- In this biography, African American educator, author, speaker, and advisor to presidents of the United States, Booker Taliaferro Washington was the leading voice of former slaves and their descendants during the late 1800s. As part of the last generation of leaders born into slavery, Booker believed that African Americans would have more success through education and entrepreneurship, rather than trying to directly challenge the Jim Crow segregation.
- Target audience: Ages 8 - 12
- In this biographhy, as a boy Ernest Shackleton preferred reading sea stories to doing homework, and so at age 16, became an apprentice seaman. Subsequently, Ernest Shackleton's incredible journeys to the South Pole in the early 1900s made him one of the most famous explorers of modern times. His courage in the face of dangerous conditions and unforeseeable tragedies reveal the great leader that he was. His historic 1914 journey aboard the Endurance has all the drama of an action movie"--publisher.
Child fiction book. In New York in 1971, Jamila and Josie are bused across Queens where they try to fit in at a new, integrated junior high school while their best friend, Francesca, tests the limits at a private school. Grade: 5+
Child nonfiction book. There's a new girl in Romelie's class named Camila. Camila speaks Spanish, and she's teaching it to Romelie. That gets Romelie thinking. What other languages do people speak? Her own family uses English and American Sign Language. Her mom's friend knows Somali and Arabic. Can Romelie discover more languages in her city? How are they like her own? How are they different? A diverse cast gives multiple points of comparison. Age: 5-8.
Zenobia July, an excellent coder and hacker, investigates a mystery while wrestling with the challenges of a new school, a new family, and presenting her true gender for the first time. Age: 10+
Child fiction book. Fifteen-year-old Barry O'Neill, traveling from Ireland to America on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, finds his life endangered when the ship hits an iceberg and begins to sink. Grade: 6+
Book 1 Cogheart series (Steampunk): "When her father goes missing, thirteen-year-old Lily Hartman must team up with a clockmaker's son, Robert, and her mechanimal fox, Malkin, to solve the mystery of her father's disappearance and his world-changing invention, a perpetual motion machine called the Cogheart"-- Provided by publisher. 362 pages Also available as a listen along to Audiobook on CD or e-audiobook.
Recommended for Grade 5 - Grade 8
When her father goes missing, thirteen-year-old Lily Hartman must team up with a clockmaker's son, Robert, and her mechanimal fox, Malkin, to solve the mystery of her father's disappearance and his world-changing invention, a perpetual motion machine called the Cogheart.
Book 1, Cogheart
Child fiction book. In 1842 in the Shetland Islands of Scotland, Christopher Robertson's family lives a difficult life as "crofters," farmers and fishermen so in debt to the landowner that they have no hope of ever breaking free. To make matters worse, Christopher also lives under the thumb of his morally questionable father and devious brother. When his brother frames him for the theft of their father's secret bag of coins, Christopher must leave his home and embark on a journey across the island to return the coins and clear his name. Grade: 5+
"From singer, model and YouTube celebrity Natasha Bure, the daughter of Candace Cameron Bure, comes a real, honest conversational book that doesn't hold back. Everywhere she goes and every video she posts has one basic message: this is real, this is life, and we all go through it. Whether it's acne, boyfriends, faith, stress, or having fun, Natasha's view is to simply be honest, simply be real, no matter what you face. Natasha's real and relatable tone paired with personal notes and stories will help readers see that living a "real" life is the best life."
Child fiction book, and e-book. Two years after being airlifted out of Vietnam in 1975, Matt Pin is haunted by the terrible secret he left behind and, now, in a loving adoptive home in the United States, a series of profound events forces him to confront his past. Grade: 6+
Child fiction book, and e-book. In a poor village outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Serafina works hard to help her family, but dreams of going to school and becoming a doctor--then the earthquake hits and Serafina must summon all her courage to find her father and still get medicine for her sick baby brother as she promised. Age: 9+
In a poor village outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Serafina works hard to help her family, but dreams of going to school and becoming a doctor--then the earthquake hits and Serafina must summon all her courage to find her father and still get medicine for her sick baby brother as she promised.
