Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from The Bookies Bookstore in Denver recommends the story of a bird expert, a paean to “disruptive” kids and a rollicking fantasy.
The Feather Detective
By Chris SweeneyAvid Reader Press$30July 2025Purchase
From the publisher: The fascinating and remarkable true story of the world’s first forensic ornithologist—Roxie Laybourne, who broke down barriers for women, solved murders, and investigated deadly airplane crashes with nothing more than a microscope and a few fragments of feathers.
The Feather Detective takes readers deep within the vaunted backrooms of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History to tell the story of a burgeoning science and the enigmatic woman who pioneered it. While her male colleagues in taxidermy embarked on expeditions around the world and got plum promotions, Roxie stayed with her birds. Using nothing more than her microscope and bits of feathers, she helped prosecute murderers, kidnappers, and poachers. When she wasn’t testifying in court or studying evidence from capital crimes, she was helping aerospace engineers and Air Force crews as they raced to bird-proof their airplanes before disaster struck again.
From Susan, bookseller: In his intriguing account of the life of Roxie Laybourne, Chris Sweeney lays out how a quiet,
unassuming, and dedicated wildlife enthusiast from rural Fayetteville, North Carolina, became the world’s leading expert on bird related flight accidents. The first official forensic ornithologist for the Smithsonian Institution, she was also pivotal in helping to solve crimes for the FBI. It really is fascinating and I think you’ll like it! And at least one person in my book club will love it.
Calliope Callisto Clark and the Search for Wisdom
By Claudia MillsCandlewick Press$18.99March 2026Purchase
From the publisher: Once Callie (Calliope Callisto Clark) starts saying something, it’s hard for her to stop. The opinion gets bigger and bigger, her voice gets louder and louder—and she gets in more and more trouble. She’s in trouble with her teacher, who likes order and not Callie. She’s in bigger trouble with her Grampy, who blames Callie and her dog (a.k.a. Best Ever Friend) Archie for his ever-rising blood pressure. Then there’s the biggest trouble of all… just one more strike, and Callie could lose her beloved Archie forever.
When she turns to Greek philosophy for answers on how to solve her problems, she only gets more questions: What is justice? What is fairness? And as her problems get bigger, so do her questions: Is it Callie’s fault when Grampy has a stroke?
Told in Callie’s endearing, energetic voice, Calliope Callisto Clark and the Search for Wisdom is sure to speak to any student who’s ever been called “disruptive.” Acclaimed children’s book author and retired philosophy professor Claudia Mills delivers a heartfelt middle grade for misunderstood readers who feel like they’re living their own Greek tragedies.
From Anne, children’s book & school buyer: I loved “Anne of Green Gables” as a child; I even get to share her name! Reading this book I felt like a kid discovering Anne-with-an-E all over again. I was drawn to Callie’s inner thoughts, her anxiety, her exuberance and her spunky character. I loved seeing the world through her eyes, and watching her impressions of people change and grow.
Dungeon Crawler Carl: A Parade of Horribles
By Matt DinnimanPenguin Publishing Group$20December 2025Purchase
From the publisher: You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.
Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.
From Kirstin, store owner: The entire series of Dungeon Crawler Carl thus far proves to be a rollicking good time! I found the series impressive and addictive. Both adventurous and funny, readers see these characters grow and change both from the stress of survival and from their new found community within the dungeon.
The 8th book in the series, “A Parade of Horribles,” comes out May 12.
THIS WEEK’S BOOK RECS COME FROM:
The Bookies Bookstore2085 S. Holly StreetDenver, CO 80222
thebookies.com
Twitter Instagram FacebookAs part of The Colorado Sun’s literature section — SunLit — we’re featuring staff picks from book stores across the state. Read more.
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