Here are 100 books that On Air with Zoe Washington fans have personally recommended if you like
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I’m a Taiwanese American children’s book author who was your classic, straight-A, Asian model minority stereotype student who did all the right things when I was a tween—yet I never really stuck my neck out to make change happen and fight for what I believed was right. I can’t rewrite my history, but I can—and hope to—inspire kids of today to do better than I did. And so I write books that feature strong, assertive kids who learn how to stand up and speak out against injustice to make the world a better place for everyone and anyone who’s ever been overlooked or misunderstood.
I absolutely fell in love with the spunk of Mexican American tween Malú when I first picked up this amazing book!
Her love of punk rock and her subsequent discovery of the genre’s connection to her Mexican roots, her desire to be accepted by her mother and her new schoolmates—just as she is, and her fight against her school to allow everyone there to express themselves as authentically as they can had me rooting for her at every page. Oh, and did I mention the super fun zine drawings?
There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school - you can't fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One, twelve-year-old Malu inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School's queen bee, violates the school's dress code with her punk-rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mum in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself. The real Malu loves rock music, skateboarding, zines, and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when she assembles…
I’m a Taiwanese American children’s book author who was your classic, straight-A, Asian model minority stereotype student who did all the right things when I was a tween—yet I never really stuck my neck out to make change happen and fight for what I believed was right. I can’t rewrite my history, but I can—and hope to—inspire kids of today to do better than I did. And so I write books that feature strong, assertive kids who learn how to stand up and speak out against injustice to make the world a better place for everyone and anyone who’s ever been overlooked or misunderstood.
This story made me both sad and hopeful, which is why it’s made this list. I found Pandita’s struggle to come to peace with the death of her mother really moving, especially when she turns her grief into advocating for a cause that she truly believes in.
Perkins’ writing is exquisite, and the themes of preserving and respecting the past while adjusting to and addressing the needs of the future are very relevant today. Seeing Pandita slowly find her voice is also oh-so inspiring.
Hope in the Valley, from National Book Award Nominee Mitali Perkins, is a middle-grade novel exploring grief, friendship, family, and growing up in a community facing a housing crisis.
Twelve-year-old Indian-American Pandita Paul doesn't like change. She's not ready to start middle school and leave the comforts of childhood behind. Most of all, Pandita doesn't want to feel like she's leaving her mother, who died a few years ago, behind. After a falling out with her best friend, Pandita is planning to spend most of her summer break reading and writing in her favorite secret space: the abandoned but majestic…
I’m a Taiwanese American children’s book author who was your classic, straight-A, Asian model minority stereotype student who did all the right things when I was a tween—yet I never really stuck my neck out to make change happen and fight for what I believed was right. I can’t rewrite my history, but I can—and hope to—inspire kids of today to do better than I did. And so I write books that feature strong, assertive kids who learn how to stand up and speak out against injustice to make the world a better place for everyone and anyone who’s ever been overlooked or misunderstood.
Lupe Wong needs to get straight A's in order to meet her favorite baseball player, but it’s a losing battle against the horror of square dancing for gym class! I loved how full of humor, heart, and conviction the sports-loving Lupe is, and I connected with Lupe’s struggles as she tries to fight her school, only to discover what’s actually worth fighting for—and what she’s truly capable of accomplishing.
There’s also a wit to Lupe that I found immensely appealing, and I laughed out loud at her sharp observations about adults, kids, and the state of the world she’s fighting to change.
My gym shorts burrow into my butt crack like a frightened groundhog.
Don't you want to read a book that starts like that??
Lupe Wong is going to be the first female pitcher in the Major Leagues.
She's also championed causes her whole young life. Some worthy...like expanding the options for race on school tests beyond just a few bubbles. And some not so much...like complaining to the BBC about the length between Doctor Who seasons.
Lupe needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, who's Chinacan/Mexinese just like her. So…
I’m a Taiwanese American children’s book author who was your classic, straight-A, Asian model minority stereotype student who did all the right things when I was a tween—yet I never really stuck my neck out to make change happen and fight for what I believed was right. I can’t rewrite my history, but I can—and hope to—inspire kids of today to do better than I did. And so I write books that feature strong, assertive kids who learn how to stand up and speak out against injustice to make the world a better place for everyone and anyone who’s ever been overlooked or misunderstood.
Although this story is not set in a school setting, this historical fiction novel-in-verse still fits really nicely into this theme of youth activism. I found Salazar’s writing very poetically moving yet accessible to young readers at the same time.
Lula’s dream to be the ringleader of a Mexican traveling service is creative and fun, yet the realities and struggles of her migrant farmworker family are very real and viscerally felt. I felt very inspired by Lula’s strength and voice as she and her family fought in the farmworkers’ rights movement in California in the 1960s, making this book a must-read for the future changemakers of today.
