Provo Library Children's Book Blog

The Strongest Heart By Saadia Faruqi New York: Quill Tree Books, 2025. Fiction. 370 pages.   13-year-old Mohammed Mirza, called Mo, has a lot of practice acting like he doesn't care. It's easier than admitting that he's bothered by the hard things in his life. Like his scientist mother who left her family behind to work in a refugee camp in Greece. Or his father who struggles with untreated paranoid schizophrenia. Or Abba and Mo's recent move from New York City to Houston, Texas to live with Abba's widowed sister and her 13-year-old son Rayyan -- who is still processing his grief and trauma after the murder of his father. Mo finds escape and comfort in South Asian folktales, boxing, and art. As Mo starts to spend more time with caring adults who take an interest in him, he starts to open up and let people in -- everyone except for his monstrous Abbu. This character driven novel is layered and complex and, understandably, emotional. The portrayal of a parent with a s...

Once for Yes By Allie Millington New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2025. Fiction. 264 pages. Nearly a year after the death of her older sister Lina, Prue Laroe is dreading turning 12. Turning 12 means that she will be the same age as Lina when she died, and Prue doesn't want that to happen. But even more changes are coming for Prue -- her family's apartment building, the Odenburgh, has been sold and is set for demolition -- meaning Prue will have to leave the places she feels closest to Lina. When the Odenburgh flashes its lights at her, Prue takes it as a sign from Lina that she needs to rally the other residents to save the Odenburgh. In her quest to save her home, Prue befriends Lewis, the lanky boy from the building across the street, not quite understanding why Lewis is drawn to the same goal as her. Demolition day nears and Prue's whole family needs to come to terms with their grief before it is too late. There have been a string of middle grade novels dealing with gentri...

We’re All Gonna Die-nosaur! By Kon Tan  New York: Disney Hyperion, 2025. Intermediate. 157 pages.  Pterry (the “p” is silent) pterodactyl is a worry wart. Pterry is worried about flying (he doesn’t how to fly yet), dinosaurs going extinct (he had a scary dream), and how to protect his family (he has a little brother who hasn’t fully hatched from an egg yet). Even though there is a lot of feels for Pterry, this is actually quite a funny book. Pterry tries to learn how to fly with kites as his “training wheels” and his brother who is inside an egg is quite the adventurer.  This is a funny, heart-felt comic-like intermediate fiction book that will be great for many readers. If kids love dinosaurs, this book is for them. If kids like funny graphic novels, this book is for them. If kids want to read something about facing fears and doing things even though they don’t always want to, this book is for them. Plus, even though Pterry does a lot of things on his own, he still has s...

 There are so many books that have been published this past year about rocks. Here are five great picture books to read if you (like my family) like rocks. Happy reading!  All the Rocks We Love  Written by Lisa Varchol Perron and Taylor Perron  Illustrated by David Scheirer  New York: Rise x Penguin Workshop, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Picture Book. Any rock-hounders will love reading this book. It is all about the various types of rocks that can be found (and what you can do with them: stack them, gather them, etc.) Each spread shows a different kind of rock, and then shows where you might find that type of rock out in nature. Young rock collectors will enjoy seeing the various type of rocks and how they are important to so many people.  Rock  Written by Laurel Croza  Illustrated by Matt James  Toronto: Berkeley: Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press, 2025. Picture Book.  In this story a somewhat mean seagull keeps ...

  Almost Sunset By Wahab Algarmi New York: HarperAlley, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, 2025. Comics. 215 pages. Hassan is trying to juggle school, after school soccer, a social life, and family obligations...all while fasting. This isn't Hassan's first time fasting for Ramadan, he's participated for the last three years, but this year Ramadan falls during the middle of soccer playoffs and he's struggling to keep up. When his midfielder position is in jeopardy of being challenged by his friend, Rosie, and Rosie replaces Hassan in his after school gaming group while he's at masjid, he gets jealous and lashes out. As Ramadan proceeds, Hassan learns how to own up to his mistakes and persevere to gain more control over his life—and his hunger. Algarmi has written a moving story about Hassan, who is trying his best to be a good person. Hassan cares a lot about his friends, his family, and his religion. Algarmi's often wordless illustrations emotively show ho...

  Cuentos La mariquita malhumorada Por Eric Carle New York, NY : Harper Arco Iris, 1996. Libro ilustrado. "Una mariquita malhumorada busca peleas con cualquiera que encuentra en su camino, no importándole el tamaño o la fuerza de su oponente." --Editor Cuentitos Alma de pies a cabeza Por Juana Martinez-Neal Somerville, MA : Candlewick Press, 2023. Pequeño libro ilustrado. "La adorada estrella de Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre ahora aprece en una divertida serie de libros de cartón bilingües, con palabras sencillas y frases simples en inglés y español -- ideal para compartir con niños que están aprendiendo ambos idiomas." --Editor