Provo Library Children's Book Blog

  The Last Dragon House By Liv Mae Morris  New York: Amulet Books, 2026. 323 p.  In order to help feed his family, Olly Atwood must look for a job just after his eleventh birthday. He ends up finding a job at a dragon sanctuary. Not only must Olly come to grips that dragons are real, he also must save Dr. Lady (the one who runs the dragon sanctuary) and all the dragons before mysterious forces try to destroy all the dragons. Readers who love dragons, adventure, and courageous characters who try to do right even though it is hard will delight in reading this tale.

Thunder and Mercy By Jennifer Robin Barr New York : Calkins Creek, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers, 2026. Fiction. 355 pages. Theodora Underwood, who calls herself Thunder, has spent every summer of her life being shuffled from guardian to guardian while her entomologist parents travel the world in search of a new discovery. After being sent away from her latest caretaker after only a month, Thunder arrives at her estranged Aunt Hazel's house in Philadelphia to finish out the summer. While she initially declares that she is going to spend her time seeing historical sites around Philly alone, she soon finds herself embroiled in a historical mystery when she finds a letter written by Benedict Arnold's sister-in-law during the Revolutionary War and she vows to uncover the girl's story.  This book takes place in the 1970's with many references to historical happenings from the Revolutionary War, making it a great historical fiction that tells the story of two se...

  Cuentos No lleves tu dragón a la biblioteca Escrito por Julie Gassman Ilustrado por Andy Elkerton North Mankato, Minnesota : Picture Window Books, 2020. Libro ilustrado. ¿Alguna vez pensaste en llevar a tu dragón a la biblioteca? ¡No lo hagas! Puede que tengas las mejores intenciones, pero tu amigo solo traerá problemas. Con rimas y personajes diversos, este cuento ilustrado nos enseña de manera entretenida las normas más importantes (y otras no tanto) sobre cómo comportarse en una biblioteca. --Editor Cuentitos Alma y su familia Por Juana Martinez-Neal Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2023. Pequeño libro ilustrado. Conozca la familia de Alma ... ¡en dos idiomas! --Editor Otros libros sobre la biblioteca Maisy visita la biblioteca Los Robinson y la biblioteca pirata Baker y Taylor y el misterio de los gatos de la biblioteca León de Biblioteca Cuando abres un libro

Preschool Time All the Books Written by Hayley Rocco Illustrated by John Rocco New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2024. Picture Book. Piper, a book-hoarding chipmunk, does not want to share, until she discovers the magic of the library. --Editor Preschool Time Just One More Story Written by Perry Emerson Illustrated by Sean Julian Wilton, CT: Tiger Tales, 2025. Picture Book. Two bunnies, an avid reader and a reluctant reader, share excitement over an action-packed tale that compels them to read all the books in the library and then proceed to write their own story. --Editor Toddler Time Never Give a Baby a Library Card Written by Erin Sandberg Illustrated by Tom Booth New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2025. Picture Book. Babies are warned not to be given library cards, as the endless knowledge they could gain--like cooking, sewing, driving, or running businesses--could lead to uncontrollable chaos. --Editor Book Babies I Kissed the Baby By Mary Murphy Somerville, MA: Candlewi...

Great news for adventurous, imaginative tweens: we are starting a Dungeons & Dragons program! Nine- to twelve-year-olds are invited to join a tabletop role playing quest in the Story Room on Monday September 14 from 6:30-8:00PM. All experience levels are welcome. Registration opens on September 1 at 9:00AM. In the meantime, here are some books to inspire your upcoming campaign!  The Lionharts Written and Illustrated by Mike Lawrence New York : Abrams Fanfare, 2026. J Comic. 233 pages. The Lionhart family is in the business of adventuring. Alder and Flynt are desperate to be included in the dragon-fighting and monster-slaying quests. When their parents Lenna and Gerard go missing after accepting a mysterious job, the boys set out to save them, soon followed by their famous questing Grammy and Baba to help keep Alder and Flynt out of trouble. The journey brings challenges and opportunities, magic and mystery, but it also reveals a troubling family secret that threatens to tear th...

  Berserkers By M.A. Larson New York : Farrar Straus Giroux, 2026. Fiction. 310 pages. Everyone always leaves the tiny town of Norse Ridge, Minnesota. If you want the best opportunities, you have to search for them elsewhere. Still, Danny is shocked when he finds out that his best friend Dolly and her family are planning on moving to the Twin Cities, leaving Norse Ridge behind. But when Danny uncovers a plot to find ancient treasure in the sinkhole underneath the town, he becomes convinced that if they find the treasure his friend won't have to leave. Helped by their classmates Mulch and Amazon Shawn, Danny and Dolly use their teacher's abandoned treasure map to search for the ultimate prize—a long sought after Spanish treasure. Have you ever wished you could sit and watch The Goonies with your kids but they are unwilling to spend their time on a pure nostalgia flick from the '80s? This book has all the Goonies vibes, and after they read it they will be hooked. This one is ...

Over half of Americans own a dog, and even more are dog lovers, which means National Dog Day is a holiday that should be celebrated wholeheartedly! These five picture books about dogs are wonderful options to help you kickstart your festivities this year.  Van Dog By Mikołaj Pasiński Varennes, Quebec, Canada: Milky Way Picture Books, 2022. Picture Book.  An artsy pup, Van Dog, takes a trip into the countryside to paint the landscape in this delightful and beautiful picture book. Readers will relate to the journey of Van Dog and his difficulty to accurately capture the beauty around him. Dog lovers will love this fanciful artistic romp! My Dog and I Written by Luca Tortolini Illustrated by Felicita Sala Varennes, Quebec, Canada: Milky Way Picture Books, 2023. Picture Book.  This book may not feature a dog in the traditional sense, but it will be sure to delight nonetheless! The story begins with a little girl on a walk who stumbles upon a "dog". She brings it hom...

Roar-choo! Written by Charlotte Cheng Illustrated by Dan Santat New York: Rocky Pond Books, 2024. Picture Book. Dragon is strong. Dragon is fierce. Dragon also has a cold. Phoenix is trying to help Dragon relax and drink tea to get better, but Dragon refuses help because “Dragons never quit.” But when Dragon’s firey sneezes make problems for Phoenix, Dragon acknowledges that sometimes a nap is needed. Merdaddy By Wednesday Kirwan New York: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2024. Picture Book. M erdaddy and Merbaby are playing amongst jellyfish and sharks. As the two play and explore, Merdaddy starts to notice that Merbaby’s fingers look like raisins and that it’s probably time to get out. Merbaby cries underwater tears as the scene shifts from an underwater landscape to a baby playing pretend in the bathtub. Wee Unicorn By Meg McLaren Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2023. Picture Book. Wee Unicorn isn’t magic like everyone expects her to be. But what problem she c...

Hello By Aiko Ikegami Berkeley, CA: Creston Books, 2019. Picture book. In this wordless picture book, an alien visits Earth, makes friends with a little girl, and returns to his home planet to share his experiences. - Publisher We Are Definitely Human By X. Fang Toronto: Tundra Books, 2024. Picture book. When three mysterious visitors from "Europe" crash-land in Mr. Li's field, he does what any good host would: he invites them back to his farmhouse and offers to help fix up their "car". No, there's nothing strange about these guests at all. Just like other humans, they "make business", "play sportsball" and "wear hat". As the townsfolk also come to the aid of the visitors and the gathering turns into a little party, interplanetary relations reach an all-time high. - Publisher Greetings Floof! Written by C.J. Hong Illustrated by A.J. Smith Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2024. Picture book. Floof from planet Ploof has landed! And it...

Bug on the Bus By David Catrow New York: Holiday House, 2026. Easy Reader.  Bug and many other creatures big and small hop onto the bus. A silly, little bus driver witnesses the arrivals, and all is fine and well until Skunk joins the crew! Hilarity and fun ensue. This story is simple, but exciting. Early readers will be sure to love it! This book was a uniquely well done easy reader, as it is truly fully accessible for the most beginning reader! It is filled with simple words, many only three letters long. While it is filled with simple words, the story is fast paced and sure to please everyone listening. As an added bonus, the illustrations are charming and silly, which adds a lot to the book as a whole. Make sure to check this out for any budding readers in your life!

Swing! By James Yang New York : Viking, 2026. Picture book. Swing! is an adorable story about the magic of childhood heroes. Readers meet an elementary-aged girl who is learning to play tennis with her dad as her patient coach. Together, they watch legendary tennis player Arthur Ashe (1943–1993) win matches on TV. When our young protagonist doesn’t win as often as she’d like, her temper gets the best of her. And when Timmy bothers her at school, she isn’t always as kind as she could be. Along the way, she turns her admiration for Arthur Ashe into inspiration—and looks pretty cool doing it in her Ashe-inspired eyewear. The book is a great choice for kids who have a sports hero of their own. I especially enjoyed the spunky attitude of this determined character, who knows what she wants and works hard to achieve it. It’s a feel-good story that may encourage readers to think about the heroes in their own lives and the lessons those heroes can teach them. If you’re looking for an inspiring...

Did you know that we experience eclipses of the sun and moon every year? This year the Solar eclipse was on August 12th and blocked out the sun for a full 2 minutes. Did you see it? It's okay if you missed it, because we're going to have a lunar eclipse on August 28th. Earth is one of the few planets that experience solar eclipses. Here are some books to learn more about eclipses, what they've meant to the people that view them, and other fun space facts.  Eclipse of 1919: How Einstein's Theory of General Relativity Changed Our World  By Emily Arnold McCully New York: Christy Ottaviano Books, 2025. Informational. Albert Einstein has always had a curious mind, fascinated with the laws of the universe and finding ways to explain how it all worked together. He had a theory, an idea, that gravity is what happens when objects bend the space and time around them. But gravity isn't something easily seen so to test his hypothesis, he needed to see if the gravity of the sun ...

The Case of the Pilfered Pearls (The Shrew Detective #1) By Margi Preus New York: Amulet Books, 2026. Intermediate. 119 pages. Detective Minerva Shrew prefers to keep her mystery solving to the woods where she lives. But when her cousin Tenacity comes to solicit her help to prevent a murder, Minerva breaks her rule of "woodland cases only" to journey from the forest to the human house to help. Sure enough, the lady of the house has lost a pearl necklace, and if it doesn't turn up, she's prepared to call an exterminator on all of the critters in her house. Minerva proves herself a shrewd shrew, as she carefully tracks down clues to save the critters and the day.  This short novel is dripping in charm, enhanced by lots of black and white illustrations. Minerva is the kind of character that becomes an instant star - she's smart, kind, and good with words. Her loquaciousness is the result of her unique wallpaper, pages of a dictionary cover her home and she shares new...

At the beginning of every school year (and throughout the year), I'm often called upon to give rousing speeches on resiliency and bravery to my children— School can be hard, but you can do hard things!   Remember last year when you were so scared to try out for the school play, but you were brave and did it and loved it so much?   Remember when you first started swimming lessons and you were terrified of the deep pool, but now you love to jump in the deep end?   And of course, lots of be brave, you can do it, don't give up, etc, etc, etc!  All of the books on this list illustrate the wonderful things that can happen when we take a deep breath, gird our loins, and step into the potentially scary! Jayden Noticed Written by Carolyn Crimi Illustrated by Shamar Knight-Justic Somerville, MA: Canlewick Press, 2026. Picture book.  Jayden is an observer. He notices everything, but most of all he notices rocks. Jayden has rocks for all sorts of activities—a Satu...

A Sea of Lemon Trees By Maria Dolores Aguila New York : Roaring Brook Press, 2025. Fiction. 272 pages. I will be recommending this book to anyone and everyone! It's a gorgeous novel in verse, based on true events in an agricultural town in California in the early 1930s. Some in the community were in favor of segregation and planned to send all of the Mexican American children to a separate school. However, many in the community knew segregation was wrong and they put their own plans in place to resist segregating the schools. This decision to oppose segregation required the sacrifice, persistence, courage, and bravery of community members young and old.  Roberto Alvarez, a 12-year-old will become the lead plaintiff in the court case fighting school segregation. Roberto believes in the power and strength of community, and knows that even though he is young, he can make a difference by standing up for what he believes in. I loved reading about Roberto's determination and willingn...

  Wilderness Hacks By Joslin Brorsen New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2026. 327 pages. Sadie Hahn hasn't spent much time outdoors since her father, who taught her everything she needs to know about camping and outdoor survival, died. Her younger brother Silas, however, leaned in the opposite direction. He focused all of his energy on learning more about outdoor survival—particularly from his favorite YouTuber, Radley Shaw. So when Radley opens up a contest to kids who live the Rockies encourage them to show him around their local spots, Silas convinces his sister to cook and eat grubs as part of their entry. When Sadie unexpectedly wins the contest, she brings Silas with her to meet Radley. Unfortunately, Radley isn't what he appears to be on their channel, but when an earthquake breaks open the dam and floods the river that they are traveling, Sadie and Radley will have to work together to survive. For kids who love survival stories like Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain but are ...

  One of my favorite sea creatures is a jellyfish. Any time I go to an aquarium, I always find myself frozen in place watching as they seem to float through their tanks. So naturally, I find myself looking forward to it any time I hear that there is going to be a new jellyfish book published. Here are some of my favorite books about our majestic aquatic friends. Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Jellyfish Written by Carole Boston Weatherford Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2026. Informational. This charming book about jellyfish describes the beautiful creatures through 14 different poems. It combines poetry, facts, history, and science to explain how jellyfish live, survive, and interact with the ocean. This book could just as easily be used to teach kids about art techniques as it could about jellyfish. Each poem appears on a beautifully illustrated full page spread, and the illustration style changes for each poem to fit the tone. This ...

Worm on the Job Written by Maureen Fergus Illustrated by Paul G. Hammond  Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2026. Picture Book.  Worm is on the hunt for a new job after he tires of being the head librarian at his local library. After considering and rejecting several different options (lifeguard, window washer, etc.), he decides to apply to be the newest security guard for the Invention's Convention building. At first, the hiring manager doesn't quite believe in Worm's abilities, but once Worm is given a chance, he proves that you don't have to be big to make an impact.  This book was so much fun, and all the worm facts throughout were a welcome bonus to all of the absurd and hilarious hijinks that Worm got up to. Preschoolers and early elementary school kids who love humorous picture books will definitely love Worm! Adult readers will also get a kick out of the story, making this a perfect book for read-alouds. 

One Whole Hippopotamus By Carter Higgins San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2026. Picture Book. Counting, sorting, parts and wholes! This book is a science and math primer disguised by a bouncy rhyme. One Whole Hippopotamus  explores similarities and differences by showing two shapes, and asking how they are the same and how they are different. Some are speckled, differently sized, or in pieces. Back matter gives ideas on how to read this book with different age groups. I love a Carter Higgins book. Her illustrations have a classical feel, similar to Eric Carle, and the bright colors help kids answer the questions the narration asks. This book is a fun bouncy story to read straight through and it will be fun to methodically go through the pages with a child. This discussion provoking title is sure to help teach concepts of similar, different, parts, and builds vocabulary to describe patterns (e.g. speckled, checkered). All over, a delightful read for multiple ages.

Found Sound By Meg Wolitzer and Charlie Panek New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2026. Fiction. 212 pgs.  Every July, Felix and his family abandon their cramped apartment in New York for Blissfield, Massachusetts. Ordinarily, Felix and his younger brother Miles participate in a summer camp for gifted kids. But this year, there's no camp for Felix, and he's already dreading a summer with nothing to do in the middle of nowhere. Reluctantly, Felix befriends his 11-year-old neighbor named Marigold Tanizaki-Weathers. With her multicolored hair and combat boots, Marigold isn't a typical friend for Felix, but before long they stumble on a field recorder in Felix's closet and begin a wild scavenger hunt around town. The puzzles, all sound based, start simple but quickly reveal deeper, cryptic messages. Could they be meant for Felix in particular? Could they somehow be connected to his older brother Dylan, whose relationship with Felix is strained?  This book is an audio-fir...

Children often wonder whether their ideas matter, especially when they are quiet, young, or unsure of themselves. These five picture books celebrate the courage to speak with kindness, showing that even small acts of bravery can inspire meaningful change. Together, they encourage conversations about confidence, empathy, community responsibility, and the power of using one's voice to make a positive difference. Little Helper By Regina Linke New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2026. Little Helper  tells the story of young Ah-Fu, who discovers that paying attention, speaking up, and offering ideas can help solve problems that affect everyone around him. As he grows in confidence, Ah-Fu learns that even a quiet voice can make a meaningful difference. This beautifully illustrated picture book encourages readers to recognize the value of their own voices and reminds them that thoughtful words and actions can strengthen a community. My Sister, Goose Written by Alyssa Satin Capucilli Ill...