July Kids Picks

We have kids books, picked out just for you!

Circus Mirandus
by Cassie Beasley
J BEA

Do you believe in magic?
Micah Tuttle does.

Even though his awful Great-Aunt Gertrudis doesn’t approve, Micah believes in the stories his dying Grandpa Ephraim tells him of the magical Circus Mirandus: the invisible tiger guarding the gates, the beautiful flying birdwoman, and the magician more powerful than any other—the Man Who Bends Light. Finally, Grandpa Ephraim offers proof. The Circus is real. And the Lightbender owes Ephraim a miracle. With his friend Jenny Mendoza in tow, Micah sets out to find the Circus and the man he believes will save his grandfather.
-Crystal

Princess Plot
by Kirsten Boie
J BOI

Jenna has just won the starring role in a film about a princess–sweet! In the wink of an eye, she’s whisked off to a remote, romantic kingdom for the “shoot.” But something’s amiss: First, she finds out she bears an uncanny resemblance to the real princess, who has run away following the death of her father, the king. Then she learns that the conniving regent plans to use her to take control of the country, now being fought over by rebels. As the plot twists and turns, Jenna discovers just what she’s made of–and just why she resembles the missing princess so much!
-Crystal

Saving Lucas Biggs
by Marisa de los Santos
J DEL

When thirteen-year-old Margaret’s father is unfairly sentenced to death by the cruel Judge Biggs, she is determined to save him, even if it means using her family’s secret-and forbidden-ability to time travel. With the help of her best friend, Charlie, and his grandpa Josh, Margaret goes back to a time when Judge Biggs was a young boy and tries to prevent the chain of events that transformed him into a corrupt, jaded man.
-Crystal

U.S. Presidents
by Ken Jennings, illustrated by Mike Lowery
J 973.009 JEN

Become a genius of presidential trivia with this guide from Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings. Learn all about the weird habits and activities of our nation’s great leaders and impress your friends and family!
-Mike

The Buk Buk Buk Festival
by Mary Jane and Herm Auch
E AUC

Feathers fly and humor abounds as the literary adventures continue for Henrietta, the talented chicken from The Plot Chickens. Thrilled to have her picture book published, Henrietta is all aflutter with excitement when shes invited to a local book festival. However, the event organizers did not count on having a chicken show up to sign books. Luckily, just when the festival director gives chase, Henrietta comes up with a clever plan to make herself heard and be respected.
-Crystal

Hug Machine
by Scott Campbell
E CAM

No person or thing will go unhugged when the hug machine is around! Charming watercolors highlight this tale of an extremely affectionate little boy.
-Mike

Beach House
by Deanna Caswell
E CAS

In a funny and heartfelt celebration of family, vacations, and the joy of the sea, Deanna Caswell and Amy June Bates capture the essence of summer—building sand castles, jumping the waves, and watching the stars come out after a long day at the beach—and the love that warms every moment.
-Crystal

Being Wendy
by Fran Drescher
E DRE

In this delightful picture book, we meet Wendy, a girl who lives in an odd town where everyone has to wear a box. These boxes are labeled with what each person does. The teacher wears a TEACHER box. The baker wears a BAKER box. Even the doctor wears a DOCTOR box! These boxes are worn for life and Wendy has to choose hers soon. How will she ever decide on just one box? She’s interested in so many things! Wendy’s moxie makes her break out of her box . . . And she sets the whole town on end when she does!
-Crystal

July Adult Picks

We are halfway through Summer Reading but great books still lie ahead! Check out some of our recent favorites:

Inside the O’Briens
by Lisa Genova
F GEN

From the New York Times bestselling author of “Still Alice” Lisa Genova comes a powerful and transcendent new novel about a family struggling with the impact of Huntington’s disease. This book is similar to “Still Alice”, but I liked that the author went into more depth regarding the family members reactions to the disease and how it effects their lives.
-Lynae

14th Deadly Sin
by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
F PAT

Detective Lindsay Boxer and her three best friends are back and recovering from the events that pushed them all to the edge.
But a new terror is sweeping the streets of San Francisco. A gang dressed as cops are ransacking the city, and leaving a string of dead bodies in their wake. Lindsay is on the case to track them down and needs to discover whether these killers could actually be police officers. Maybe even cops she already knows…
-Crystal

True Grit
by Charles Portis
F POR

Better than either film adaptation, Portis’ “True Grit” is a masterpiece of American literature worth reading, among other reasons, for the dialogue between obstinately persistent Mattie Ross and tough guy Rooster Cogburn.
-Mike

Invasion
by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant
F PLA

First visible only as blips on a telescope image, the discovery of objects approaching from Jupiter orbit immediately sets humanity on edge. NASA doesn’t even bother to deny the alien ships’ existence. The popular Astral space app (broadcasting from the far side of the moon and accessible by anyone with internet) has already shown the populace what is coming. So the news has turned from evasion to triage, urging calm and offering the few facts they have: The objects are enormous, perfectly round spheres numbering in the dozens, maybe hundreds. They are on an approach vector for Earth. And they will arrive in six days.
-Serena

Every Fifteen Minutes
by Lisa Scottoline
F SCO

I was attracted to this novel because of my background studying psychology. That being said, I had to make a conscious choice not to quibble over the difference between sociopath and psychopath, because I feel pretty strongly that the character in question seriously blurred those lines and was really a psychopath… but since my DSM is a little dusty, I let that go and truly enjoyed this book with all its plot twists and turns. Fast-paced and filled with suspense, the pages all but turned themselves. I did not want to put this one down!
-Sara

When To Rob a Bank : …and 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-intended Rants
by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
330 LEV

If you’re not a regular reader of the “Freakonomics” blog, this is a great curated collection of their best blog posts. While not as in-depth as previous “Freakonomics” books, Levitt and Dubner’s latest is still filled with plenty of entertaining ideas filtered through their unique perspective.
-Mike