1 . Marie Curie and Her Daughters

by Imogen Greenberg

Illustrated (插图) by Isabel Greenberg

You’ve probably heard of scientist Marie Curie and her discoveries, but how about her daughters, Irene and Eve? This beautiful illustrated book follows the adventures of the family as they save lives during wars, travel around the world, and change the history of science.

Swordswoman!

by Devika Rangachari

Discover the amazing true story of Queen Lakshmibai of Jhansi — an Indian queen who could read and write. Find out how she trained other women to fight next to her and became a symbol of resistance to British rule in India in 1857.

Queens: 3,000 Years of the Most Incredible Women in History

by Victoria Crossman

Celebrating queens from all over the world and through history, this book describes Cleopatra of Egypt, Queen Nanny of Jamaica, Catherine the Great of Russia, Empress Jingu of Japan, Boudicca in Britain and Queen Elizabeth II, among others. It’s full of illustrations and details.

The Girl with Her Head in the Clouds

by Karen McCombie

Illustrated by Anneli Bray

London, 1904. When a couple of showmen need help with a stunt, 16-year-old Dolly volunteers. Soon, she’s busy with working as a parachutist (跳伞者). This story is based on the real life of parachute performer Dolly Shepherd.

2 . Some libraries use unique architecture to encourage visitors to explore the racks and settle down with a new book, or use flowing libraries to bring books to hard-to-reach populations.

Kansas City Library (Kansas City, Missouri)

Along the south wall of this parking garage’s exterior, visitors are treated to what looks like a huge shelf of books. The building originally served as a bank, which is readily apparent when the library has screenings in its Vault Theater, inside an actual 1925 bank vault.

Stuttgart City Library (Stuttgart, Germany)

Opened in 2011, this nine-story public library designed by Eun Young Yi is characterized by its impressive white-on-white color scheme, its bold cubic shape and its cavernous interior. This cultural center for the city, designed to feel open and full of light, can be entered from any of its four sides, and readers can borrow artwork as well as books.

The Camel Library Service (North Eastern Province, Kenya)

To fight with low literacy rates in the desert of Kenya, the government created a roaming library composed of nine camels to bring books to villages. The library travels four days a week serving the region’s migratory people. Currently the service focuses on children, but with more funding they plan to increase their reach both in distance and the titles they carry.

Macquarie University Library (Sydney, Australia)

A stunning combination of cutting edge and sustainable, this building was made from recycled materials, features a green roof, and was designed to imitate the look of a eucalyptus tree. It is also state of the art, using robot cranes to bring requested books to the front desk.

Recently, 16 Chinese online novels have been added to the collection of the British Library.     1     (cover) themes of science fiction, history, reality and fantasy, these works are considered the classics of Chinese online literature from the past 20 years.

The library usually selects works     2     (base) on their popularity or by considering an item’s value. Readers can check the information about the 16 books on the library’s website, and borrow printed     3     (copy). As one of the current key parts of mass cultural consumption,     4     began with “fast food” romanced, fantasies and mysteries, the Chinese online literature industry has received increasing     5     (recognize) from home and abroad.

One of the 16 novels, Happiness in Palm tells a story about love and delicacies (美食) in ancient times. The author created a     6     (represent) heroine who was tough and intelligent, facing up to hardships with courage, perseverance and optimism. “It’s     7     surprise to me that online fiction can be added to the collection of a foreign library.     8     feels like the path of online novel writing is becoming much     9     (wide)” the writer says.

Great Power, Heavy Industry tells of how China’s manufacturing industries     10     (grow) stronger in recent decades, and foreign readers can learn about the Chinese system and culture behind the country’s swift economic development, getting to know China better in the process.

4 . Libraries are romantic places. The romance is that of reading, and the wealth of human imagining and learning that is contained in them. Access to the knowledge and literary art poetry, fiction, drama)in a library is precious -and particularly valuable to young minds and people of any age with an interest in education.

It would be hard to find anyone who actively disapproves of libraries. But when it comes to reality, Britain’s libraries are on less solid ground. The number of books borrowed in the year ending in March.2021 was 72.9m,down 56%on the previous year. Physical visits also collapsed, from 214.6m to 59.7m.

Of course, this is the behaviour that one would expect during a pandemic. Many libraries were closed during this period, while people were discouraged from unnecessary mixing. Book sales climbed to their highest in a decade in 2021, which suggests that some former users of libraries may have bought books instead.

