Monday, August 25, 2025

Back to School!

School has started for most children in the area.  Check out one of these great school stories.  Here's a few of our favorites . . . .

Matilda by Roald Dahl
Matilda applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil, child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and restore her nice teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security.

School Spirit by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Like her mother, a professional medium, Kat has been able to see dead people since turning thirteen, and although they would prefer to be normal, Kat and her best friend come to terms with their own talents while helping free the spirit of a girl trapped at their middle school.

The School Mouse by Dick King-Smith
Flora, the world's most educated mouse, saves her family during a crisis.


More Books --
In Honor of Broken Things by Paul Acampora
Lights, Camera, Middle School by Jennifer L. Holm
Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs by Katherine Applegate
The New Kid at School by Kate McMullan
Restart by Gordon Korman
Scary School by Derek Kent
School Daze by Nick Bruel
The School for Whatnots by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The School Is Alive by Jack Chabert
School of the Dead by Avi
Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
Zoo School by Laurie Miller Hornik

Monday, August 18, 2025

Familiar Tales, New Perspectives -- Retellings of Disney Stories

Disney stories are eternally popular.  We love the Disney versions, the original stories they are based on, and retellings with a twist.  This week, we're sharing some Disney stories told from a new perspective.  Here are a few of our favorites . . . .

Evil Thing by Serena Valentino
This graphic novel follows the rise and fall of the deranged and glamorous fan favorite, Cruella De Vil. If it doesn't scare you, no evil thing will....

Prince of Song & Sea by Linsey Miller
Prince Eric is cursed to die if he kisses someone other than his true love. Eric must find his true love, the one with a voice pure of heart or kill the sea witch responsible for cursing him in the first place.

Reflection by Elizabeth Lim
When Captain Shang is mortally wounded by Shan Yu in battle, Mulan must travel to the Underworld, Diyu, in order to save him from certain death. Moreover, Mulan is still disguised as the soldier called Ping, wrestling with the decision to reveal her true identity to her closest friend.


More Retellings --
Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao
Dangerous Secrets by Mari Mancuso
Fairest of All by Serena Valentino
Feather and Flame by Livia Blackburne
Fractured Path by J.C. Cervantes
Go the Distance by Jen Calonita
Prince of Thorns and Nightmares by Linsey Miller
Pure of Heart by Delilah S. Dawson
Rebel Rose by Emma Theriault
Shattered Midnight by Dhonielle Clayton
So This Is Love by Elizabeth Lim
Straight on Till Morning by Stephanie Kate Strohm
What Once Was Mine by Liz Braswell

Monday, August 4, 2025

Summer Travels

Summer is a great time to travel to somewhere new.  Check out one of these informational books on different places to see where you want to go . . . .


Where Is Yellowstone? by Sarah Fabiny
Established in 1857 as the first national park in the United States, Yellowstone has been drawing visitors to its beautiful landscape for over 150 years. Before it became a national park, the region was home to Native Americans for over 11,000 years. Today, tourists come to the park from all over the world to camp and to visit the famous Old Faithful geyser and the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest super volcano in North America. 

Mount Rushmore: Memorial to Our Greatest Presidents by Lisa Kozleski
Discusses the history and sculpting of the images on South Dakota's Mount Rushmore, and provides facts about the four presidents represented there: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.

Everglades National Park by Christina Leaf
From airboats to alligators, Everglades is a unique national park! Fluent readers can explore the habitats, history, and threats to this subtropical wetland with this informative title.


More Books --
Glacier National Park by Chris Bowman
Grand Canyon National Park by Christina Leaf
Great Smoky Mountains National Park by Chris Bowman
Rocky Mountain National Park by Christina Leaf

Monday, July 28, 2025

July = Disability Pride Month

Every July, Disability Pride Month invites us to celebrate a powerful truth: people with disabilities may have different abilities, and that is something to honor and celebrate.  Check out these teen books featuring characters with disabilities . . . .

Run On Your New Legs series by Wataru Midori
After the loss of his leg, Kikuzato’s dream of becoming a soccer ace comes to an end. But with use of a prosthetic leeg, he finds a new goal -- to become a track star and win gold at the Tokyo Paralympics!

Maybe We're Electric by Val Emmich
In Edison, New Jersey, in a museum devoted to the inventor Thomas Edison, a bitter, self-loathing sixteen-year-old girl with a deformed hand and the seemingly coolest boy in school spend the night during a snowstorm, growing close until a shameful secret threatens everything.

