January 21 – February 25, 2024

January 20 – February 24, 2024

1.

Once I had to go to Disney World with my small children. On the way to the airport our taxi driver exhibited signs of Obsessive Disney Disorder—when he found out where we were going he started obsessively describing and listing and explaining everything that had to do with Disney World, even though he was a grown man.

We stayed at the Portofino Bay Hotel, a Disney-owned property that is a replica of the storied village on the Italian Riviera. There were imitation Renaissance churches and Mediterranean piazzas clustered around a fake harbor with old Fiats parked on the cobblestones and fishing boats moored in the fake bay. Outside cafés ranged on the harbor, serving espresso under green-and-white striped awnings. Italian cypresses were planted along the pools. If you didn’t know it was a Disney replica of a real place, it would have to be characterized as being extremely tasteful and lovely. So you did tend to get confused between: Is this a theme park of Italy or is it just lovely and pleasant.

There is a REAL Florida out there that is TRULY historic. I madly drove out to find the REAL Orlando, forgetting my phobia of freeways. After almost getting killed (horns blasting at my side, cars swerving out of my way), I did find the real Orlando. It is situated on several lakes lined by turn-of-the-last-century Victorians and bungalows. I went to the history museum. The number one industry in central Florida is cattle. Has anyone in Florida ever seen a head of cattle? No. But maybe that was before Disney.

Here's what relationship experts say Couple To Throuple could have done better

Welcome to Today in Books, where we report on literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.

It Feels Like a Lot Because It Is a Lot

If your latest scroll through the Netflix menu left you feeling like every other option was based on a book, you’re not super wrong. Nearly one-third of the English-language shows Netflix has released so far this year are adapted from existing IP. Leading the way are the limited series Fool Me Once, based on the novel by Harlan Coben, and One Day, adapted from David Nicholls’s 2009 novel, which was previously adapted for film in 2011. When we look beyond Netflix, 7 of the 10 highest-grossing movies of last year were based on existing work, and—here’s the real  👀 stat—the last time the highest-earning film of the year was not adapted from existing IP or part of a franchise was 1998 when Titanic raked in the equivalent of $600 million (equivalent to $1.2 billion today) in the U.S. alone. That’s a full quarter-century of adaptation domination, and there’s no slow-down in sight. 

Color Purple Actress Criticizes Film for Queer Erasure

Speaking of adaptations! In a wide-ranging interview at BuzzFeed, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who appeared in last year’s adaptation of The Color Purple, goes on the record to criticize the filmmakers for downplaying the lesbian relationshipbetween main character Celie and her life-changing lover Shug Avery.

The Color Purple is a book about Black lesbians. Whether the choice was made to focus on that or not in the cinematic iterations of The Color Purple, it’s still a movie about Black lesbians. People can try to say the story is about sisterhood, but it’s a story about Black lesbians. Period.

This is a familiar debate and hardly the first time an adaptation of Alice Walker’s beloved novel has failed its queer characters and missed an important opportunity to meet queer audiences where they are. It’s especially disappointing, though, coming out of a year in which some of the most celebrated films and series—All of Us Strangers, Passages, and Fellow Travelers—were about queer relationships. Can it be a coincidence that writers, producers, and studios were more comfortable with those stories about white men than with this one about Black women? 🤔

Netflix's adaptation of the cult animation emptily exploits fans' nostalgia

It’s been close to two years since writing about why libraries need to have strong book challenge policies; in the fall, this guide helped to consider where and how to actively incorporate inclusivity in collection policies. Because library collection policies are living documents and need to be regularly updated to accommodate the climate around them, it’s time to revisit this topic and look at what contemporary book banning has made clear needs to be better articulated in these policies.

This guide is for library workers, of course, but it is also useful for library advocates. It is an opportunity for you to look at your local library’s policies and champion strengthening them in order to encourage and support the most inclusive collection possible.

Below are four areas of consideration. It’s not comprehensive, but instead, a series of places to start now.

Demco, Broadart, and other library suppliers create an array of stickers for use in helping readers find items of interest quickly while browsing. These stickers include genre — mystery, science fiction, romance — as well as themes — humor, holiday, LGBTQ+. What is meant to help readers find, though, can be used to not only stigmatize but to target those titles.

Welcome to Read this Book, a newsletter where I recommend one book that needs to jump onto your TBR pile! Sometimes, these books are brand-new releases that I don’t want you to miss, while others are some of my backlist favorites. I adore cookbooks, food writing, and food memoirs. There’s just something special about diving into a world of culinary enthusiasm that sparks so much joy. This week, I’m recommending a cookbook that I can already tell will be my favorite cookbook that I read this year.

Want reading recs in your inbox? Sign up for our Read This Book newsletter! 

We all know that kids love to play and that it’s a crucial way they learn about the world, but did you know that play directly helps children develop early literacy skills? That’s part of why how-to books for kids are so important, as they can help guide children in making and building things in imaginative ways. Learning to craft and build is a form of playtime and is especially important for the development of a five to nine-year-old’s brain. Additionally, skills like origami, drawing, gardening, and cooking can help with promoting physical abilities; think of how using craft tools like scissors can help work on movement control and improve gross motor skills. Play is so crucial to children’s development that the American Library Association has emphasized the importance of play as an early literacy skill.

These eight how-to books for kids will engage the makers and tinkerers in your life, teaching them while broadening their interests. I’ve also included a couple of simple picture books that encourage building and creating; if you know a younger maker, they might enjoy getting started through those.

An additional note: at Book Riot, we do our best to actively promote diversity in books and publishing. This list features very few authors and illustrators of color because I wasn’t able to find many that had written how-to books for the K to 3 set (if you know of any I missed, please share!). I did, however, find some excellent digital creators of color making fun and educational craft content for kids. Tabitha Brown’s YouTube series, Tab Time, has how-to craft and snack videos that are aimed at preschoolers, and Cheryl Gavrielides’s Instagram, creative_mama_che, has some fantastic and easy craft projects as well. Make sure to check them out too!