Cats! Cats! Cats! Cats! Cats!

This week, I'm sharing picture books featuring one of our favorite animals -- cats!

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

When Kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk, she ends up tired, wet, and hungry trying to reach it.

What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas

When Fat Cat is looking for somewhere to sit, a group of animals is terrified at the prospect of being crushed by his imposing size, until the mouse comes up with a solution that satisfies everyone.

They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel

In simple, rhythmic prose and stylized pictures, a cat walks through the world, and all the other creatures see and acknowledge the cat.

Stack the Cats by Susie Ghahremani

Cats of all shapes and sizes scamper, yawn, and stretch across the pages of this playful counting book. And every now and then, some of them pile into the purr-fect stack!

More Cat Picture Books --

10 Cats by Emily Gravett

Atticus Caticus by Sarah Maizes

Bad Dog by Mike Boldt

Bruno the Standing Cat by Nadine Robert

Cat Knit by Jacob Grant

Cat Nap by Steve Antony

Cone Cat by Sarah Howden

Flat Cat by Tara Lazar

Floof by Heidi McKinnon

Here Comes Teacher Cat by Deborah Underwood

How to Give Your Cat a Bath in Five Easy Steps by Nicola Winstanley

I Love Cats by Sue Stainton

Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed by Leslea Newman

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

Mr. Pusskins by Sam Lloyd

Negative Cat by Sophie Blackall

Opera Cat by Tess Weaver

Some Cat by Mary Casanova

There Are Cats in This Book by Vivian Schwarz

Could You Survive?

Survival stories are a lot of fun to read.  We imagine ourselves in the characters' shoes and consider how we would react.  This week, check out of one of the survival chapter books for kids . . . .

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan

In Kansas in the year 1937, eleven-year-old Jack Clark faces his share of ordinary challenges: local bullies, his father's failed expectations, a little sister with an eye for trouble. But he also has to deal with the effects of the Dust Bowl, including rising tensions in his small town and the spread of a shadowy illness.

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

After an October blizzard, Laura's family moves from the claim shanty into town for the winter, a winter that an Indian has predicted will be seven months of bad weather.

Hurricane by Terry Trueman

A fictional account of one of the worst storms to hit the Caribbean--Hurricane Mitch in 1998--told from the perspective of a thirteen-year-old boy living in a small village in Honduras.

More Books --

Denali Storm by Michael Spradlin

Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender

Lacey's Story by W. Bruce Cameron

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Racing Storm Mountain by Trent Reedy

Skylark and Wallcreeper by Anne Carelli

The Storm Before Atlanta by Karen Schwabach

Storm Blown by Nick Courage

Killers in the Shadows

A popular character in teen fiction is the assassin -- whether it is the main character being targeted by an assassin or a teen assassin attempting a job.  This week, check out one of these teen books featuring assassins . . . .

Akuma No Riddle series by Yun Kga

At a private girls' boarding school, thirteen girls are transferred into the academy's "10th Year Class Black" and tasked with assassinating the remaining student, a girl named Haru Ichinose. If they succeed, they will be granted any wish they desire, but if they fail, they are expelled from the class. However, one of the assassins, Tokaku Azuma, has sworn to protect Haru from the other assassins.

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

Perry's parents insist that he take Gobi, their quiet, Lithuanian exchange student, to senior prom but after an incident at the dance he learns that Gobi is actually a trained assassin who needs him as a henchman, behind the wheel of his father's precious Jaguar, on a mission in Manhattan.

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

Sixteen-year-old Boy Nobody, an assassin controlled by a shadowy government organization, The Program, considers sabotaging his latest mission because his target reminds him of the normal life he craves.

More Books --

Firebug by Lish McBride

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Imposters by Scott Westerfeld

Killing November by Adriana Mather

Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

The Queen's Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz

The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer

Riven by Mindee Arnett

Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor

Teen Killers Club by Lily Sparks

Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi

Set Sail on the High Seas

September 19th is celebrated as Talk Like a Pirate Day.  In honor of the day, check out one of these pirate stories for teens . . . .

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

When her father, the ruthless pirate king, discovers that a legendary treasure map can be found on an enemy ship, Alosa knows that there's only one pirate for the job--herself. Leaving behind her beloved ship and crew, Alosa deliberately facilitates her own kidnapping to ensure her welcome on the ship.

The Sea Knows My Name by Laura Brooke Robson

Scholarly and soft-spoken, seventeen-year-old Thea escapes from her mother's pirate ship and into the arms of a charming sailor whose betrayal forces Thea to reconsider her mother's lessons about surviving in a man's world.

Tides of Mutiny by Rebecca Rode

A sixteen-year-old girl hiding as a cabin boy must fight for her place in a world that executes female sailors, all while falling for a mysterious stowaway who could destroy everything.

More Books --

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Airlock by Tash McAdam

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens

Into the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru

Nightweaver by R.M. Gray

Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser

The Outcasts by John Flanagan

I'm A Princess! -- Part 2

Last time I shared teen stories featuring princesses.  This week, I'm sharing chapter books for grade school kids about princesses.  Here are a few of our favorites . . . .

Princess in Black by Shannon Hale

Princess Magnolia is having hot chocolate and scones with Duchess Wigtower when ... Brring! Brring! The monster alarm! A big blue monster is threatening the goats! Stopping monsters is no job for dainty Princess Magnolia. But luckily Princess Magnolia has a secret -- she's also the Princess in Black, and stopping monsters is the perfect job for her! Can the princess sneak away, transform into her alter ego, and defeat the monster before the nosy duchess discovers her secret?

Pennyroyal Academy by M.A. Larson

Pennyroyal Academy: Seeking bold, courageous youths to become tomorrow's princesses and knights... Come one, come all! A girl from the forest arrives in a bustling kingdom with no name and no idea why she is there. She enlists at Pennyroyal Academy, where princesses and knights are trained to battle the two great menaces of the day: witches and dragons. 

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

At her christening a princess is given the gift of "ordinariness" by a fairy, and the consequences of that eventually take her to a nearby palace where, having run away to become a fourteenth assistant kitchen maid, she meets the prince for her.

More Princess Stories --

The Dragon Egg Princess by Ellen Oh

The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker

Frogged by Vivian Vande Velde

The Light Princess by George MacDonald

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

The Princess and the Foal by Stacy Gregg

Princess of the Swans by Diane Zahler

The Princess Protection Program by Alex London

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

I'm a Princess!

This week, we're sharing stories for teens about princesses.  Check out a few of our favorites . . . .

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Fourteen-year-old Mia, who is trying to lead a normal life as a teenage girl in New York City, is shocked to learn that her father is the Prince of Genovia, a small European principality, and that she is a princess and the heir to the throne.

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

After ten years of exile among fairies who teach her to use her magically-enhanced strength and courage, Sleeping Beauty's daughter Aurora enlists the help of Niklaas, eleventh son of King Eldorio, in the fight to reclaim her throne.

A Secret Princess by Margaret Stohl

Best friends Mary Lennox, Sara Crewe, and Cedric Erroll flee their repressive boarding school, intending to start over in the theaters of Paris, but they instead find themselves at Cedric's estate in Yorkshire, where a hidden garden helps them realize their destiny.

More Books --

The Accidental Highwayman by Ben Tripp

American Royals by Katherine McGee

Dead Upon a Time by Elizabeth M. Paulson

Ever Curse by Corey Ann Haydu

The Girl King by Mimi Yu

The Illustrated Girl by Josephine Angelini

The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning

Rogue Princess by B.R. Myers

The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne

It's the End of the World!!!!

 This week, I'm sharing dystopian novels for teens about the end of the world as they know it.  Check out a few of our favorites . . . . 

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
 What if the football hadn't gone over the wall. On the other side of the wall there is a dark secret. And the devil. And the Moon Man. And the Motherland doesn't want anyone to know. But when Standish and his only friend and neighbor, Hector, make their way to the other side of the wall, they see what the Motherland has been hiding. And it's big.

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.

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

In this twist on Edgar Allen Poe's gothic short story, a wealthy teenaged girl who can afford a special mask to protect her from the plague that decimated humanity in the mid-1800s, falls in love, becomes caught up in a conspiracy to overthrow an oppressive government, and faces the threat of a new plague.

More Books --

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman

At the End of Everything by Marieke Nijkamp

Beware the Night by Jessika Fleck

The Chasm by Jacqui Castle

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

The Hive by Barry Lyga

The Memory Index by Julia R. Vaca

Rise of the Hand by Olivia Chadha

Shards and Ashes edited by Melissa Marr
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson

Under This Forgetful Sky by Lauren Yero