Geo Librarian

UNSTUCK by Barbara Dee Aladdin, 2024 ISBN: 9781534489882 Source: eARC from publisher for review Ages 10-14 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover, author photo, & book summary provided by the publisher. ABOUT THE BOOK From critically acclaimed author Barbara Dee comes a middle grade novel about a girl whose struggles with writer’s block set off unexpected twists and turns, both on and off the page. Lyla is thrilled when her seventh-grade English language arts class begins a daily creative writing project. For the past year, she’s been writing a brilliant fantasy novel in her head, and here’s her chance to get it on paper! The plot to Lyla’s novel is super complicated, with battle scenes and witches and a mysterious one-toed-beast, but at its core, it’s about an overlooked girl who has to rescue her beautiful, highly accomplished older sister. But writing a fantasy novel turns out to be harder than simply imagining one, and pretty soon Lyla finds herself stuck, exp...

  GO FORTH AND TELL: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller written by Breanna J. McDaniel, illustrated by April Harrison Dial Books for Young Readers, 2024 ISBN: 978-0-593-32420-2 Source: Publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK From an award-winning author and illustrator comes this picture book biography about beloved librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children’s services at all branches of the New York Public Library. Before Augusta Braxton Baker became a storyteller, she was an excellent story listener. Her grandmother brought stories like Br’er Rabbit and Arthur and Excalibur to life, teaching young Augusta that when there’s a will, there’s always a way. When she grew up, Mrs. Baker began telling her own fantastical stories to children at the 135th Street branch of the New York Publi...

  DO YOU KNOW THEM? Families Lost and Found After the Civil War written by Shana Keller, illustrated by Laura Freeman Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2024 ISBN: 978-1-6659-1307-2 Source: purchased Ages 8-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK A moving and triumphant picture book inspired by the printed newspaper ads placed by African Americans who were separated from family members by the Civil War, enslavement, and emancipation. After the war’s end, everyone is missing someone. Lettie’s missing her family. They had been sold and lost long before enslavement was abolished. Every week, she reads the advertisements in the newspapers to her congregation. “Do you know them? I would like to find my people. My mother’s name was Charlotte King, and when I was sold, I had five brothers.” Lettie is determined to find her loved ones, too. She saves every penny she earns, but not to buy candy or toys....

FIGHTING WITH LOVE The Legacy of John Lewis written by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James E. Ransome A Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024 ISBN; 978-1-5344-9662-0 Source: publisher for review Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK The story of a groundbreaking civil rights leader, John Lewis, comes to life in this compelling and beautifully told nonfiction picture book. John Lewis left a cotton farm in Alabama to join the fight for civil rights when he was only a teenager. He soon became a leader of a movement that changed the nation. Walking at the side of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis was led by his belief in peaceful action and voting rights. Today and always his work and legacy live on. REVIEW Covering his childhood through to Bloody Sunday (the march to Selma), Fighting with Love, highlights the life of John Lewis. From a you...

  MY BLOCK LOOKS LIKE written by Janelle Harper, illustrated by Frank Morrison Viking, 2024 ISBN: 978-0-593-52630-9 Source: Publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK A love letter to the hustle, the bustle, the joy, and the grit of city life by debut author and Bronx native, Janelle Harper, and two-time Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner, Frank Morrison. "My block looks like a collision of cultures a melting pot of cool a burst of life my favorite groove. . .No matter what happens I’ve seen it for myself my block looks like the coolest place I’ve ever been." A lyrical and proud picture book that recognizes the beauty of the bodegas, subways, and playgrounds that characterize everyday life in the Bronx and pays homage to the ways that its residents have shaped pop culture through music, visual art, and dance. Perfect for fans of I Am Every Good ...

THE LAST STAND written by Antwan Eady, illustrated by Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey Alfred A. Knopf, 2024 ISBN: 978-0-593-48057-1 Source: purchased Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK The author of Nigel and the Moon , delivers a tender intergenerational story inspired by his childhood in the rural south. Here's a farm stand that represents the importance of family, community, and hope. Every stand has a story. This one is mine. Saturday is for harvesting. And one little boy is excited to work alongside his Papa as they collect eggs, plums, peppers and pumpkins to sell at their stand in the farmer's market. Of course, it's more than a farmer's market. Papa knows each customer's order, from Ms. Rosa's pumpkins to Mr. Johnny's peppers. And when Papa can't make it to the stand, his community gathers around him, with dishes made of his own produce. Heartwa...

SWARM by Jennifer Lyle Sourcebooks Fire, 2023 ISBN:  9781728270913  Source: eARC from NetGalley Ages 14 and up All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK On a sunny September morning, the creatures first appear. Shur sees one of them hovering outside the window in history it looks like a giant butterfly, at first too beautiful and strange to seem like a threat. But when emergency alerts light up everyone's phones around her, she realizes something very, very wrong is happening outside. These… things are everywhere. By the time Shur makes it back to her house with her brother, Keene, and their two best friends, it's clear they must face whatever comes next on their own. A terrifying species the world's never seen before has suddenly emerged, and few living things are safe. As the creatures swarm and attack outside, life for Shur and her friends becomes a survival game. They board the window...

  A WALK IN THE WOODS written by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney & Brian Pinkney Neal Porter Books, 2023 ISBN: 978-0-8234-4965-1 Source: purchased Ages 8 and up All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK In this moving account of loss, a boy takes a walk in the woods and makes a discovery that changes his understanding of his father. A week after the funeral I stare in the morning mirror Angry that my father's eyes Stare back at me. Confused and distraught after the death of his father, a boy opens an envelope he left behind and is surprised to find a map of the woods beyond their house, with one spot marked in bright red. But why? The woods had been something they shared together, why would his father want him to go alone? Slowly, his mind settles as he sets off through the spaces he once explored with his dad, passing familiar beech and black oak trees, flitting Carolina wrens, ...

  DON'T TRUST CATS (Life Lessons from Chip the Dog) written by Dev Petty, illustrated by Mike Boldt Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2024 ISBN: 978-0-593-70678-7 Source: Publisher through Blue Slip Media Ages 4-8 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover and summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Chip the dog from Don't Eat Bees is back, with more "wisdom" to share, including some hard-won life lessons about cats. From the favorite picture book comic duo of Dev Petty and Mike Boldt. Chip has been described as very smart and also a dog. And because he's a very good boy, he's going to share his tips on how to live your best life, Don't trust cats. Not even the little, fluffy ones with big eyes. No how, no meow. Trust the squirrel you always chase, trust grandpa (sure, he cheats at cards but he always has treats), and trust that skunk (he seems nice. What could possibly go wrong?). Do NOT trust cats, especially no...

THAT'S NOT MY NAME by Megan Lally Sourcebooks Fire, 2023 ISBN:   9781728270111 Source: Netgalley eARC Ages 14 and up All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK She thought she had her life back. She was wrong. It was a mistake to trust him. Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there―or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He's been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says. When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew murdered his girlfriend. Forget proving his innocence, he needs to find her before i...