Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic – författare

A hilarious and heartwarming debut about picky eating, finding your people, and standing proud.In Muffuletta, being good at eating is the key to success. French fries and grilled cheese? Beginner food!Haggis and truffles? Delicacies! After failing a school eating test, picky eater Minerva is placed in the lowest eating track of all: Remedial Eating to Change Habits. RETCH class is full of kids with weird personalities and even weirder food preferences. And to make matters worse, Minervas best friends, in the Gifted and Gourmet class, no longer speak to her. But soon Minerva finds she is not alone in her pickiness, and forms friendships with her new classmates. And together, they find a way to stand up for themselvespicky and proud!

For Henry, lockdown drills can be scary. Staying quiet and still is tough, but with the support of his teacher, he’s able to stay calm. This reassuring story explores the complex emotions surrounding school lockdown drills and includes helpful resources from a school psychologist and safety expert.I wish today was like every other day.But it isn’t.Today my stomach is twisted in the middlelike a bunch of tissue paper butterflies.During his school's lockdown drill, Henry tries to make himself as small, and still, and quiet as possible, but even though he knows it's just a drill and it's not real, he still doesn't like it. And even when the drill is over, it doesn't feel over for him. Luckily, Henry's teacher is there to offer guidance and reassurance. Together, they practice breathing exercises and focus on what Henry can smell right now to help anchor him in the present. And, most importantly, they talk about his feelings until he feels safe—until the tissue paper butterflies in his stomach untwist and fly away. With poetic prose and gentle artwork, this accessible picture book serves as an ideal starting point for discussions about lockdown drills and includes helpful resources for parents and teachers, such as discussion questions, a mindfulness exercise guide, and best practices for reducing the potential for trauma when conducting lockdown drills.

As a child Stephanie Lucianovic lived for years on grilled cheese and created an elaborate system for disposing of revolting food involving bookshelves, holiday centerpieces, and, later, boyfriends. She agonized not over meeting her future in-laws, but over the peaches they served her. As an adult, this picky eater found herself in the most unlikely of circumstances: a graduate of culinary school who became a cheesemonger and then a food writer. Along the way, she realized just how common her plight was. It wasn’t surprising to discover that picky eating is an issue for millions of kids, but who knew there are even support groups for adults who can’t overcome it? Yet remarkably little is known about the science of picky eating, and cultural and historical questions abound. Are picky eaters destined to ascend to a higher plane of existence, and what happens when picky eaters fall in love or go to restaurants? How can you tell if you’re a “supertaster”? How does the gag reflex affect pickiness (and what secrets do sword swallowers impart to help overcome it)? Suffering Succotash is a wide-angle look into the world of picky eating, told by a writer who’s been in the culinary trenches. With wit and charm, through visits to laboratories specializing in genetic analysis, attempts to infiltrate the inner workings of a “feeding” clinic, and interviews with fellow picky eaters and adventurous foodies young and old, Stephanie explores her own food phobias and gets to the bottom of what repulses us about certain foods, what it really means to be a picky eater, and what we can do about it.

A poignant and necessary story about finding hope during difficult times, set in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.Archie''s life--and the whole world--is turned upside down by Covid-19. Suddenly there are no more Friday night dinners out, no more going to school, no more hanging out with friends . . . no leaving the house at all. Even though he''s inside with his family all day every day, Archie can''t help but feel more alone than ever before. While everyone else seems to be adapting to their new normal just fine, it''s like Archie is permanently on mute, unable to find the words to describe how he feels--and sometimes, unable to find someone who will listen. The bright spot of Archie''s days at home is watching and learning about the hummingbirds that feed outside his windows. But just when it seems like this could be what brings his family together again, California experiences its worst wildfire in history, and Archie''s favorite hummingbird disappears. In a time when hope is hard to hold on to, Archie must find his voice and find hope once again.Hummingbird Season is an honest and healing novel in verse documenting the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic and the things that bring us together when circumstances keep us apart.