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Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors

We need to do better

Cover of Children Under Fire: An Am
A review of Children Under Fire: An American Crisis by John Woodrow Cox

John Woodrow Cox's powerful book examines the countless victims of gun violence that are not counted as victims - the classmates, siblings, children, parents, teachers, friends, grand parents , and so on and so on. The book focuses on a 2016 shooting in South Carolina that killed 6-year-old Jacob Hall and the effects on his best friend Ava who was so traumatized that she developed severe PTSD. We get an intimate portrait of how Ava and her family are affected every single day by the PTSD.

Posted by Jennifer on Feb 21, 2022

Counting to peace

Cover of Grumpy Pants
A review of Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer

For someone with two young children, I can relate to the – sometimes! – grumpy mornings of little ones. In this book, Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer, Penguin is in “a very bad mood.” The rain is falling on Penguin’s yellow hat and jacket. Penguin stomps all the way home and takes off his grumpy coat, grumpy boots, and grumpy socks. He’s still grumpy! In the midst of all his grumpiness, he pauses to take a deep breath and counts – 1, 2, 3. Then he dives into a splashy bathtub.

Posted by Tracy on Feb 18, 2022

The value of a dollar

Cover of Vanderbilt: The Rise and F
A review of Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

Expertly researched and timed perfectly to coincide with viewing of The Gilded Age on HBO, Vanderbilt dissects new versus old money and new versus old New York scenarios from that time period in American history. Along the way it leaves the reader baffled at how and why a family fortune was lost in just a few generations.

Posted by Molly W on Feb 16, 2022

Come for the art, stay for the fun

Cover of ¡Vamos! Let’s Cross the
A review of ¡Vamos! Let’s Cross the Bridge by Raúl the Third

Piñatas, cakes, rockets, presents, music…what else do you need for a party? Little Lobo and friends are back in this third ¡Vamos! book - winner of this year's Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Award - and are headed across the bridge for a big celebration in a city on the other side of the river in another country.

Posted by Holly SP on Feb 14, 2022

Powerful winner

Cover of Unspeakable: The Tulsa Rac
A review of Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford

Another of the the ALA Youth Media Awards honorees that won a number of deserved accolades was Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper.

2022 Awards and Honors:
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Honor
Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award Winner
Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award Winner
Caldecott Medal Honor

Posted by Holly SP on Feb 8, 2022

Black history reading

Cover of Nonfiction Titles
Nonfiction Titles

Donna Seaman's "Core Collection: New and Innovative Black History" in the current Booklist is just in time for Black History Month. It's always nice when someone else puts together an excellent reading list. There are biographies, family histories, memoirs, histories, women's stories and I hope that you can find one (or more) that stimulates your interest. I know I have.

Posted by Kathy K on Feb 7, 2022

You get an award and you get another award and...

Cover of Firekeeper's Daughter
A review of Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

The ALA Youth Media Awards were announced last week and Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley was honored in a number of categories (very deservedly so!).

2022 Awards and Honors:
AILA American Indian Youth Literature Award, Young Adult Honor
William C Morris YA Debut Award Winner
Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature Winner

Posted by Holly SP on Feb 4, 2022

Murder is messy. So who are you going to call?

Cover of The Maid
A review of The Maid by Nita Prose

Molly Gray doesn’t see the world like other people do. The eponymous maid in Nita Prose’s debut mystery, Molly also knows that most people don’t see her either. Not really, at least. At the luxury hotel she works at in Manhattan, her single-minded devotedness to her job mostly makes up for that deficiency, and as long as she can keep the Regency Grand in tip-top shape and maintain her A+ devotion to employee excellence, she can cope with the problems that crop up.

Posted by Katie H on Feb 3, 2022

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