![Image for "Yasmin the Librarian"](/sites/default/files/%5Bdate%3Acustom%3AY%5D-%5Bdate%3Acustom%3Am%5D/9781515882596.jpg)
Yasmin the Librarian
It's library day, and Yasmin is the helper! She loves shelving books, but suddenly, Yasmin discovers that her own special book is missing. How will she find it among all the other books?
The Library will be closed on Sunday, September 1, and Monday, September 2, for Labor Day.
Welcome to Staff Recommendations, our regularly updated archive of books for all ages and interests. Tap the book covers to see full details and catalog availability. Use the Filters box (at bottom on mobile) to narrow titles by category and audience.
Visit our Recommendations pages for Adults, Teens, and Kids for age-specific staff picks, bestsellers, genre selections, and more.
It's library day, and Yasmin is the helper! She loves shelving books, but suddenly, Yasmin discovers that her own special book is missing. How will she find it among all the other books?
Have you ever thought about bringing your dragon to the library? Don't do it! You might have the best intentions, but that dragon will cause nothing but trouble. Using rhyming text and a diverse cast of characters, this charming picture book will provide some important--and some not so important--library etiquette in a very entertaining way.
You’re Never Too Young to Fight Censorship!
In Ban This Book by Alan Gratz, a fourth grader fights back when From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg is challenged by a well-meaning parent and taken off the shelves of her school library. Amy Anne is shy and soft-spoken, but don’t mess with her when it comes to her favorite book in the whole world. Amy Anne and her lieutenants wage a battle for the books that will make you laugh and pump your fists as they start a secret banned books locker library, make up ridiculous reasons to ban every single book in the library to make a point, and take a stand against censorship.
Ban This Book is a stirring defense against censorship that’s perfect for middle grade readers. Let kids know that they can make a difference in their schools, communities, and lives!
“Readers, librarians, and all those books that have drawn a challenge have a brand new hero.... Stand up and cheer, book lovers. This one’s for you." —Kathi Appelt, author of the Newbery Honor-winning The Underneath
“Ban This Book is absolutely brilliant and belongs on the shelves of every library in the multiverse.”—Lauren Myracle, author of the bestselling Internet Girls series, the most challenged books of 2009 and 2011
“Quick paced and with clear, easy-to-read prose, this is a book poised for wide readership and classroom use.”—Booklist
"A stout defense of the right to read." —Kirkus Reviews
“Gratz delivers a book lover’s book that speaks volumes about kids’ power to effect change at a grassroots level." —Publishers Weekly
A gorgeous and inspiring picture book based on the life of José Alberto Gutiérrez, a garbage collector in Bogotá, Colombia who started a library with a single discarded book found on his route.
In the city of Bogata, in the barrio of La Nueva Gloria, there live two Joses. One is a boy who dreams of Saturdays-- that's the day he gets to visit Paradise, the library. The second Jose is a garbage collector. From dusk until dawn, he scans the sidewalks as he drives, squinting in the dim light, searching household trash for hidden treasure . . . books! Some are stacked in neat piles, as if waiting for José́. Others take a bit more digging. Ever since he found his first book, Anna Karenina, years earlier, he's been collecting books--thick ones and thin ones, worn ones and almost new ones-- to add to the collection in his home. And on Saturdays, kids like little Jose run to the steps of Paradise to discover a world filled with books and wonder.
With an evocative text by a debut author, and rich, stunning illustrations from an up-and-coming Colombian illustrator, here is a celebration of perseverance, community, and the power of books.
A delightfully warm, encouraging story of a young girl and the special library dog who helps her develop patience, acceptance, and confidence as she learns to read, from award-winning author-illustrator Lisa Papp.
Madeline Finn does NOT like to read. But she DOES want a gold star from her teacher. Except stars are for good readers, for understanding words, and for saying them out loud—things that Madeline Finn doesn't believe she can do.
Fortunately, Madeline Finn finds a little help when she meets Bonnie, a library dog. Reading out loud to Bonnie isn't so bad, and when Madeline Finn gets stuck, Bonnie doesn't mind. As it turns out, it's fun to read when you're not afraid of making mistakes. Bonnie teaches Madeline Finn that it's okay to go slow—and, most importantly, to keep trying.
Lisa Papp offers an inspiring and comforting story, perfect for new readers who just need a little confidence to overcome their fears.
The Bad Seed borrows an awesome book from the library in this Level One I Can Read by the #1 New York Times bestselling duo Jory John and Pete Oswald!
The Bad Seed is in a good mood...for once. That's because there's a really cool book at the library available for checkout. The Bad Seed reads, and reads, until the book can't be read anymore.
But suddenly, he gets bad news: The book must be returned to the library so another seed can enjoy it. Will the bad seed return to his baaaaaad ways and keep the book Pick up this really cool book to find out!
The Bad Seed Goes to the Library is a Level 1 I Can Read book, which means it's perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own.
When Lucy, Elena, and Michael receive their summer reading list, they are excited to see To Kill A Mockingbird included. But not everyone in their class shares the same enthusiasm. So they hatch a plot to get the entire town talking about the well-known Harper Lee classic. They plan controversial ways to get people to read the book, including re-shelving copies of the book in bookstores so that people think they are missing and starting a website committed to "destroying the mockingbird." Their efforts are successful when all of the hullabaloo starts to direct more people to the book. But soon, their exploits start to spin out of control and they unwittingly start a mini revolution in the name of books.
This title has Common Core connections.
In luminous paintings and arresting poems, two of children’s literature’s top African-American scholars track Arturo Schomburg’s quest to correct history.
Where is our historian to give us our side? Arturo asked.
Amid the scholars, poets, authors, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance stood an Afro–Puerto Rican named Arturo Schomburg. This law clerk’s life’s passion was to collect books, letters, music, and art from Africa and the African diaspora and bring to light the achievements of people of African descent through the ages. When Schomburg’s collection became so big it began to overflow his house (and his wife threatened to mutiny), he turned to the New York Public Library, where he created and curated a collection that was the cornerstone of a new Negro Division. A century later, his groundbreaking collection, known as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, has become a beacon to scholars all over the world.
Thonk! Clonk! Clap! The team behind Roadwork and Demolition returns to the construction site, where big machines and busy workers dig, hoist, and hammer away.
There’s lots of noise and excitement involved in building a library! Preschoolers will clamor to take a close look. Award-winning duo Sally Sutton and Brian Lovelock are back with another rhythmic read-aloud full of bustling illustrations and sound words that beg kids to join in.
We are resilience. We are hope. We are dreamers.
Yuyi Morales brought her hopes, her passion, her strength, and her stories with her, when she came to the United States in 1994 with her infant son. She left behind nearly everything she owned, but she didn't come empty-handed.
From the author-illustrator of Bright Star, Dreamers is a celebration of making your home with the things you always carry: your resilience, your dreams, your hopes and history. It's the story of finding your way in a new place, of navigating an unfamiliar world and finding the best parts of it. In dark times, it's a promise that you can make better tomorrows.
This lovingly-illustrated picture book memoir looks at the myriad gifts migrantes bring with them when they leave their homes. It's a story about family. And it's a story to remind us that we are all dreamers, bringing our own strengths wherever we roam. Beautiful and powerful at any time but given particular urgency as the status of our own Dreamers becomes uncertain, this is a story that is both topical and timeless.
The lyrical text is complemented by sumptuously detailed illustrations, rich in symbolism. Also included are a brief autobiographical essay about Yuyi's own experience, a list of books that inspired her (and still do), and a description of the beautiful images, textures, and mementos she used to create this book.
A parallel Spanish-language edition, Soñadores, is also available.
Winner of the Pura Belpré Illustrator Award!
A New York Times / New York Public Library Best Illustrated Book
A New York Times Bestseller
Recipient of the Flora Stieglitz Strauss Award
A 2019 Boston Globe - Horn Book Honor Recipient
An Anna Dewdney Read Together Honor Book
Named a Best Book of 2018 by Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Shelf Awareness, NPR, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, Salon.com-- and many more!
A Junior Library Guild selection
A Eureka! Nonfiction Honoree
A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon title
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year
A CLA Notable Children's Book in Language Arts
Selected for the CBC Champions of Change Showcase
In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time....
Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly--but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.
Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family's spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library's service.
When he inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life--and soon both heretics and books will burn....
From actor-author-broadcaster-comedian-filmmaker Richard Ayoade comes a book narrated by . . . a book. Quirky, smart, and genre-busting, this is the saga of a book that nobody wants to read—until the day it meets YOU.
The life of a book isn’t easy, especially when people judge you by your cover (not every book can be adorned with sparkly unicorns!). And this narrator should know—it’s the book itself, and it has a lot of opinions. It gets irritated when readers bend its pages back, and it finds authors quite annoying. But it does have a story to tell. Through witty direct address and charming illustrations, readers meet a book that has never been read, with a cover the boring color of a school lunch table and pages so dry they give bookworms indigestion. But what happens when this book meets you, a curious reader? Multitalented author Richard Ayoade and award-winning illustrator Tor Freeman bring to life a hilariously subversive take on the nature of books and reading, with a heartening theme of finding the courage to tell our own stories. Readers of all ages will be delighted by the myriad bookish references and laughs on every page.
Luna's parents live apart, but she loves library day: that's the day she spends with her dad. Exploring the shelves, they find magic, mystery and history, but the best is a book that seems to have been written just for them.
The BESTSELLING book is now a full color, fun packed GRAPHIC NOVEL!
The Lemoncello books have spent over 100 Weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List and are on 44 State Award Lists!
Find out if game loving Kyle Keeley can escape from what James Patterson calls "the coolest library in all the world" in this fun-filled graphic novel from the much-loved co-author of Treasure Hunters and the bestselling illustrator of Last Kids on Earth!
* "A worthy successor to . . . Willy Wonka." --Booklist, Starred Review
When Kyle learns that the world's most famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, has designed the town's new library and is having an invitation-only lock-in on opening night, he's determined to be there! But the tricky part isn't getting into the library--it's getting out. Because when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must solve every clue and figure out every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route!
Now a full color graphic novel!
An Edgar Award Finalist
An Agatha Award Finalist
An enchanting urban fantasy middle-grade debut—the first book in a trilogy—set in a magical hotel full of secrets.
Orphan Elizabeth Somers’s malevolent aunt and uncle ship her off to the ominous Winterhouse Hotel, owned by the peculiar Norbridge Falls. Upon arrival, Elizabeth quickly discovers that Winterhouse has many charms—most notably its massive library. It’s not long before she locates a magical book of puzzles that will unlock a mystery involving Norbridge and his sinister family. But the deeper she delves into the hotel’s secrets, the more Elizabeth starts to realize that she is somehow connected to Winterhouse. As fate would have it, Elizabeth is the only person who can break the hotel’s curse and solve the mystery. But will it be at the cost of losing the people she has come to car for, and even Winterhouse itself?
Mystery, adventure, and beautiful writing combine in this exciting debut richly set in a hotel full of secrets.
Christy Ottaviano Books
Illustrated by Gregory Christie A fictionalised account to the early life of African-American writer Richard Wright which tells the story of how he was taught to read and discovered an interest in books and libraries. An interest greatly hampered by the segregation laws of the American southern states which prevented black people from borrowing library books. Illustrated throughout in full colour. Ages 3 - 9.