Staff Picks Youth
March 2020
Two Peas in a Pod
by Sarah Mlynoski
Part of the Whatever After series, Abby wakes up after a restless night and is promptly named a princess. She and her brother and dog must have many adventures as they try to discover the identity of the real princess in the kingdom. Fast paced, clever, and full of girl power.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Dr. Snow Has Got To Go
by Dan Gutman
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Reference
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Red Menace
by Lois Ruby
Marty Rafner’s life is pretty normal for a 13 year old kid growing up in a small Kansas town in 1953. He loves playing baseball, listening on his radio as his favorite player, Mickey Mantle, wins games for the New York Yankees, and nurses a crush for his friend and next door neighbor, Amy Lynn. Everything changes when some family friends, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, are accused of spying for the Russians and are sentenced to death. To make matters worse, Marty’s own mother is now under suspicion of not being a loyal US citizen. It’s not easy to keep friends and live a normal life when the FBI is watching your family’s every move. The only one who seems to not mind being around Marty is Luke, his neighbor who has recently returned home from fighting in the Korean War. But Luke isn’t the same since he’s been back from the war, and Marty is running out of ideas on how to help him. With the execution date of the Rosenbergs getting closer, Marty can’t help but worry about the fate of his own family, if his life will ever go back to being normal, or if he’ll always be seen as a traitor. For fans of historical fiction and suspense, Red Menace is a home run.
Recommended by: Stephanie Thomas, Preschool Services Coordinator
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Blue Skies
by Anne Bustard
An emotional read that keeps you caring about the characters until the very end. World War II is over and life is returning to normal in Texas. However, 10 year old Glory Bea is still waiting for her father to come home. She is sure he will and once again wake her up singing the song, “Blue skies”. Based on real events, the town begins to plan for a parade to welcome the Merci Train, one of 49 boxcars from France. Will her dad be part of that train?
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services
Posted in: Youth Fiction
The Newspaper Club
by Beth Vrabel
What’s a kid from a family of reporters to do when they move from a bustling city to a sleepy town? Use their reporting skills to get to the bottom of a string of vandalism cases at the local park, of course. And along the way maybe make a few friends and start their own newspaper. This novel is a quick read, full of great characters and a mystery waiting to be solved. I can’t wait for the sequel!
Recommended by: Kara DeCarlo, School Liaison
Posted in: Youth Fiction
I’m New Here
by Anne O'Brien
Fatima, Maria and Jin are new immigrant children to America. On the first day of elementary school, it was very scary for the 3 of them because they had trouble speaking and understanding the English language. However, their teachers and peers welcomed them and made them feel accepted in the new community without losing their identity. I highly recommend this book because it teaches our children how to accept people with different cultures, languages and beliefs.
Recommended by: Ghada Rafati, Patrons Services Clerk
Posted in: Youth Fiction
Kids Talk About Honesty
by Carrie Finn
Kids talk about Honesty is a great book because it teaches kids how to be honest, not just by telling the truth, but also by acting truthfully and morally. If I was a parent to young kids, I would choose this book.
Recommended by: Ghada Rafati, Patron Services
Posted in: Youth
My Little Sister and Me
by Maple Lam
My Little Sister and Me is a great book for families with sibling, the big brother for first time was told to pick up his little sister from the school bus stop, but on their way home they went through a fantastic journey, thanks to the little sister.
Recommended by: Ghada Rafati, Patron Services
Posted in: Youth Fiction
February 2020
Living in Egypt
by Chloe Perkins
In this fantastic book Amira, a little girl from Egypt, described her family’s daily life style and routine in Egypt. She also talks about how they spend the holy month of Ramadan as a Muslim family, her school, the history of Egypt and the most important historical places too. If you would like to learn few basic Arabic words, this is also a good resource.
Recommended by: Ghada Rafati, Patron Services
Posted in: Youth
Leave it to Abigail : the Revolutionary life of Abigail Adams
by Barb Rosenstock
“Everyone knew that good girls kept quiet, but…leave it to Abigail” is an example of how this biography about Abigail Adams is set up with information about her life and times and then how she managed to prove that women could do more. Colorful illustrations are complemented by cross-stitch pictures of that time period. Abigail Adams throughout her life was truly a revolutionary woman in a revolutionary time…a Founding Mother.
Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services
Posted in: Youth Nonfiction