Archives for Authors & Books

New Books in the Edge: May 2024

New Books in the Edge: May 2024

One of the best parts of my job is ordering new books for the Edge–reading the reviews, seeing what popular authors come up with next, or finding out about an upcoming sequel to an old favorite. Read on to find out about some of the new YA fiction titles coming to our shelves this month. Vanishing Station by Ana Ellickson Grades 9 and up Library Catalog “Ellickson delivers an ambitious, fast-paced fantasy crackling with complicated family dynamics and forbidden love in this simmering debut. Since her mother’s death, 18-year-old Ruby Santos and her father have been forced to rent out
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May 22, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: new books, new in the Edge, staff picks, staff recommendations, YA Fiction, and YA literature.

Battle of the Books 2024

Battle of the Books 2024

We're thrilled to announce that we'll have two teams competing in the Westchester Battle of the Books tournament this year! Read on to find out more about the tournament, our plans for the team, and most importantly, the books! This year's Battle of the Books tournament will take place on Saturday, October 26 at Ossining High School. We're looking for trivia-loving, book-loving, competitive kids who will be in grades 4-12 in fall 2024. For more information about the tournament itself, check out the Westchester Library System’s Battle of the Books page.  The Trove team is for kids who will be in grades
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May 21, 2024 6:09 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: battle of the books, Battle of the Books 2024, book clubs for kids, book clubs for teens, The Edge, The Trove, and YA Fiction.

June Chapter Chats

June Chapter Chats

June 10th  @ 5:00PM For kids looking for a quiet area and time dedicated to reading, join us for our sit-in read and chat book club! We will have 20 minutes of reading time and then come together to discuss our books. Don’t have a book in mind? Here are some recommended reads: Monkey King and the World of Myths: The Monster and the Maze by Maple Lam All available formats A long-forgotten evil has reemerged, determined to transform everyone–humans, beasts, and gods alike–into monsters. And there's only one being who can stop it, or at least that's what he
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May 20, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Book Discussion, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: book bunch, book discussion, Book discussion for kids, book discussion for middle grade students, Chapter Chats, Graphic Novel Book Club, and The Trove.

Creepy Chronicles: May 2024

Creepy Chronicles: May 2024

For the kids looking for more dark and twisted tales, Erika is here to bring you a middle grade scare! The Clackity by Lora Senf All available formats here Ghosts are real in Blight Harbor, the 7th most haunted town in America and where Evie resides with her beloved paranormal expert Aunt Desdemona. Most of Blight Harbor is inhabited by harmless, albeit lonely ghosts, except for the abandoned slaughterhouse possibly inhabited by the spirit of the infamous serial killer. After Des disappears in front of Evie, she makes a deal to venture into the otherworld to find and save her
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May 16, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for kids, Creepy Chronicles, middle grade, middle grade fiction, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Summer Reading Graphic Novel Picks

Summer Reading Graphic Novel Picks

We are excited to share many new graphic novels gracing our shelves this summer. Here at some of new available titles: Call Me Iggy by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado(ILT) Library Catalog Ignacio “Iggy” Garcia is an Ohio-born Colombian American teen living his best life. After bumping into Marisol (and her coffee) at school, Iggy's world is spun around. But Marisol has too much going on to be bothered with the likes of Iggy. She has school, work, family, and the uphill battle of getting her legal papers. As Iggy stresses over how to get Marisol to like him, his
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May 15, 2024 1:44 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: books for teens, graphic novels, manga, staff picks, staff recommendations, summer reading, YA Graphic Novel Pick of the Month, and YA Graphic Novels.

May Middle Grade Pick of the Month

May Middle Grade Pick of the Month

Middle grade is a term that refers to books written for readers between the ages of eight and twelve. In this column, Erica will recommend great books for children in this age group! Wishing Upon the Same Stars by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman All available formats here When Yasmeen Khoury moves to Texas, she feels isolated in a way she never did in Detroit – at least until she begins to make friends, including with Ayelet Cohen, an Israeli-American girl in her grade. But as she and Ayelet learn more about the destruction each others’ countries have wreaked on their families,
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May 14, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: middle grade, middle grade fiction, Middle Grade Pick of the Month, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Book ‘Em 2023-2024

Book ‘Em 2023-2024

Join us for the return of Book ‘Em, our popular crime fiction book group. We will continue to meet on Zoom; check our online calendar for the link. Book ‘Em meets from 2:30-3:30 p.m. To request or check out a title, click on your preferred format. We hope to have more copies and formats available in the future. Some titles have yet to be published so we will add catalog links as they become available. Click here for a printable PDF of dates & titles. Book ‘Em 2023/2024 Schedule June 26, 2024 Alice Slater: Death of a Bookseller Available Formats
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May 12, 2024 10:00 am | by | 3 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Book Discussion, Director's Corner, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: Book 'Em, book discussion, book group, mystery, mystery book discussion, mystery book group, and mystery books.

Good Trouble: Music and Protest

Good Trouble: Music and Protest

This installment of Good Trouble continues a look at the strong connections between music and activism. Part 1 can be found here. Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song by Gary Golio, art by Charlotte Riley-Webb Library Catalog Discover some of Billie Holiday’s music Billie Holiday was no stranger to racism and prejudice, and when she was given Abel Meeropol’s song “Strange Fruit” – a song about lynchings and violence in the South – she embued it with her own pain. She did not know how the song would be received. She knew, as her mother
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May 12, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, civil rights, Good Trouble, Jean Ritchie, John Lewis, music and protest, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Short Story Discussion Series: Spring 2024

Short Story Discussion Series: Spring 2024

Join Librarian Barbara Wenglin to explore compelling selections from the rich anthology, New York Stories, ed. by Diana Tesdell, (Everyman’s Pocket Classics, 2011). These vibrant and varied works by acclaimed authors provide a colorful vision of “the city that never sleeps.” A copy of the book is on hold at the Hub/Reference Desk for reading in the Library with circulating copies available to borrow through the catalog. Zoom Register Here for full series and attend when you can. Newcomers welcome! Thursdays from 2:00 – 4:15 p.m. June 6 “The Thistles in Sweden” by William Maxwell (p.213) June 20 – Film
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May 11, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Book Discussion, Events, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: Barbara Wenglin, book groups in Westchester, book groups in White Plains, Short stories, short story book discussion series, and short story discussion groups.

Future is Female Book Discussion

Future is Female Book Discussion

Be a part of the Future is Female book group led by Ellen O’Connell, White Plains resident and retired teacher. We will continue to meet on Zoom on Monday afternoons from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Check our online calendar for the Zoom link. June 3 Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano All available formats Past events: September 11 A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende All available formats October 2 Stars in an Italian Sky by Jill Santopolo All available formats November 6 Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer All available formats December 4 Wintering by Katherine May All
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May 10, 2024 2:10 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Book Discussion, Events, and Library News.
Tags: book group, book groups, book groups in Westchester, book groups in White Plains, books discussions, and Future is Female.

Beautiful Bilingual Books, Part 20

Beautiful Bilingual Books, Part 20

BEAUTIFUL BILINGUAL BOOKS, Part 20 LINDOS LIBROS BILINGÜES, Parte 20 The Library has a lovely collection of bilingual Spanish/English books. To celebrate reading in two languages, we are featuring our beautiful new books in a monthly blog – so enjoy practicing your Spanish and English skills with these picture books. La Biblioteca tiene una colección hermosa de libros bilingües en inglés/español. Para celebrar leyendo en dos idiomas, le presentamos nuestros lindos libros aquí. Así que disfrute practicando sus destrezas en ambos idiomas con estos libros ilustrados. Mamá Goose: A Latine Nursery Treasury = Un tesoro de rimas infantiles, by Alma
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May 8, 2024 10:31 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Bilingual, Bilingual books, books for children, picture books, spanish books, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Trove Battle of the Books 2024

Trove Battle of the Books 2024

The Trove is excited to announce we will be forming a team this year for Battle of the Books! Kids entering grades 4-7 in the 2024-25 school year that have a passion for reading and trivia are invited to join our team! If you are interested or have any questions, please email Erika at epeiffer@whiteplainslibrary.org. For more information about the tournament itself, check out the Westchester Library System’s Battle of the Books page. The 2024 Battle of the Books Titles: Ophie’s Ghost by Justina Ireland All available formats Ophelia Harrison used to live in a small house in the Georgia countryside.
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May 1, 2024 9:35 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: battle of the books and Battle of the Books 2024.

