Staff Picks Youth Fiction

Dinosaur Club – Saving the Stegosaurus

by Rex Stone

Great time travel fiction book packed with lots of adventure! Although this book is fiction it’s filled with lots of dinosaur facts. In the back of the book, it goes through the dinosaur timeline, incorporates a comprehension quiz with answers and a glossary.  Lots of information to keep a dino loving young reader interested!

Recommended by: Lenore Garoufalis, Youth Services Assistant

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Lasagna Means I Love You

by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Maureen, who goes by Mo, is in the foster care system since her grandmother passed away. This entire book is written in letter form as Mo writes to her grandmother (in heaven) explaining what’s currently happening in her life. Unfortunately, Mo doesn’t have much family. When she becomes super interested in cooking, she decides to create a blog with much loved family recipes. The problem is getting the recipes. As she meets people with recipes to share, Mo begins to discover a new definition for family. Enjoy the ups and downs of Mo’s journey as you read this book.

Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Tales to Keep You Up at Night

by Dan Poblocki

You know how sometimes it is a good idea to follow the advice of a handwritten note such as one telling you to “not read this book”? Especially when the book is found in a dark corner of an attic? Well, Amelia reads and ignores the note and soon finds herself caught up in the book as her life takes on the events in the book. There are thirteen short stories to thrill and chill the reader and Amelia, too.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Youth Fiction

The Lighthouse Cat

by Sue Stainton

An intriguing story with excellent illustrations inspired by the real lighthouse at Plymouth, England. The lighthouse was lit by a 24-candle lantern that had have its wicks trimmed every half hour. The lone lighthouse keeper finds a cat in the supplies whose coloring reminds him of a Mackerel. Together they run up and down the stairs keeping the boats safe from the jagged rocks. Until one night in a terrible storm, the candles were all blown out. What is a cat to do?

Recommended by Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Youth Fiction

First grade, here I come!

by Nancy Carlson

For kids leaving kindergarten and going to first grade this year, I really recommend this cute picture book which can remove the anxiety of new students on the first day of school and the fear of meeting new friends and teachers like what happened with first grader Henry the Mouse on his first day At school.

Recommended by: Ghada Rafati, Patron Services Clerk

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Where Echoes Die

by Courtney Gould

Flashbacks create an atmosphere of suspense as in episodes of the Twilight Zone or in A Wrinkle in Time, in which Beck travels from Washington to Arizona with her sister Riley to uncover the reason for the hold on their dead mother that the town of Backravel exerted. Once they arrive there, they find themselves caught up in the strangeness of the town, the people who seem to be “slipping”, and the odd treatment center that overlooks the town. Despite the misgivings of Riley, Beck convinces her to stay the full two weeks as they had planned as Beck tries to unravel the notes and drawings that their mother left behind about this town. As Beck explores the town she keeps wondering how the people can seem like robots, the town is so neat, and all seems to be staged.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian

Posted in: Youth Fiction

April & Mae and the Tea Party

by Megan Dowd Lambert

April and Mae are best friends, and so are their pets. On Sundays they have a tea party where Mae prepares the table and April puts on a show. Unfortunately, on this particular Sunday things go awry when April tries out a new act and accidently upsets Mae. April & Mae and the Tea Party by Megan Dowd Lambert tells the story of how these best friends work through their argument and save their friendship. There is a book in the series for each day of the week where the two best friends experience different activities, emotions, and challenges together. Beginner readers who enjoy Cynthia Rylant’s Annie and Snowball series or Eve Bunting’s Frog and Friends series will be sure to love this friendship too!

Recommended by: Erin Cady, Youth Services Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Something Wild

by Molly Ruttan

Posted in: Youth Fiction

One last shot : the story of wartime photographer Gerda Taro

by Kip Wilson

This novel told in verse covers the short life of Gerda Taro, a German photojournalist and the first woman photojournalist killed in combat. Told in the first person point of view, Taro’s activism to expose fascism is connected with her relationship with photographer André Friedmann (later known as Robert Capa).Their photographs were in great demand and they found themselves covering the Spanish Civil War up close at the front of the fighting. Taro was forgotten until 2007 when a “Mexican Suitcase” (3 boxes) collection of 4500 Spanish Civil War negatives was discovered. The boxes had been in storage in Mexico City for decades. A Doodle commemorating her birthday led the author to write this book.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian 1

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Small Spaces

by Katherine Arden

Lately, Ollie’s only comfort is in books. After a fiasco at school that involves a thrown rock and her classmate’s injured head, Ollie just wants to get to her favorite spot by the creek and read. What she finds when she arrives at the creek both shocks and unnerves her. A woman, crying uncontrollably, is trying to throw a little black book into the creek. Ollie just can’t let that happen. She steals the woman’s book and runs away, with just one warning from this mysterious woman: “Keep to small spaces at night.” After staying up late reading this new find, she discovers the story tells of a someone known as the Smiling Man. But morning soon arrives, and Ollie has a field trip to attend. When the bus breaks down on the ride home, suddenly Ollie’s watch reads just one word: “Run.” Ollie listens, and only two of her friends join her. They run into the woods, unable to shake the feeling that all the scarecrows they pass are watching them. As the three of them run, keeping to small spaces at night, Ollie realizes that this little black book might be able to explain whatever evil is taking place in her town, and how to stop it. If you are looking for something creepy and hair-raising, Small Spaces should be your next read.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e sudiobook.

Recommended by: Stephanie Visser, Youth Services Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Youth Fiction