True Stories

Saturday, November 8, 2025
12–12:30pm, Children’s Corner (located in the Head House)

These picture books, geared for slightly older readers, tell true stories about real people. Revolutions Are Made of Love illustrates how activists James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs fought for fair housing, labor unions, jobs, food, urban gardens, and more to make the world a better place for all. Returning the Sword tells the story of Captain Orval Amdahl, who brought home a Japanese sword as a war souvenir in 1945—and returned it sixty-eight years later. Stop by to hear authors Mélina Mangal and Caren Stelson read from and discuss these amazing true stories! (Ages 5+)

About the Authors

Mélina Mangal writes picture books, biographies, and short stories that focus on connections with nature and culture. She is the author of The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just, winner of the Carter G. Woodson Award, Jayden’s Impossible Garden, named One of the Best Children’s Books of the Year by Bank Street Center for Children’s Literature, among other books, including the nature-based board book series Outside Our Window. A resident of the Twin Cities, she loves spending time outdoors with her family and her job as a school library media teacher.

Caren Stelson is the author of Sachiko: A Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Story and A Bowl of Peace, a picture book of Sachiko Yasui’s story, as well as other works for children and young adults. Caren has had a long career in education as a teacher, writer-in-residence, and freelance writer, but after receiving her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Hamline University in 2009, she decided it was time to write the stories that needed her attention. Caren and her husband Kim have two adult children and two young grandchildren, and make their home in Minneapolis.