January Guys Read and Girls Read

Every month we have two book clubs for kids here at the Provo City Library! These book clubs are just for kids ages 9-12 and a caregiver. This month, our Guys Read Book Club will meet January 23 and our Girls Read Book Club will meet January 28. You can register now, using the library's online calendar!

Guys Read is reading:

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

By Chris Grabenstein

New York: Random House, 2013. Fiction. 291 pages.

12 seventh-graders win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend the night locked in the Alexandriaville's new public library. A special library designed by the billionaire game-maker Luigi Lemoncello. But what starts as a regular lock-in, quickly turns into a night full of puzzles and games as the kids are offered a challenge -- use only what's in the library to find your way out of the library. The escape room challenge makes for a fun and highly-readable mystery. Readers who like books with lots of plot will love reading this book!

Girls Read is reading:

The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, A Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity

Written by Nicholas Day

Illustrated by Brett Helquist

New York: Random House Studio, 2023. Informational. 276 pages.

The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world, but did you know that in 1911 it was stolen right off the wall of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France? But, this book isn't only about the famous art heist. This book is about the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, modern police work, and why art matters. The huge scale of this book might seem overwhelming, but the story remains focused, engaging, and readable. Illustrations from Brett Helquist help round out this fun, heisty nonfiction read.

Comments

Review: Faker

Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...

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, ...

Review: The Mythmakers

The Mythmakers By John Hendrix New York: Abrams Fanfare, 2024. Informational. 217 pages. Before C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien had ever published world-renowned literature, they were friends. This book starts with the boyhood of each author, discussing how each lost their parents and the toll that took on them. It moves on to talk about the experience of each man in the trenches of World War I, and their eventual meeting at Oxford. It further chronicles their "fellowship" through the writing of many of their notable works, as well as their eventual falling out. This book is an interesting mix of comic and narrative nonfiction, flipping back and forth between chapters. A lion and wizard appear in the comic portions (in a nod to Aslan and Gandalf) to explain background information about mythology, the time period, and other pertinent information about the two. The author makes use of a limited color palette, using mostly greens, purples, and yellows, to draw the reader i...

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