Skip to main content

FebruaryGirls/Guys Read

Did you know that we have two parent/child book clubs every month at the Provo City Library? They are for children ages 9-12 and a caregiver. This month, they will meet February 25 (girls) and February 27 (guys). Preregister under the Kids Corner/Program Registration tab on the library website. We have two great books to discuss this month:

Girls

Brown Girl Dreaming
By Jacqueline Woodson
New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014. Verse.

As a child, Jacqueline Woodson never felt settled at home. In the 1960s and 1970s she lived in South Carolina and New York, in the midst of the Civil Rights movement and with the dark shadow of Jim Crow era laws looming overhead. As she searches to find herself, Jacqueline finds her voice as a writer and she begins to tell stories that will shape her future. Told entirely in verse, this memoir is a touching and thoughtful story about growing up and finding your way. A National Book Award Winner, Newbery Honoree, and Coretta Scott King Award winner, this unique book of poetry reveals Jacqueline Woodson's passion for storytelling by telling her own story.


Guys
By Michael Morpurgo
New York: Scholastic, 2007. Historical fiction.

In 1914, in the midst of World War I, Joey, the horse, is sold to the British army and sent to the Western Front. As he struggles to survive the war, Joey longs to return to the farm where he was raised and the boy, Albert, who loves him. This unique look at the tragedies of World War I is narrated by Joey, a farmhorse who leads a cavalry charge, is taken as a prisoner of war, pulls gun carriages for the Germans, and so much more. Joey's courage and determination to return home acts as a beacon to the human soldiers on the front with him and his hope for a return to home is deeply heartfelt. This emotionally effective war novel, made famous as a play and movie, is also on the 2019-2020 Battle of the Books list.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...

Review: Finding Lost

Finding Lost By Holly Goldberg Sloan New York: Rocky Pond Books, 2025. Fiction. 208 pages. Middle schooler Cordy, along with her mom and little brother, Geno, are still learning how to adjust to their life after “The Accident,” a tragic boating accident that cost their father’s life. When Cordy is walking home from school one day, she finds a little stray dog who the family nicknames Lost, and as he joins their family, he helps them rediscover all of the beauty that life has to offer. Holly Goldberg Sloane delivers a heart-warming and poignant novel about loss, family, and perseverance. This was a well-written novel that could appeal to a wide range of readers. Any middle schooler will be able to relate to Cordy’s experience of dealing with change, and those who have experienced a similar loss will be sure to find solace in this beautiful story.