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Summer Reads
These page-turners will keep readers at every age entertained this season!
THE UNITED STATES OF SPORTS
Do you have a little athlete in the family? Sports Illustrated Kids Books released this fun, beautifully illustrated reference for ages eight and up, and it’s a must-have for any budding sports fan. The book goes across the country, graphically depicting interesting factoids about sports teams and famous athletes from each state. Photos, maps and insider tidbits make this an engrossing read for kids and parents alike, and the section on Texas elaborates on local heroes such as Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros and James Harden, formerly of the Houston Rockets, among many others. Both pro and college teams of all kinds of sports are featured, guaranteeing to keep your future champ engrossed for hours.
HURRICANE SEASON: THE UNFORGETTABLE STORY OF THE 2017 HOUSTON ASTROS AND THE RESILIENCE OF A CITY
by Joe Holley (Hardcover, $27.00; bookpeople.com)
There isn’t a single Houstonian who wasn’t inspired by the Astros’ 2017 World Series win, particularly since it came immediately after Hurricane Harvey, the devastating storm that left the city underwater for several days. The flood waters left $200 billion in damages behind, and Houston’s morale in tatters.
But nine weeks later, the Astros' fought and won their firstever World Series victory, and Bayou City’s motto, “Houston Strong,” was everywhere. With this much-needed boost, the city’s faith was revitalized. Regardless of team affinity or city of residence, every single American will be inspired by this story of hardship overcome.
SANPAKU
by Kate Gavino (Hardcover, $16.50; amazon.com)
When her beloved grandmother dies, Marcine, a 12-year-old Filipino-American girl, becomes fascinated with the Japanese concept of sanpaku—the belief that if the whites of one’s eyes are visible beneath the iris, tragedy will strike.
Of course, her grandmother was afflicted with this phenomenon and regaled Marcine with stories of famous people who suffered from it while alive, feeding her superstition. Set in 1995, this coming-of-age, black-and-white graphic novel will resonate with young adults as they struggle to navigate puberty, providing a unique world view—and plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor—for any teen to enjoy.
WOLF BOYS: TWO AMERICAN TEENAGERS AND MEXICO’S MOST DANGEROUS DRUG CARTEL
by Dan Slater (Hardcover, $17.86; amazon.com)
Told in Dan Slater’s journalistic style, Wolf Boys uncovers the inner lives of the “foot soldiers” of the Mexican drug cartel. Slater follows two Mexican-American boys from Laredo, Texas, as they become inextricably involved in a deadly drug war on the TexasMexico border.
Both Gabriel Cardona and Robert Garcia are children of Mexican immigrants. As childhood friends, they grew up where extreme poverty and the billion-dollar illegal drug trade met and clashed, often with devastating results. Their similarities end there. While Garcia becomes a homicide detective in hot pursuit of the cartel, Cardona is trained as an assassin for Los Zetas, rising in the ranks of the drug underworld. As gut-wrenching as it is thrilling, Wolf Boys is a powerful cautionary tale and a rare glimpse into a world of desperation and survivalism.
PRINCESS TRULY IN I AM TRULY
by Kelly Greenawalt, illustrated by Amariah Rauscher (Hardcover, $14.65; amazon.com)
The books we read as children can impact the adults we become, and Houston author Kelly Greenawalt gets it. The adoptive mother of Calista and Kaia, Greenawalt saw a void in children’s books that empower little girls between the ages of three and eight—particularly little girls of color—so she wrote her own.
Beautifully illustrated with Amariah Rauscher’s whimsical artwork, I Am Truly is about a princess who is everything and anything she sets her mind to—beautiful, brave, confident and smart. The picture book’s positive message is clearly conveyed through its words and images, not only reassuring little girls that they can accomplish major feats like becoming astronauts or engineers, but also smaller goals, such as learning to swim and tie their shoes. No task is too small or too big for Princess Truly, who is every little girl in the world.
SWABBED AND FOUND
If you’ve lived in Houston for the past 20 years, you’ll recognize Frank Billingsley’s warm smile from KPRC 2’s weather reports— Billingsley is, in fact, the chief meteorologist. In addition to helping Houstonians prepare for hurricanes and navigate the city’s sometimes unpredictable weather on television, Billingsley has been on the hunt for his family’s genealogical history and captured his journey on paper.
Having been adopted as a child, Billingsley’s curiosity about his birth parents had been lifelong—until he delved deep into the world of DNA testing and genealogical research and pieced together his family tree. Written with Billingsley’s much-loved sense of humor and wit, Swabbed and Found is much more than a record of his findings; it’s a touching story of one man’s discovery that we are all part of the same big family.
