Most Popular Books by Kyo MacLear

"Three months after Kyo Maclear''s father dies in December 2018, she gets the results of a DNA test showing that she and the father who raised her are not biologically related. Suddenly Maclear becomes a detective in her own life, unravelling a family mystery piece by piece, and assembling the story of her biological father. Along the way, larger questions arise: what exactly is kinship? And what does it mean to be a family? Unearthing is a captivating and propulsive story of inheritance that goes beyond heredity. Infused with moments of suspense, it is also a thoughtful reflection on race, lineage, and our cultural fixation on recreational genetics. Readers of Michelle Zauner''s bestseller Crying in H Mart will recognize Maclear''s unflinching insights on grief and loyalty, and keen perceptions into the relationship between mothers and daughters. What gets planted, and what gets buried? What role does storytelling play in unearthing the past and making sense of a life? Can the humble act of tending a garden provide common ground for an inquisitive daughter and her complicated mother? As it seeks to answer these questions, Unearthing bursts with the very love it seeks to understand"--

A joyful celebration of Japanese cultural traditions and body positivity as a young girl visits a bath house with her grandmother and aunties NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY New York Public Library • NPR • Publishers Weekly • Horn Book • The American Library Association • ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST PICTURE BOOK OF THE CENTURY You''ll walk down the street / Your aunties sounding like clip-clopping horses / geta-geta-geta / in their wooden sandals / Until you arrive... / At the bath house / The big bath house. In this celebration of Japanese culture and family and naked bodies of all shapes and sizes, join a little girl--along with her aunties and grandmother--at a traditional bath house. Once there, the rituals leading up to the baths begin: hair washing, back scrubbing, and, finally, the wood barrel drumroll. Until, at last, it''s time, and they ease their bodies--their creased bodies, newly sprouting bodies, saggy, jiggly bodies--into the bath. Ahhhhhh! With a lyrical text and gorgeous illustrations, this picture book is based on Kyo Maclear''s loving memories of childhood visits to Japan, and is an ode to the ties that bind generations of women together.

"A writer''s search for inspiration, beauty, and solace leads her to birds in this ... meditation on creativity and life"--

In winter Charles and his trusty toboggan set out to find the wish tree, and along the way he helps to make the wishes of his friends Squirrel, Fox, and Beaver come true.

A story of friendship, first crushes, opera and the high drama of middle school told by award-winning Kyo Maclear in her debut graphic novel. Somewhere in the universe, there is the perfect tune for you. It’s almost the end of middle school, and Charlie has to find her perfect song for a music class assignment. But it’s hard for Charlie to concentrate when she can’t stop noticing her classmate Emile, or wondering about Luka, who hasn’t been to school in weeks. Then, the class learns about opera, and Charlie discovers the music of Maria Callas. The more she learns about Maria’s life, the more Charlie admires her passion for singing and her ability to express herself fully through her music. Can Charlie follow the example of the ultimate diva, Maria Callas, when it comes to her own life? Key Text Features speech bubbles captions bibliography Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character''s thoughts, words, or actions). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story''s or drama''s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6 Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

Julia and Simca are two young friends who agree that you can never use too much butter -- and that it is best to be a child forever. Sharing a love of cooking and having no wish to turn into big, busy people who worry too much and dawdle too little, they decide to create a feast for growing and staying young. A playful, scrumptious celebration of the joy of eating, the importance of never completely growing up and mastering the art of having a good time, Julia, Child is a fictional tale loosely inspired by the life and spirit of the very real Julia Child -- a story that should be taken with a grain of salt and a generous pat of butter.

A humorous ñmulti-cutleryî tale about how Spork --- half spoon, half fork --- finally finds his place at the table. A charming story for anyone who has ever wondered about their place in the world.

When you have to leave behind almost everything you know, where can you call home? Sometimes home is simply where we are: here. An imaginative, lyrical, unforgettable picture book about the migrant experience through a child''s eyes. When a little girl and her younger brother are forced along with their family to flee the home they''ve always known, they must learn to make a new home for themselves -- wherever they are. And sometimes the smallest things -- a cup, a blanket, a lamp, a flower, a story -- can become a port of hope in a terrible storm. As the refugees travel onward toward an uncertain future, they are buoyed up by their hopes, dreams and the stories they tell -- a story that will carry them perpetually forward. This timely, sensitively told story, written by multiple award--winner Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Sendak Fellowship recipient Rashin Kheiriyeh, introduces very young readers in a gentle, non-frightening and ultimately hopeful way to the current refugee crisis.

A clever and whimsical environmental fable about a bird who is a human-watcher from a dynamic author-illustrator duo. Warble is a small yellow warbler who lives on the beautiful island of Icyland, where he pursues his hobby of human watching. But on a warm day, a deep fog rolls in and obscures his view. The rest of the birds don''t seem to notice the fog or the other changes Warble observes on the island. The more the fog is ignored, the more it spreads. When a Red-hooded Spectacled Female (Juvenile) appears, Warble discovers that he''s not the only one who notices the fog. Will they be able to find others who can see it too? And is the fog here to stay? Kyo Maclear''s witty story, brought to life with the delicate, misty artwork of Kenard Pak, is a poignant yet humorous reminder of the importance of environmental awareness.

