Archaeology from Space: How our Future Shapes our Past by Sarah Parcak

Archaeology from Space: How Our Future Shapes Our Past

3/5. Quick and light nonfiction/memoir by a "space archaeologist" (broadly speaking, someone who uses satellite imagery to identify and examine archaeological sites) who is the creative force behind the GlobalXplorer game/tool. Pleasantly diverting, but I found this too oversimplified for my taste (does every paragraph need an explanatory header?) and, honestly, I was that kid in grade school who DGAF about the Egypt unit. I don't know, either you're interested or you're not, and I'm not.

Kids books roundup

Casterbrook (age 16 months, current status: busy) has so many books now. So many. How did this happen? A selection of some of his favorites:

Every Night Is Pizza Night by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Gianna Ruggiero (ill)

A delightful book about a kid who has struck some sort of Faustian bargain with her poor parents (this is not included in the text, but we have speculated extensively) under which she eats pizza every night, and the tour of her friends and neighbors she eventually takes to try other food. It's fun and extremely quotable (of rice "you are so delicious and there are so many of you!"), and we don't have this problem (yet) but I would definitely get this book in front of a picky eater. It's also culturally diverse and always makes me want bibimbap and tagine and beans and rice, mmm. This has been in heavy rotation for months. And yes, the author is the food guy – I believe this is his first kid's book.

Snuggle Puppy! by Sandra Boynton

Board book that isn't really about anything, but includes an extremely silly/dramatic song that you perform as it goes, including stage directions on when to give the toddler a big smacking kiss. Casterbrook is way into it. This is, I should note, only one of the stack of books that are part of the puppaganda campaign being waged by gnomad, who is very worried about the state of Casterbrook's soul in this cat household.

That's Not My Monkey by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells (ill)

A feely book with lots of textural inserts ("that's not my monkey, its tail is too velvety, with a velvety tail). We got this one in Braille, which is thematically appropriate . . . except for the part where Casterbrook literally flings my hands off the page so he can get to the sensory panels. Lol okay, buddy. Luckily, it's not like this is a complex narrative here or anything, so I can make do.

Julian Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

A book about a little kid and his abuela and being queer/gender nonconforming in beautiful little kid ways. And being loved and understood. It actually made me tear up the first time all the way through, and it's important to me for Casterbrook to have access to these images of a little boy being fabulous.

You Are New by Lucy Knisely

By the famous cartoonist, this is about how weird newborns are. Casterbrook likes it because it has a lot of good baby faces in it. His moms find it gently amusing.