Lifestyle
10 book ideas for budding bookworms
In fifth grade, I once got grounded for reading after midnight. If you have a young reader in your life who just can’t put their books down, we have some new 2024 titles to consider. NPR staffers and critics recommended these (and many, many more) for Books We Love, NPR’s year end book guide.
Call Me Roberto! Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez
The highs and lows of one of the greatest baseball players of all time is told here with a special focus on how Roberto Clemente fought racism throughout his career. The author makes sure not to skimp on fun baseball details, but she also expertly addresses what Clemente had to go through as a professional ballplayer from Puerto Rico, with African roots, living through Jim Crow times. It’s a deft duality. Great writing, beautiful art and worthy of Clemente himself, who said, as captured in the book, “I represent the common people of America. So I am going to be treated like a human being.” (For ages 7 to 10) — Betsy Bird, collection development manager, Evanston Public Library
Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison – and How We Stayed Connected by Jay Jay Patton and Antoine Patton with Kiara Valdez, illustrated by Markia Jenai
Forging a relationship with a parent who is incarcerated is a daunting task, but 9-year-old Jay Jay Patton doesn’t have another choice. Jay Jay’s father is in prison and she’s only been able to visit him twice. Hampered by slow mail, expensive collect calls and extreme distance, Jay Jay and her father decide something has to be done. This graphic novel tells the moving story of one family’s determination to connect, no matter what. Dear Dad not only shines a light on an overlooked problem, but also serves as an inspiration to families everywhere. (For ages 8 to 12) — Juanita Giles, director, Virginia Children’s Book Festival
Deer Run Home by Ann Clare LeZotte
I was unprepared for the power and grace of this remarkable novel in verse. Effie, who is deaf, has no one in her family who uses sign language. When her devastating secret threatens to destroy those closest to her, despair and hope ping-pong back and forth as she endeavors to be heard. This important book, based on a true story, is a testament to friendship, found family and courage. Ann Clare LeZotte’s Deer Run Home stayed with me long after I finished the final sentence. (For ages 10 to 14) — Lisa Yee, author of The Misfits #1 – A Royal Conundrum
Faker by Gordon Korman
For Trey, working with his dad doesn’t mean changing the oil or raking leaves; it means running cons and scamming people out of money. Trey, his sister and his father have bounced around from scam to scam for as long as Trey can remember, but he’s tired of running. Finally, Trey is at a new school and feels like a part of things, but his new life comes with questions: Is what his dad is doing really OK? If it’s not, what does that make Trey? Gordon Korman offers another middle grade page-turner that will draw in even the most reluctant reader. (For ages 8 to 12) — Juanita Giles, director, Virginia Children’s Book Festival
Flying Through Water by Mamle Wolo
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Living in rural Ghana, Sena knows his future depends on his schooling and grades. But when a chance to make money for his family arises, he jumps at it – leading to a situation where he’s essentially enslaved and must escape and find a way back home. An adept adventure tale with nail-biting sequences, this book offers an eye-opening view of Ghana’s beauty and ills. By the time the story becomes a survival tale worthy of Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet, you’ll never be able to forget the book’s writing or the environmental message at its heart. (For ages 8 to 12) — Betsy Bird, collection development manager, Evanston Public Library
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
Chanel Miller is well known for her New York Times bestselling memoir, Know My Name, which recounts a life-altering sexual assault and its aftermath, including the trial of Brock Turner. Here, Miller finds joy in moving on to a different and far lighter realm of writing. In this debut children’s book, Magnolia Wu is determined to show her new friend, Iris, the great things about living in NYC, and she has the perfect way to do it: an investigation into finding the owners of every missing sock she has collected at her parents’ laundromat. Along the way, Magnolia herself gets an eye-opening peek into her parents’ lives outside their workplace. A thoroughly original take on seeing your immigrant parents anew through the lens of others. (For ages 7 to 11) — Betsy Bird, collection development manager, Evanston Public Library
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams, illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Reviewers and critics typically overuse the term “lyrical” when discussing great books, but there are few better appellatives to apply to this canny verse novel. With multilayered aplomb, the story focuses on Isaiah and his friends Drew and Darius. These three love biking, skating and trying to break all kinds of world records, but when an accident claims the life of Darius, Isaiah feels responsible and hopelessly lost. This deft narrative is capable of delving into serious topics, like what happens when grief is compounded by violence, without dragging the book down or ever feeling too heavy. A tale where your redemption is inextricable from forgiving yourself. (For ages 10 and up) — Betsy Bird, collection development manager, Evanston Public Library
My Antarctica: True Adventures in the Land of Mummified Seals, Space Robots, and So Much More by G. Neri, illustrated by Corban Wilkin
Take a trip to the coldest, windiest, highest and driest continent in the world. Here, young readers will find answers to every question they’ve ever had about Antarctica – not to mention ones they hadn’t even thought to ask. Who is there now? Why? What do you eat when you’re there? G. Neri’s easygoing narrative reads like a journal, full of cartoons, photos and the occasional mummified seal. Plus, he profiles the many different scientists at work at McMurdo Station with humor, candor and wonder. Just be ready for one inevitable question after reading this book: “Can we go?” (For ages 7 to 10) — Betsy Bird, collection development manager, Evanston Public Library
Olivetti by Allie Millington
I had a young visitor point to my old typewriter and ask, “What’s that?” In Olivetti, Ernest’s mother goes missing and – are you ready? – he and his mom’s beloved typewriter conspire to find her. So much is at stake in this unique and wholly captivating mystery. Memories are lost, then found, and new ones made along the way in this tender novel. The next time a kid asks me about my typewriter, I will offer them Allie Millington’s book and say, “Here, I’ll let the typewriter tell you all about what it is.” (For ages 8 to 12) — Lisa Yee, author of The Misfits #1 – A Royal Conundrum
Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back by Ruth Chan
Thirteen-year-old Ruth Chan isn’t just moving — she’s “moving across the world.” This heartbreaking, funny and insightful memoir captures the angst and apprehension of forging a new life in a new country. With Ruth leaving her beloved Toronto behind and landing in Hong Kong, uncertainties and anxiety threaten to crush her. Uprooted’s expressive art perfectly captures her emotions and wit. This irrepressible graphic novel will have you rooting for Ruth as she eventually embraces her new life, while still cherishing her old one. (For ages 8 to 12) — Lisa Yee, author of The Misfits #1 – A Royal Conundrum
This is just a fraction of the 350+ titles we included in Books We Love this year. Click here to check out this year’s titles, or browse nearly 4,000 books from the last 12 years.
