Anne W

Wildcat

by Amelia Morris

FICTION Morris Amelia
Fiction

"Amelia Morris's Wildcat is an uproariously funny, surprisingly touching story of one woman's journey through motherhood and female friendship, in a society that plays fast and loose with information. New mother, aspiring writer, and former shopgirl Leanne has lost her way. As she struggles with both her grief and the haze of motherhood, it also becomes clear that her best friend, the default queen of East Side Los Angeles, Regina Mark, might not actually be a friend at all. As Leanne begins to investigate and undermine Regina, she also strikes up an unexpected friendship with the lauded writer Maxine Hunter. Feeling frustrated and invisible next to Regina's wealth and social standing, Leanne seeks security wherever she can find it, whether that's by researching whether she should vaccinate her son, in listening to the messages she thinks her father is sending from beyond the grave, or in holding her own against a petulant student in her creative writing class. Most of all, however, she looks for it within Maxine, who offers Leanne something new. With a keen eye for the trappings of privilege, class, and the performative nature of contemporary domestic life, Morris's tender and wicked debut shows us a woman who bucks against the narrative she's been fed, only to find power in herself and the truth that emerges"--

A quiet but funny and oh so relatable and timely book about parenting a young child, navigating the culture wars, distancing yourself from a toxic friendship, feeling out of place among the affluent, struggling to make career decisions, and reeling after the death of an imperfect parent. I found this to be wholly original with a swift pace and incisive writing. -Anne W

The Delish kids (super-awesome, crazy-fun, best-ever) cookbook

by Joanna Saltz

j641.5 Saltz
Cookbooks

"This best-ever kids' cookbook from Delish is filled with recipes that make cooking so much fun. Throughout young chefs will learn basic skills, like how to make the gooey grilled cheese (the secret: use a waffle iron!) and upgrade your favorite store-bought foods (Chicken Nuggets! Woohoo!). Chapters include recipes for breakfast (Banana Split Oatmeal!), snacks (Cool Ranch Chickpeas!), lunches and dinners (Chorizo Tacos, Hot Dog Cubanos, and Best-Ever Fettucine Alfredo... do we need to say more?!), and party eats. Plus, two whole chapters include restaurant copycat recipes and desserts and snacks inspired by beloved pop culture characters."--Amazon.ca.

I have personally made the sugar cookie bars and the Big Mac quesadillas and they were indeed delish! Even if you do nothing but leaf through the beautiful food photographs, you're in for a treat! -Anne W

Solitary animals : introverts of the wild

by Joshua David Stein

j591.5 Stein
Animals

"This lyrical, nonfiction text honors animals who live in solitude, in contrast to others who live in groups. Against a backdrop of the specific names of various animal tribes (a parade of elephants, a tower of giraffes, a dazzle of zebras), Stein shines a spotlight on those animals who go through life on their own. With nature at his back, Stein invites readers to draw strength and comfort from the behaviors of fellow mammals. Perfect for children who tend to be alone and their parents...as well as all children, who will be encouraged to respect the "natural" choices of their peers"--

Hi, do you enjoy looking at UNBELIEVABLY GORGEOUS paintings of animals??? Me, too! Learn about animals who roll solo in the fascinating picture book. The text is spare, making it a great read-aloud for young children, but despite being a short book it still contains significant nuggets of information about the little-known topic of solitary animals. These "introverts of the wild" are are non-judgmentally compared to their communal-living peers (a charm of hummingbirds! a fever of stingrays!), sure to spark further questions and independent investigation from animal-loving kids. -Anne W

Escape at 10,000 feet : D.B. Cooper and the missing money

by Tom (Writer of children's books) Sullivan

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Sullivan
Graphic Novels

"A minute-by-minute account of the only unsolved airplane hijacking in the United States uses reproductions of FBI files and investigation photographs to chronicle the events surrounding an unidentified extortionist's 1971 hijacking and disappearance."--Provided by publisher.

I don't understand why every person alive does not want to read this incredibly compelling, suspenseful nonfiction graphic novel about the ONLY UNSOLVED AIRPLANE HIJACKING IN HISTORY??? (Don't worry, no innocent bystanders were hurt.) Without giving you any spoilers, let me just say that this story is mind-blowing on a NUMBER of levels and you will want to get to the bottom of this immediately. Until you're old enough to join the FBI, start by reading this graphic novel. -Anne W

Dorothy & Herbert : an ordinary couple and their extraordinary collection of art

by Jackie Azúa Kramer

j708.009 Kramer

"A picture-book biography of renowned art collectors Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, who independently built one of the country's greatest art collections, then donated it to the National Gallery of Art"--

A couple of middle-class government employees (she was a public librarian, he was a postal carrier) living in a tiny, rent-controlled apartment in New York City spent the 1960s and ensuing decades building one of the foremost collections of minimalist and conceptual art in the world on a budget. Their apartment was jam-packed - every wall covered floor to ceiling with art - with this style of art, which was all they could afford because it wasn't yet popular. Now their collection, which they donated to the National Gallery, is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Read about this extraordinary couple in a new children's picture book biography and then also watch the documentary Herb and Dorothy (found in adult nonfiction DVDs - DVD/708.0092/Vogel), which describes how this couple "managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history with very modest means." -Anne W

The leak : for the love of truth

by Kate Reed Petty

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Petty
Graphic Novels, Kids

"Ruth Keller is brash and precocious; she argues with her dentist, her parents, and her teachers. So, when she discovers a strange black slime in the man-made lake of her suburban neighborhood, she decides to investigate. Fortified by the encouragement of those around her, Ruth seeks the truth at all costs, even if it means taking on the rich local country club owner, who she believes is responsible for the pollution. Between the teasing of former friends, and a sudden viral spotlight, Ruth discovers how difficult it is for a journalist to take a stand for what's right in the face of critique and controversy. From writer Kate Reed Petty and illustrator Andrea Bell, comes a story about corruption, pollution, and freedom of the press, and the young journalist at the center of it all."--Provided by publisher.

Join Ruth as she uncovers a shocking pollution scandal in her town and persists in trying to get to the bottom of it despite setbacks and discouragement. A nuanced look at the tough work of journalism (Ruth makes some mistakes along the way and learns that not everything is black-and-white, good-versus-evil), the book remains accessible to young readers. You'll want to stand up and cheer for Ruth's courage and commitment to freedom of the press, justice, and protecting her town and its citizens. The blocky illustrations with slightly fuzzy, crayon-like outlines are so satisfying visually as well. -Anne W

We came, we saw, we left : a family gap year

by Charles J. Wheelan

910.41 /Wheelan
Memoir, Travel

"Charlie Wheelan and his family do what others dream of: they take a year off to travel the world. This is their story. What would happen if you quit your life for a year? In a pre-COVID-19 world, the Wheelan family decided to find out; leaving behind work, school, and even the family dogs to travel the world on a modest budget. Equal parts "how-to" and "how-not-to"--and with an eye toward a world emerging from a pandemic--We Came, We Saw, We Left is the insightful and often hilarious account of one family's gap-year experiment. Wheelan paints a picture of adventure and connectivity, juggling themes of local politics, global economics, and family dynamics while exploring answers to questions like: How do you sneak out of a Peruvian town that has been barricaded by the local army? And where can you get treatment for a flesh-eating bacteria your daughter picked up two continents ago? From Colombia to Cambodia, We Came, We Saw, We Left chronicles nine months across six continents with three teenagers. What could go wrong?"--

In the middle of an Iowa winter, two years into a pandemic, during the week of Valentine's Day, what better to read than a funny, heartwarming, fascinating memoir of a middle-aged couple who spend a year traveling the world with three teenagers? Charles Wheelan brings a dry humor to his clear, concise descriptions of beautiful and surreal landscapes like the Bolivian salt flats and beaches of Zanzibar, as well as snafus like cleaning up his daughter's vomit with a bedsheet on a night train through India and getting lost in the Chilean jungle. He and his wife and their teenagers visit dozens of countries on a 9-month trip around the world with a strict, low-budget daily spending limit. Their adventures are so interesting and their experiences parenting teens so relatable you won't want this tale to end! -Anne W

The last cuentista

by Donna Barba Higuera

jFICTION Higuera Donna
Science Fiction, Diverse Characters

"A girl named Petra Pena, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again? " --

The winner of this year's Newbery Medal, awarded to the author for the most distinguished contribution to literature for children in the past year, goes to The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera! This is a wholly original book - a science fiction tale inspired by Latin American folklore! A young girl, Petra Pena, heads out on an evacuation spaceship when Earth is destroyed by a comet. But when she suddenly wakes aboard the ship to find hundreds of years have passed and she is the only one left who remembers Earth and the stories of her heritage and past, how will she use her knowledge to build the future and save her people? -Anne W

Flush

by Carl Hiaasen

eBOOK
Kids

Noah’s dad is in jail for sinking a local gambling boat, which he believes has been emptying its onboard toilets straight into the waters around their Florida Keys home. The trouble is, so far there’s no proof. Noah needs to solve this environmental mystery so his dad can be released from jail. Also, this isn’t the first time his dad has taken the law into his own hands when it comes to stopping local polluters, and his mom is fed up and talking about divorce. Noah hatches a plan to expose the environmental crime with the help of some eccentric local characters.

Added by Anne W

The Penderwicks : a summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits, and a very interesting boy

by Jeanne Birdsall

eBOOK
Kids

While vacationing with their widowed father in the Berkshire Mountains, four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother.

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

Al Capone does my shirts

by Gennifer Choldenko

eBOOK
Kids

A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

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

The prince and the dressmaker

by Jen Wang

eBOOK
Graphic Novels

Prince Sebastian hides from his parents his secret life of dressing up as the the hottest fashion icon in Paris, the fabulous Lady Crystallia, while his friend Frances the dressmaker strives to keep her friend's secret.

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

Upside-down magic

by Sarah Mlynowski

eAUDIO
Kids, Fantasy

With their magic being unpredictable, Nory, Elliott, Andres, and Bax are sent to the upside-down magic room at Dunwiddle Magic School.

