Monday, March 24, 2025

The Weather Can Be Wild . . .

With the recent wild weather and storms I thought this would be a good time to share some picture books about the weather.  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

A Hat for House: One Storm, Many Helpers by Audrey Perrott
One windy day, House’s hat blows clean off his head! His friends are happy to help, but nothing they try seems quite right. Then the wind gets even stronger and thunder rumbles, making House wonder how he can keep his family safe and if he’ll ever feel quite like himself again. 

Little Cloud by Eric Carle
A little cloud becomes all sorts of things--sheep, an airplane, trees, a hat--before joining other clouds and raining.

Snowflakes on Our Tongues by Mike Ornstein
Farmer Pumpernickel has a blissful, peaceful farm with his contented cows, satisfied sheep, pampered piglets, cheerful chickens, and happy horse. All is as it should be. But as snow starts to fall, the farm animals share their delight in the tasty flakes coming down from the sky. 

Hello, Rain! by Kyo Maclear
The air is full of waiting. The sky is full of breeze. The trees gust and billow. All before it rains.Rumble, rumble. Distant thunder. Rain is coming, rain is coming.

Weather Girls by Aki
Summer, Fall, Winter, or Spring the Weather Girls are ready for whatever the seasons might bring!


More Books --
All Year Long by Kathleen W. Deady
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
Do I Have to Wear a Coat? by Rachel Isadora
Flora's Very Windy Day by Jeanne Birdsall
From Season to Season by Ethan Long
It Was Supposed to be Sunny by Samantha Cotterill
Not Now, Cow by Tammi Sauer
Rain by Cynthia Rylant
Really Bird, Really Scared by Harriet Ziefert
Sometimes Rain by Meg Fleming
Summer Green to Autumn Gold by Mia Posada
Sweater Weather by Matt Phelan
Winter Is Here by Kevin Henkes
Winter on the Farm by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Winter Woes by Marty Kelley

Monday, March 10, 2025

Dear Diary . . .

This week, I'm sharing teen books written in a diary format.  Check them out . . . .

The Runaway's Diary by James Patterson & Emily Raymond
Eleanor is happiest when she's left alone to dream up elaborate stories. Sam is polished, fun, and popular. Still, the sisters have always been there for each other--until everything changed. Now Sam is somewhere in Seattle, and Eleanor runs after her.

The Year I Didn't Eat by Samuel Pollen
Fourteen-year-old Max records his efforts to control his anorexia in a therapist-prescribed journal that also chronicles his parents' difficult relationship and his feelings for a new girl at school, Evie.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.


More Books --
83 Days in Mariupol by Don Brown
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Break to You by Neal Shusterman
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
Curse of the Specter Queen by Jenny Elder Moke
Ghost Diary by Seiju Natsumegu
Layers by Penelope Bagieu
Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Witch Child by Celia Rees

Monday, February 24, 2025

All You Need is Books

 February is Library Lovers Month.  So we're sharing teen books featuring storylines centered around books.  

The Case Study of Vanitas series by Jun Mochizuki
Rumors revolving around The Book of Vanitas, a clockwork grimoire of dubious reputation, draw Noé, a young vampire in search of a friend's salvation, to Paris.

Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey
Working at her family's independent bookstore during the summer before she leaves for college, Madeline Moore is determined to make the store succeed when she discovers that her crush, Jasper, works at the competing chain bookstore across the street.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
New York high school student Elizabeth gets an after-school job as a page at the "New-York Circulating Material Repository," and when she gains coveted access to its Grimm Collection of magical objects, she and the other pages are drawn into a series of frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods.


More Books --
The Archived by Victoria Schwab
The Forgotten Book by Mechtild Glaser
Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
The Lefthanded Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson 
Library Wars series by Kiiro Yumi
Magus of the Library series by Mitsu Izumi
Recommended for You by Laura Silverman
Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Monday, February 10, 2025

Celebrating Black History Month

February is celebrated as Black History Month.  So we're sharing chapter books for kids by African-American authors.  

The Last Last-Day-of-Summer by Lamar Giles
When adventurous cousins Otto and Sheed Alston accidentally extend the last day of summer by freezing time, they find the secrets between the unmoving seconds are not as much fun as they expected.

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper
When a burning cross set by the Klan causes panic and fear in 1932 Bumblebee, North Carolina, fifth-grader Stella must face prejudice and find the strength to demand change in her segregated town.

Stuntboy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds
Portico Reeves' secret identity as Stuntboy allows him to use his superpower to keep everybody safe, but when his superhero parents start fighting a lot he feels the responsibility to save them.