Students walk on the Stanford University campus on March 14, 2019, in Stanford, Calif.
Ben Margot/AP
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Ben Margot/AP
When Theo Baker arrived at Stanford University a few years ago, he joined the student newspaper, following the path of his journalist parents, Peter Baker, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, and Susan Glasser, a writer for The New Yorker.
Through his reporting as a student journalist, he eventually broke a story about manipulated data in Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s neuroscience research that helped lead to the university president’s resignation.
Theo Baker’s book, How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University was released May 19. In it, Baker describes Stanford as a place where proximity to Silicon Valley gives rise to a parallel system of influence, recruitment and money, with investors looking to identify promising students almost as soon as they arrive on campus.
He told Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep there was “a sort of Stanford inside Stanford,” where elite students are drawn into an “alternate reality” of excess and access to cut corners.
In the interview, he discusses how Stanford is not just a university but also a pipeline where status and power can matter as much as ideas.
We reached out to Stanford University for comment and have not heard back.
Listen to the interview by clicking play on the blue box above.
The scoreboard shows the results of the women’s singles final match between Iga Swiatek of Poland and Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025.
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
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Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
Fifteen points in tennis? Nice. Thirty, 40 — even better. Advantage — that sounds good. “Love” — that also must be great, right? Well, not quite.
As the French Open rolls on and Serena Williams has announced her return to the sport, maybe you’ve been paying a little more attention to tennis. The sport’s scoring system is notably distinct, and can sometimes be hard to grasp for newcomers. But even tennis aficionados might not know why, or how, “love” became the unmistakable callout for zero points. For this installment of NPR’s Word of the Week, we’re exploring how a word that signifies trailing behind got such a sweet name.
“Love” comes from the heart — or an egg?
It’s hard to pinpoint when the first tennis ball went over the net. Tennis is a derivative of lots of other sports, such as “jeu de paume,” a handball game played in France, said JT Buzanga, the collections manager at the International Tennis Hall of Fame museum.
But tennis became a patented, official sport in 1874, said Steve Flink, a journalist whose tennis coverage got him inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. It has retained its unique, mysterious scoring system ever since.
“By and large, the original system has held up almost entirely,” Flink said.
The use of “love” goes back to the late 18th century, said Jesse Sheidlower, a lexicographer. But it was used earlier than that in card games such as whist and bridge. Before the term made its way to tennis, the sport favored plain old “nothing,” or “nil,” he said.
Why love in the first place, though? Historians don’t really know for sure, but there are a few theories.
The French could have something to do with it. Some historians believe “love” derives from “l’oeuf,” which means “the egg” in French. Because eggs are shaped like zeros, terms such as “goose egg” and “duck’s egg” have been used in other contexts to mean zero, Sheidlower said.
It’s also possible English speakers mispronounced l’oeuf as “love.” But Sheidlower isn’t convinced that’s the answer.
“It’s the French equivalent of an English expression. But since that expression doesn’t appear in French, the French word wouldn’t have been used,” he said.
To be sure, France has had a lot of influence on tennis culture, Buzanga said. For example, “deuce” or a game tied at 40 points, comes from the French word for “two”: “deux.” But he prefers another prominent theory: that “love” comes from the idiom “for the love of the game.” Even if a player hasn’t scored, it doesn’t matter, because their heart is in it. It’s the theory Sheidlower said is the most plausible, because the idiom was used by the English before tennis was popularized.
Another variation of the “love of the game” theory is that the word could have come from the Dutch “lof,” or “honor” — or the Latin “amare,” meaning “to love,” Flink said.
But if tennis’ “love” doesn’t come from a French word, the theory at least has a French sensibility.
“I think the ‘for the love of the game’ is kind of romantic,” Buzanga said.
“Love” probably isn’t going anywhere
Tennis used to be a sport of leisure. The style of play has changed a lot over the years; players are more athletic and competitive, for instance, Flink said. But the rules of the sport are more steadfast, he said.
“There’s this incredible, enduring respect for tradition in tennis,” he said. “Changes are not made easily.”
There has been one major change in modern history: the tie-break. Matches can go on and on because players have to score two consecutive points to break a deuce, or by two games to break a tied set. But the onset of television meant matches would have to get shorter if the sport wanted to capture a larger audience, Flink said.
Change even came for “love.” An alternative sprouted up in the 1970s, and is still used today: “bagel,” named for its zero shape, Sheidlower said. Novices may say “zero,” and insiders will understand what they mean, but they “will needle them about it,” Flink said.
But “love” still prevails.
“People kind of like it,” Flink said. “It’s different. Why say zero when you can say love?”
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