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

by Veera Hiranandani

eBOOK
Kids

Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her diary.

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

All rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook

by Leslie Connor

eBOOK
Kids

"Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth--and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home. When Perry moves to the "outside" world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from .. but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?" --From Amazon.com.

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

The evolution of Calpurnia Tate

by Jacqueline Kelly

eBOOK
Kids

In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate is instructed to be a lady by her mother, learns about love from the older three of her six brothers, and studies the natural world with her grandfather, the latter of which leads to an important discovery.

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

Anne of Green Gables

by L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery

eBOOK
Kids, Fiction

Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

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

The mighty heart of Sunny St. James

by Ashley Herring Blake

eBOOK
Kids

"Twelve-year-old Sunny St. James must navigate heart surgery, reconnections with a lost mother, the betrayal of a former best friend, first kisses, and emerging feelings for another girl"--

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

Betty before X

by Ilyasah Shabazz

eAUDIO
Kids

Raised by her aunt until she is six, Betty, who will later marry Malcolm X, joins her mother and stepfamily in 1940s Detroit, where she learns about the civil rights movement.

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

The forgotten girl

by India Hill Brown

eBOOK
Kids

When eleven-year-old Iris sneaks out at night to make snow angels, she was not expecting to raise the ghost of Avery Moore, a girl her own age; but bringing to light the segregated and abandoned black cemetery seems like the perfect way to help Avery get the recognition she craves, and it will also be a good idea for the school project about the history of her small North Carolina town, where racial tensions are never far from the surface--only it seems that if Avery gets everything she wants Iris will join her as a ghost, best friends forever.

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

Owl's Outstanding Donuts

by Robin Yardi

eBOOK
Kids

Warned by an owl, ten-year-old Mattie discovers that someone is secretly polluting the land near her aunt's Big Sur donut shop and sets out to stop them.

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 Wednesday wars

by Gary D Schmidt

eBOOK
Kids

During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in.

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

Pie

by Sarah Weeks

eBOOK
Kids

After the death of Polly Portman, whose award-winning pies put the town of Ipswitch, Pennsylvania, on the map in the 1950s, her devoted niece Alice and Alice's friend Charlie investigate who is going to extremes to find Aunt Polly's secret pie crust recipe. Includes fourteen pie recipes.

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

The fourteenth goldfish

by Jennifer L Holm

eBOOK
Kids

Ellie's scientist grandfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and consequently has turned into a teenager--which makes for complicated relationships when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter.

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

My Jasper June

by Laurel Snyder

jFICTION Snyder Laurel
Fiction, Kids

The school year is over, and it is summer in Atlanta. The sky is blue, the sun is blazing, and the days brim with possibility. But Leah feels lost. She has been this way since one terrible afternoon a year ago when everything changed. Since that day, her parents have become distant, her friends have fallen away, and Leah's been adrift and alone. Then she meets Jasper, a girl unlike anyone she has ever known. There's something mysterious about Jasper, almost magical. And Jasper, Leah discovers, is also lost. Together, the two girls carve out a place for themselves, a hideaway in the overgrown spaces of Atlanta, away from their parents and their hardships, somewhere only they can find. But as the days of this magical June start to draw to a close, and the darker realities of their lives intrude once more, Leah and Jasper have to decide how real their friendship is, and whether it can be enough to save them both.--

A touching story of friendship and loss -Anne W

A place to belong

by Cynthia Kadohata

jFICTION Kadohata Cynthia
Fiction, Kids, Historical Fiction

Twelve-year-old Hanako and her family, reeling from their confinement in an internment camp, renounce their American citizenship to move to Hiroshima, a city devastated by the atomic bomb dropped by Americans.

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

Genesis begins again

by Alicia Williams

jFICTION Williams Alicia
Fiction, Kids

Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family's troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is.

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

New kid

by Jerry Craft

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Craft
Fiction, Kids, Graphic Novels

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds--and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?

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

Other words for home

by Jasmine Warga

jFICTION Warga Jasmine
Fiction, Kids

Sent with her mother to the safety of a relative's home in Cincinnati when her Syrian hometown is overshadowed by violence, Jude worries for the family members who were left behind as she adjusts to a new life with unexpected surprises.

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

Janesville : an American story

by Amy Goldstein

977.5 /Goldstein
Nonfiction

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

Easy to love, difficult to discipline : the seven basic skills for turning conflict into cooperation

by Rebecca Anne Bailey

649.64 /Bailey
Nonfiction, Self Help

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

The unsettlers : in search of the good life in today's America

by Mark Sundeen

640 /Sundeen
Nonfiction, Nature

A work of immersive journalism steeped in a distinctively American social history and sparked by a personal quest, The Unsettlers traces the search for the simple life through the stories of three families of new pioneers and what inspired each of them to look for--or create--a better existence. Captivating and clear-eyed, it dares us to imagine what a sustainable, ethical, authentic future might actually look like.--

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

Behold the dreamers : a novel

by Imbolo Mbue

FICTION Mbue Imbolo
Fiction

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