Books: Book Reviews, Book News, and Author Interviews NPR's brings you news about books and authors along with our picks for great reads. Interviews, reviews, and much more.

Books

In The Enchanted Symphony, a young boy named Piccolino harnesses the power of art, nature and community. Illustrations © 2023 Elly MacKay hide caption

toggle caption
Illustrations © 2023 Elly MacKay

A concert audience of houseplants? A new kids' book tells the surprisingly true tale

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1200814389/1201306932" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Leslie Jones says she was 19 when Jamie Foxx told her she needed to live life — get hired, get fired, fall in love — in order to be truly funny. Jen Rosenstein/HGBUSA hide caption

toggle caption
Jen Rosenstein/HGBUSA

How comic Leslie Jones went from funniest person on campus to 'SNL' star

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1200560901/1200847901" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Riverhead Books

Lauren Groff's survivalist novel 'The Vaster Wilds' will test your endurance, too

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1199199765/1200847975" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A PEN America report found that the number of books permanently removed from U.S. school libraries and classrooms has quadrupled — to 1,263 books in the last school year from 333 the year before. Harkim Wright Sr./AP hide caption

toggle caption
Harkim Wright Sr./AP

The cover of The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls, originally published in 1998. American Girl hide caption

toggle caption
American Girl

'The Care and Keeping of You,' American Girl's guide to puberty, turns 25

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1199461560/1200081484" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Kwame Alexander (left) and Jerry Craft have each won a Newbery Medal for their children's books. Alexander invited Craft on a trip to Kenya this summer to speak to schoolkids about reading. The kids were impressed. So were the authors. Brian Otieno for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Brian Otieno for NPR

Hollywood relies on China to stay afloat. What does that mean for movies?

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1199502635/1199802734" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Cailee Spaeny stars in Priscilla. A24 Films hide caption

toggle caption
A24 Films

The Fall movies, TV and music we can't wait for

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197954049/1199589959" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Drew Barrymore attends the Time100 Gala, celebrating the 100 most influential people in the world, at Frederick P. Rose Hall, April 26, 2023, in New York. Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Matthew McConaughey hopes his new book, Just Because, will spark thoughtful conversations among families and connect people of all generations. Penguin Random House hide caption

toggle caption
Penguin Random House

Matthew McConaughey's book 'Just Because' is judgment-free

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198877538/1198877539" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Author Lauren Groff's new book, The Vaster Wilds, is a tight and tense novel that takes place in 1610 Jamestown. Elizabeth Gillis/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR

Lauren Groff has a go bag and says so should you

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198409885/1198726056" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Ghassan Zeineddine, author of the short story collection, Dearborn. Austin Thomason/UM Photography hide caption

toggle caption
Austin Thomason/UM Photography

Arab American stories interconnect in the new collection, 'Dearborn'

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197247344/1198625769" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript