Readers and writers: Spring bedtime books for kids

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From children who lived in refugee camps to a little girl who loves moons, a goat who eats everything and grain-stealing mice, here are spring bedtime books for the little ones.

(Courtesy of the author)

“Caged”: by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Khou Vue (Penquin Young Readers, $18.99)

Kao Kalia Yang (Courtesy of Lerner Publications)

How does this prolific St. Paul author give us so many thought-provoking books? She writes for adults (“The Song Poet,” “The Late Homecomer,” “Where Rivers Part”) and stories for children, including “Caged,” inspired by her eight years in a refugee camp in Thailand after her family fled Laos to escape communist rule.

Like her previous children’s books (“From the Tops of the Trees,” “Yang Warriors” and others), Yang brings to life in “Caged” the longings of children, many born in the camp, for freedom. They try to imagine the outside world as their friends board buses to take them to new lives.

“I live in a cage but I don’t know it” is the first sentence, illustrated by a little girl picking flowers through a barbed-wire fence. The girl spends her days playing with her cousins, watching the men with guns patrol the camp’s borders, imagining a place where children “drink from/waterfalls, carry dolls in our arms, and/ ride around in bicycles fast as cars!…” In the camp families wait in line for the same food they eat every day — rice with dried fish. The kids listen to the elders talk about war, which the girl tries to imagine: “When I see the hungry dogs fight/over a fallen fish bone, I think/I know what war feels like.”  At the end, the girl’s mother tells her the family’s papers have been approved and they will soon leave the camp. The girl is hugged by her favorite aunt, who says, “Your wings/have arrived”

Yang explains in an author’s note that she was 6 when her family left the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp for resettlement in the United States. One day she was reading about the 180,000 minors detained at the U.S.-Mexico border when her 6-year-old daughter asked if those kids were in cages too. “This is my answer to Shengyeng’s question,” Yang writes. “It is my answer to all the children who see others in cages, who are born within them, who dream of worlds where the fabric of a shirt can turn into wings, where we can soar high above the circumstances of our lives.”

Yang, winner of four Minnesota Book Awards, has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/USA literary awards, the Dayton’s Literary Peace Prize, the American Library Association, Kirkus best books of the year and the Heartland Bookseller’s Award. Khou Vue, whose illustrations of kids with big smiles enliven the text, is a first-generation Hmong-American graphic designer and illustrator

Although the publisher of “Caged” recommends it for ages 4-8, it has more text than most children’s books and the youngest kids will need explanations from adults. It is a contemporary book in its exploration of how children cope with what war does to them, as though Yang is looking into their hearts as she writes from her own experiences.

(Courtesy of FuzionPress)

“The Mice and Grain: A Hmong Folktale from China”: by Tou Pao Lor, illustrated by Tou Her (FuzionPress, $19.95)

This author’s life story is much like Kao Kalia Yang’s. He was born in Laos and lived in three refugee camps in Thailand for 16 years because his father kept hoping they could return to their homeland. After Lor made his way to the United States he graduated from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul and won a scholarship to study in China. That’s where he learned about the Miao (Hmong) history in that country. When he asked an elder to tell a story from Miao folklore, he chose “The Mice and Grain.”

In the story, a mouse braves a violent rainstorm to save precious seeds. After the storm the villagers lament that water washed everything away and they have no seeds to plant. The mouse shares his seeds, asking only that each year the people save one stalk of grain for the mouse family. But the elders died without telling their children about the promise and nobody gave the mice grain. Since the villagers went back on their promise, the mice decided to steal the people’s grain and that is what they have been doing for thousands of years.

Illustrator Tou Her, a graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, is founder of Studio Tou (touher.com).

(Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society Press)
Chan Poling (Courtesy of the author)

“The Moons”: story by Chan Poling, illustrations by Lucy Michell (Minnesota Historical Society Press, $17.95)

This story of Lucy, who is friendless when she moves from the city to the country, is the creation of St. Paulite Poling, an award-winning songwriter, composer, performer and author, and a member of the alternative rock band the Suburbs and the jazzy trio the New Standards. Illustrator Michell does physical and digital illustration and enjoys printmaking, ceramics and papier-mache. As a songwriter she fronts the pop rock band Little Fevers as well as her Americana solo band.

Lucy Michell (Courtesy of the author)

When Lucy says she doesn’t want to move to the country because she won’t have any friends there, her mom says: “Yes. True friends/come along once in a blue moon.” The girl asks about a blue moon and her mom replies that it’s “something very rare.” After the move to the old farmhouse beside a large cornfield, Lucy is lonely and she can’t sleep because it is so quiet. She sings to the night sky: “Once in a  blue moon, you meet a friend…” The song floats up to where the moons live and the moon in all its phases become her friends: Papa Moon, Mother Moon, Brother Moon and Uncle Gibbous. But Blue Moon is her special friend: “Blue liked to float in the dark, star-pricked sky and listen to sad songs.” Eventually, the sky is filled with all the moons who promise to watch over Lucy.

