Anne W

Added by Anne W

The perfect book for the whole family to enjoy together, either as a family read-aloud or audiobook. Everything turns out all right in the end, with good, wholesome messages about courage, loyalty, creativity, and girls unapologetically claiming their intelligence. This is also a National Book Award winner. -Anne W

Set in 1935, this book tells the story of Moose Flanagan and his family. His father gets a job as a prison guard on Alcatraz, so his family goes to live on the prison island alongside the other workers. Moose cares for his teenage sister Natalie, who nowadays would be diagnosed with autism, and deals with the warden’s shady daughter, who tries to involve Moose in her schemes. Notorious gangster Al Capone is imprisoned there, and is the target of much speculation and lore. -Anne W

This graphic novel is technically part of the adult collection, but my whole family, from my 10-year-old daughter to my teenage daughter to my husband to myself has read and loved it. The artwork is beautiful and the story is adorable. A prince hires a “lowly” dressmaker/designer to help him become who he really is inside, and after some ups and downs, this is a tale of acceptance, friendship, and love. It’s set in Paris at the dawn of the last century and characters ride around in carriages, but speak in modern language, using expressions like “this is crazy” and “cool,” a choice I found interesting. -Anne W

Fantasy isn’t usually my genre, but I listened to this with my kids as an audiobook in the car, and it was super cute and fun. This series is very popular with kids, and I can see why. Also I love the protagonist’s first name, Nory. So cute! Anyway, Nory can do magic, but it never goes how it’s supposed to and she ends up messing things up a lot. So she is sent by her high-achieving magic family to a special school for kids whose magic is “upside down.” There, she is finally accepted, makes loyal friends, and learns to accept herself and value her special talents. -Anne W

The Night Diary tells the harrowing story of Nisha and her family as they attempt to flee their home in India. Nisha must flee the only home she’s ever known, making a dangerous journey hundreds of miles on foot to safety. -Anne W

This is a cute, heartwarming book, if a little implausible, about a boy named Perry, who grows up inside a minimum-security, coed prison with his mother Jessica, an inmate, in the tiny town of Surprise, Nebraska. This book, if somewhat predictable and far-fetched, nonetheless does a good job of humanizing incarcerated individuals and stressing how one mistake does not make someone a bad person. Perry collects stories from prison inmates and shares them as part of a school project, as well as sharing how the inmates have collectively raised him and how they maintain bonds with their own families and their own better natures. -Anne W

Calpurnia has to deal with breaking the mold for girls in her place and time and come to terms with growing up. The chapters are a series of vignettes in her life with six brothers in a small Texas town on the cusp of the 20th century. The writing is clever, funny, and beautiful. -Anne W

Someone gifted me a box set of the Anne of the Green Gables books when I was ten or so, since plucky orphan Anne Shirley and I share a first name, and I never read them. They sat on my bookcase through the whole remainder of my childhood without ever being touched. Now that I’ve finally gotten around to reading Anne of Green Gables, I’m totally kicking myself for what I’ve been missing all these years. Who knew the humor in a book published in 1908 could hold up so well? I laughed out loud several times. Anne is a delightful character and her bold, dramatic dialogue is fun to read. To quote from the book itself, this book is one full of “tang and zest.” -Anne W

This is a nuanced exploration of LGBT+ identity from an adolescent perspective, and Sunny wrestles with her feelings, sometimes helped or hindered by family, friends, and society, to find out who she really is. -Anne W

Hopeful, heartwarming, but honest about real hardships. -Anne W

Can they figure out what the ghost wants, and what her story is, before it’s too late? This is a classic ghost story that also teaches readers about systemic racism in the past and present. -Anne W

This is a fun, unique book that takes place in two of my favorite places: a campground and a donut shop. There’s an anthropomorphic owl who communicates with Mattie, the main character, giving her clues about the environmental crime leading to a mystery Mattie and her friends Sasha and Beanie are trying to solve. Each chapter opens with a mouth-watering description of an inventive, gourmet donut, which is a fun bonus! -Anne W

The best book I’ve read so far this quarantine. Maybe even the best kids book I’ve read this year! It’s just about some basic events in an average suburban kid’s life, but BAM! It hits you over and over again with BEAUTIFUL WRITING that sums up THE REASONS LIFE IS WORTH LIVING, in a subtle and casual way (not heavy-handed or overbearing). -Anne W

In this historical mystery set in 1955, Alice’s beloved Aunt Polly dies suddenly, taking with her the secret recipe for her world-famous pie crust that has put tiny Ipswitch, Pennsylvania on the map and won her thirteen Blueberry Medals (for best pie in the nation) running. Polly operated PIE, a charming cafe where customers flock from near and far to partake in familiar favorites like buttermilk and apple pie as well as more creative concoctions like green tomato and Concord grape pie. After Polly’s death, Alice is told that Polly left the pie crust recipe to her cat, Lardo, and Lardo has been left to Alice. How does one leave a recipe to a cat? The whole town is desperate to uncover the recipe and win this year’s Blueberry Award - by any means necessary. It’s up to Alice and her new friend Charlie to piece together the mystery and keep their town intact. Bonus: there are twelve delectable pie recipes woven throughout, in case you feel inspired! -Anne W

This is an offbeat science fiction story in which 11-year-old Ellie’s scientist grandfather, Melvin, discovers how to reverse aging and becomes, essentially, a cranky elderly man trapped in the body of the 13-year-old boy. Melvin begins living with Ellie and attending her middle school, and, despite the deep weirdness of the arrangement, she loves getting to spend time with her grandfather. Ultimately, he teaches her about how possibility, wonder, observation, discovery, and persistence are important in science and in life. But will she be able to stop him when she thinks he’s gone too far? -Anne W

A touching story of friendship and loss -Anne W

One Japanese-American family dealing with the aftermath of WWII and their time in an internment camp -Anne W

Heartbreaking, gritty story of a girl who struggles to feel at home in skin society and her own family tells her is too black (in ways both subtle and not) and find a place to belong when her family is frequently forced to move. -Anne W

Funny graphic novel with something important to say about systemic racism, microaggressions, and school segregation. -Anne W

A beautiful, timely book in verse that will help you understand the Syrian refugee crisis. -Anne W

Learn what happens to the residents of a small Midwestern town when the GM plant closes at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, forcing thousands out of long-term, secure jobs and creating ripple effects throughout the region. Goldstein embeds herself with the residents for years, and Paul Ryan and Barack Obama make appearances. Extremely intimate and compelling portrait of a town in crisis! -Anne W

My parenting Bible! This book will give you the tools manage your young child's behavior, striking the perfect balance between letting them walk all over you and being a hard-driving taskmaster. -Anne W

Are you FASCINATED by people who manage to live off the grid for long periods of time? Me, too! -Anne W

This book is about the immigrant experience, the parenting experience, the newlywed experience, and the modern American experience. This book will make you angry and sad, but read it anyway because it's REALLY GOOD. -Anne W