Karen

Beverly, right here

by Kate DiCamillo

eBOOK
Kids

Resolved to leave her home for good, young runaway Beverly is determined not to depend on anyone else, but as she settles in her new home and job, she forms connections with the people around her that alter her perspectives about life and herself.

This is a beautifully touching and funny book to add to your reading list, and since it’s part of a trilogy, you can look forward to triple the reading enjoyment. -Karen

The tiger rising

by Kate DiCamillo

eBOOK
Kids

Rob, who passes the time in his rural Florida community by wood carving, is drawn by his spunky but angry friend Sistine into a plan to free a caged tiger.

Will they free the tiger? Will freeing the tiger free them from the grief they are feeling? You’ll have to read the book to find out, and, believe me, you’ll be glad you did. -Karen

The list of things that will not change

by Rebecca Stead

eBOOK
Kids

Despite her parents' divorce, her father's coming out as gay, and his plans to marry his boyfriend, ten-year-old Bea is reassured by her parents' unconditional love, excited about getting a stepsister, and haunted by something she did last summer at her father's lake house.

The beauty of this story is that it displays the kind of love that doesn’t ask you to be anything but who you are, the kind of love she wishes everyone had. -Karen

Fish in a tree

by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

eAUDIO
Kids

"Ally's greatest fear is that everyone will find out she is as dumb as they think she is because she still doesn't know how to read"--

Think about a teacher you had who made a difference in your life. This is a story about Ally and a teacher who cared. The message? Don’t judge or label someone before you get to know a person. Celebrate the different gifts and talents of others. And remember that all great minds don’t always think alike. -Karen

New kid

by Jerry Craft

eBOOK
Kids

After his parents send him to a prestigious private school known for its academics, Jordan Banks finds himself torn between two worlds.

This is an honest look at how Jordan feels around mostly white and wealthy kids. It is also about Jordan’s journey in navigating his new school and friendships. Craft does a wonderful job weaving in lots of heart and moments of humor. -Karen

Full of Beans

by Jennifer L. Holm

jBOOKS ON DISC Holm, Jennifer L.

Ten-year-old Beans Curry, a member of the Keepsies, the best marble playing gang in Depression-era Key West, Florida, engages in various schemes to earn money while "New Dealers" from Washington, D.C., arrive to turn run down Key West into a tourist resort.

Added by Karen

Betty Before X

by Ilyasah Shabazz

jFICTION/Shabazz Ilyasah
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.

Added by Karen

I like it when--

by Mary Murphy

jBOARD BOOK Murphy
Kids

A lovable little penguin discusses and describes all the things he likes to do the most--from playing peekaboo to holding hands--in a new board book edition of the charming story.

Added by Karen

The Night Gardener

by Jonathan Auxier

jFICTION/Auxier Jonathan

Irish orphans Molly, fourteen, and Kip, ten, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be, and soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.

Added by Karen

Here we are : notes for living on planet Earth

by Oliver Jeffers

jE Jeffers
Kids

In this salutation from Earth, the chronicler gives a tour of the planet and introduces those who call it home.

Added by Karen

One

by Kathryn Otoshi

jE Otoshi
Kids

A number/color book reminding us that it just takes one to make everyone count.

Added by Karen

The darkest dark

by Chris Hadfield

jE Hadfield
Kids

"Young Chris loves pretending he's a brave astronaut, exploiring the universe. Only one problem--at night, he's afraid of the dark. Only when he watches the moon landing on TV does he realize how exciting the unknown can be. Inspired by the childhood of real-life astronaut Chris Hadfield"--

Added by Karen

War horse

by Michael Morpurgo

jBOOKS ON DISC Morpurgo, Michael.

Joey the horse recalls his experiences growing up on an English farm, his struggle for survival as a cavalry horse during World War I, and his reunion with his beloved master.

Added by Karen

Singing away the dark

by C. Hendrika Woodward

jE Woodward
Kids

As a little girl walks to catch the school bus on a dark and windy winter morning, she finds that by singing, the woods aren't as scary, the walk isn't as long and the wind isn't as cold.

Added by Karen

The mysterious howling

by Maryrose Wood

jFICTION Wood, Maryrose
Kids

Fifteen-year-old Miss Penelope Lumley, a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, is hired as governess to three young children who have been raised by wolves and must teach them to behave in a civilized manner quickly, in preparation for a Christmas ball.

Added by Karen

To kill a mockingbird

by Harper Lee

FICTION Lee, Harper
Fiction

Added by Karen

Miss Rumphius

by Barbara Cooney

jE Cooney
Kids

As a child Great-aunt Alice Rumphius resolved that when she grew up she would go to faraway places, live by the sea in her old age, and do something to make the world more beautiful--and she does all those things, the last being the most difficult of all.

