Skip to main content

January Girls Read/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 virtually on Zoom on January 26 (girls) and January 28 (guys). Pre-register under the Kids Corner/Program Registration tab on the library website and then pick up a copy of the book at the Children's Desk. We have two great books to discuss this month:

Girls


By Adam Gidwitz
Illustrated by Hatem Aly
New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books, 2016. Fantasy.

In 1242, three children, each magical in different ways, set out on the run across medieval France with their holy dog, Gwenforte. Their story unfolds piece by piece as it is told by a cast of characters who each know a bit of the story. Jeanne, a young peasant girl who can see the future, Jacob a Jewish boy with healing powers, and William, a half-African Christian oblate with superhuman strength, crisscross their way across France hoping to clear their names. Along the way, they encounter a host of trials and adventures. This book is the perfect mix of humor, history, adventure, and epic-fantasy. This Newbery Honoree is sure to engage young readers while sharing a timely message of unity.

Guys


By Jonathan Auxier
New York: Amulet Books, 2018. Fantasy.

Nan Sparrow is a ten-year-old orphan girl who spends her days working as a chimney sweep. Because she is small and quick, she is one of the best "climbing boys" in all of London. One day, when climbing up a flue, she gets stuck and is certain she is going to die when another climbing boy starts a fire in the fireplace. Instead, the mysterious lump of coal she carries in her pocket is brought to life by the burning fire. Her lucky "char" becomes a golem named Charlie and the two misfits become responsible for one another. This is a historical fantasy novel about adventure, friendship, and discovery told in lovely classic-feeling writing. This award-winning novel is a favorite of several Provo City Librarians.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Funny Farm by Mark Teague 2009

There are things I liked about Mark Teague's newest book, Funny Farm , and things I didn't like. Where should I start? I'll do the "didn'ts" first. The illustrations show animals personified. Well, some of the animals are. The main characters, Edward, and his farm family relatives, all dogs, are humanized. They stand upright, do farm chores, eat at a table, wear clothes, knit (yes, with paws) and sleep in beds. Most everybody else on and around the farm, who are also animals, act like animals. They are outside, roll in mud, live in the barn, and require care from their owners. It struck me the most on the page spread where there are pigs playing in puddle in the rain and Edward, a black and white boxer, watches from inside the house. I thought "You're a dog! Go play with them!" But, alas, he can't, seeing as how he goes through his entire visit to the farm wearing a suit and red bow tie. Another picture that bothered me was the maple syrup pa...

Review: Super Boba Cafe

Super Boba Café By Nidhi Chanani New York: Amulet Books, 2023. Comics. 215 pages. 14-year-old Aria is excited to spend her summer in San Francisco getting quality time with her Nainai. She loves helping at her grandmother's Super Boba Café. But she can't help but notice that her grandmother is acting strange and secretive. She refuses to let Aria into the kitchen at all and she disappears at the same time each night without telling Aria where she goes. Meanwhile, Aria is eager to drum up more business for Super Boba Café. She gets a major windfall when the shop cat, Bao, surprises them by having kittens, and Aria realizes this is a major social media opportunity. She knows this will help Nainai's shop, but she is apprehensive to get back on social media after a terrible cyberbullying experience she had back home. As the shop starts to get busier, Nainai is more and more anxious about her secret project. This prompts Aria to investigate with help from her Nainai's neighb...

Plain Kate

Plain Kate by Erin Bow Scholastic, 2010. 314 pgs. Fiction Katerina Svetlana is named after her mother, who died giving birth. Her father, Piotr the woodcarver, calls her plain Kate and she is soon known as Plain Kate, after the butcher's witticism, because she is "plain as a stick." But her father calls her Kate, my star. Piotr teaches his daughter to carve and she is on her way to becoming a master when her father dies of a strange sleeping sickness that plagues her town and the country round about. In a magical land, Kate has no magic but her skill. Still, she is so good her neighbors think her a witch and drive her away, but not before a real witch comes along and she trades him her shadow for the promise that she won't have to travel alone. He gives her a talking cat. Kate falls in with gypsies who also find reason to hurt and abandon her and she is rescued by the witch who takes her upriver in a terrible quest to avenge his dead sister and bring her back from...