NPR's Book of the Day

Author and cartoonist Art Spiegelman is familiar with the hysteria surrounding certain library books. In today's episode, he tells NPR's Scott Simon about how comic book burnings during his childhood in the 1950s weren't all that different from book bans taking place across the country today. Spiegelman says that though they tackled difficult subjects, he found then – and continues to find today – great emotional power in comics, such as his reissued collection Breakdowns. And he says he's felt deeply unsettled by the ongoing challenges against these kinds of books.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Author George M. Johnson says they knew their memoir, All Boys Aren't Blue, would be challenged by school boards – but they didn't realize just how much controversy it would stir up. The memoir explores Johnson's upbringing as a queer young person of color in New Jersey and Virginia. In today's episode, they tell NPR's Leila Fadel that despite all the pushback the book has received, it's been overwhelmingly gratifying to see how much it's helped teachers, librarians, parents...and especially the students themselves.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jordan Banks, the protagonist of New Kid, is a seventh grade student who loves to draw and hopes to one day become a cartoonist. But the graphic novel following Jordan's arrival at a predominantly white, elite, private school has been challenged numerous times in the state of Texas by people claiming it promotes critical race theory. In today's episode, author Jerry Craft tells NPR's A Martinez how those challenges were often presented by parents who had not truly engaged with the material – and why it's crucial for him to tell coming-of-age stories for Black kids that don't involve catastrophe.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Professor Ashley Hope Pérez's book Out of Darkness explores school segregation in 20th century Texas through a fictional love story between a young African-American boy and a Mexican-American girl. But the YA novel has been banned in a number of places and effectively pulled out of several school libraries. In today's episode, the author tells NPR's Rob Schmitz how sexual content is used as a scapegoat to target books addressing race, gender and other identity-based topics – and how those battles ultimately set back strides in diversifying children's literature.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Today's episode is all about professional longevity. First, actor Steve Martin and New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss sit down with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly to explain their new comic memoir, Number One Is Walking, focused on anecdotes from Martin's life in Hollywood. Then, NPR's Elissa Nadworny asks author Nick Hornby about his new book, Dickens and Prince, which finds similarities in how the literary and musical figures both managed to pump out an impressive amount of material throughout their careers.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Anya is only 8 years old, but she's already got the weight of a nation on her shoulders. The protagonist of Winterland lives in an isolated Arctic town, where she's immersed in the world of 1970s Soviet gymnastics. In today's episode, author Rae Meadows tells NPR's David Folkenflik about her long-lasting fascination with that era of competitive sports, and how it shapes her main character's journey into womanhood.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Amélie Wen Zhao's fantasy novel, Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, is rooted in the Chinese genres of xianxia and wuxia. It follows a young girl uncovering the secrets of her tumultuous kingdom with the help of a magician. In today's episode, the author talks to Here & Now's Kalyani Saxena about how her imperfect characters make difficult choices in their search for power. Zhao draws clear comparisons between the themes of anti-imperialism and history depicted in the book to real world battles being fought today, including anti-Asian racism.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The titular protagonist of Meredith, Alone has not left her home in three years. In today's episode, author Claire Alexander tells NPR's Scott Simon about the character's self-imposed isolation, and how trauma from earlier in life can leave long-lasting impacts on a person's mental health. And yet Meredith's trauma doesn't define her – so Alexander explains why she wanted to write a story that provided a full scope of what it means to overcome mental and emotional wounds.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Janet Yellen's career has shattered several glass ceilings; she was the first female head of the Federal Reserve, and she's now the first woman serving as Secretary of Treasury. In this episode, author and journalist Jon Hilsenrath discusses his new biography of her, Yellen, and how her upbringing and marriage reveal a lot about her professional path. Hilsenrath explains to Here & Now's Scott Tong that the love story of Yellen and her husband actually offers insight into the delicate line between democracy and capitalism, and how in a time of economic upheaval, policymakers are bound to make mistakes.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Today's first interview is with author Peng Shepard on her new mystery. A father and daughter, both cartographers, haven't spoken in seven years. But when the father is found dead, his daughter must use their shared skill to solve the mystery of his death. Shepard told NPR's Elissa Nadworny that obsession can be a stand-in for the person lost. Next, Anne Tyler on her new book which follows a family in Baltimore across several generations. Tyler told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly that she likes to write about families because they sort of have to love each other even when they annoy each other.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy