Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Pup and Bear By Kate Banks Schwartz & Wade, 2017. Picture book. After an Arctic winter, a lone wolf cub finds himself lost on an ice sheet. A grown polar bear finds him, but instead of eating him, she takes him back to her den and cares for and teaches the cub as a mother would. “I am not your mother, but I can cuddle you and keep you safe.” They explore the tundra together until the wolf is grown enough to set out on his own. Years later the wolf comes across a lost polar bear cub and the cycle begins again. This picture book is a gentle introduction to the animals of the Arctic as well as a heartwarming tale of loving across divides.

The Mermaid and the Shoe By K.G. Campbell Each of King Neptune's 50 mermaid daughters boasts a special talent, except for little Minnow, who seems to be good only at asking questions. When she finds a strange object, Minnow follows her questions to a wondrous place and finds answers, including the answer to the most important question of all: who am I? Mermaid School By JoAnne Wetzel Illustrated by Julianna Swaney Molly enjoys her first day at Mermaid School, where she makes new friends, learns new things, and hears a story about children with no tails. The Mermaid By Jan Brett Set in the ocean off Japan, this retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears stars Kiniro, a mermaid, who finds a baby octopus's breakfast, chair, and bed just right. The Secret History of Mermaids and Creatures of the Deep, or, The Liber Aquaticum By Ari Berk Describes the history of mermaids and other sea creatures in folklore and mythology, discussing their anatomy, magic, langua...

Drawn Together  By Minh Lê Illustrated by Dan Santat Disney Hyperion, 2018. Picture Book Have you ever had to talk to someone and you didn’t know what to say? Think of that particular moment and then think about what it would be like if you couldn’t even speak the same language as that particular person. In this story a young boy is dropped off to spend a day with his grandpa. Only, they don’t speak the same language. The boy speaks English and the grandpa speaks Thai. They try to converse, but find it difficult and (thanks to the brilliant illustrations) we know that they are both a little frustrated. Finally the boy pulls out some paper and markers from his backpack. Grandpa’s face lights up and he hurries off to get his ink and brush. Soon the two are enjoying spending the day drawing together—and eventually both start to appreciate the different artistic style of the other. This is a fantastic book! The illustrations are amazing (with fun styles that are more class...

Ice Sea Pirates By: Frida Nilsson Gecko Press, 2017. Fiction 359 p. Everyone knows the story about Captain Whitehead, a pirate with hair white as snow, who treats children as if they're animals. And inside that man, in the place where other people have a soul, there's a space as empty and cold as an ice cave. Whiteheads pirates are allowed to keep all the money and valuables they steal from other ships as long as they bring him children to work in his mine. To be taken as a prisoner of  Whitehead is the worst thing that can happen to a child. So when Miki sends her sister Siri off by herself to pick snowberries  and Siri is abducted by the Ice Sea Pirates, Miki decides she is going to find her sister and bring her home. This story is about the courage, determination, and love of a girl who is willing to risk everything to bring her sister back home. On her quest she discovers friendships, mermaids, wolves, sailors, and learns that people can be good or ...

One Mixed-up Night by Catherine Newman Random House, 2017. Fiction. 191 p.  Frankie and Walter have always loved IKEA.  They love to look through the catalogs doing the "picking" game, choosing what thing on each page they would most like.  They also both love reading and their favorite book is From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler .  It is from that book that they get the crazy idea that they could stow away and spend the night at IKEA. After successfully convincing their parents that they are each sleeping over at the other's house, they begin their night of fun and adventure, dodging security, playing on all the cool furniture, and finally talking about the terrible grief they have been hiding deep inside. What kid hasn't dreamed of spending the night in a department store?  This is definitely a "wish fulfillment" type of book that children will really enjoy.  It is also a good book about the affect that family grief has on a child...

Under the Canopy: Trees Around the World By Iris Volant Illustrated by Cynthia Alonso Flying Eye Books, 2018. Informational. Considering the important role trees play in global mythology, we really don't hear very much about them - this book seeks to change that. Important trees from around the world -- Cherry, Hawthorne, Baobab -- are accompanied by a short retelling of the myth and what makes them so important in their respective cultures. This book is not a resource for serious researchers, but it is a sufficient introduction to tree based mythology for curious young readers. With simple, graphic illustrations, this book is fun to flip through and does a good job showing how different cultures are connected in simple ways. This is a rockin' read for kids who like learning about stories from all over the world.

Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea  By Lynne Rae Perkins Greenwillow Books, 2018. 232 pages. Alix and her older sister Jools head with their parents to spend a week at the ocean. Both sisters are excited about the vacation, though their different personalities mean that each one is excited and nervous about different things. Alix is more adventurous and loves doing things and meeting friends; however, she is nervous about being away from her home and having her friends at home forget her. Jools is more cautious and loves watching and observing and is nervous when needing to do big things (that she believes Alix would have no trouble doing). This rockin’ read is a sweet story about two great sisters—and great parents who are both alive and who both play important roles in helping their kids enjoy a safe vacation at the beach. Take this book to the beach for an enjoyable read about vacations, beaches, family, and fun.

Heartseeker By: Melinda Beatty G.P. Putnam's sons, 2018. Fiction 327p. Only Fallows has a special gift, or cunning as she calls it. She can see lies. They are beautiful but what it looks like depends on the lie being told. If you mean to do harm its an ugly black, if you want to hide shame its blues and purples. An exaggeration is pink, fear is green and kindness is like a twinkling fire. Along with being able to see lies or untruths Only can't tell a lie. It causes her so much pain that she becomes sick. The kingdom where Only Fallows lives is in need of her gift or cunning. The King hears about her cunning and she is taken from her beloved orchard and forced to live in the castle and serve the King. She discovers while living at the castle that there are traitors who live in the kingdom that would cause harm to the kingdom and herself. She must use not only her gifts and cleverness to help the kingdom but her heart as well. This was a delightful book that ...

Look at the Weather  By Britta Teckentrup Translated and adapted by Shelley Tanaka Owlkid Books, 2018. Informational. 150 p. "Look at the Weather" is a basic but comprehensive exploration of different stages of weather and how it works. Through these beautiful illustrations, Britta Teckentrup has explored different stages of weather; sun, rain, snow and extreme weather, in countryside, city and seaside landscapes.  I can't get enough of this book. It made me want to go outside. I was immediately entranced by these simplistic and beautiful images and the feelings it emoted of having been caught in a similar summer storm or seeing fog settling on the water. 

The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in this Game Called Life by Kwame Alexander Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. informational. 169 p. To Shakespeare, all the world's a stage, but to Alexander, all the world is a playing field. This nonfiction companion to Alexander's Newbery winning book, The Crossover , is a collection of advice about basketball and life. Each of the 52 "rules" is supported by examples and quotes from famous people, mostly athletes, but including some non-athletes like Michelle Obama and Sonia Sotomayor. The advise is solid, cool, and is couched in accessible sports terminology to appeal to a young athlete.  Alexander's examples from the lives of famous people are well chosen and inspirational. This would be a great book to give to a reluctant reader  who is a sports lover.

Dad by My Side By Soosh Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018. Picture book. “With Dad by my side, there’s nothing we can’t do.” Soft watercolor illustrations depict a larger-than-life father and his young daughter as they bond, play, learn, and help each other. Begun as a series of illustrations posted on Instagram, this debut picture book is a sweet and gentle celebration of the love between father and daughter.

Islandborn By Junot Díaz Illustrated by Leo Espinosa Dial Books for Young Readers, 2018. Picture Book. For a school assignment Lola and her class are asked to draw a picture based on the country where they came from—since “every kid in Lola’s school was from somewhere else.” Many of the kids were excited about drawing pictures of things that they remember; however, Lola is worried because she left the Island before she could remember anything. Ms. Obi her teacher tells Lola that she can ask others (such as her family and friends) what they remember about the Island and then draw a picture based on what she learns. Lola then works on trying to figure out just what the Island is like. This rockin’ read is a good story to introduce children to the fact that many people come from different places—and that many places have both good and bad things about them. Díaz and Espinosa’s text and illustrations are sensitive and honest all while presenting big thoughts to a young audience. A...

