Staff Selections Kids
Carol
Elena De Roo's train poem transports a child from the busy activities of the day through a rainy night and into sleep. The reader of this bedtime adventure will share (and share in) the sights, sounds, and motion of travel.
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Mary
Two little girls explore nature together, and find a woodland world that is just made for them in CHIRRI & CHIRRA. With the ring of their bike bells, the girls are off again, discovering a lively adventure in the tall grass, where they follow busy insects, and help a candy-making lizard. Fireflies light their way home. Young picturebook audiences will be transported into a serene, luminous nature fantasy with this sweet series.
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Tim
The sequel to Seraphina has arrived! The story picks up right where we left it, with the kingdom of Goredd preparing for war with the dragons of the north. Seraphina has set out for the countryside to find the other half-human, half-dragons from her visions to unite them as part of Goredd's defense. But building a coalition is not easy for a court musician with little experience in diplomacy or war, and Seraphina is forced to improvise and compromise along the way. Author Rachel Hartman gives us a stunning conclusion to Seraphina's story, complete with eye-opening revelations about love, betrayal, religion, and allies likely and unlikely, climaxed by a battle scene I guarantee you'll remember long after you've finished the book. Seraphina and Shadow Scale are a two-volume set of one of the best YA fantasies I've read in a long time. Wow!
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Victoria
Born with no arms, thirteen-year-old Aven has faced immense challenges all her life. Fortunately, her adoptive parents raised her to be a "problem-solving ninja," so spunky, determined, witty Aven is used to achieving whatever she sets her mind to do. Aven's optimism is sorely tested, however, when her parents take a job running a rundown theme park in Arizona right after she begins 8th grade. Good thing Aven is resilient, practiced in coping with stares and questions, and open to new friends. These super powers will be essential as Aven says goodbye to Kansas, makes friends with a quirky classmate, and discovers an unusual mystery she's determined to solve. Holding appeal for 4th - 8th graders, readers will remember Aven for a long time to come.
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Barb
This beautifully illustrated book of poetry by Kwame Alexander and two co-authors celebrates Kwame's 20 favorite poets of all times and places. The criteria for inclusion is they must be interesting people and they must love their poetry with a passion. The authors write their own poems in the style or theme of their choices.Their hope is that readers will be inspired to discover these poets and write their own poems. The three sections of the book are designed to pay tribute, offer inspiration and give thanks for the poets who have been muses.
They hope your heart will sing and you will use them as a stepping-stone to wonder.
Poets included are Basho, Rumi, Emily Dickinson, Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Frost, Chief Dan George, Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda, Okot p'Bitek, William Carlos Williams, Judith Wright, Maya Angelou, Sandra Cisneros, Billy Collins, Nikki Giovanni, Terrance Hayes, Walter Dean Myers, Naomi Shihab Nye, Mary Oliver.
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Zoey
Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans is a moving and startling portrayal of Hurricane Katrina in the days after it hit shore, destroying the city. This graphic novel is an incredibly honest telling of the storm’s destruction and the suffering that followed and may in fact be too grim or graphic for younger readers. However, it will certainly lead advanced readers to understand the grave, brutal experience of this contemporary American natural disaster. The careful and affecting drawings magnify the weight of this important book.
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Sarah
The lady is on the move.
Before starting to read, I was like, oh sure Dave Eggers has written a children’s book. Can you hear the eyeroll in that sentence? But I was wrong. It’s a story that is both compelling and moving told in a wry, informative voice. And its message is absolutely essential in these times. The torn paper and muted colors of the illustrations are a perfect match for the text. This is one to give to kids and adults, to read and reread.
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