Archives for Authors & Books

Interview with Emily X.R. Pan

Interview with Emily X.R. Pan

Emily X.R. Pan, the author of The Astonishing Color of After, sat down with our Forever Young Adult Book Club last month to answer questions and chat with patrons. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming Forever Young Adult meetings, special guests, and crafts! We'll be discussing Miss Meteor on December 16th and The Bear and the Nightingale on January 27th, both at 7:00 p.m. The Astonishing Color of After, a New York Times bestseller, follows the story of Leigh Chen Sanders. Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, loses her mother to suicide. Leigh begins seeing a magnificent, fantastical
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December 14, 2021 9:18 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Book Discussion, Events, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: author discussion, author event, book club, book discussion, Emily X.R. Pan, Forever Young Adult, Forever Young Adult Book Club, meet the author, Young adult, young adult books, and young adult fiction.

December 2021 LibraryReads

December 2021 LibraryReads

Here are the books published this month that librarians across the country love. The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale Library Collection: Print OverDrive & Libby: eBook / Audiobook “Delphine is returning to Paris to choreograph her own ballet. Here she meets up with her lifelong friends and fellow dancers Margaux and Lindsay. This absorbing and thrilling character-driven novel explores the world of ballet and its mysteries and secrets. Give to fans of Luster, Trust Exercise, and My Dark Vanessa.”—Terri Smith, Cornelia Library, Mt. Airy, GA Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim Library Collection: Print OverDrive & Libby: eBook “Hauntingly
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December 11, 2021 3:31 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books and Library News.
Tags: librarian recommendations, Library Reads, library staff picks, and LibraryReads.

Dive Into Diversity: 2021 Releases

Dive Into Diversity: 2021 Releases

White Plains is a wonderfully diverse community! Parents, children, and teens have expressed an interest in titles that reflect the diversity in the community, and Ashley, Kathlyn, and Raquel's “Dive Into Diversity” column will spotlight noteworthy children's and teen titles that are inclusive, diverse, and multicultural to fulfill that interest. Ashley's portion is aimed at readers in grades 4-6. It is absolutely shocking to me that 2021 is winding down! This year has been quite the whirlwind. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds as we head into 2022! There have been a ton of amazing diverse books
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December 10, 2021 10:07 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for children, books for kids, children's literature, Dive into Diversity, and The Trove.

Dive into Diversity: #fREADom to Read

Dive into Diversity: #fREADom to Read

Recently, well-respected, award-winning children’s and teen titles have faced severe, targeted censorship attacks in such states as Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, Georgia and Illinois. Award winning titles such as the Newbery-winning title New Kid by Jerry Craft have faced heavy racist and anti-LGBTQIA+ attacks, and we in the Trove wanted to celebrate and support the #fREADom to read them, and all books that affirm the uniqueness and special characteristics of every child and teen. The excellent children’s books highlighted in this blog come from Texas State Representative Matt Krause’s list of over 800 titles (16 pages!) he is seeking “to
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December 9, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: #Freadom to read, banned books, books for children, censorship, children's literature, and Dive into Diversity.

Dive into Diversity: Most Popular YA of 2021

Dive into Diversity: Most Popular YA of 2021

In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity as much as possible. For the last post of 2021, I looked at the circulation data for the YA fiction collection to see which books checked out the most. I came up with this list of the top ten most popular YA fiction books published in 2021, written by authors with diverse perspectives. When You Look
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December 9, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: best of 2021, Dive into Diversity, staff recommendations, YA Fiction, and YA literature.

Remembering Jesse Murry

Remembering Jesse Murry

Jesse Murry was a Black, gay art critic, curator and painter. He was born in 1948 in North Carolina and later moved to nearby Greenburgh to live with an aunt. As a youth he spent a lot of time reading at the White Plains Public Library and became friends with the director, Isabel Duncan Clark, who ended up becoming his legal guardian. He studied at Sarah Lawrence College and lived in a White Plains apartment in the 1970s before moving to New York City in 1979. In the last 14 years of his life he wrote for Arts Magazine, taught
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December 8, 2021 11:18 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, Library News, and Local History.
Tags: Jesse Murry, library history, local history, and White Plains Public Library.

