In his chatty, compulsively readable first book for adults, Mac Barnett champions his career choice and urges our culture to hold kids in higher esteem.
In a host of books and articles as a political scientist, he attacked received ideas on the battle of the sexes, the usefulness of high school math and other subjects.
In “The Palm House,” Gwendoline Riley offers understated yet cleareyed observations of human behavior — this time about middle-aged Londoners struggling to stay relevant.