Staff Picks Youth
December 2020
Breaking the Ice: The True Story of the First Woman to Play in the National Hockey League
by Angie Bullaro
At the age of 5, Manon played goalie for her father’s team in Canada. She went on to become the first woman to play in the Pee-Wee tournament, Junior hockey league, and on an NHL team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. As times changed from the 1970s and more women played hockey, she was also a member of the 1998 first women’s hockey team in the Olympics playing for Team Canada.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Biographies
Emmy Noether: The Most Important Mathematician You’ve Never Heard Of
by Helaine Becker
Emmy Noether is not well known, from how to pronounce her name to the many accomplishments in science she achieved. Her name is pronounced NER-ter and she was female, German, and Jewish, which is why in the 1930s her contributions to science were claimed by male scientists or used by them with no credit to her. She eventually had to flee Nazi Germany for America, where she was able to teach at Bryn Mawr College. Besides Noether’s theorem, which helps understand the universe, she developed math concepts to help understand the atom, develop computer software, and saved Einstein’s theory of relativity.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Youth Biographies
November 2020
Orange for the Sunsets
by Tina Athaide
Asha, an Indian, and Yesofu, an African, are best friends in Uganda. When Idi Amin seizes control of the government, he requires all Indians to leave Uganda regardless of their citizenship. Asha’s father wants to leave but her mother does not. What ensues is a harrowing story of looking for sense amidst chaos.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Free Lunch
by Rex Ogle
In this intense autobiography of the first semester of Rex’s sixth grade, Rex is embarrassed that he’s on the free lunch program at school and tries to hide it from his classmates. His home life is fairly unhappy as he never knows where his next meal is coming from, when he’ll have to watch his little brother and if he’ll get hit by either his mother or stepfather. This title is also available on OverDrive.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Biographies
Song for a Whale
by Lynne Kelly
Iris, along with her grandmother, is deaf. When Iris finds out about a whale who has difficulty communicating with other whales, she immediately feels a connection. When her parents deny her wish to try to visit the whale in person, she hatches another plan. This title is also available on OverDrive.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Torpedoed: the true story of the World War II sinking of “The Children’s Ship”
by Deborah Heiligman
Very readable non-fiction book on the torpedoing of the ship ‘The City of Benares’ in 1940. Includes pictures and quotes from survivors. This title is also available on OverDrive.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Nonfiction
Pie in the Sky
by Remy Lai
Jingwen and his brother leave their home for Australia. Their parents owned a bakery in their former home and now his mother is working in one. Jingwen feels compelled to secretly make every cake that he made with his dad who was killed in an accident. To keep the cake making hidden from his mother, Jingwen and his brother must eat the entire cake before their mother returns from work. This title is also available on OverDrive.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
October 2020
A Line Tender
by Kate Allen
Lucy and her best friend, Fred, are working on a field guide of animals for school consisting of drawings (by Lucy) and facts (by Fred). When an accident occurs, Lucy’s life is changed forever. With help from some close grownups in her life, she learns to navigate a new normal.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
I Can Make This Promise
by Christine Day
Edie and her friends find a box in the attic full of letters and pictures of a woman who looks a lot like Edie. Who is it? Why doesn’t Edie know about her? What ensues is a discovery of lost family.
Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Sisters of Straygarden Place
by Hayley Chewins
Posted in: Youth Fiction