Summer Kids Books

Even more kids books to keep you reading through the summer because you can never have too many!

Hi, Koo!
by Jon J. Muth
J 811.54 MUT

An exuberant journey through the alphabet with panda bear, Koo.

Telephone
by Mac Barnett
E BAR

Clever page turns, hilarious details, and delightful wordplay abound in the bird world’s version of the classic game of telephone.

My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I am Not)
by Peter Brown
E BRO

Bobby thinks his teacher is the worst. . . that is until he accidentally meets her in the park.

The Pigeon Needs a Bath!
by Mo Willems
E WIL

Pigeon returns- – this time he needs a bath but has other things to do. When he is finally convinced, he won’t get out of the tub!

The Witch’s Boy
by Kelly Barnhill
J BAR

Following the adventures of new friends Ned and Aine in this imaginative tale of tricky magic. A complex journey about finding your voice.

Absolutely Almost
by Lisa Graff
J GRA

In this relatable tale, fifth grader Albie is not very good at a lot of things, but with a little help from a new babysitter, he finds out that being himself is the most important thing.

Half a Chance
by Cynthia Lord
J LOR

A young girl struggles to determine her place when her family moves to a new community. An authentic story of friendship, loss, and self-identity told through the lens of her interest in photography.

Rain Reign
by Ann M. Martin
J MAR

Rose’s obsession with homophones and rules distinguishes her from most other fifth graders, but also provides insights into the world of a child challenged by Asperger’s Syndrome.

-Nancy

June Young Adult Picks

Summer Reading is just getting started! Check out these great Young Adult books to keep you reading:

Frozen
by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston
YA DEL

More than a century after a catastrophic disaster wiped out most of humanity and covered much of the earth with ice, sixteen-year-old Nat yields to the voice in her head urging her to embark on a dangerous journey across a poisoned sea to the mythical land, the Blue.

-Serena

The Body Finder
by Kimberly Derting
YA DER

Violet has two secrets dominating her junior year: her ability to sense echoes from murder victims and her growing crush on childhood friend Jay. Can she keep it together as Jay helps her hunt for a serial killer? For those who like a bit of romance mixed in with their suspense novels, this is the book for you. The first in a series.
-Mike

Talon
by Julie Kagawa
YA KAG

The dragons of Talon have been hiding in human forms to save themselves from being hunted. Ember and Dante Hill are the only brother and sister dragons. Ember wants to experience being a teen before fulfilling her destiny in Talon; however, she is being pursued by Garret St. James, whose task is to destroy all dragons but only when he is certain about his prey. And he is not quite certain about Ember.
-Serena

Read Between the Lines
by Jo Knowles
YA KNO

Does anyone ever see us for who we really are? Jo Knowles’s revelatory novel of interlocking stories peers behind the scrim as it follows nine teens and one teacher through a seemingly ordinary day.
-Crystal

Liars Inc.
by Paula Stokes
YA STO

Max forms a professional lying service with his friend Preston and girlfriend Parvati to make extra cash. But when Preston disappears the police see Max as the prime suspect. Can he escape his web of lies?
-Mike

June Adult Picks

Help us reach our 2,000,000 page summer reading goal! Here’s some of our Adult Fiction favorites to keep you reading:

Memory Man
by David Baldacci
F BAL

With “Memory Man,” Baldacci introduces a new character, Amos Decker, who is not your typical crime investigator. It is the start of a new series so hopefully more are coming soon.
-Kathy

The Patriot Threat
by Steve Berry
F BER

Fans of Cotton Malone, the main character in Berry’s thrillers, will not be disappointed with this latest offering. Once again Cotton is hired by the Magellan Billet to intercept a 20 million dollar payment to North Korea. Instead he must find and destroy stolen top-secret documents that could end the financial structure of the United States Government. History fans will enjoy reading some little-known facts about the relationship between Franklin Roosevelt and Andrew Mellon in a plot that bounces between Washington, Italy, and Croatia. Enjoyable summer reading for fans of historical thrillers.
-Robin

Gray Mountain
by John Grisham
F GRI

Grisham once again combines his usual fondness for turning just regular lawyers into giant-killers with a strong element of social commentary. This time an “out-of-her-element” Wall Street attorney battles the corrupt barons of the Appalachian coal mines. It also gives the impression of being the first in a series!
-Neal

The Husband’s Secret
by Liane Moriarty
F MOR

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive.
-Crystal

ZOO
by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
F PAT

All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the impending violence becomes terrifyingly clear. Read it before the CBS show debuts later this month!

-Crystal

The Kind Worth Killing
by Peter Swanson
F SWA

A modern take on the Strangers on a Train premise, The Kind Worth Killing begins with a casual airplane conversation that leads to a murder plot. This is the perfect next read for fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train and you may, as I did, like it even better. Be sure to block out a large chunk of your schedule because you won’t be able to put this one down!
-Mike

The Secret Life of Violet Grant
by Beatriz Williams
F WIL

Manhattan, 1964. Vivian Schuyler, newly graduated from Bryn Mawr College, has recently defied the privilege of her storied old Fifth Avenue family to do the unthinkable for a budding Kennedy-era socialite: break into the Mad Men world of razor-stylish Metropolitan magazine. But when she receives a bulky overseas parcel in the mail, the unexpected contents draw her inexorably back into her family’s past.
-Crystal

June Kids Picks

Fill up your Summer Reading log with these great books!

Juvenile:

The Chicken Squad
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Kevin Cornell.
J CRO

When a squirrel comes to them scared of something Big and Scary, the Chicken Squad jumps to the rescue. But is it really a UFO? Funny start to a new series by the author of “Click, Clack, Moo.”
-Mike

The Island of Dr. Libris
by Chris Grabenstein
J GRA

What if your favorite characters came to life? Billy’s spending the summer in a lakeside cabin that belongs to the mysterious Dr. Libris. But something strange is going on. Besides the security cameras everywhere, there’s Dr. Libris’s private bookcase. Whenever Billy opens the books inside, he can hear sounds coming from the island in the middle of the lake. The clash of swords. The twang of arrows. Sometimes he can even feel the ground shaking!
-Crystal

Bean Dog and Nugget: The Ball
by Charise Mericle Harper
J HAR

Bean Dog and Nugget lose Bean Dog’s shiny new ball in a bush. They dream up elaborate and silly ways to get it back while they argue about who is actually going to go and get it.
-Serena

Wonder
by RJ Palacio
J PAL

In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves that you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out.
-Nancy

Queen of the Diamond
by Emily McCully
JB Murphy

Lizzie Murphy was good at baseball. In fact, she was better than most of the boys. But she was born in 1900, and back then baseball was not a game for girls. Lizzie practiced with her brother anyway, and then she talked her way onto the local boys’ team, first as a batboy, then as a player.
-Crystal

Easy:

Go! Go! Go! Stop!
by Charise Mericle Harper
E HAR

Little Green only knows one word: ‘Go!’ It’s the perfect thing to get the construction site moving, but how will they stop?
-Serena

Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit, Book Burglar
by Emily MacKenzie
E MAC

Some rabbits dream about lettuces and carrots, others dream of flowering meadows and juicy dandelions, but Ralfy dreams only of books. In fact, he doesn’t just dream about them, he wants to read them ALL THE TIME. Soon his obsession sends him spiraling into a life of crime!
-Crystal

The Watermelon Seed
by Greg Pizzoli
E PIZ

After swallowing a watermelon seed, a crocodile imagines a scary outcome.
-Serena