Private libraries at home, whether large collections or single bookshelves, appear to be developing well. But the hope must be that visits and loans at public libraries will soon return to their former level too. Like any other service, libraries need users. And while booksellers might in one sense be regarded as competitors, in fact the vast majority of those involved in the trade, from publishers to poets, are library lovers.

This has something to do with the romantic idea of the reader as explorer, with every book a door to a new store of feeling or understanding. But it also involves the recognition that if books are to form part of our life, there must be space in public for them. Books can be treasured possessions, but there is also something special about a copy that arrives in your hands having passed through those of others -and that will go on being passed between strangers who share your curiosity.

6 . When I first picked up Michelle Zauner’s memoir “Crying in H Mart,” I was attracted by the familiar name of the local Korean market 10 minutes away from my house. Looking through its pages was no different from looking through an old photo album, reminding me of my old memories. And I wanted to look at each and every photo, up close.

Despite being a struggling artist making up for lost time with a sick mother, Zauner somehow made her unique experiences related to her audience. One of the factors that helped make this possible was food. Every food and every aspect of Korean culture she described seemed so familiar to me, as I’m a Korean American. Not only this, we have similar experiences, and have common feelings of being torn apart by two cultures that seem to refuse to accept us just for being who we are. Zauner shone a new light on my attitude to my own identity.

In other ways, this relatability to such a specific target audience can become a weakness. This memoir was obviously meant for a Korean, specifically a Korean American audience. With such a small audience of 0.6 % of the United States population in 2019, the story that Zauner wanted to tell would not be received by many.

An avoidable point of the memoir that caused confusion could have been the organization of the timeline. Looking at the book as a whole, there was no specific order in which Zauner organized the events of her life. The most effective way to do this would have been to progress through the book stating with her earliest memories with her mother and ending with her moments of grieving.

I felt thankful that I was able to discover such a novel that made me feel understood for the first time in years. And most of all, 1 felt inspired that there are people like Zauner who make mistakes but try again. Even when the world tells them it’s too late, they try again. Even when they feel lost, they try again and find a way. And there was one thing I was sure of after I read he book: I will try again.

7 . Looking for books suitable for your juniors? Here are what our editors recommend:

Room for Everyone

Musa and Dada drive to the shore — but the bus stops many times: “You need a ride? Come in! There’s still room!” One stop becomes two stops which soon becomes ten, and the bus is overcrowded, but there’s always room for one more if you make the room, making this trip a joyous tale.

Author: Naaz Khan

Reading age: 4 - 8

Wonder

Auggie Pullman was born with a facial difference which prevents him from going to a mainstream school. Entering a new school, he wants nothing more than to be treated normally — but his new classmates can’t ignore his extraordinary face. Auggie is a hero to prove that you can’t give in when you were born to stand out.

Author: R. J. Palacio

Reading age: 8 - 12

Starfish Hardcover

Ellie is tired of being fat and she’s found her safe space — her swimming pool — where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. Finally, with the support of those loving her, Ellie might be able to be a starfish in real life — by being her own excellent self.

Author: Lisa Fipps

Reading age: 10 - 13

Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer

Lynne Cox started swimming almost as soon as she could walk. By age sixteen, she had broken all records for swimming the English Channel. She narrowly escaped a shark attack, and was cheered across the Cook Strait by dolphins. She even swam a mile in the Antarctic. Lynne writes the same way she swims, with tough spirit and joy.

Author: Lynne Cox

Reading age: 14 - 18

10 . Good books are essential for children. The best materials are the ones that not only entertain, but also expand the imagination, educate the mind, and let the next generation know that they have a place in this world. Here are some good books for you.

The book features the story of middle school student Jordan Banks, who struggles not only with being the new kid at a private school in the Bronx, but also with being an African American student in the midst of a mostly white class. In his acclaimed graphic novel, Jerry Craft addresses important issues of race and class through lively visuals and a likable protagonist.

It was written by Kwame Alexander and drawn by Kadir Nelson. The poem details the history of African Americans, emphasizing the triumphs of the civil rights movement as well as the trauma of slavery, along with the mention of several globally known heroes. There are also quotes from influential figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Langston Hughes and alongside there are beautiful illustrations from Nelson.

The character of Jude teaches us empathy as we read what it’s like to be a young teenager immigrating from Somalia trying to fit in in America. She tries to learn the English language while tackling discrimination and classmates unwilling to understand and accept her, including her cousin of the same age. Jasmine Warga has created a story that is both powerful and gentle, big but full of small moments, a happy but sad story that will live in your heart.”