The Story of Ferdinand By Munro Leaf
A classic child’s favorite is making a comeback in a big way. Ferdinand is the world’s most peaceful–and beloved–little bull. While all of the other bulls snort, leap, and butt their heads, Ferdinand would rather just sit and smell the flowers under his favorite tree. The storytelling and beautiful drawings make it a must have.
Youth
Smoot: A Rebellious Shadow By Michelle Cuevas
What would your shadow say about your life? In this unique children’s book, Smoot the shadow has been living a dull life for years because his boy never laughs and never leaps, so Smoot never does either. One day, Smoot pops free and begins a journey of a colorful life full of singing, dancing, and playing. Other shadows, and finally, his boy catch on and become brave, too. Smoot will inspire your child and you, too!
Most People By Michael Leannah
It seems like every day we are confronted with a disaster or attack that provokes fear in parents and children. This 2017 Gold Moonbeam Children’s Book Award winner highlights the kindness in “most people.” Michael Leannah wrote Most People as an antidote to the scary words and images kids hear and see every day. The illustrations lead readers through the crowded streets of an urban day to see all types of people doing kind things for one another.
Tween
All’s Faire By Victoria Jamieson
This adorable graphic novel arrives just in time for the Renaissance festival. Eleven-year-old Imogene has grown up with two parents working at the Renaissance Faire, and she’s ready to join them by training as a squire. Her first challenge is to prove her bravery by starting middle school. The world of middle school means tenuous friendships and learning a whole new social code that is foreign to her Renfest ways. Will she do the right thing at both school and the fairgrounds?
Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things By Simon Van Booy
When 12-year-old Gertie Milk washes up on the island of Skuldark, she finds that all of her memories are gone. The island is full of oddities but it’s the cozy cottage full of artifacts from every corner of history that captivates Gertie. She discovers that she has been chosen as the next Keeper of Lost Things, tasked with the mission of returning objects to history’s most important figures right when they need them most. Gertie begins an adventure that takes her through time and into the depths of her own life.
Teen
Magonia By Maria Dahvana Headley
Since she was a baby, Aza Ray Boyle has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it hard for her to breathe, to speak—to live. Aza spots a mysterious ship in the sky and even hears someone calling her name, but only her best friend believes her. In the blink of an eye, Aza is high above the clouds, in Magonia, a land of trading ships where she is not the weak and dying thing she was. When she uncovers an inevitable war between her new home and Earth, she must decide where her loyalty lies.
Long May She Reign By Rhiannon Thomas
After a tragic massacre, Freya unexpectedly finds herself on the throne despite being number 23 in line to be queen. She never dreamed of a life in the palace, and preferred her laboratory to the intrigue of the royal court. She may have escaped the massacre, but she is far from safe. With the mystery of who killed the king still unsolved, she knows that a single mistake could cost her the kingdom–and her life. Determined to survive, Freya must solve the murders and trust no one. Can she survive and keep her crown?
All Grown Up
Perennials By Julie Cantrell
“Family First” is the mantra Eva “Lovey” Sutherland has always heard from her beloved father. It is this creed that brings the successful Arizona transplant back to her Southern home of Oxford for a family celebration. Unfortunately, that also means revisiting a difficult past with her estranged and competitive sister. But when the sisters reunite for their parents’ 50th anniversary, a family tragedy brings lessons of hope and healing in the midst of their mother’s perennial garden.
Sing, Unburied, Sing By Jesmyn Ward
Through the eyes of Jojo, a 13-year-old biracial boy who is trying to understand what it means to be a man while being the primary caregiver of his toddler sister, you will become a part of this tale of hope and struggle, set in timeless Mississippi. In this epic American road novel, Ward creates tangible, nearly breathing characters who help us examine the ugly truths at the heart of the American story, the power of family bonds, and what the ghosts in our lives can teach us.