While banished to a dusty study one day "to think things over", a boy pulls a book off a shelf and with great reluctance begins to read. As the afternoon passes, the story nabs him and carries him away. Before long, this good little book becomes his loyal companion, accompanying him everywhere ... until, one day, the book is lost. Will this bad little boy get back his good little book? Will the good little book survive on its own without a proper jacket? A quirky, enchanting tale of literary love and loss -- and love found again -- that will win the heart of even the most reluctant reader.

The Liszts make lists. They make lists most usual and lists most unusual. They make lists in winter, spring, summer and fall. They make lists every day except Sundays, which are listless. Mama Liszt, Papa Liszt, Winifred, Edward, Frederick and Grandpa make lists all day long. So does their cat. Then one day a visitor arrives. He''s not on anyone''s list. Will the Liszts be able to make room on their lists for this new visitor? How will they handle something unexpected arising? Kyo Maclear''s quirky, whimsical story, perfectly brought to life with the witty, stylish illustrations of Júlia Sardà, is a humorous and poignant celebration of spontaneity.

A vibrant historical picture book about Tokyo''s bicycle food deliverers, or demae, who balanced towering trays of steaming hot noodles on their shoulders while navigating crowded city streets. A CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK • A Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book • A BOOKPAGE, KIRKUS REVIEWS, AND HORN BOOK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR When the deliverymen set off in the morning, the children wait for the flicker of pedal and wheel. It''s the demae-- delivery men-- setting off to deliver steaming trays of noodles to hungry customers all over the city. They are acrobats: whizzing past other bicycles, soaring around curves, avoiding the black smoke of motorcycles. When the children see them, they want to be them. And so they practice with bowls of wobbling water stacked on trays. The day passes, and, finally, exhausted, the demae return home, to their families, and, yes, to steaming bowls of noodles. This beautifully crafted, visually exciting story by a powerhouse author and illustrator team is sure to be adored by food lovers, young and old.

A boy born of an adulterous affair, whose race and parentage are unclear . . . an obsessive journalist who feels alive only on the edge of danger . . . a beautiful but distracted young woman who seems ill-equipped for life—when these three mismatched people come together in London during the 1960s, their lives are changed forever. Stray Love is the unforgettable story of Marcel, an orphan growing up in postwar England. When his guardian, Oliver, is promoted to foreign correspondent and posted to Vietnam, Marcel is left in the care of the free-spirited Pippa. But just when it seems they will never be reunited, Marcel is sent to join Oliver in Vietnam. As the war escalates, Oliver is finally overwhelmed by emotions he can’t outrun—including his doomed love for Pippa. But Marcel, running through the streets of Saigon, or bonding with his Vietnamese nanny, Anh, is finally starting to feel at home in the world. Is this why Oliver suddenly decides to tell Marcel the truth about his life? And is it the “real” truth or simply Oliver’s version of it?

The uplifting journey of a bashful cloud ("kumo" in Japanese) who discovers the rewards of feeling seen. Kumo is a cloud whose only wish is to float unseen. When she’s assigned cloud duty for the day, she feels overwhelmed by self-doubt and her fear of being noticed. But after learning that closing your eyes isn’t a good solution to your troubles, Kumo pulls her fluff together and does her duties — drifting, releasing rain and providing shelter — meeting some new friends along the way and inspiring the imagination (and capturing the heart) of a small daydreamer like her. Kyo Maclear’s sweetly humorous and lyrical parable about shyness, vividly brought to life by Nathalie Dion’s ethereal illustrations, is an affirmation of the pleasures of community and the confidence that can arise from friendship and visibility.

Naiko works in the Undeliverable Mail Office where, immersed in things lost and missing, she searches for clues to match undeliverable mail with addresses. Her job allows her to achieve a semblance of order in a disorderly world. It is a shock, then, when Naiko’s co-worker Andrei, an enigmatic Romanian refugee, suddenly vanishes. This astonishing debut novel unfolds in compelling, delicately wrought layers. Naiko’s shifting understanding of Andrei’s past becomes an opaque reflection of her own existence, and objects—from the pens hoarded by Naiko’s mother in her retirement home to the personal effects of Jewish women that Andrei’s grandmother sorts through at Birkenau—become touchstones for memories and meaning, loss and love.

Sometimes the unlikeliest friends form the greatest friendships. A funny, charming picture book from a dynamic duo. Friends Yak and Dove are complete opposites. Yak is large and Dove is small. Yak has fur and Dove has feathers. Yak is polite. Dove is ill-mannered. Yak likes quiet. Dove likes noise. One day as Yak and Dove list their differences they come to the conclusion that maybe they aren''t meant to be friends. In the hope of finding a new best friend, Yak holds auditions. But when a small feathered contestant sings Yak''s favorite song, the two begin to think that maybe they are alike after all . . . Yak and Dove whimsically captures the highs and lows of friendship through the three interconnected tales of two very different friends.

‘Now when I hear birdsong, I feel an entry to that understory. When I am feeling too squeezed on the ground, exhausted by everything in my care, I look for a little sky. There are always birds flying back and forth, city birds flitting around our human edges, singing their songs.’

A young girl does not want to go away for summer vacation; she wants to stay in the city with her friends. But after a few days at the beach, she falls under the oceanês spell and begins to wonder how she can bring it and its magic back home with her. A lyrical, thoughtful look at the deep connection to be made with the natural world.