April Guys Read/Girls Read Book Clubs

Did you know that we have two parent/child book clubs every month at the Provo Library? They are for children 9-12 and a parent/guardian and this month they will meet on April 24 (girls) and April 26 (guys). These will be the last book club events until the fall so be sure to preregister under the Kids Corner/Program Registration tab on the library website. We have two great books to discuss:

Guys

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook
by Leslie Connor
HarperCollins, 2016. Fiction. 381 p.
Perry was born at the Blue River Minimum Security Correctional Facility when his inmate mother was still a teenager. He has been allowed to live at the facility ever since because the warden is his official foster parent. Then, one day, a new district attorney discovers that he has been living at the facility and goes on a crusade to try to "free" him. Perry loves being able to live with his mother, and has close friends among both the staff and the residents of the facility, so he is not happy when he gets taken away from them. With determination and the help of some friends, Perry searches for a way to be reunited with his mother again.

Girls

Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine
HarperCollins, 1997. Fiction. 232 p.
On the day of Ella's birth, the fairy Lucinda gave her the gift of obedience. Ever since she has to do whatever anyone asks her to do. Her mother has always protected Ella from those who might take advantage of her "gift" but when her mother dies, Ella goes on a quest to find Lucinda and break the spell. With the help of her fairy god mother, Ella faces ogres, giants, and her evil step sisters to try to find her own "happily ever after."

Comments

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages. Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry

National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry Edited by J. Patrick Lewis National Geographic, 2012, 183 p. Poetry In this beautiful poetry collection, the National Children's Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis, has teamed up with the amazing photographers at National Geographic. The result is 200 poems about animals, all illustrated with stunning nature photography. The poems are well chosen and include rhyming, free verse, and shape poetry. Some of the poems are funny, many are contemplative and all are nicely typeset on top of the full color photographs. One of my favorites is a shape poem about flamingos, with a photograph of a flock of flamingos which seem to be standing the the shape of a flamingo (how did they do that?). Lewis ends the collection with a brief but interesting section about writing animal poetry. This selection is sure to turn any animal lover into a poetry lover.

Review: Fowl Play

Fowl Play By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2024. Fiction 277 pages. Still reeling from her beloved uncle's death, Chloe Alvarez is comforted and confused when at his last will and testament reading, Uncle Will gifts her his African Grey parrot, Charlie. Charlie has a robust vocabulary and loves to make Alexa requests for her favorite songs, but when she starts saying things like, "homicide," and "cyanide," Chloe becomes convinced that Uncle Will may have met his demise by murder instead of a genetic disease, as was previously thought. Ultimately, bringing in her brother, Grammy, and Uncle Frank (and of course Charlie,) Chloe's ragtag and adoring family support her search for answers ---going on stakeouts, engaging in fast pursuits, and searching for clues. But as the suspects stack up and the mystery grows, Chole will learn that the process of death and grieving is complicated, and in the end her Uncle Will's words that, ...

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