A farm-working girl with big dreams meets activist Dolores Huerta and joins the 1965 protest for workers' rights in this tender-hearted novel in verse, perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia and Pam Munoz Ryan.
Lula Viramontes aches to one day become someone whom no one can ignore: a daring ringleader in a Mexican traveling circus. But between working the grape harvest in Delano, California, with her older siblings under dangerous conditions; taking care of her younger siblings and Mama, who has mysteriously fallen ill; and doing everything she can to avoid Papa's volatile temper, it's hard to…
I love to get kids fired up about true stories, using their imaginations and believing in themselves as future innovators, inventors, and creators. Crayola crayons inventor Edwin Binney's story is a fabulous springboard for exploring nature, color and creativity. I love to draw and make stuff just like Binney, so his story resonated with me. The more I researched, the more I admired how he listened to what people needed and looked to nature for inspiration. I am intrigued by the origins of everyday objects. Here are some books that inspired me when I was writing, and that have that fascinating a-ha moment that spurs on innovation.
Who doesn’t like to eat something yummy? But do you ever think about how this food came about? The serendipitous events that led to the creation of a favourite snack – nachos – begin with a Mexican boy, Ignacio Anaya. He loved to eat and cook and was nicknamed . . . Nacho. One day, when asked to create a snack at short notice at a restaurant, Ignacio used whatever he had to hand – corn tortillas, cheddar cheese, and jalapeño peppers. His creation soon became a favourite, and now global, snack – nachos. This delicious true story will inspire young readers to create spontaneously with whatever ingredients are available, and to discover how being inventive in the kitchen, just like this young chef, can be heaps of fun!
Celebrating 80 Years of Nachos with NACHO'S NACHOS! In Nacho's Nachos, Sandra Nickel and Oliver Dominguez introduce young readers to Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya and tell the true story of how he invented the world's most beloved snack in a moment of culinary inspiration.
Creative expression has been one of my most cherished values since childhood. I've always had a creative hobby of some kind since I was a kid. Not sure how that happened – my parents were tolerant of my interests at best. I made my day job career in the arts, fostering the creativity of community members and supporting the work of artists. Art (in the general sense of all forms of creative expression) is, to me, a defining characteristic of humanity, it makes life worth living, and the way it’s devalued under Capitalism both saddens and inspires me as a creator myself. I’m a writer of speculative fiction and I write about creative people.
One of the main characters in this book, the love interest actually, is on a quest to make the perfect chicken broth. Not art, exactly, but an act of creation. The multiple iterations and the constant tweaking of the recipe comprise a deep dive into an artist’s process as they strive to make the most perfect version of the thing in their head. That thing could be a painting, or a novel, or in this case, broth. This isn’t the main storyline, but it’s a significant side story and an indication of the author’s off-kilter take on space opera. All set in an imaginative world and the creative crucible of a high-end restaurant. Bonus points for the found family and community elements.
The Sol Majestic is a big-hearted and delightful intergalactic hopepunk adventure for fans of Becky Chambers and The Good Place
"A feast of a book.”—Hugo Award-winning author Seanan McGuire
Kenna, an aspirational teen guru, wanders destitute across the stars as he tries to achieve his parents' ambition to advise the celestial elite.
Everything changes when Kenna wins a free dinner at The Sol Majestic, the galaxy's most renowned restaurant, giving him access to the cosmos's one-percent. His dream is jeopardized, however, when he learns his highly-publicized "free meal" risks putting The Sol Majestic into financial ruin. Kenna and a motley…
I’ve been a Black woman for almost 40 years, and I’ve been writing about Black women almost as long. I grew up reading children’s books with brown faces and great stories, but the authors never interested me. Until I read Peaches, I had no idea that wholly relatable authors and stories existed. I began seeking them out. From authors like Virginia Hamilton and James Baldwin to Langston Hughes and even Donald Goines, I found stories of people with lives I recognized. I am far from an expert on Black literature. I am just grateful that during my formative years, I was exposed to some great Black authors.
An eclectic group of people regularly visit Bailey’s Cafe.
The owner believes the cafe is magical and he tells the stories of each of its patrons finding their way to a local boarding house and ultimately finding themselves. From the opening tale of the cafe owner to Sadie, and Eve, and Jessie Bell, and others, the stories are excellently told, each in a distinct voice.
Author Gloria Naylor has explained that the themes are relating to female sexuality and femaleness. I will note there are some pretty rough scenes, but the characters and their stories are unforgettable.