Poling and Michell also collaborated on “Jack and the Ghost.” Their new book is slated for August publication.

(Courtesy of Beaver’s Pond Press)

“The Goat That Ate the Remote”: by Eunice Pera Hafemeister, illustrations by Alicia Schwab (Beaver’s Pond Press, $19.95)

This whimsical tale of a beloved goat who eats everything is so funny that it will make adults laugh.

Three happy kids live on a farm with Gertie, their gentle little goat. The brown and white kid ate their mother’s flowers and even papers. One day Gertie looks a little sick so the kids bring her into the house. They get engrossed in a TV program and Gertie has time to find the remote control (which might have had peanut butter on it) and eats the device: “When she hiccupped, the remote she/swallowed changed the channels, but/no one realized why!” A baseball game changed to a cooking show until Gertie hiccupped and the channel changed again. The family thinks there’s something wrong with the TV but they can’t find the remote. Finally, they realize Gertie ate it and her hiccups are affecting the TV. The children laugh and hug Gertie. (The story ends there, but since goats eat everything we can assume it all came out OK.)

Author Eunice Pera Hafemeister was a lifelong teacher specializing in early childhood education. She worked in North Dakota and South Dakota and moved to Minneapolis in 2004, where she continued to work with children. She died suddenly last fall just as her book was ready to go to the printer, according to her daughter, Linda Hafemeister, who says she and her siblings continue to bring their mother’s book to the public. They are working to get copies into bookstores. For now the title is available on Amazon and at itascabooks.com/products/the-goat-that-ate-the-remote.

“Haiku, Ew!”: by Lynn Brunelle, illustrated by Julia Patton (Millbrook Press, $20.99)

Subtitled “Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Nature,” this book has no Minnesota connections. The author is from New York and the illustrator from Britain. Butt we are including it because it’s so much fun and so right for kids at the age when they think gross stuff (pee, poop, etc.) is hilarious. Here’s the first one: “Steamy flamingo/Your technique for staying cool?/Just poop on your legs!” On the opposite page is a paragraph explaining the science behind this flamingo adaptation. There’s also farting herring, glowworms as “luminous snot strands,” and a lobster peeing out of its face. In the back of the book is an explanation of haiku and resources to learn more about these amazing animal behaviors.

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Literary calendar for week of May 12

Literary calendar for week of May 19

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MATT GOLDMAN: Discusses his latest mystery, “Still Waters.” 6 p.m. Monday, May 20, Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.; 7 p.m. Thursday, May 23, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

CHRISTINA LAUREN: Introduces “The Paradise Problem” in conversation with Ellie Palmer. 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

MILKWEED PRESENTS: Monthly reading series features Michael Kleber-Diggs hosting a program, Art & Activism During Times of Global & Civil Conflict, with Minnesota authors Sun Yung Shin and Michael Torres. Free. 5 p.m. Thursday, May 23, Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Mpls., home of publisher Milkweed Editions

Brian Lutterman (Courtesy of the author)

MINNESOTA MYSTERY NIGHT: Welcomes guest reader Brian Lutterman launching “Incel,” his 10th novel and the first stand-alone in a decade as he departs from his Pen Wilkinson series. His new protagonist is Kevin Arneson, whose “straight arrow” approach to law enforcement got him fired from the FBI. He joins forces with Camryn Becket, former lover and deep-cover CIA operative, to solve murders of wealthy women. In conversation with his longtime friend and fellow mystery writer Christopher Valen. May 20. Free. 7 p.m. program; restaurant opens at 5:30 p.m. for pre-program dinner. Axel’s Restaurant, 1318 Sibley Memorial Highway, Mendota. Reservations: 651-686-4840.

JULIAN RANDALL: Award-winning Chicago-based writer who identifies as Living Queer Black, introduces “The Dead Don’t Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Sh*t,” which deals with place, popular culture, and identity. A starred review in BookPage said: “(A) dazzling ghost story that braids intimate narratives with cultural commentary to explore the author’s own past, present and future … a story not just about a Black man surviving a visit to the Deep South, but about him staying alive long enough to learn where he came from.” Randall also reflects on his time in the Twin Cities before and after the murder of George Floyd. In conversation with Torrin A. Greathouse, transgender poet, essayist and educator, and award-wining Minnesota poet Danez Smith (“Don’t Call Us Dead’). 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. Free, registration required: magersandquinn.com.

READINGS BY WRITERS: Celebrates a new poetry anthology “Broad Wings, Long Legs: A Rookery of Heron Poems” (North Star Press) hosted by editor James Silas Rogers with contributing poets. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, University Club, 420 Summit Ave., St. Paul.

