On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.

Calvin isn’t the only six-year-old comic strip character with deep thoughts about how the world should work. Meet Mafalda, star of the classic comic strip created by Argentine artist Quino.

Timothy Otte of Wild Rumpus Books in Minneapolis says the first book of collected Mafalda comics is now available in English, as translated by Frank Wynne.

Here’s how Otte introduces Mafalda:

“Mafalda is a six-year-old genius. Imagine Lucy from the Peanuts gang if she were written by a Latin American Bill Waterson. Mafalda is smart and obsessed with democracy. She hates soup, and she and her friends discuss politics day in and day out. She's wonderful. I think she's so funny.”

The comic strip, written in Spanish, ran from 1964 to 1973 and was distributed around the world. Its illustration style is similar to Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts.”

Otte says its comments and humor still feel relevant today.

“It's such an open-hearted kind of politics. It has the kind of humor that is very much geared toward young readers, but that adults will also find a lot of really unique and wonderful jokes in as well."

On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.

All this month, Ask a Bookseller is featuring books for kids and teens as we mark the start of school.

This week’s recommendation comes from Bunnie Hilliard, owner of Brave + Kind Bookshop, a children’s bookstore in Decatur, Georgia.

She’s been enjoying “Why On Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology,” edited by Rosiee Thor and Vania Stoyanova. It’s a collection of YA short stories centered on a teen alien rescue mission-gone wrong.

Hilliard calls the stories “surprising and diverse” and recommends them for anyone looking for a break from reality.

Captain Iona leads our alien crew as they attempt to recuse her brother, who is under cover in California as a human celebrity. From that accidental invasion beginning, the stories vary widely from sci-fi to romcom to adventure, written by both best-selling authors and new voices.

“Some of the overarching themes are belonging, found family, empathy, and the idea of ‘other’ — both people who are aliens who feel different from humans and people who are humans who feel alienated and different from their peers,” Hilliard said.

Correction (Sept. 20, 2025): An earlier version of this story misspelled the author’s name. The story has been updated.

On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.

All September, Ask a Bookseller is marking the start of school by focusing on books for kids.

This week’s recommendation comes from Ashley Robin Franklin of First Light Books in Austin, Texas.

Ashley adores the picture book/early reader title “Little Shrew” by Akiko Miyakoshi. It's a quiet collection of three stories about Little Shrew’s daily life, secret joys and friends — perfect for thoughtful kids and bedtime reading.

“The pictures are honestly incredible. When this book first came in, I think I gasped when I took it out of the box. Akiko Miyakoshi is just an incredible illustrator. It is, I think, all graphite and watercolor, and so it has this very gentle quality to it that I love.

“I think that's just really sweet and really special. It’s a great starting point for questions about other people's lives and also for conversations about the quiet beauty of everyday life. It's not something you see in a kid's book that often.”

Correction (Sept. 19, 2025): A previous version of this story misspelled the author’s name in a reference. The above story has been updated.