Earth Girl by Janet Edwards
Abandoned on Earth because of her inability to survive on other planets, Jarra crafts a fake background for herself to join a class of norms who are excavating the dangerous ruins of the old cities.

Falling Over Sideways by Jordan Sonnenblick
Harassed at her middle school, not taken seriously at home, and with a "perfect" older brother, Matthew, to live up to, thirteen-year-old Claire has always felt like her life was cursed--then one morning, when she are her beloved father are talking at breakfast, her father suddenly falls over with a stroke, and suddenly everything changes.


More Books --
Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas
Breathe and Count Back From Ten by Natalis Sylvester
Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Heroes by Robert Cormier
The Innocent Treatment by Ari Goelman
Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom
A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnhard
The Speed of Falling Objects by Nancy Richardson Fischer
Sunrise Nights by Jeff Zentner
When My Heart Joins the Thousand by A.J. Steiger
Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest

Monday, July 21, 2025

National Cousins Day = July 24

 Did you know there is a day celebrating cousin?  This July 24th read a story about cousins having adventures . . . .


Ibby's Magic Weekend by Heather Dyer
While spending the weekend with her troublemaking cousins Francis and Alex, sensible Ibby discovers that magic may be more than just smoke and mirrors when it falls to her to save their magician uncle, who disappeared years ago.

Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
Rose Campbell finds herself in the care of her extended family after her wealthy father dies. Surrounded by her great-aunts, her father's brothers, their wives, and her seven rambunctious male cousins Rose spends a year taking chances, learning new things, and discovering what it means to be part of a large, loving family.

The Road Wherever by John Ed Bradley
With his father absent and his mother working, eleven-year-old Henry "June" Ball must spend the summer on the road with his cousins, "Ford men" who repair old cars.


More Books --
100 Cupboards by Nathan D. Wilson
Cupcake Cousins by Kate Hannigan
The Book of Fatal Errors by Dashka Slater
Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn
The Ghost Road by Charis Cotter
Here Comes Trouble by Kate Hattemer
My Cousin the Alien by Pamela F. Service
Nora and the Texas Terror by Judy Cox
Wed Wabbit  by Lissa Evans

Monday, June 30, 2025

Art in Our World

Check out one of these great picture books about art . . . . 


The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau by Jon Agee
When Felix Clouseau's painting quacks, he is hailed as a genius. Suddenly everyone wants a Clousseau masterpiece, and the unknown painter becomes an overnight sensation. That's when the trouble begins.

I Can Only Draw Worms by Will Mabbitt
Teaches the reader to count to ten using worms that have great adventures or everyday experiences, described but not illustrated due to the author/illustrator's inability to draw anything but worms.

Jeremy Draws a Monster by Peter McCarty
A young boy who spends most of his time alone in his bedroom makes new friends after the monster in his drawing becomes a monstrous nuisance.

When Pencil Met Eraser by Karen Kilpatrick
When Pencil draws on the pages of this book, Eraser erases parts of Pencil's work, and the book itself becomes a canvas for their different takes on creativity - until the two discover their artwork is even better when they work together.


More Books --
Art & Max by David Wiesner
The Artist by Ed Vere
Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett
The Boy and the Mountain by Mario Bellini
The Concrete Garden by Bob Graham
The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt
Doodleday by Ross Collins
Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle
I Ain't Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont
I Cannot Draw a Horse by Charise Mericle Harper
The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen
Knit Together by Angela Dominguez
Lines by Suzy Lee
Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
Masterpiece Mix by Roxie Munro
Scribbles and Ink by Ethan Long
Time to Make Art by Jeff Mack
Warthogs Paint by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Monday, June 16, 2025

World Music Day -- June 21st

 Did you know that June 21st is World Music Day?  Celebrate by reading one of these chapter books stories about music . . . .

Welcome to Starvation Lake by Gloria Whelan
When a tire fire causes a punk rock band to take a detour to Starvation Lake, the fourth-grade students talk them into playing at the school fund raiser.

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
When Chester, a very musical cricket, visits New York, he brings business to Mario's newsstand.

The First Rule of Punk by Celia Perez
MarĂ­a Luisa O'Neill-Morales starts seventh grade with a bang -- spurning the middle school's most popular girl in favor of starting a band with a group of like-minded weirdos.


More Books --
Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow
Duet by Elise Broach
Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan
Gentle's Holler by Kerry Madden
The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements
Mrs. Bacon is Fakin' by Dan Gutman
The Show Must Go On by Tina Wells
Simon B. Rhymin' by Dwayne Reed
The Singing Rock by Nathaniel Luchenmeyer
Upstaged by Diana Harmon Asher