cover image Calling the Moon: 16 Period Stories from BIPOC Authors

Calling the Moon: 16 Period Stories from BIPOC Authors

Edited by Aida Salazar and Yamile Saied Méndez. Candlewick, $22.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1-5362-1634-9

In this uplifting anthology of stories and poems about menstruation, 16 BIPOC writers, including Saadia Faruqi, Nikki Grimes, Erin Entrada Kelly, Christina Soontornvat, and the volume’s editors, share tales that are by turns warm, funny, and empowering. In Leah Henderson’s heartfelt “Turning Point,” soccer-loving Black tomboy Imari unexpectedly connects with her ballet-loving mother over her first period. “Shiloh: The Gender Creamsicle,” a free verse poem by Mason J., follows a brown-skinned nonbinary 11-year-old experiencing belonging at their moon party. Short story standout “Cannibal at the Door,” by Elise McMullen-Ciotti, layers the narrative of an 11-year-old reluctantly reconnecting with her mother with the Cherokee story of Stonecoat, a “lonely and hungry” monster made weak by a series of menstruating women. Honest and tender, these works explore themes of grief, friendship, and belonging against varied backdrops and intersectional identities. It’s a love letter to all who menstruate, one that’s both welcoming and inclusive—particularly to those experiencing their first period. Ages 10–up. Agents: (for Salazar) Marietta B. Zacker, Gallt & Zacker Literary; (for Saied Méndez) Linda Camacho, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Mar.)