What else is going on

Mona Susan Powe (Courtesy of the author)

They just can’t top winning. Mona Susan Power’s novel “A Council of Dolls” is the Minnesota Center for the Book pick for our state’s adult Great Reads title,  and Corey Doerrfeld’s “Beneath” is the state’s title in the kids’ category. The news came the same week as both authors won Minnesota Book Awards. “My jaw is still on the ground,” Power admitted on Facebook about the announcement. Each of the 56 Center for the Book affiliates of the Library of Congress chose Great Reads to be recognized at the Aug. 24 National Book Festival In Washington D.C. where every Center has a table to promote their book as well as aspects of their state’s or territory’s unique literary heritage. In Minnesota, the Center for the Book is administered by Friends of the St. Paul Public Library. The National Book Festival is free and open to the public.

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Literary calendar for week of May 12

Literary pick for week of May 19: A doctor’s story of love, loss and “Gray’s Anatomy”

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Ellen Anderson Penno was 24 in 1986 when her first love and Carleton College classmate Ian Kraabel died in an avalanche while guiding a party of climbers on Mount Baker in the Cascade Range in Washington. His body was found in a crevice just before Penno was scheduled to begin medical school. Should she take time to grieve or begin rigorous medical studies? She chose medicine.

Ellen Anderson Penno and Ian Kraabel in an undated black and white photo taken before he died in an avalanche in 1986. (Courtesy of Ellen Anderson Penno)

Penno tells her story for the first time in her memoir “Counting Bones: Anatomy of Love Lost and Found,”  which she’ll introduce in her hometown of Stillwater at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 23, at the Lowell Inn, 102 N. Second St., presented by Valley Bookseller.

Now an ophthalmologist in Calgary, Penno structures her sometimes-funny story through the lens of the classical medical text “Gray’s Anatomy.” In this celebration of Kraabel’s life, she shows readers what becomes of those who must rebuild their lives after a tragedy. Minnesota plays a role in her book since she earned degrees from the University of Minnesota and did an internship at Hennepin County Medical Center and a residency at the Mayo Clinic. She also holds graduate certificates in creative writing from Humber College in Canada and narrative medicine from Columbia University.

Penno’s Thursday program is free, but attendees are asked to sign up using the Get Ticket option so Valley Bookseller staff can make seating arrangements. The registration link, as well as book purchase option, can be accessed at Valleybookseller.com.

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Skywatch: Arcturus is the great star of summer and on the rise … for now

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Without a doubt, the brightest star in the summer night sky is Arcturus. It’s the second-brightest star in our night skies throughout the year. Only Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog, is more brilliant. Arcturus has actually been visible in the evening sky since February when it was barely above the horizon in the early evening. I love it when Arcturus starts appearing because it’s a promise that summer’s coming. Once again, the promise has been kept. Earth has moved far enough in its orbit around the sun to give us a more direct view of Arcturus. That’s why it’s so much higher in the evening sky. As twilight fades Arcturus pops into view very high in the southern sky. You can’t miss it. It’s the brightest star in the sky! If you want even more confirmation you’re seeing Arcturus, use the old, reliable stargazing tool, “Arc to Arcturus.” Find the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper, and with your mind’s eye extend that arc beyond the end of the Dipper’s handle. You’ll run right into Arcturus, guaranteed!

(Mike Lynch)

Not only is Arcturus the brightest star in the summer night sky, but it’s also the brightest star in the constellation Bootes the Farmer or Herdsman. Rather than a hunter, though, Bootes looks much more like a giant kite with Arturus beaming at the tail. You also can’t help but notice that Arcturus has an orange-reddish glow. It’s considered by astronomers to be a red giant star, way larger than our sun, with a diameter of 22 million miles. Our sun isn’t even a million miles across! Its Arcturus is 37 light-years from Earth, with just one light-year equaling nearly 6 trillion miles. It’s so far away that the light we see from it now left that star shortly after Ronald Reagan became president.

The cool thing about the night sky is that when we look up at the constellations, we see the same star patterns our ancestors saw thousands of years ago. They’re also the same patterns our descendants will see thousands of years from now. Stars are often referred to as fixed, but strictly speaking, they’re not. They’re constantly on the move, tearing along at incredible speeds. Like our sun, most of them are obediently orbiting around the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Some mavericks travel in different directions. We can’t easily detect the changing positions of the stars among each other because of their incredible distances. That’s why they seem fixed in place.

There are some exceptions, though, and Arcturus is one of them. About 300 years ago, Sir Edmund Halley, the same guy after whom the famous comet is named, detected changes in Arcturus’ position relative to nearby stars in the sky by comparing ancient star charts with what he was observing. Since then, it’s been determined that Arcturus is moving over 75 miles a second relative to our solar system. And it’s coming in our direction!  Many astronomers believe that it’s about as close to us as it’s going to be. Turning the clock backward as little as half a million years ago, it’s believed that Arcturus was so far away that it wasn’t even visible to the naked eye. And, in about another half million years, it will fade from our view, never to be seen again. So, enjoy Arcturus for now.

Don’t take this coming summer for granted, and don’t take the brightest star of summer for granted, although there are still quite a few summers to go!

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Mike is available for private star parties. You can contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.

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