Let’s Draw Cartoons

Let’s Draw Cartoons

Kids, teens, and families are invited to join nationally syndicated award-winning cartoonist Rick Stromoski virtually on Tuesday, December 28th at 2:00 p.m. for a fun workshop to learn how to draw cartoon characters! All participants will need is a stack of paper and something they like to draw with! Participants had a blast when Rick presented his Let’s Draw Monsters! program in October (see below for some examples of work created!) so don’t miss out on this fantastic program! Let’s Draw Cartoons! Tuesday, December 26, 2:00 p.m. Grades 3+, teens, families Access the program here. Note: a free, registered Zoom
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December 7, 2021 1:54 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: cartoons, comics, drawing, drawing workshop for children, drawing workshop for kids in Westchester, learn to draw, and Rick Stromoski.

2021 Staff Favorites

2021 Staff Favorites

The White Plains Library Staff have assembled their picks for the year, featuring cookbooks, DVDs, music, audiobooks, and plenty of plain old books. It's a wonderfully wide-ranging list, full of lots of surprises, and should help with your holiday shopping or just some entertainment for yourself. Enjoy! Below you'll find a list with links to the catalog or resource where they're available as well as a blurb on why staff enjoyed it. Books (Adults) Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir by Christopher Buckley OverDrive & Libby: eBook / Audiobook An funny and touching account of the year writer Christopher Buckley
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December 1, 2021 12:11 pm | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: staff favorites, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Meet Author Scott Reintgen

Meet Author Scott Reintgen

Join us for virtual author visits with Scott Reintgen, author of The Nyxia Triad and the Talespinners series. Book Bunch Wednesday, December 1, 4:30-6 p.m. This event is for children and tweens in grades 4-8. Join librarians Ashley and Kat to discuss Saving Fable, the first book in Scott Reintgen’s Talespinners series. We’ll meet to chat about the book and make a list of questions for Scott, who will join us at 5 p.m. and stay for the rest of the program. The first 10 people to register here will receive a free copy of the book. Please list an
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November 29, 2021 1:13 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: author visits, book clubs for kids, book clubs for teens, book clubs in Westchester, book clubs in White Plains, book discussion, and Project Lit.

Peculiar Picks

Peculiar Picks

Peculiar Picks are a selection of odd, funny, interesting, curious, moving, irreverent, and otherwise wonderfully awesome, but perhaps not well known, reads. Peculiar Picks are books for younger readers and their grown-ups, handpicked by the Library's Youth Services Manager, Joshua Carlson. While the monarchs in these three books each may have outlawed certain activities, by royal decree I do hereby declare “You should read these books!” The Hair Scare by Jeffrey Fisher Library Catalog Much like Al the gnome in Go Big or Go Gnome (featured in Peculiar Picks for NoShave November last year), Radbert is blessed with the ability
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November 17, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, No Shave November, Observances and Celebrations, Peculiar Picks, picture books, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Dive Into Diversity: Let’s Laugh

Dive Into Diversity: Let’s Laugh

White Plains is a wonderfully diverse community! Parents, children, and teens have expressed an interest in titles that reflect the diversity in the community, and Ashley, Kathlyn, and Raquel's “Dive Into Diversity” column will spotlight noteworthy children's and teen titles that are inclusive, diverse, and multicultural to fulfill that interest. Ashley's portion is aimed at readers in grades 4-6. National Comedy Day is held on November 7th. To celebrate, here are some humorous diverse book selections that may make you laugh! Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez For children in grades 4-8. Library Collection: Print Hoopla: eBook
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November 16, 2021 2:55 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, Dive into Diversity, humor, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Dive into Diversity: Happy Winter Birthdays!

Dive into Diversity: Happy Winter Birthdays!

There are so many talented and diverse children’s authors and illustrators to recommend! To highlight them, I have continued with my series of celebrating their birthdays on a seasonal basis. I started with summer, I covered Autumn birthdays, and here we are now at Winter birthdays! I hope you enjoy the great titles below. A great resource to find even more diverse notable titles for kids is the Colours of Us website, The Colours of Us: All About Multicultural Children's Books. Happy Winter birthdays! Author and Illustrator Jason Chin, Birthday: December 5th Redwoods (Preschool – 2nd Grade) OverDrive hoopla Library
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November 16, 2021 2:33 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for children, children's books, Dive into Diversity, Observances and Celebrations, and winter.

Dive into Diversity: YA Humor

Dive into Diversity: YA Humor

In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity as much as possible. This month I've collected humorous YA books, from romantic comedy to dark humor. YA is not typically known for its comedies, so this was a bit of a challenge. While not all of the books below will be entirely positive or uplifting, all contain an aspect of humor. This month I read
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November 15, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Dive into Diversity, staff picks, staff recommendations, teen books, teen literature, and YA humor.