Be Prepared Written and Illustrated by Vera Brosgol First Second, 2018. Graphic Novel. 244 p. Vera is a nine year old girl who feels "too poor," "too Russian" and "too different" to fit in with her wealthy, suburban classmates in Albany. When Vera hears about a Russian summer camp she's eager to sign up, hopeful to be around kids who are a little more like her for once. It turns out that Orthodox Russian camp is an alienating place to be, with all the hazards of summer camp (mean older girls, a gross outhouse, bugs) combined with Russian history classes, uniforms, and church services in the pouring rain. For the most part, Vera has a hard, lonely summer in the middle of the woods. This makes her eventual successes even more triumphant. This semi-autobiographical graphic novel is very funny and very honest. It can be really difficult to make friends and Brosgol does not shy away from this fact. Well paced, beautifully illustrated, em...

Amal Unbound By Aisha Saeed Nancy Paulsen Books, 2018. Fiction 226 p. Amal loves school and wants to learn everything! She goes to an all-girl school in Pakistan. She is the oldest of four daughters and her mother gives birth the fifth child, also a daughter, but doesn't bounce back very quickly afterwards. Amal is required to stay home from school to care for her younger sisters and the house. As the days turn into weeks Amal's frustration grows. One day in town, she stands-up to an evil, powerful man whose family, the Khans, rule the area. He requires Amal to become a servant at his home, since her father is already indebted to him. Missing her family and struggling to fit in with the other servants, Amal is able to find opportunities, despite her unfavorable circumstances. Will she be able to stand-up against the Khans or will her indentured servitude go on forever? This rockin' read is especially to inspire strong girls, no matter their circumstances, to continu...

Matthew J. Kir by is the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of the middle grade novels  The Clockwork Three ,  Icefall ,  The Lost Kingdom ,  Infinity Ring Book 5: Cave of Wonders , and  The Quantum League  series, the  Dark Gravity Sequence , and the Assassin’s Creed series,  Last Descendants . He was named a  Publishers Weekly  Flying Start, he has won the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery, the PEN Center USA award for Children’s Literature, and the Judy Lopez Memorial Award, and has been named to the New York Public Library’s 100 Books for Reading and Sharing, and the ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults lists. He is also a school psychologist, and currently lives in Utah with his wife and three step-kids. A Taste For Monsters By: Matthew J. Kirby In 1888, seventeen-year-old Evelyn Fallow, herself disfigured by the phosphorus in the match factory where she worked, has been hired as a maid to Joseph Merrick,...

The Parker Inheritance  by Varian Johnson Arthur A. Levine, 2018. Fiction, 331 p. Candice has moved in to what used to be her grandmother's home for the summer. There she meets the neighbor boy, Brandon, and together they start to investigate the circumstances surrounding an event many years ago that had brought disgrace on her grandmother. Candice finds a letter among her grandmother's things that tells of a hidden treasure and contains clues to how it could be recovered. As Brandon and Candice follow the clues, they learn about the town's past which is steeped in prejudice and injustice. Here is a book that is going to be on a lot of potential Newbery lists this fall. Johnson brilliantly unfolds multiple stories from different generations. One deals with the people in the town during the 1950's and their struggles with racial prejudice and segregation. Another deals with the problems of LGBT prejudice today. Johnson works in a great mystery and a sw...

The Magic is in You By Colin Hosten and Brooke Vitale Illustrated by Grace Lee Disney Press, 2018. Informational. This short and simple new book is very sweetly inspiring, and as a big Disney fan I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little choked up by the end. This book features favorite Disney and Pixar characters from new and older films and reminds readers that despite hardships, they can succeed. For me, reading this book reminded me exactly of why I continue to love Disney films - there are inspiring messages to be found for kids and adults. As an added bonus, this book is filled with beautiful watercolor illustrations that play a big role in helping the text flow from vignette to vignette. This is a rockin read for Disney fans who may be needing some extra inspiration. 

Do Not Lick This Book*: *It’s Full of Germs.  By Idan Ben-Barak Illustrated by Julian Frost Scanning Electron Microscope Images by Linnea Rundgren A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Book Press, 2017. Informational Picture Book. This is a book about germs. Really. Readers are first introduced to Min (the microbe) who lives on a page in the book—as a tiny speck that is so small you cannot see her without gigantic magnification. Readers are introduced to her and her world…then they can touch the book and take Min to another place (the reader’s teeth)! Then Min meets another microbe named Rae, who is one of the microbes that works to build cavities. Again touching a shirt takes Min and Rae on another adventure where they meet another microbe. A final adventure comes when readers “touch” their bellybuttons where they meet the fourth microbe. With illustrated microbes and real images magnified (so readers can see what paper, teeth, fabric, and skin look like at the scale of the microb...

