Staff Picks
September 2021
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
Millionaires for the Month
by Stacy McAnulty
When seventh graders Benjy and Felix find a billionaire’s lost wallet, they figure she will not mind it they ‘borrow’ $20. Not only does she not mind but she gives them 5 million dollars with one of the stipulations being that they spend it all in 1 month. Great fun, right? Well, not so much considering the other restrictions.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Blood and Germs: The Civil War Battle Against Wounds and Disease
by Gail Jarrow
Jarrow takes the reader back to the Civil War and explains the effects of disease and unsanitary conditions on the soldiers. Unbeknownst to doctors, microbes and parasites took the lives of more soldiers than battle wounds. Fortunately, this led to innovations that enhanced medical care going forward.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Director
Posted in: Youth Nonfiction
Greystone Secrets #1: The Strangers
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Three siblings, Chess, Emma and Finn, find an alternate universe when trying to discover what happened to their mother after she leaves them suddenly on a questionable work assignment. The more they uncover, the weirder everything becomes until they are truly mystified.
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Wife Upstairs
by Rachel Hawkins
What do you get when you merge the classic Jane Eyre storyline with the dark, seedy underbelly of the newly rich, à la Big Little Lies? The answer is in this book, filled to the brim with secrets, deception and introspective battles. Jane is a dog walker in the gated community of Thornfield Estates when she meets the ever-so-charming widower, Eddie Rochester. Eddie has made a name for himself in town, though not for the reasons one might think—Eddie’s wife, Bea, and her best friend, Blanche, recently drowned in an unfortunate accident that left their bodies never to be discovered. Jane is drawn into the town’s posh gossip, the mystery behind the man that she believes can see her true soul, and is determined to uncover the keys of this high society while protecting her own secrets along the way. This book would be great for Brontë fans looking for a modern retelling of the classic and readers who love a mystery set against a glamorous backdrop.
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an eBook.
Recommended by: Ola Gronski, Youth Services Assistant
Posted in: Adult Fiction
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
Sixth grade Miranda has been best friends with Sal for as long as she can remember. That is until Sal randomly gets punched in the stomach on the walk home from school. Sal creates distance in their friendship. Miranda starts hanging out with new friends in their New York City neighborhood, and things start to get weird. Really weird.
Miranda begins receiving strange notes, in strange places, from an unknown author. An author who seems to know about things in Miranda’s life that have not happened yet. An author who is asking Miranda for help saving a life. Who is sending the notes and how? Will Miranda figure it out in time to prevent a tragedy?
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.
Recommended by: Malorie Carpenter, Youth Services Assistant
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Bud Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Some stories we read because we have to and find out we are continuing to read because we want to. Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis is one of those books. Commonly read for school assignments, Bud Not Buddy is an excellent read for its Depression Era story told from the perspective of 10-year-old Bud. After escaping his foster family , Bud decides that he’d much rather search for his missing father instead of being sent back to the orphanage. He embarks on a heroic journey and discovers truths about his family that he never expected to find all while learning that family extends further than a person’s bloodline.
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.
Recommended by: Darnetta Bolton, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction