Kids love books about animals. Adults love books about animals. We all love books about animals, especially about animals who overcome obstacles. “The One and Only Ivan” by Katherine Applegate is the 2013 Newbery Award winner and well-deserving of such an honor. It is told from the perspective of Ivan, a silverback gorilla taken from… View more
It seems that young adult literature has reached new peaks of popularity – YA books are being sold to movie studios and adults everywhere are browsing teen reading lists. “If I Stay” by Gayle Forman certainly falls into both of those categories. Adults are (im)patiently waiting for their turn on the hold list for a… View more
“Beautiful Music for Ugly Children” is a young adult novel and the winner of the Stonewall Award, an award given to books who stand out for their representation of LGBTQ characters and their handling of such sensitive subjects. “Beautiful Music” is specifically about Gabe, born Liz, and his transition from female to male and the… View more
A coworker of mine was very enthusiastic about Holly Black’s work thus far, specifically mentioning “Doll Bones” so I popped over to Overdrive and checked out the audio version read by Nick Podehl. The story, if anything, is about imagination. Zach, Poppy, and Alice are in middle school now and everyone around them is getting… View more
“Flora and Ulysses” by Kate DiCamillo is very worthy of its 2014 Newbery Medal and would be a welcome addition to anyone’s personal library though we are thankful to have several copies of it available in our very own Metro Library Network. The story is wonderfully imaginative following one Flora Belle Buckman, a young, self-described… View more