Child fiction book. The day nine-year-old Grace is called to work in the kitchen in the Big House, everyone warns her to to keep her head down and her thoughts to herself, but the more she sees of the oppressive Master and his hateful wife, the more she questions things until one day her thoughts escape--and to avoid being separated she and her family flee into the Dismal Swamp, to join the other escaped slaves who live there. Grade: 4+
"It's 1950 and the Communist country of North Korea has invaded its neighboring country of South Korea. The United Nations has stepped in to help South Korea by providing weapons and soldiers. Nearly all of these soldiers come from the United States. Will you: Serve as a pilot in Korea with the U.S. Marine Corps? Lie about your age to enlist as a 16-year-old member of the U.S. military reserves? Join in the fight for your country as a young South Korean man? Everything in this book happened to real people. And YOU CHOOSE what you do"... (publisher)
Series: You choose books
"An introduction to the Green Bay Packers professional football team. Includes information about the team's history, stadium, star players, and uniforms."-- publisher.
With this How-to guide, readers will learn all the basic knowledge of freshwater fishing and what essentials are needed to making a first time fishing experience a success. From supplies and safety to picking a spot and actually fishing, readers will learn what's needed to become a skilled freshwater fisherman.
Authors: Bill Burnett and Dave Evans #1 New York Times Bestseller "An inspiring and thought-provoking graduation gift: At last, a book that shows you how to build—design—a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise."
We all know people who are hard to get along with. It might be your spouse, mother, neighbor, friend, or colleague. In his new book Feeling Good Together, Dr. David D. Burns describes Cognitive Interpersonal Therapy (CIT), a radically different method for developing more loving and satisfying relationships with the people you care about.
American gymnast Simone Biles wowed the world at the 2016 Rio Olympics by winning four gold medals. The first female gymnast to earn three consecutive all-around titles, Biles has been listed on TIME magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People, authored a book on her life, and won an ESPY award for best female athlete in 2017. Her determination carried her through an unstable home life as a young child to become someone who wants to inspire others to lead a healthy and happy lifestyle.
When Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel, Mary Anne, lose their jobs to the gasoline, electric, and diesel motor shovels, they find a new opportunity in a very surprising place in this classic picture book.
In this classic picture book a country house is unhappy when the city, with all its buildings and traffic, grows up around her.
Marin knows exactly how her senior year is going to go. She'll crush it as editor of the school paper, impress her passionate young English teacher, and score an acceptance to Brown, her dream school. Everything seems to be going according to plan, too—that English teacher, Mr. Beckett, or Bex, is especially encouraging. He tells Marin her writing is mature, gives her rides, and offers to write her a recommendation to Brown. But when he completely crosses a physical line, a horrified Marin reports it, only to find herself with no support. The administration is reluctant to take action, her boyfriend is hostile, and her best friend thinks she's looking for attention. As Bex retaliates, Marin searches for allies and takes matters into her own hands. -- Maggie Reagan (Reviewed 4/15/2020) (Booklist, vol 116, number 16, p50)
Child fiction book. France sends the Merci Train to the United States to thank America for helping France during and after WWII, and one of the train stops will be the small town of Gladiola, Texas, where ten-year-old Glory Bea hopes for the greatest miracle--that her missing-in-action father will be on the train. Grade: 3+
Eric and his best friend, Chris, find themselves on a high-stakes geocaching treasure hunt.
In this Geisel 2019 Honor Book Kayla places her tooth in a Tooth Fairy pillow, but it disappears before the Tooth Fairy has a chance to visit--can her dog King help Kayla find the missing tooth? (4th book in King & Kayla series)
While searching for his mysteriously lost human family, Buddy the dog is adopted by another family and helps solve the mystery of their missing boy.
The Buddy File series
Child fiction book. Just turned twelve, Lily is the oldest of the three children in her Chinese American family living in San Francisco when the 1906 earthquake hits. Her family survives the quake, but as the city starts to burn, Lily and her younger brother are separated from the others and must get to the safety of Oakland across the bay and hope that the rest of their family and friends are there waiting for them--but between the fire and the anti-Chinese violence it is not certain that any of them will survive. Grade: 3+
Child picture book, and e-audiobook. We are all here for a purpose. We are more than enough. We just need to believe it. Age: 3-6.
Child Picture Book:
We are all here for a purpose. We are more than enough. We just need to believe i
Child Picture Book:
After being teased yet again about her unruly hair, MacKenzie consults her neighbor, Miss Tillie, who compares hair care with tending her beautiful garden and teaches MacKenzie some techniques for managing her hair.
Child picture book. After being teased yet again about her unruly hair, MacKenzie consults her neighbor, Miss Tillie, who compares hair care with tending her beautiful garden and teaches MacKenzie some techniques. Includes tips for shampooing, conditioning, and protecting black hair, and recipes for hair products. Age: 5-7.
Mayhem ensues in their sleepy California beach town when three best friends, motivated by unlimited snacks, no parents, and earning money for an epic seventh-grade party, find an old copy of "The Babysitters Club" and decide to start their own babysitting business.
Book 1, Best Babysitters Ever series
Lena is excited about starting kindergarten but her favorite shoes are not until, with the help of her father and a very special headband, she convinces the shoes--and herself--to be brave.
Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time--quite a challenge, given that none of the guys has the nerve to even ask a girl out on a date. But catching a girl in the buff starts to look easy compared to Matt's other summertime aspiration: to swim the 100-yard butterfly (the hardest stroke known to God or man) as a way to impress Kelly West, the sizzling new star of the swim team.
YA fiction book. Black girls, including gender non-conforming individuals, star in this collection of sixteen stories of fantasy, science fiction, and magic. Age: 12+
Child fiction book. Steeped in Hispanic folklore since childhood, middle schooler Charlie Hernández learns the stories are true when, shortly after his parents disappearance, he grows horns and feathers and finds himself at the heart of a battle to save the world. Age: 10+
Child fiction book, and e-book. In 1776 Boston, twelve-year-old Daniel Prescott enjoys assuming his father's role in taking care of his mother and sister, as well as his work as a spy and messenger for the American revolutionaries, but the pleasure ends when he witnesses the horrors of war firsthand, and learns that a trusted patriot is actually a British spy. Book 1 in Boys of Wartime series. Grade: 4-6.
Child Nonfiction:
An introduction to the life and achievements of the star African-American track and field athlete describes how he took a stand against racism and made history by winning four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics.
"Seventeen-year-old Ellie had no hope left. Yet the day after she dies by suicide, she finds herself in the midst of an out-of-body experience. She is a spectator, swaying between past and present, retracing the events that unfolded prior to her death. But there are gaps in her memory, fractured pieces Ellie is desperate to re-assemble. There's her mother, a songbird who wanted to break free from her oppressive cage. The boy made of brushstrokes and goofy smiles who brought color into a gray world. Her brooding father, with his sad puppy eyes and clenched fists. And Ellie's determined to find out why a piece of her was left behind."
YA fiction book, and audiobook on cd. Felix Love, a transgender seventeen-year-old, attempts to get revenge by catfishing his anonymous bully, but lands in a quasi-love triangle with his former enemy and his best friend. Age: 14+
"Felix Love, a transgender seventeen-year-old, attempts to get revenge by catfishing his anonymous bully, but lands in a quasi-love triangle with his former enemy and his best friend."
Born on Water Island in the Virgin Islands during a hurricane, which is considered bad luck, twelve-year-old Caroline falls in love with another girl--and together they set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother.
For ages 8-12
Child fiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. Born on Water Island in the Virgin Islands during a hurricane, which is considered bad luck, twelve-year-old Caroline falls in love with another girl--and together they set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother. Age: 8-12.
Child picture book. Text includes English and Ntlakyapamuk. On an outing in Nicola Valley, British Columbia, a Native American family forages for herbs and mushrooms while the grandmother passes down her language and knowledge to her young grandchildren. Includes glossary. Age: 4-7.
Child picture book. Text in Hmong and English. Alternate title: I won't bite. Touch-and feel the animals who will not bite, but look out for the crocodile's sharp teeth! Age: 5-8.
Adult drama - not rated. Elizabeth is the star of a successful cooking show and author of several cookbooks. But when she has to cook Christmas dinner on live TV trouble ensues. Elizabeth can't cook. This version stars: Dyan Cannon, Kris Kristofferson, Tony Curtis and Richard Roundtree.
After she falls headfirst into a bird's nest, a baby bat is raised like a bird until she is reunited with her mother.
Child fiction book, and e-book. Sunflower is an only child, and when her father is sent to the rural Cadre School, she has to go with him. When her father tragically drowns, Sunflower is taken in by the poorest family in the village, a family with a son named Bronze. Bronze and Sunflower become inseparable, understanding each other as only the closest friends can. Translated from Mandarin, this is a timeless story of the trials of poverty and the power of love and loyalty to overcome hardship. Includes historical note. Grade: 4+
Theater and murder! A lovely queer novel that isn't a coming-out story or a tragedy. An elegant love story incorporating a haunting mystery and a compelling exploration of the power dynamics of gender, age, race and professional status.