Native American Stories

Native American Stories

In November we honor the peoples who have lived here before European colonization. Their presence continues to be felt and seen everywhere. From teaching the pilgrims how to survive those first bitter Northeastern winters, to the underappreciated part they played on the Underground Railroad, to the Code Talkers who helped us win World War II, there is a lot about them we still do not know. As we continue to know their stories, to share their wisdom, and learn from each other, we can take a moment to enjoy the titles below. You can also visit the Smithsonian National Museum
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November 10, 2021 10:34 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, National Native American Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, November, Observances and Celebrations, picture books, and The Trove.

Introducing Our New and Improved Parenting Collection

Introducing Our New and Improved Parenting Collection

As parents, one of our most difficult responsibilities is talking to our children about certain challenging topics. Books are a fantastic way to stimulate these types of discussions and help teach our children valuable life lessons. We've recently reorganized and refreshed our parenting collection. Now, these books are even easier to find! Our parenting collection is now located near our non-fiction collection, behind our reference desk. It is divided into two sections: one with books meant for you to read as parents, and one with books for children and parents to read together. Books for parents are shelved as they
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November 9, 2021 3:39 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for parents, caregivers, library collection, parenting, parenting collection, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

#BookTok Faves

#BookTok Faves

Whether you're on TikTok or not, #BookTok has undeniably influenced reading trends, especially for young adults. Between boosting sales of books by popular authors like Colleen Hoover, to increasing interest in Dark Academia, TikTok content creators have inspired many to expand both their reading tastes and TBR piles. Get a taste of what's trending on TikTok with this curated list by Marketing Librarian Kristen, and find our #BookTok Faves collection on here on OverDrive. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake Libby & OverDrive: eBook / Audiobook A self-published TikTok sensation, Blake's The Atlas Six combines elements of classics like Donna
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November 1, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations, books popular on TikTok, BookTok, staff picks, staff recommendations, and TikTok.

Project LIT Book Clubs for Kids and Teens

Project LIT Book Clubs for Kids and Teens

Project LIT is a global initiative to help kids, tweens, and teens engage with the real events shaking our country and the world at large. As a chapter in the Project LIT Community, the Trove and Edge staff organizes discussions revolving around recommended titles, highlighting and celebrating books that affirm and value all students. Our Project LIT Book Club for Kids & Tweens is for grades 4-8 and our Project LIT Book Club for Teens is for grades 7-12. We have been repeatedly blown away by our discussion participants, who have been smart, insightful, and continue to make connections between
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October 27, 2021 10:28 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: book club, book discussion, kids book club, Project Lit, Project Lit Community, and teen book club.

Dive into Diversity: YA Fantasy

Dive into Diversity: YA Fantasy

In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity as much as possible. This month we have the last genre theme for the year: my favorite, YA fantasy. This month I read Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko, which had been on my list for quite a while–so long, in fact, that its sequel was recently published. I had high hopes, and Raybearer exceeded them. The story
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October 22, 2021 9:56 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Dive into Diversity, Fantasy, staff picks, staff recommendations, YA Fiction, and YA literature.

Dive Into Diversity: Food, Family, Friends

Dive Into Diversity: Food, Family, Friends

White Plains is a wonderfully diverse community! Parents, children, and teens have expressed an interest in titles that reflect the diversity in the community, and Ashley, Kathlyn, and Raquel's “Dive Into Diversity” column will spotlight noteworthy children's and teen titles that are inclusive, diverse, and multicultural to fulfill that interest. Ashley's portion is aimed at readers in grades 4-6. As we delve deeper into the fall and the weather gets chillier, I usually find myself reconnecting with friends and spending time with family around the holidays. I hope you enjoy reading these diverse recommendations that combine all three – food,
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October 21, 2021 2:03 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for children, books for kids, children's literature, and Dive into Diversity.

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

The Library is excited to join the free nationwide program, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. This program is designed to help caregivers connect and prepare their children for kindergarten by reading together.  Research has demonstrated that reading to children at a young age has a direct positive impact on their cognitive development and later academic success. For a quick, easy-to-read summary of the benefits of reading to babies, see here. Who is it for? Any child may participate from birth until he/she enters kindergarten. You may start the program at any time. The goal of 1,000 books seems daunting, but in
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October 21, 2021 10:00 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: 1000 books before kindergarten and early literacy.