Staff Picks Youth

Dragon Hoops

by Gene Luen Yang

Yang alternately describes the history of basketball and the story of the Bishop O’Dowd Dragons, a high school boys’ basketball team in Oakland, CA. This graphic novel depicts the difficulties in the team’s drive to win the state basketball championship.

The book is available in the library and on OverDrvie and as ebook.

Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager 

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Stepping Stones

by Lucy Knisley

Jen’s mom moves her to the country from the city after divorcing her father. A whole new life awaits her there. She has chores, her part-time sisters come to visit on weekends and her mom’s boyfriend is annoying and bossy. She helps out at the farmer’s market with her mom and feels bad when her math skills are not good enough to help with the cash register. Will she ever feel comfortable in her new home?

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive as an ebook.

Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Stargazing

by Jen Wang

Christine makes a new friend when Moon moves in next door. Moon is so different from Christine; she’s a vegetarian, a Buddhist and she says she belongs in the sky. Can this friendship last? 

Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager

Posted in: Youth Fiction

The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez

by Adrianna Cuevas

Nestor misses his father, who’s serving in the military, something awful. He’s very discouraged from moving every year to a new school. When he immediately makes new friends after he and his mother move in with their grandmother, he’s encouraged. When pet animals begin disappearing, Nestor, who has a secret super power, and his friends attempt to solve the mystery. 

Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager 

Posted in: Youth Fiction

The Wild World Handbook Habitats

by Andrea Debbink

A great book for budding environmentalists and nature lovers. This book visits multiple types of habitats and gives facts and mini stories about them. There are also stories about famous activists, photographers, environmentalists and more. In between the stories you’ll find different activities to try out that relate to what you’ve just read. We only have one Earth and it’s our job to help protect it. This book might help middle graders take a step in the right direction.

Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian

Posted in: Youth Nonfiction

The Thirteenth Cat

by Mary Downing Hahn

Don’t let the cover with a fluffy white cat fool you. This is a spell binding story about black cats…especially numbers Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen. Hahn has once again written a spooky middle grade book that will keep the reader guessing to the very end.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Pax

by Sara Pennypacker

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Paletero Man

by Lucky Diaz

Summer has come to an end, but this is a great pick for these last warm days. Latin Grammy Winner Lucky Diaz and illustrator Micah Player team up for this heartwarming and vibrant story that takes place in Los Angeles, but may as well happen in any other urban beautifully diverse kind of town. With a splash of Spanish and a musical narrative in rhyme, a young boy is soon to embark on a quest to find the beloved neighborhood paletero man to enjoy the most delicious ice pops in town. We get a glimpse of city life that pulsates not only with lively hustle and bustle, but also with kindness and a true sense of community. By the end of the story, you may crave an icy treat and find paletero José to meet. A good read for Hispanic Heritage month. To celebrate, pair-up with the song by the same title.

Recommended by: Fanny Camargo, Youth Services Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Youth Fiction

The List of Unspeakable Fears

by J. Kasper Kramer

A timely historical novel where an anxious young girl, Essie, must learn to face her fears of the unknown, isolation, and unseen viruses that can kill you. After her mother remarries a doctor who oversees a quarantine hospital where typhoid patients are housed, including Typhoid Mary, Essie’s anxiety disorder escalates until reality and her nightmares feed on each other. She is sure the island is haunted and that her stepfather is another Dr. Frankenstein. Plus there is even an evil cat and a ghost terrifying her days and nights.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Youth Fiction

Four Faces of the Moon

by Amanda Strong

A powerful graphic novel adapted from a short stop-motion animation film created by the author. In four chapters, which follow the phases of the moon, the story follows the journey of an Indigenous photographer, Spotted Fawn, as she travels through time meeting past ancestors and witnessing the destruction of their way of life by building railroads and the killing of the buffalo.

An Afterword by Dr. Sherry Farrell-Racette an associate professor of Native Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Manitoba, provides vital information on Michif culture and history.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Youth Fiction