Staff Picks
January 2022
There’s a Ghost in this House
by Oliver Jeffers
A very creative picture book by Oliver Jeffers , a little girl takes you through each room in her house looking for a ghost. This gorgeous book is not scary at all in fact it’s funny and a very creative book. I loved it so much.
Recommended by: Ghada Rafati, Patron Services Clerk
Posted in: Youth Fiction
A Home for Goddesses and Dogs
by Leslie Connor
Lydia, having just witnessed her mother’s death, is brought to live with her aunt, her mother’s sister. The life her aunt lives, with her wife and elderly landlord, on a farm of sorts, is quite different from what Lydia is used to. When her aunt decides to adopt a rescue dog, Lydia slowly grows accustomed to her new life.
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an e audiobook.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Seven Dirty Secrets
by Natalie D. Richards
Another action-packed who-done-it by the author of Five Total Strangers. Cleo finds a beautifully wrapped birthday gift on the bathroom counter, but when she opens it a horrible rhyme is revealed. So begins a scavenger hunt that sends her and her friend Hope, later involving the others who had gone on that fateful rafting trip the previous year, deciphering the clues based on Cleo’s past relationship with Declan, the boy who died. As the time limit to solve the clues in the scavenger hunt gets less, and less, the suspense and fear as to who will survive ramps higher.
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
Waiting is Not Easy!
by Mo Willems
My four year old son was having a hard time waiting. Together we read books about waiting. This one was our favorite! In Waiting is Not Easy, Piggie has a surprise for Gerald. But, the surprise is not here yet so Gerald must wait. Gerald is impatient and the waiting is excruciating. He has to wait all day, until it gets dark out, for his surprise to arrive! Because of this, Gerald gets crabby. My son loved that Gerald’s grouchy groans were so loud they physically knock Piggie over. Even still, Piggie convinces Gerald the waiting will be worth it. Waiting is Not Easy was fun and silly to read aloud. My son laughed and requested it be read again and again. I loved that I could refer back to this witty story as a reminder to be patient. You will love the sweet surprise at the end.
Recommended by: Malorie Carpenter, Youth Services Assistant
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Lost Girls: A Vampire Revenge Story
by Sonia Hartl
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
When Pigs Fly
by Rob Harrell
A new graphic novel series by author of Wink bringing a new superhero, Batpig! After being accidently bitten on his snout by his friend Brooklyn, a bat. Gary the pig discovers he has super powers. In several action packed stories, Batpig takes on villains, gets a special Batpig ringtone, and many more adventures. Be sure to read this book to find out the answer to the question “Why didn’t the toilet paper cross the road?”
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
They Stole Our Hearts: The Teddies Saga, Book 2
by Daniel Kraus
The second book in a trilogy for middle grades, the story of Buddy, a teddy bear, and his teddy bear friends continues. After thinking they had found a home with Darling, the teddies must run for their lives after the gruesome demise of Sugar, a sweet pink bear. Thinking that joining a village of other teddy bears to help find the factory where they were made leads to more angst and horror. The action and adventure is nonstop in this page turner of a book. Hopefully the third book will come out quickly.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Ain’t Burned All the Bright
by Jason Reynolds
This is a weighty book literally and figuratively. The book is heavy because of the nearly 300 pages of art work and because of the topics covered representing the year 2020. Thoughts are told in three “breaths.” In spare but thought provoking words and dull to bright illustrations, the year 2020 is covered from the view point of unnamed Black narrator. A not to be miss read.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction
Who was the Girl Warrior of France?: Joan of Arc
by Sarah Winifred Searle
A new Who HQ Graphic Novels series tells the story of Joan of Arc. The set-up of this series are dialogue-driven panel art interspersed with short historical informational pages. Joan of Arc’s faith and determination are needed in her challenging journey to help end the Hundred Years War between England and France.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Biographies
You’ll Be the Death of Me
by Karen McManus
When old friends who have grown apart decide to take a ditch day from school, everything goes wrong. Wrong place, wrong time equals walking in on the murdered body of a classmate, who just happens to be the kid who beat out one of the “friends” for the position of class president. The press get wind that the “friends” weren’t in school and rumors start flying that they are the murderers. Can the “friends” come together and solve the mystery to clear their names? Or will they be next on the killers list?
This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.
Recommended by: Erin Faxel, Youth Services Teen Librarian
Posted in: Young Adult Fiction