Staff Picks Youth
October 2020
The Little Blue Cottage
by Kelly Jordan
Similar to The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton, this is an updated version with multi-ethnic family members who come to the cottage year after year in the summer. Both the house and the little girl look forward to being together. The little girl enjoys the outside and her special nook. Years go by and the girl does not return even though the cottage keeps waiting and falls into ruin. When the little girl does return, she is grown up with her own family. The cottage is restored and more memories are created with the new little girl.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian 1
Posted in: Youth Fiction
September 2020
All in a Drop: how Antony van Leeuwenhoek discovered an invisible world
by Lori Alexander
This biography tells us about the life of Antony van Leeuwenhoek, a self-taught scientist who built a microscope to examine minute creatures. He was initially met with skepticism but eventually revered for the strides he made in discovering microbial life. This is a great book for all science enthusiasts. This title is also available on Hoopla.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Biographies
Escape Goat
by Ann Patchett
An amusing picture book where the goat is the scapegoat, as every time he escapes from his enclosure, everyone in the family blames him for the things that they did wrong. Ranging from burning the pies to putting gum under the chair, the goat is blamed. Only Nicolette, Mr. Farmer’s daughter, tries to speak up for the goat as the fence for his enclosure goes up and up to try and keep him in.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Marie’s Ocean: Marie Tharp Maps the Mountains Under the Sea
by Josie James
A mixed-format picture book biography about Marie Tharp, who in the 1940s, began paving the way for women to be scientists as well as the first person to map the ocean floors. She discovered many trenches and mountains that then supported the idea of plate tectonics. She felt as if she was putting a jigsaw puzzle together. Being determined and capable, she became the most noted oceanographic cartographer of the 20th century. Since she was a woman, she struggled to get the credit she deserved for her discoveries and efforts. A good book for anyone to learn about the accomplishment of a brilliant woman in the area of STEAM.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Biographies
Stay Curious!: a Brief History of Stephen Hawking
by Kathleen Krull
A highly readable picture book biography written by Krull, author of other readable biographies such as How They Croaked or The Only Woman in the Photo. The title is a nod to the title of Hawking’s book, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, a bestseller that explained the mystery of life in an understandable way. Even after being diagnosed with ALS in his twenties, Hawking stayed curious about the “why” of the universe and continued enjoying life and helping others understand the universe we share.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Biographies
The Forgotten Girl
by India Hill Brown
Iris and Daniel are best friends. After they discover a neglected grave in an unknown cemetery, weird things begin to happen. As they investigate further, they find out the grave is part of a segregated cemetery from back when White and Black people were buried separately. Make sure it’s not dark out when you read this eerie ghost story. Also available on Hoopla.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
We Dream of Space
by Erin Entrada Kelly
From the Newbery winner of Hello, Universe comes another pitch-perfect book for middle grades. Cash, Fitch, and Bird are siblings in seventh grade together in 1986. Each are rotating around each other in their own world. Cash may fail seventh grade again. Fitch has anger issues. Bird, his twin, wants to become the first female shuttle commander.
All three siblings have the same science teacher, Ms. Salongan, who assigns them to spacecraft crews that must create and complete a mission. This is being done in connection with the real-life launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. When launch day arrives, it brings changes for all three siblings and new meaning to the phrase “major malfunction”.
Kelly writes the novel in three alternating points of view and has illustrated the book herself. A Today show pick for “25 children’s books your kids and teens won’t be able to put down this summer!” This title is also available on OverDrive.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Out of the Wild Night
by Blue Balliett
A ghost story full of action and suspense. In November on the island of Nantucket, Mary W. Chase is woken up from her grave to narrate the story as well as be the Crier to wake up the living and the dead to the present danger. Ghostly footprints come on shore from the ocean one night. The ghosts want to prevent the restoration of old houses, which is destroying the memories and possessions of those who lived before. The children, led by Phee and Gabe, form a group of children to work with the ghosts to prevent the evil developer, Eddy Nold, from destroying the houses in the name of improvement. There are many of spooky scenes throughout the story to keep the reader turning pages. As is Baillett’s style, readers have to think and be alert for clues that she weaves into her story. With a surprising twist at the end, readers will be looking back in the book for those clues. A book that blends the worlds between life and death, memories and love.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
One Time
by Sharon Creech
Who are you? Who could you be? These are the two questions Gina Filomena ponders the year she is in Miss Lightstone’s class. Labeled as a child with an overactive imagination, Gina befriends her new neighbor, Antonio, in whom she finds a kindred spirit. With the encouragement and guidance of Miss Lightstone, Gina, Antonio, and their classmates discover the wonders of writing. They soon find that writing is not just about telling stories, but also helps them process their world- and there’s a lot going on in Gina’s world. An enormous amount of pasta, porcupines eating licorice, the shenanigans of Angel Lucia, the suddenness of change, the perfection found in words like mangata and komorebi. One Time is a thoughtful read that weaves together imagination, expression, and becoming one’s true self.
Recommended by: Stephanie Thomas, Youth Services Preschool Services Coordinator
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Don’t Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
by Jonathan Maberry
Posted in: Youth Fiction