More Books by African-American Authors
Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Black Boy Joy edited by Kwame Mbalia
The Dark Thirty by Pat McKissack
Ethan Fairmont by Nick Brooks
Fast Pitch by Nic Stone
Keynan Masters and the Peerless Magic Crew by Davaun Sanders
Kin: Rooted in Hope by Carole Boston Weatherford
Love Like Sky by Leslie C. Youngblood
The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon
The Skull Talks Back and Other Haunting Tales by Joyce Carol Thomas
The Swag is in the Socks by Kelly J. Baptist


Monday, February 3, 2025

Football: Facts & Fun

 Are you ready for the Super Bowl?  Get in the mood with these fun, informational books for kids . . . .

Great Football Debates by Barry Wilner
Most sports fans have strong opinions about the players and teams they follow. And they love to share their views with their friends. Great Football Debates various players, rules, topics, and issues related to the sport.

Football's Funniest Mascots by David Carson
Football fans enjoy the goofy antics of many colorful mascots. Have a good laugh while learning about the funniest football mascots!

The Super Bowl: Chasing Football Immortality by Matt Doeden
The NFL is the most popular sports league in the United States, and the Super Bowl is its grandest stage. The incredible runs, the gutsy defensive stands, and the game-winning touchdown throws are all here.


More Books --
The Everything Kids' Football Book by Greg Jacobs
Football Records Smashed! by Bruce Berglund
Game Day by Tiki and Ronde Barber
Legends: The Best Players, Games and Teams in Football by Howard Bryant
Pro Football Records by Shane Frederick
A Super Fan's Guide to Pro Football Teams by Drew Lyon
Touchdowns and Tailgates: Behind the Scenes of Game Day Football by Martin Driscoll
The Ultimate College Football Road Trip by Andy York

Monday, January 27, 2025

Celebrate the Lunar New Year -- January 29, 2024

The Lunar New Year changes dates each year to coincide with the Lunar calendar.  This year (2025 = The Year of the Snake), it is celebrated on January 29th.  Check out one of these Lunar New Year of snake themed picture books to celebrate . . . .


The Runaway Wok by Ying Chang Compestine
On Chinese New Year's Eve, a poor man who works for the richest businessman in Beijing sends his son to market to trade their last few eggs for a bag of rice, but instead he brings home an empty--but magic--wok that changes their fortunes forever.

Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin
A Chinese American family prepares for and celebrates the Lunar New Year.

Verdi by Janell Cannon
A young python does not want to grow slow and boring like the older snakes he sees in the tropical jungle where he lives.

Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Ten mice outsmart a hungry snake.


More Books --
Crictor by Tomi Ungerer
The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble
I Don't Like Snakes by Nicola Davies
Knot Cannot by Tiffany Stone
Long-Long's New Year by Catherine Gower
Maisy's Chinese New Year by Lucy Cousins
The More the Merrier by David Martin
One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree by Daniel Bernstrom
Popo's Lucky Chinese New Year by Virginia Loh-Hagan
Snakes on the Job by Kathryn Dennis
Two New Years by Richard Ho
Wally Wants to Hug by Barbara Joosse

Monday, January 6, 2025

A World of Magic

This week, I'm sharing magical books for teens.  All of these books include magic within the story.  Check out these books . . . 

Witch Hat Atelier series by Kamome Shirahama
In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: She wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch...until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician.

Storm-Wake by Lucy Christopher
Moss lives alone with her magician father and a dog on a magical island, until a tempest sweeps a wild, not-quite-human boy, Callan, onto its beaches, and the two grow close, despite her father's worries--and then one day, a young man from the outside world is shipwrecked on her island, and after that nothing will be the same again.

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell
In an alternate version of present-day Manhattan, magic is dying, and Esta, a Mageus with a talent for manipulating time, travels back to 1901 to stop the destruction of a book that can possibly restore magic, but in Old New York, Esta must navigate gangs, secret societies, and her feelings for another magician in order to save the future of magic.

Fairy Tail series by Hiro Mashima
Cute girl wizard Lucy wants to join the Fairy Tail, a club for the most powerful wizards. But instead, her ambitions land her in the clutches of a gang of unsavory pirates led by a devious magician. Her only hope is Natsu, a strange boy she happens to meet on her travels. Natsu's not your typical hero-he gets motion sickness, eats like a pig, and his best friend is a talking cat. With friends like this, is Lucy better off with her enemies?


More Magical Books -- 
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Ancient Magus Bride series by Kore Yamazaki
Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston
Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge
Delusionist by Don Calame
Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
Incredible Doom by Matthew Bogart
Iron Cast by Destiny Soria
Tarot Cafe series by Sang-Son Pak
Zatanna by Alys Arden