Ian Hoffman

Jacob—the star of one of the most banned books of the decade—is back in Jacob's Missing Book, a kid-friendly story about book banning, censorship, and LGBTQ+ rights. Noah is confused about Emily's family, so he asks her-who’s Pop and who’s Dad? Jacob knows just how to explain, but how can he? The penguin book isn't in the library anymore! As the day goes on, everyone is still talking about the mysterious missing book. Ms. Reeves tries to explain why the book is no longer in the library and what all the fuss is about. In the meantime, Jacob hatches a plan to tell the story about Emily's family. This book cleverly weaves two critical societal issues into one story - book banning in schools and LGBTQ+ rights. And, who is caught in the middle of all this? Kids who are eager to see themselves and their families in books, feel safe with their experiences, and understand that they are loved and supported.

Introduces readers to nonbinary, gender-fluid people and the use of pronouns of their own choosing while all along reinforcing that an individual is much more layered and unique then how others may see him, her or them. “An empowering and uplifting tale…perfect icebreaker for young students to have meaningful conversations about gender identity and community.”—The Advocate Jacob—star of one of the most banned books of the decade according to the American Library Association—is back in his third book and ready to put on a school play! While learning their lines and making their costumes, Jacob’s class finds itself unexpectedly struggling with identity, and what it means to be “he,” “she,” or “they.” Jacob’s School Play is an engaging way to introduce young readers to nonbinary people and the pronoun options available to us all. Learning that individuals are more nuanced than how others see them is a developmentally important milestone, and helps foster respect of one’s self and one’s peers. "Making space for everyone is no small task. Seeing one another, asking the right questions, and honoring how each person walks through the world is something learned, but not often enough taught... this is not a book about conflict or being accepted by others for who you are. It's about classmates each embracing that their experience is not the only experience and that every person fits beautifully into this world in their own way. I'm so grateful that children in every classroom will have the opportunity to see themselves and their friends represented in Jacob's School Play. That's so needed and so beautifully done in this book." —Matthew Winner, The Children's Book Podcast Mentioned in The Wall Street Journal ALA Rainbow Book List Selection Recommended by Psychology Today

2020 ALA Rainbow Book List Selection 2020 NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People SelectionWhen Jacob goes to the boys’ bathroom he is chased out because the boys think he looks like a girl because of the way he is dressed. After Jacob's friend Sophie faces the same situation, their class gets together to make things better. The beloved lead character from Jacob's New Dress, which is one of The American Library Association's top 100 banned books of the last decade, is back in an encouraging story about gender expression. When Jacob goes to the boys’ bathroom he is chased out. His classmate, Sophie, has a similar experience when she tries to go to the girls’ bathroom. When their teacher finds out what happened, Jacob and Sophie, with the support administration, lead change at their school as everyone discovers the many forms of gender expression and how to treat each other with respect. Check out the companion book, Jacob's School Play Starring He, She, and They.

No espionage case in recent decades has been anything like the Wen Ho Lee affair. As Dan Stober and Ian Hoffman describe in "A Convenient Spy, " an astonishingly inept investigation of a crime that may never have occurred ended in a national disgrace. A weapons-code scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lee was hunted as a spy for China, indicted on fifty-nine counts, and held in detention for nine months as a threat to the entire nation. But after pleading guilty to just one count, he went home -- with an unusual and emotional apology from a federal judge. Prosecutors' claims that Lee had stolen America's "crown jewels" of nuclear security simply evaporated. Yet Lee's motives have never been satisfactorily explained, and his often-repeated excuse that he was just backing up his work files does not stand up to scrutiny. As Stober and Hoffman report, Lee's lies and his unexplained connections to foreign scientists spanned eighteen years. He was a security nightmare. Tapping at his keyboard, he assembled a private collection of the computer programs used to design America's nuclear weapons, then left them vulnerable to hackers and foreign intelligence services for years. The FBI's belated discovery that he had also put the codes on portable cassette tapes launched a frenzied worldwide search that eventually carried agents to the Los Alamos landfill. And yet today, the tapes have never been found. In 1995, Lee was just another American, a Taiwanese immigrant striving to support a family he cherished and to make a name for himself in scientific circles. Unknown to him, however, scientists working in the secret world of nuclear-weapons intelligence examined purloined Chinese documents, studied spy reports, and wondered: Had China stolen the secrets of the W88, America's most advanced nuclear weapon? Scientific hunches rapidly evolved into a criminal investigation aimed at Lee. He had been overheard by the FBI while telephoning a spy suspect, and he was warmly embraced by a high-ranking Chinese nuclear-weapons official whom he wasn't supposed to know. The FBI noted that he was "ethnic Chinese." And in this uncertain period after the Cold War, many politicians played up China as a threatening new enemy. Energy Secretary and vice presidential hopeful Bill Richardson was eager to fire Lee and appear decisive in protecting national security. In this stormy confluence of intelligence and politics, Lee became a convenient spy. But was he guilty? Dan Stober and Ian Hoffman tell the story of the Wen Ho Lee fiasco dramatically and authoritatively, providing an objective account that no partisan version of the story can match.