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Happy Memorial Day. There will be no Book Pulse posts on 5/28 or 5/31.

Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert 

Two beloved creators of children's books have died.

Eric Carle, author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and many more treasured titles has died at age 91. The NYT celebrates his work and life. 

Lois Ehlert, the illustrator of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and the author and illustrator of Color Zoo, as well as a host of other titles, has died at the age of 86. NPR reports.

SLJ also has coverage, here, and here too.

New Title Bestsellers

Links for the week: NYT Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers | NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers | USA Today Best-Selling Books

Fiction

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Celadon: Macmillan) strides to No. 13 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers list.

Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty by Lauren Weisberger (Random House) rocks at No. 14 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers list.

Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft by Wizards of the Coast (Wizards of the Coast: Random House) debuts at No. 8 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Shielding Devyn by Susan Stoker (Kindle) starts at No. 15 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Nonfiction

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green (Dutton; LJ starred review) lives at No. 1 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list and No. 2 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service by Carol Leonnig (Random House) succeeds at No. 2 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list and No. 3 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony and Cass R. Sunstein (Little, Brown Spark) sounds off at No. 5 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list and No. 10 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II by Daniel James Brown (Viking) rises to No. 12 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list.

Breaking the News: Exposing the Establishment Media’s Hidden Deals and Secret Corruption by Alex Marlow (Threshold: S. & S.) starts at No. 11 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list and No. 13 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list.

Page to Screen

May 28:

Cruella, based on the book The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. Disney+. No reviews | Trailer

American Traitor: The Trial of Axis, based on the book Axis Sally Confidential by Wlliam E. Owen. VOD. No reviews | Trailer

Lucifer, based on the comic book The Sandman created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg and associated titles. Netflix. Reviews | Trailer

Panic, based on the book by Lauren Oliver. Prime Video. No reviews | Trailer

May 29:

Oslo, based on a play by J.T. Rogers. HBO. No reviews | Trailer

May 31:

The Secrets She Keeps, based on the book by Michael Robotham. Lifetime. Reviews | Trailer

June 1:

The Haves and the Have Nots, based on the play by Tyler Perry. OWN. No reviews | Trailer

June 3:

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie, based on the Sailor Moon manga by Naoko Takeuchi. Netflix. No reviews | Trailer

Reviews

The NYT reviews The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris (Atria): "You may not agree with every opinion or every statement laid out in this work, but you will turn page after page after page in your eagerness to unravel this unique tale. If you are open to it, this novel will have you reviewing what your own biases may be, whether your skin is Black, white or orange.” Also, The Ground Breaking: An American City and Its Search for Justice by Scott Ellsworth (Dutton; LJ starred review): "“Part of what makes this book so riveting is Ellsworth’s skillful narration, his impeccable sense for when to reveal a piece of information and when to hold something back.” The “Graphic Content” column has "short reviews of three graphic novels.

NPR reviews Helgoland by Carlo Rovelli (Riverhead): "offers a dizzying perspective, but because Rovelli is such a gifted writer he packages it in a slim volume that carefully deploys a minimum of scientific facts and theories in service of the greater theme.”

The Washington Post reviews That Summer by Jennifer Weiner (Atria: S. & S.): "a compelling, nuanced novel about the long, terrible aftermath of sexual assault and the things that can be stolen from women that can never be fully restored.” And, The Atmospherians by Alex McElroy (Atria; LJ starred review): "This debut novel has its uneven bits — the long sections about the Atmosphere’s beginnings could be trimmed to save space for explaining how the cult grows later on, but McElroy offers trenchant commentary on our society’s fraught gender dynamics.” Also, the 1923 sci-fi novel reissue Nordenholt's Million by J. J. Connington (Dover): “addresses several issues unnervingly familiar from the Trump-covid era.”

Book Marks names the "5 Reviews You Need to Read This Week."

Briefly Noted

Esquire picks “The 31 Best Books of 2021 (So Far).”

The June Loan Stars list is announced.

The NYT picks 15 books for June.

Vanity Fair gathers nine books for the month.

The StarTribune offers a summer reading guide.

Amazon has a list of “Highly anticipated romances of summer.”

The Millions suggests “Ten Essential Noir Novels.”

The Reading The West winners are announced.

Book Marks showcases AudioFile's best May listens.

Oprah Daily features John Edgar Wideman as he reflects on You Made Me Love You: Selected Stories, 1981-2018 (Scribner: S. & S.).

Michelle Williams, Checking In: How Getting Real about Depression Saved My Life---and Can Save Yours (Thomas Nelson: Harper), offers reading suggestions for Amazon.

PBS NewsHour writes “Anti-racist reading drove business to Black bookstores. Owners hope that’s not the end of the story.”

Town & Country features The Cave Dwellers by Christina McDowell (Galley/Scout Press: S. & S.).

Entertainment Weekly spotlights The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka (Berkley: Penguin) with a cover reveal.

LitHub picks the best book covers from May.

Authors on Air

NPR’s Fresh Air interviews Yusef Salaam, Better, Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice (Grand Central; LJ starred review).

The James Bond films will remain as theatrical releases amid the Amazon purchase of MGM. There is more casting news for the Netflix’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. Deadline has details.

Happy Memorial Day. There will be no Book Pulse posts on 5/28 or 5/31.

Want to get the latest book news delivered to your inbox each day? Sign up for our daily Book Pulse newsletter.