Ask a Bookseller

• Ask a Bookseller: ‘Why On Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology’

  On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.All this month, Ask a Bookseller is featuring books for kids and teens as we mark the start of school. This week’s recommendation comes from Bunnie Hilliard, owner of Brave + Kind Bookshop, a children’s bookstore in Decatur, Georgia. She’s been enjoying “Why On Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology,” edited by Rosiee Thor and Vania Stoyanova. It’s a collection of YA short stories centered on a teen alien rescue mission-gone wrong. Hilliard calls the stories “surprising and diverse” and recommends them for anyone looking for a break from reality. Captain Iona leads our alien crew as they attempt to recuse her brother, who is under cover in California as a human celebrity. From that accidental invasion beginning, the stories vary widely from sci-fi to romcom to adventure, written by both best-selling authors and new voices.  “Some of the overarching themes are belonging, found family, empathy, and the idea of ‘other’ — both people who are aliens who feel different from humans and people who are humans who feel alienated and different from their peers,” Hilliard said.Correction (Sept. 20, 2025): An earlier version of this story misspelled the author’s name. The story has been updated.

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• Ask a Bookseller: ‘Little Shrew’ by Akiko Miyakoshi

  On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.All September, Ask a Bookseller is marking the start of school by focusing on books for kids. This week’s recommendation comes from Ashley Robin Franklin of First Light Books in Austin, Texas. Ashley adores the picture book/early reader title “Little Shrew” by Akiko Miyakoshi. It's a quiet collection of three stories about Little Shrew’s daily life, secret joys and friends — perfect for thoughtful kids and bedtime reading. “The pictures are honestly incredible. When this book first came in, I think I gasped when I took it out of the box. Akiko Miyakoshi is just an incredible illustrator. It is, I think, all graphite and watercolor, and so it has this very gentle quality to it that I love.“I think that's just really sweet and really special. It’s a great starting point for questions about other people's lives and also for conversations about the quiet beauty of everyday life. It's not something you see in a kid's book that often.” Correction (Sept. 19, 2025): A previous version of this story misspelled the author’s name in a reference. The above story has been updated.

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• Ask a Bookseller: The Mighty Muskrats mystery series by Michael Hutchinson

  On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.With school back in session this month, Ask a Bookseller is focusing on books for kids. Author and bookseller Rosanne Parry of Annie Blooms Books in Portland, Oregon, starts us off with a middle-grade mystery series, perfect for fans of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. There are five books in Michael Hutchinson’s Mighty Muskrat series, with a new book forthcoming next year.The series features four mystery-solving cousins living on the fictional Windy Lake reservation in Canada. Hutchinson is a member of the Misipawistik Cree Nation.  Parry says the mysteries are active and well-paced, fun for kids and nostalgic for parents and grandparents. She also appreciates that they address contemporary concerns: “The mysteries are typical of the kid mystery genre — missing people, lost or stolen items and rigged sports events. Hutchinson weaves in information about his Cree heritage and issues relevant to First Nations without ever being heavy-handed, and he livens it all with humor. In the first one, “The Case of Windy Lake,” for example, they're looking for a missing archaeologist. Is archaeology on an Indian reservation fraught? It is. “He gets into that a little bit without it, it being heavy-handed. The series presents First Nations communities in the present day and actively engaged in the wider world in ways I seldom see in children’s literature.” The titles are:  The Case of Windy Lake The Case of the Missing Auntie The Case of the Burgled Bundle The Case of the Rigged Race The Case of the Pilfered Pin The Case of the Movie Mayhem (spring 2026) (Emily’s note: Rosanne Parry is an excellent author in her own right; she writes the Voice in the Wilderness Middle Grade series. Each book is written from the point of view of a wild animal, including wolves, horses, and orcas. Her most recent book, published this year, is “A Wolf Called Fire.”) 

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• Ask a Bookseller: Live at the State Fair

  September has begun, and with it, the anticipation of autumn weather, school, and great fall reads. Emily Bright of MPR News spoke with three booksellers about current trends and favorite reads during a live conversation at the Minnesota State Fair. Sarah Brown, manager of Zenith Bookstore in Duluth, which sells both new and used titles; Makkah Abdur Salaam, Lead Bookseller at Black Garnet Books in St. Paul, which is an abolitionist bookstore that sells BIPOC authors; and Lisa Deyo, owner of Sweet Reads Books in Austin, which specializes in Minnesota authors.The conversation celebrated Minnesota authors across the state and highlighted the huge variety of books drawing readers to the shelves. From history to dystopian science fiction to cozy romantasy, there was a little something for every reader. Click the audio player above to listen to their full discussion and check out the book recommendations below. Makkah Abdur Salaam, Black Garnet Books“Parable of the Sower” by Octavia E. Butler “How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States” by Daniel Immerwahr “It’s Not Hysteria: Everything You Need to Know About Your Reproductive Health (But Were Never Told)” by Dr. Karen Tang “Holy Ground: On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope” by Catherine Coleman Flowers “The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic” by Lindsey Stewart “All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis” edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson & Katharine K. Wilkinson “The Dallergut Dream Department Store” by Miye Lee “The Stars and the Blackness Between Them” (YA) and “Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?” (picture book) by Junauda Petris “Black Disability Politics” by Sami SchalkSarah Brown, Zenith Bookstore“Snowshoe Kate and the Hospital Built for Pennies,” written by Margi Preus of Duluth, illustrated by Jamie Zollars (publication date: Oct. 28) “Nicked” by M.T. Anderson“Scream with Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism (1968-1980)” by Eleanor Johnson (publication date: Sept. 30) “A Fever in the Heartland: The Klu Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them” by Timothy Egan “Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves” by Sophie Gilbert “Gichigami Hearts” by Linda LeGarde Grover of Duluth Lisa Deyo, Sweet Reads Books“Castle Danger” by Chris Norbury of Owatonna, Minn. “Raven Creek” by Therese Pautz of Austin, Minn. “In the Shade of Olive Trees” by Kate Laak of Rochester, Minn.Middle grade novels by Peg Kehret, who grew up in Austin.“Breathing in Minneapolis,” a poetry collection by Patrick Cabello Hansel “Lone Dog Road” by Kent Nerburn “Lab Girl” by Hope Jahren Ask a Bookseller airs Saturdays right after the weather chats at 7:35 a.m. and 9:35 a.m. For the latest book and literary news, sign up for the Thread, our weekly newsletter by Kerri Miller. 

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• Ask a Bookseller: ‘Absent in the Spring’ by Agatha Christie re-published

  On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.If you were to find an old copy of the 1944 novel “Absent in the Spring,” it would say the author was Mary Westmacott.That’s the pen name famed mystery novelist Agatha Christie used when she wanted to write literary fiction, and bookseller Charlotte Lehigh of WordPlay in Wardensville, West Virginia, says the six Westmacotts were, until recently, hard to find. “They were the unicorn or the Holy Grail for collectors, and so all of the Agatha Christie fans are very, very excited to be able to have these little nuggets finally back in circulation,” Lehigh says. Newly re-published in July, “Absent in the Spring” is a “compulsive” read, says Lehigh. Christie wrote the book in just three days. Our protagonist, busy wife and mother Joan, is waylaid during her travels and finds herself alone with her thoughts. As she re-examines her life and her relationships, she grows increasingly anxious about what she finds. Lehigh says the 81-year-old book still feels relevant: “Joan could be any woman at any stage in history, in any place and time. Joan could be stuck in any situation, and the feelings and the human element would still be the same.” 

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