If you love MN books as much as we do, this is the holiday gift guide for you. The University of Minnesota Press has books from a great variety of genres: children’s books, environmental, memoir, travel guides, natural history, cookbooks, and more. And they’ve gathered them up for you here in this lovely little guide. Check your local library if you want a physical copy or read it online here. I know it instantly gave me plenty of gift ideas as well as titles to add to my TBR! (Plus, right now, you can get 30% off! No, this is isn’t a sponsored post, we’re just excited about MN books 🙂 ).
Some books we’re excited to read:
Yang Warriors by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Billy Thao
“In this inspiring picture book, fierce and determined children confront the hardships of Ban Vinai refugee camp, where Kao Kalia Yang lived as a child. Accompanied by the evocative and rich cultural imagery of debut illustrator Billy Thao, the warriors’ secret mission shows what feats of compassion and courage children can perform, bringing more than foraged greens back to the younger children and to their elders. In this unforgiving place, with little to call their own, these children are the heroes, offering gifts of hope and belonging in a truly unforgettable way.”
A Natural Curiosity: The Story of the Bell Museum by Lansing Shepard, Don Luce, Barbara Coffin, and Gwen Schagrin
“A richly illustrated tour of Minnesota’s premier natural history museum after 150 years. Since its humble start in 1872 as a one-room cabinet of curiosities, the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum of natural history has become one of the state’s most important cultural institutions. Drawing on a wealth of materials unearthed during the museum’s recent move, this gorgeously illustrated book chronicles the remarkable discoveries and personalities that have made the Bell Museum what it is today.”
Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings by Mary Siisip Geniusz
“The first complete resource for the practical use of plants in the Anishinaabe culture and the stories that surround them In Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask Mary Siisip Geniusz makes Anishinaabe botanical information available to native and nonnative healers and educators and emphasizes the Anishinaabe culture that developed the knowledge and practice. Teaching the way she was taught—through stories—Geniusz brings the plants to life with narratives that explain their uses, meaning, and history.”
Waterfall: A Novel by Mary Casanova
“Trinity Baird’s hope for independence is tenuous, especially when her family has the final say—and the power to lock her away. In her third Rainy Lake historical drama, Mary Casanova takes us back to pristine and rugged northern Minnesota. Informed by historical figures, by the burgeoning growth of women’s rights in the early twentieth century, and the complicated issue of mental illness and how “difficult” women were silenced, Waterfall offers a compelling story of a young woman’s fight to find her way.”
The Steger Homestead Kitchen: Simple Recipes for an Abundant Life by Will Steger and Rita Mae Steger with Beth Dooley
“Personal and simple, earthy and warm—recipes and stories from the Steger Wilderness Center in Minnesota’s north woods. This is an inspiring and down-to-earth collection of meals and memories gathered at the Homestead, the home of Arctic explorer and environmental activist Will Steger, located in Minnesota’s north woods. Interwoven with dozens of mouth-watering recipes—for simple, hearty meals shared around home chefs’ own homestead tables—are Steger’s exhilarating stories of epic adventures exploring the Earth’s most remote regions.”