Added by Karen

Nikki & Deja

by Karen English

jFICTION English, Karen
Kids

When an arrogant new girl comes to school, third-graders and best friends Nikki and Deja decide to form a club that would exclude her but find the results not what they expected.

Added by Karen

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

by Jeanne Birdsall

jFICTION Birdsall, Jeanne
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.

Added by Karen

Bink and Gollie

by Kate DiCamillo

jREADER DiCamillo, Kate
Kids

Two roller-skating best friends--one tiny, one tall--share three comical adventures involving outrageously bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion.

Added by Karen

Raymie nightingale

by Kate DiCamillo

jFICTION Dicamill Kate
Kids

Hoping that if she wins a local beauty pageant her father will come home, Raymie practices twirling a baton and performing good deeds as she is drawn into an unlikely friendship with a drama queen and a saboteur.

Added by Karen

Mercy Watson to the rescue

by Kate DiCamillo

jREADER DiCamillo, Kate
Kids

After Mercy the pig snuggles to sleep with the Watsons, all three awaken with the bed teetering on the edge of a big hole in the floor.

Added by Karen

The bear and the piano

by David Litchfield

jE Litchfie
Kids

"A bear finds a piano in the woods, learns to play it, and travels to the big city to become rich and famous, but ultimately discovers that his old friends in the forest back home are still the best audience of all"--

Added by Karen

The Night Gardener

by Terry Fan

jE Fan
Kids

Everyone on Grimloch Lane enjoys the trees and shrubs clipped into animal masterpieces after dark by the Night Gardener, but William, a lonely boy, spots the artist, follows him, and helps with his special work.

Added by Karen

Fuzzy mud

by Louis Sachar

jFICTION Sachar Louis
Kids

"Two middle-grade kids take a shortcut home from school and discover what looks like fuzzy mud but is actually a substance with the potential to wreak havoc on the entire world"--

Added by Karen

The princess in black

by Shannon Hale

jFICTION Hale Shannon
Kids

Hiding her secret identity as a monster-fighting superhero, Princess Magnolia interrupts her fancy tea with the unsuspecting Duchess Wigtower to stop a big blue monster from endangering her kingdom's goats.

Added by Karen

The wild robot escapes

by Peter Brown

jFICTION Brown Peter
Fiction

After being captured by the Recons and returned to civilization for reprogramming, Roz is sent to Hilltop Farm where she befriends her owner's family and animals, but pines for her son, Brightbill.

Added by Karen

The wild robot

by Peter Brown

jFICTION Brown Peter
Kids

Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island's hostile inhabitants.

Added by Karen

Goodnight moon

by Margaret Wise Brown

jBOARD BOOK Brown
Board Books, Kids

A little bunny bids goodnight to all the objects in his room before falling asleep.

Added by Karen

Ghost

by Jason Reynolds

jFICTION Reynolds Jason
Kids

"Ghost, a naturally talented runner and troublemaker, is recruited for an elite middle school track team. He must stay on track, literally and figuratively, to reach his full potential"--

Added by Karen

The hate u give

by Angie Thomas

YA FICTION ON DISC Thomas, Angie

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor black neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, Khalil's death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Starr's best friend at school suggests he may have had it coming. When it becomes clear the police have little interest in investigating the incident, protesters take to the streets and Starr's neighborhood becomes a war zone. What everyone wants to know is: What really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does--or does not--say could destroy her community. It could also endanger her life.

Added by Karen

Loving Frank

by Nancy Horan

FICTION Horan, Nancy
Historical Fiction

Added by Karen

Bob books. Set 1, Beginning readers

by Bobby Lynn Maslen

jREADER Bob Set 1
Early Readers

Summary: Stories and pictures to make learning alphabet sounds enjoyable.

Added by Karen

I am a cat

by Galia Bernstein

jE Bernstei
Picture Books

Simon the housecat points out that he may not roar like a lion or run fast like a cheetah, but he has many other things in common with the big cats.

Added by Karen

A hungry lion or a dwindling assortment of animals

by Lucy Ruth Cummins

jE Cummins
Picture Books

Members of a large group of animals, including a penguin, two rabbits, and a koala, disappear at an alarming rate but the hungry lion remains.

Added by Karen

The day you begin

by Jacqueline Woodson

jE Woodson
Picture Books

Other students laugh when Rigoberto, an immigrant from Venezuela, introduces himself but later, he meets Angelina and discovers that he is not the only one who feels like an outsider.

Added by Karen