Staff Picks Reviewer: Ellen

Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin [Book]

view/request

This is a love story. A love story about Pizza. This silly tale is sure to draw many ears…

A raccoon has to figure out how he can get his little paws on what he cherishes most in the world, but he is having a difficult time getting anywhere close to a cheesy, gooey pie. Good thing the narrator is on this furry buddy’s side. Don’t worry, the end of this story is a happy one.

My least favorite thing about this book is how hungry I get while reading it. Let’s just say, I relate a lot to the main character.

If you enjoyed Secret Pizza Party, try Dragons Love Tacos.

The Diviners by Libba Bray [Book]

view/request

An enchanting mystery that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end! A dark story of the supernatural set in 1920s New York City. Speakeasies, theater, jazz and plenty of twenties slang to keep you giggling.

The story follows a young woman named Evie O’Neill who possesses a power she just can’t explain. After Evie’s brother dies, she is sent to New York City to live with her uncle, a professor of the occult. A chilling murder takes place and Evie’s uncle is called in to help the police investigate the mysterious circumstances. Could Evie’s power help solve this disturbing mystery?

Bray’s characters will stay with you long after you finish reading. Stay tuned for the second book in this series, Lair of Dreams.

You Are Stardust by Elin Kelsey [Book]

view/request

This book will definitely spark a child’s curiosity about the world around them. Elin Kelsey explores topics of the universe and nature through simple and lighthearted text complimented by beautiful artwork. Soyeon Kim captivates her audience with magical three dimensional dioramas that jump off the page.

Like this book? Try Infinity and Me by Kate Hosford

Hidden by Loïc Dauvillier [Graphic Novel]

view/request

Memories of being hidden, and keeping those memories hidden… A grandmother tells a special story from her childhood in this touching graphic novel about being young during World War II.

Douina’s lives with her mother and father in Paris. Her life is relatively normal until she is made to wear a star on her jacket. Her father had told her it was a sheriff’s star but everyone begins to treat her differently. Soon her parents are taken away to work camps and Douina is left to be cared for by neighbors and kind strangers. As she settles into her new life and new name, Simone, she can’t help but miss her mother and father. Once the war has ended and it is safe again, she travels back home and begins the search for her parents.

This book offers children a glimpse into the past- what it was like to be young during WWII and how some children and families were affected by the Holocaust in France. Words by Loïc Dauvillier and art by Marc Lizano and Greg Salsedo

Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown [Book]

view/request

A wonderful book about self confidence and being an individual! The story centers around a young Scottish-Peruvian girl who is extremely creative, confident, and embraces her mixed heritage. Everyone in Marisol’s life tells her that she doesn’t match- her clothes, her name, even her red hair. Marisol tries to change her appearance and the way she acts but ends up very unhappy. Her teacher asks her why she changed and Marisol could not find a reasons. In the end she realizes that other people’s opinions don’t matter and she is happy to be herself.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell [Book]

view/request

Fangirl is about a young woman named Cath who leaves for her freshman year of college with her twin sister Wren. Both of them are obsessed with Simon Snow (think Harry Potter) and Cath writes fan fiction obsessively. Although Cath and Wren were extremely close, their new college lives get in the way of their relationship with each other, their father, and her fanfiction.

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison [Book]

view/request

There are six things very wrong with my life:

1. I have one of those under-the-skin spots that will never come to a head but lurk in a red way for the next two years.
2. It is on my nose
3. I have a three-year-old sister who may have peed somewhere in my room.
4. In fourteen days the summer hols will be over and then it will be back to Stalag 14 and Oberfuhrer Frau Simpson and her bunch of sadistic teachers.
5. I am very ugly and need to go into an ugly home.
6. I went to a party dressed as a stuffed olive.

Step into the hilarious life of Georgia Nicolson. She is a British teen who includes lots of fun slang in her very detailed journal. This light and silly read will have you laughing out loud at Georgia’s funny antics.

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block [Book]

view/request

“Lanky lizards!” Block paints a off-beat world of magical realism through her lyrical prose. Weetzie Bat is a glittery, non-conformist teen living in L.A. She meets the coolest guy at school, Dirk, and her quest for “happily ever after” begins. After you fall in love with this fun and quirky book, there are six others in Block’s Dangerous Angel series.

Miss Rumphius [Book]

view/request

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.