BIG BIG BIG Day: Three Stellar New Books
We’re so excited to be publishing three simply wonderful books today, September 15! A Better Man by comedian/actor/author Michael Ian Black breaks down the masculine code for a new era in this heartfelt, smart, and often funny book, written as a letter to his son. Furia, the young adult novel by Yamile Saied Méndez, has just been announced as Reese Witherspoon’s new YA pick for her Reese’s Book Club, a compelling, inspiring story for grownups of all ages. And Skunk and Badger brings together Newbery Honor-winning author Amy Timberlake‘s clever and charming writing with Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Jon Klassen‘s drawings for a delightful family read-together story.
Each of these is a not-to-be-missed book in its own very special way. Read more about them here—and buy copies of each:
A Better Man by Michael Ian Black
“What is this book? It’s a guy trying to make sense of things, at a transitional moment. It’s a complicated moment, too. To read “A Better Man” now, when the world often seems beyond repair, so many generations of men having steered us into calamity with their brittleness and hubris and idiocy — one could wonder whether even a good book can make a difference. But then you’re snapped back to Black’s simple decency, and intelligence and love for his son, and you think oh man, maybe.” —San Francisco Chronicle
A poignant look at boyhood, in the form of a heartfelt letter from comedian Michael Ian Black to his teenage son before he leaves for college, and a radical plea for rethinking masculinity and teaching young men to give and receive love.
In a world in which the word masculinity now often goes hand in hand with toxic, comedian, actor, and father Michael Ian Black offers up a way forward for boys, men, and anyone who loves them. Part memoir, part advice book, and written as a heartfelt letter to his college-bound son, A Better Man reveals Black’s own complicated relationship with his father, explores the damage and rising violence caused by the expectations placed on boys to “man up,” and searches for the best way to help young men be part of the solution, not the problem. “If we cannot allow ourselves vulnerability,” he writes, “how are we supposed to experience wonder, fear, tenderness?”
Honest, funny, and hopeful, Black skillfully navigates the complex gender issues of our time and delivers a poignant answer to an urgent question: How can we be, and raise, better men?
Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez
The new Reese’s YA Book Club pick!
A powerful, #ownvoices contemporary YA for fans of The Poet X and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter set in Argentina, about a rising soccer star who must put everything on the line—even her blooming love story—to follow her dreams.
In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan lives a double life.
At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother’s narrow expectations, in her rising-soccer-star brother’s shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father.
On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. In her wildest dreams, she’d get an athletic scholarship to a North American university.
But the path ahead isn’t easy. Her parents don’t know about her passion. They wouldn’t allow a girl to play fútbol—and she needs their permission to go any farther. And the boy she once loved is back in town. Since he left, Diego has become an international star, playing in Italy for the renowned team Juventus. Camila doesn’t have time to be distracted by her feelings for him. Things aren’t the same as when he left: she has her own passions and ambitions now, and La Furia cannot be denied. As her life becomes more complicated, Camila is forced to face her secrets and make her way in a world with no place for the dreams and ambition of a girl like her.
Filled with authentic details and the textures of day-to-day life in Argentina, heart-soaring romance, and breathless action on the pitch, Furia is the story of a girl’s journey to make her life her own.
Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake, with pictures by Jon Klassen
Wallace and Gromit meets Winnie-the-Pooh in a fresh take on a classic odd-couple friendship, from Newbery Honor author Amy Timberlake with full-color and black-and-white illustrations throughout by Caldecott Medalist Jon Klassen.
No one wants a skunk.
They are unwelcome on front stoops. They should not linger in Important Rock Rooms. Skunks should never, ever be allowed to move in. But Skunk is Badger’s new roommate, and there is nothing Badger can do about it.
When Skunk plows into Badger’s life, everything Badger knows is upended. Tails are flipped. The wrong animal is sprayed. And why-oh-why are there so many chickens?
“Nooooooooooooooooooooo!”
Skunk and Badger is a book you’ll want to read, reread, and read out loud . . . again and again.