Cowboy Carter & Black Country Artists

Cowboy Carter & Black Country Artists

Have you been listening to Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter on repeat since it dropped? Are you interested in learning more about the history of Black Country music and those that inspired Beyoncé to make this album – and in some cases are even featured on it? Then check out our staff-curated list of books, music, and film on the musicians that inspired Cowboy Carter. BOOKS:  ADULT My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future by Alice Randall Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions by Francesca Royster Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American
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April 23, 2024 2:25 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: Beyonce, Black Country music, Cowboy Carter, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

May is…

May is…

May Moments Each month a variety of observances and celebrations take place, from well-known holidays to much lesser known fun (and downright funny or strange!) observances. Celebrated in May ____ is… May The Fourth Be With You! Star Wars Day is May 4th Vader’s Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown All available formats Sith Lord and leader of the Galactic Empire–now faces the trials, joys, and mood swings of raising his daughter Leia as she grows from a sweet little girl into a rebellious teenager. Smart and funny illustrations by artist Jeffrey Brown give classic Star Wars moments a twist by
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April 23, 2024 1:19 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for children, books for kids, children's books, may 2024, May festivities, and Observances and Celebrations.

May Trove Book Club

May Trove Book Club

May Chapter Chats May 13th  @ 5:00PM For kids in Grades 3-6 looking for a quiet area and time dedicated to reading, join us for our sit-in read and chat book club! We will have 20 minutes of reading time and then come together to discuss our books. Don’t have a book in mind? Here are some recommended reads: Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston by Esme Symes-Smith All available formats In a world where girls have magic and boys become knights, nonbinary Callie has always been determined that their gender will not be able to stop them from
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April 22, 2024 1:55 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Book Discussion, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: book bunch, book discussion, Book discussion for kids, book discussion for middle grade students, Graphic Novel Book Club, and The Trove.

New Books in the Edge: April 2024

New Books in the Edge: April 2024

One of the best parts of my job is ordering new books for the Edge–reading the reviews, seeing what popular authors come up with next, or finding out about an upcoming sequel to an old favorite. Read on to find out about some of the new YA fiction titles coming to our shelves this month. Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal by Gretchen Schreiber Grades 7 and up Library Catalog “A teen with a rare illness struggles to bridge her hospital and school relationships. Ellie Haycock insists that her high school friends—especially her boyfriend, Jack—never know how thoroughly VACTERLs affects her
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April 22, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: new books, new in the Edge, staff picks, staff recommendations, YA Fiction, and YA literature.

April Middle Grade Pick of the Month

April Middle Grade Pick of the Month

Middle grade is a term that refers to books written for readers between the ages of eight and twelve. In this column, Erica will recommend great books for children in this age group! Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow All available formats here Simon is probably the only tween in existence to be actually sort of excited to be moving into a town where technology and Internet access is limited – but then again, he and his family are hoping for a fresh start. Simon relaxes into making friends out of the shadows of his past and figuring out
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April 21, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: middle grade, middle grade fiction, Middle Grade Pick of the Month, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Good Trouble: Environmental Activism

Good Trouble: Environmental Activism

Earth Day takes place annually on April 22.  We’ve created many Earth Day related blog posts, reading lists and activities over the past several years and I urge you to look through them for some great ideas and great reads. Below find some reads related to the formation of Earth Day and climate and environmental activism.   The Day the River Caught Fire: How the Cuyahoga River Exploded and Ignited the Earth Day Movement by Barry Wittenstein, art by Jessie Hartland Library Catalog A shockingly true story about how on a day in the summer of 1969 the Cuyahoga River
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April 12, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, climate activism, environmental activism, environmentalism, Good Trouble, greta thunberg, John Lewis, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

May the 4th Be with You

May the 4th Be with You

Stop by the Trove on Saturday, May 4 and pick up some great Star Wars reads!  In addition, while supplies last, grab a fun Star Wars sticker! Be sure to check out some of the great Star Wars content we’ve posted over the years, including activities, reading lists and much more:  https://whiteplainslibrary.org/tag/star-wars/
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April 11, 2024 2:05 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: May the 4th and Star Wars.

How to Fight Censorship & Book Bans

How to Fight Censorship & Book Bans

On Monday, April 24, 2023 the first national Right to Read Day was held. Organized by the American Library Association (ALA), and kicking off National Library Week, Right to Read Day was established as a call to action in response to the past few years of attacks on access to, and even the existence of, certain books – overwhelmingly those with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ characters, themes, and information (check out the top 13 challenged books of 2022 to see what I mean). While ALA’s Unite Against Book Bans, and other organizations, highlighted going to the library and checking out banned
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April 11, 2024 9:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, and Library News.
Tags: #WPFreedomtoRead, activism, banned books, book banning, book bans, censorship, community activism, fight for the first, first amendment, and freedom to read.