Colorama: From Fuchsia to Midnight Blue By Cruschiform Creative Studio Munich Prestel, 2017. Informational. For once and for all: What  is  the difference between off-white, beige, and eggshell? Read  Colorama  to find out!  Colorama: From Fuchsia to Midnight Blue  is a beautiful and fascinating nonfiction book about color. As such, this book has a little bit of everything in it. The hues we recognize and the names they've been given have roots not only in the natural world but also in history, culture, etymology, chemistry, industry, gastronomy, fashion and linguistics. With such a wide variety of topics, it seems like anybody would be guaranteed to learn something new by just opening up this book. There are 133 colors featured here, each given a few sentences of explanation and a full colored page. It is especially interesting to examine the difference between tints, shades, and tones and be able to understand how and why these colors are distinc...

Itch: Everything You Didn't Want to Know About What Makes You Scratch By Anita Sanchez Illustrated by Gilbert Ford Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2018. Informational. When I first saw this book, I started to feel like I had to scratch an itch. I didn't know if I could actually read the whole thing without feeling itchy! The cover drew me in to what information could be inside. Itching aside, I did indeed find out everything I didn't want to know, as the name describes, but Sanchez made reading about bugs and plants that cause itching interesting. I couldn't stop . . . reading. I had to find out all 10 things she describes and the tidbits of information included on each page. Ford's cartoon illustrations are fun and are a perfect pairing for the facts they accompany. This Rockin' Read can entice even a reluctant reader to discover the truth behind all the crazy things about the skin we are in and why it can start to itch.

  The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty Random House, 2018, Fiction, 293 p. When Lucy was a young child she was hit by lightning that caused her to be both a mathematical savant, and to be obsessive compulsive.  Lucy lives with her grandmother and has been home-schooled until her grandmother decides that Lucy needs to improve her people skills with children her own age. Even though Lucy has technically already graduated from high school, she enrolls Lucy in middle school and challenges her to make at least one friend. This is a Rockin' Read about overcoming fears and differences through friendship. Lucy is an endearing character, and readers will be cheering for her to succeed. This is a good choice for people who enjoyed Fish in a Tree or Rain Reign .

Lauren Wolk has worked as a writer at the St. Paul American Indian Center, a senior editor with a Toronto publisher, a high school English teacher, Assistant Director at the Cape Cod Writers Center and, since 2007, Associate Director of the Cultural Center of Cape Cod. In 1999, Random House published her first novel,  Those Who Favor Fire .  Her second novel,  Forgiving Billy , was twice nominated for the Pushcart Press Editors’ Book Award and won the 2006 Hackney Literary Award. In 2016, Dutton published her novel  Wolf Hollow , which won a 2016 New England Book Award, a 2017 Newbery Honor, a 2017 Jane Addams Honor, and was shortlisted for the 2017 New-York Historical Society’s Children’s History Book Prize, 2017 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, 2017 Carnegie Medal, and other awards. In May 2017, Dutton published Wolk’s second novel for young readers,  Beyond the Bright Sea , winner of the 2018 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction and other honors. W...

Doll-E 1.0 By Shanda McCloskey Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018. Picture book. Charlotte is always tinkering, coding, downloading and showing her parents how to fix their gadgets. But when Mama buys her a doll, Charlotte has no idea what to do with a toy that just sits and stares at her. However, with a lot of creativity and a few spare parts, Charlotte gives Dolly a little upgrade… A fun STEM-friendly read about bringing imagination and technology together.

Pie is for Sharing By Stephanie Parsley Ledyard Illustrated by Jason Chin Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, 2018. Picture Book. There are many things that come to mind when thinking of summer—and having a picnic and watching fireworks with family and friends are one of the things that come to my mind. This book celebrates the idea of a community getting together to have fun on a beach, having a picnic. There is pie to share (thus the title), trees to climb, ropes to jump, and fun to be had. This book celebrates all the things that make community celebrations enjoyable. Ledyard shares a story that will resonate with many who celebrate life with their friends and family.