A “moving and memorable” novel about a cafe where everyone has a story to tell from the award-winning author of The Women of Brewster Place (The Boston Globe).
In post–World War II Brooklyn, on a quiet backstreet, there’s a little place that draws people from all over—not for the food, and definitely not for the coffee. An in-between place that’s only there when you need it, Bailey’s Cafe is a crossroads where patrons stay for a while before making a choice: Move on or check out?
In this novel, National Book Award–winning author Gloria Naylor’s expertly crafted characters experience a…
I love everything Scottish. My grandfather was Scottish. I never met him, but mom passed the pride of her heritage and culture to me. Mom used to throw out an occasional phrase or poem that I thought was Gaelic. (I later learned it was Scotts but that’s another story.) I decided I wanted to learn the language and found a short course at a small college on the Isle of Skye and it changed my life. After that short course I committed to learning the language and enrolled in the distance learning program. I travel to Skye for the short courses between my semesters and have made lifelong friends.
First, let me say, I love every book she’s written, and I’ve read them all! It is hard for me to choose just one. I picked this one because it’s the “gateway” book on the fictional island of Mure. (Incidentally, Muir is the Gaelic word for sea. Coincidence?) Ms. Colgan creates a world rich with the culture and beauty of the island people. Although at its heart, this story is a romance, there are several storylines of potential romance and a little mystery. With every book in the series, you delve a little deeper into the lives of the people. It’s like visiting old friends and I’m never quite ready to say goodbye.
The beloved author of The Bookshop on the Corner returns with a sparkling, sunny, soulful new novel perfect for fans of Elin Hilderbrand.
Years ago, Flora fled the quiet Scottish island where she grew up -- and she hasn't looked back. What would she have done on Mure? It's a place where everyone has known her all her life, where no one will let her forget the past. In bright, bustling London, she can be anonymous, ambitious... and hopelessly in love with her boss.
But when fate brings Flora back to the island, she's suddenly swept once more into life…
In 1966, I traveled to brave new worlds with the crew of the Starship Enterprise. Star Trek immediately became my lodestone, the focal point of my ten-year-old self, and I never missed an episode. A few years later I found Dune, and my love for the SF genre was cemented. I freely admit that I am not a hard science writer. I like to have fun with my stories, to play with ideas. I write first to entertain myself, and hopefully a reader or two along the way. I am a philosopher, a reader, and a writer.
I couldn’t imagine what this book could be about with a title like this, but I enjoy Cat’s short stories so I took a leap of faith. I’m glad I did.
You Sexy Thingis the name of a sentient bioship that believes it is being stolen. Fast-paced and action-packed with great characters, You Sexy Thing also has depth–found family, personal ethics, and a pirate king bent on revenge. Immensely entertaining.
Farscape meets The Great British Bake Off in this fantastic space opera You Sexy Thing from former SFWA President, Cat Rambo.
Just when they thought they were out…
TwiceFar station is at the edge of the known universe, and that’s just how Niko Larson, former Admiral in the Grand Military of the Hive Mind, likes it.
Retired and finally free of the continual war of conquest, Niko and the remnants of her former unit are content to spend the rest of their days working at the restaurant they built together, The Last Chance.
I’ve always been interested in food, even as young as 3 years old I remember wanting to taste everything, and I found the process of cooking fascinating. But I really got interested in food as a topic for research during my time studying Greek culture for my PhD thesis. People on the island of Kalymnos, where I’ve conducted research for 30 years, made a strong connection between food and memory, but it was a connection that few scholars have written about until recently. So I’ve been excited to participate in a new field reflected by all of these books, and hope you will be as well.
Cheffes explores the lives and the challenges facing female chefs and chefs-in-training in Lyon, France.
It also provides compelling first-hand experiences of the author who went through training while pregnant as well. Black’s account of the tribulations of professional female "cheffes" against a background of prejudice and harassment seemed very relevant to our contemporary discussions.
But what really stood out for me about this is that she contextualizes the story within the history of Lyon, famous both for its cuisine and for its legendary female cheffes. Black ties together past and present beautifully in her account, giving a real sense of continuity and change in the food world.
Works of Distinction, LDEI M.F.K. Fisher Prize for Excellence in Culinary Media Content, 2022
A rare woman's-eye-view of working in the professional French kitchen
Though women enter France's culinary professions at higher rates than ever, men still receive the lion's share of the major awards and Michelin stars. Rachel E. Black looks at the experiences of women in Lyon to examine issues of gender inequality in France's culinary industry. Known for its female-led kitchens, Lyon provides a unique setting for understanding the gender divide, as Lyonnais women have played a major role in maintaining the city's culinary heritage and its…
