemians, new women, lesbians and gay men in creating epicurean culture in Britain and the United States. Taking readers on a gastronomic journey from Paris and London to New York, Chicago and San Francisco, Lustful Appetites reveals how this preoccupation changed the ways we eat and the ways we are intimate―while also creating stigmas that persist well into our own twenty-first century.
Velma Frye is many things. A pilot, a former bootlegger, a well-seasoned traveler, a jazz pianist…and a wielder of celestial magic. She’s also a member of the mystical Rhodes family as well as an investigator for arcane oddities for a magic rights organization, dealing with both simple and complicated cases. And when a pocket watch instigates a magical brawl after one of her flight shows, things become 
Brave women warriors and diplomats shine in their roles as leaders in this alluring reimagining of Norse mythology from Heartfield (The Embroidered Book). Valkyrie Brynhild has just been exiled from Valhalla by Odin for contradicting his orders. Resigned to the life of a mortal in Midgard, she declares that she will use her wisdom, strength, and rune magic to help those who need protection. Meanwhile, Christian Burgundian princess Gudrun agrees to marry Hun prince Bleda to secure a peaceful alliance—but then Bleda’s brother, Attila, slays him and declares the truce void. In the aftermath, the serpent dragon Fafnir attacks with its poison breath, and Gudrun’s brother, King Gunnar, runs away. With him missing, Gudrun becomes queen and uses her diplomacy skills and knowledge of herbal magic to protect her people. Fortunately, Brynhild and her new friend, Sigurd, the owner of a powerful dragon-killing sword, arrive to help. The complex romances, alliances, and betrayals between Gudrun, Sigurd, Brynhild, and Gunnar intertwine with heartbreaking and tragic results. With a brilliant heroine at the helm, this richly detailed, character-driven story renders epic mythological battles on a human scale. (Oct.)
Chinese (complex) renewal rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ ALL SYSTEMS RED, ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, ROGUE PROTOCOL, and EXIT STRATEGY, the first four books in The Murderbot Diaries series, to Global Group, by Lucy Su at Grayhawk Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.
Stevland, the dominant sentient lifeform of Pax, has clandestinely sent some of its progeny to Earth. To explore, to spread, to report back.
Congratulations to Kate Heartfield and her book, THE TAPESTRY OF TIME, for being part of