It may be hard to believe, as this winter has been particularly long, cold, and snowy, yet spring is here. We each ready ourselves for spring in our own way, but I like to shelve the cozy familiar reads and start something fresh.
Trees : a rooted history
Piotr Socha
j582.16/Socha
Kids, Nonfiction, Nature
"Part botany, part history, part cultural anthropology--Trees goes beyond the basics to tell readers everything they might want to know about this particular branch of the plant kingdom. Trees explores the important roles trees play in our ecosystem, takes an up-close-and-personal look at the parts of trees (from roots to stumps to leaves), and unpacks the cultural impact of trees from classification systems (like family trees or data trees) to long-standing myths (like the Tree of Life). Looking forward, Trees also addresses the deforestation crisis. Heavily illustrated in the same style as Bees: A Honeyed History, Trees: A Rooted History serves as a beautifully packaged celebration of trees of all kinds"--
Felipe and Claudette
Mark Teague
jE/Teague
Kids, Picture Books, Animals
Long time residents of Mrs. Barrett's adoption shelter, Felipe (a grumpy cat) and Claudette (a hyperactive dog) seem like they will never find a forever home, and Felipe is convinced that it is all Claudette's fault--but when the dog is finally adopted, Felipe is so depressed that he hides on adoption day, and it turns out that Claudette also misses her friend.
Certain to make you thankful for you own adopted cats and dogs.
- Morgan
Outer order, inner calm : declutter and organize to make more room for happiness
Gretchen Rubin
158.1 /Rubin
Nonfiction, Self Help
"With clarity and humor, bestselling author of The Four Tendencies and The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin illuminates one of her key realizations about happiness: For most of us, outer order contributes to inner calm. And for most of us, a rigid, one-size-fits-all solution doesn't work. In this easy-to-read but hard-to-put-down book, Gretchen Rubin suggests more than 150 short, concrete clutter-clearing ideas so each reader can choose the ones that resonate most."--
Speaks to my current desire to de-clutter brought on by watching “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” and is also written by one of my favorite author/podcasters Gretchen Rubin.
- Morgan
Mirenda
Grim Wilkins
COMIC Mirenda
Fiction, Graphic Novels, Fantasy
A comics series by Grim Wilkins that hits some of my favorite notes, lush fantasy setting, woman hero, and of course magic.
- Morgan
The similars
Rebecca Hanover
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Hanover Rebecca
Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Dystopian
The Similars are all anyone can talk about at the elite Darkwood Academy. Who are these six clones? What are the odds that all of them would be Darkwood students? Who is the madman who broke the law to create them? Emma couldn't care less. Her best friend, Oliver, died over the summer and all she can think about is how to get through her junior year without him. Then she comes face-to-heartbreaking-face with Levi--Oliver's exact DNA replica and one of the Similars. Emma wants nothing to do with the Similars, but she keeps getting pulled deeper and deeper into their clique, uncovering dark truths about the clones and her prestigious school along the way. But no one can be trusted, not even the boy she is falling for who has Oliver's face.
Looking forward to this boarding school sci-fi romance with a cloning twist.
- Morgan
Proud : living my American dream
Ibtihaj Muhammad
796.862092 /Muhammad
Nonfiction, Young Adult, Memoir
Shares the life story of the Olympic fencer, including how she overcame feeling out of place in her sport and how she became the first American woman to compete in the Olympics wearing a hijab.
Fascinating life story of Ibtihaj Muhammad, Olympic medal-winning fencer and Muslim-American role model. I love learning about the experiences of others, and this was a page-turning read.
- Morgan
Sweep : the story of a girl and her monster
Jonathan Auxier
jFICTION Auxier Jonathan
Kids, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
In nineteenth-century England, after her father's disappearance Nan Sparrow, ten, works as a "climbing boy," aiding chimney sweeps, but when her most treasured possessions end up in a fireplace, she unwittingly creates a golem.--
Dragons in a bag
Zetta Elliott
jFICTION Elliott Zetta
Kids, Fantasy
In Brooklyn, nine-year-old Jax joins Ma, a curmudgeonly witch who lives in his building, on a quest to deliver three baby dragons to a magical world, and along the way discovers his true calling.--
You are new
Lucy Knisley
jE Knisley
Kids, Picture Books
When you are a brand new baby there are many things you can do in the world--and when you get bigger there are even more new experiences.
With friends and family welcoming new babies this year, I imagine I’ll often be gifting this newest picture book from one of my favorite cartoonists, Lucy Knisley.
- Morgan
Never evers
Tom Ellen
jFICTION Ellen Tom
Kids, Fiction
"Mayhem and romance ensue when tweens Mouse and Jack meet on the slopes during a school ski trip"--
Black leopard, red wolf
Marlon James
SCIENCE FICTION James Marlon
Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery
"In the first novel in Marlon James's Dark Star trilogy, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child"--
The beginning of a fantasy trilogy that promises mythology mash-ups, an African setting, and literary language.
- Morgan
Meet Me on the Court
David Aro
jFICTION/Aro David
Kids, Fiction, Sports
Cam, Tyler, and Markus are upset that their school cut the basketball team because of lack of funding. They decide to make their own! They don't have jerseys, a coach, or even a regular court to practice on. There's one more problem--they need at least two more people on the team to play. Can the team find two more players? Can they win their first game against the snooty prep school kids that keep stealing their court?
A scrappy basketball tale reminiscent of “The Sandlot.”
- Morgan
Who are you calling weird?
Marilyn Singer
j591.5/Singer
Kids, Nonfiction, Animals
Delve into the forests, burrow under the ground, and dive into the deep to discover nature's most peculiar creatures and learn about their behavior, diet, and habitat, as well as folk beliefs about each animal. Hidden away in Earth's forests, caves, and oceans, these creatures might look or behave in peculiar ways but, as you will soon find out, every oddity serves a purpose: the long, skeletal finger of an aye-aye, used by this lemur to tap on trees to locate hollow tunnels where delicious insects hide, the barrel-shaped eyes of a Pacific barreleye fish that turn upward to watch for prey above through its transparent head, the big, bulbous nose of a proboscis monkey designed to attract mates, the armor-like scales of a pangolin that are so tough that even lions and tigers can't bite through them. Come face-to-face with the most curious creatures from across the globe, and decide for yourself who's the weirdest of them all.--Amazon
As a fan of cats and news, I’m highly anticipating this new middle grade collection of comics from Georgia Dunn.
- Morgan