Archives for Authors & Books

New Books in the Edge: June 2024

New Books in the Edge: June 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. Trajectory by Cambria Gordon Grades 7 and up Library Catalog  “Seventeen-year-old Eleanor is recruited for her math prowess to support U.S. efforts during World War II. It’s 1942, and Eleanor, who’s Jewish, lives with her family in Jenkintown, just outside Philadelphia. The Schiffs anxiously await
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June 18, 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.

Celebrate Disability Pride Month in July!

Celebrate Disability Pride Month in July!

Graphic Novel Discussion: Marshmallow & Jordan by Alina Chau Monday, July 22, 2024 at 5:30 pm For: 3rd to 6th Graders Location: Galaxy Hall  To celebrate Disability Pride Month, we will be discussing the graphic novel, Marshmallow & Jordan by Alina Chau, and playing Book BINGO. Refreshments will be served at this celebration! We will be giving out copies of the graphic novel to the first 8 registrants. Please include your name, phone number and email when you register for this program. Pick up your free graphic novel to keep, and read beforehand to be prepared for the conversation and
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June 18, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: book clubs for kids, book discussion, Disability Pride Month, Graphic Novel Book Club, Graphic Novels for kids, and Observances and Celebrations.

New Books in the Trove: June 2024

New Books in the Trove: June 2024

We have new books coming in all the time with them on display right as you enter the Trove. Here’s some of our recent favorite new titles! For Wee Ones Flora and Friends ABC by Molly Idle (Birth to 3 years-old) Library Catalog “Molly Idle has GOT to stop being as good at her job as she is. Seriously, this is beginning to become a problem. To the best of my knowledge, there are only three Caldecott Honorees that regularly pour their hearts and souls into their original board book creations. One you’ve already seen in Juana Martinez-Neal and her
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June 18, 2024 9:49 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for children, children's book, new books, new books in the trove, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

July Is…

July Is…

During the year, each month celebrates a variety of observances and celebrations that can include celebrations of food, animals, and historical events. Observations in July include well known days such as Fourth of July to lesser known, funny (and downright strange) events celebrating things such as taking your plant for a walk, scarecrows, and sticking out your tongue. I have highlighted a few holidays that are fun, a few that are educational, and some that are cultural and historical. July 2nd: World UFO Day Mama the Alien/Mamá la extraterrestre by Rene Colato Lainez When Mama’s purse falls on the floor
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June 17, 2024 1:20 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for children, books for kids, children's books, July 2024, July festivities, and Observances and Celebrations.

June Middle Grade Pick of the Month

June 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! Eli Over Easy by Phil Stamper All available formats here After a move to New York City and the sudden death of his mother, Eli has been left reeling. His father has become anxious and overprotective, but refuses to talk about his – or Eli’s – grief, instead working long hours. But then he discovers that his mom left behind recipe videos, and the cute boy next
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June 17, 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: LGBTQ Icons

Good Trouble: LGBTQ Icons

This installment of Good Trouble features a few books about the activists and icons of the fight for LGBTQ rights. The first six titles in this month’s Good Trouble are collections of short biographies of LGBTQ activists and icons.  While there is some overlap, these six books do a wonderful job of introducing a wide variety of more and less well-known, historical and contemporary, individuals – such as Ian McKellan, Krsiten Stewart, Freddy McConnell, Laverne Cox, Bayard Rustin, Jonathan Van Ness, Jazz Jennings, Francisco Manicongo, We’Wha, Alla Nazimova, George Michael, Leonard Bernstein, James Baldwin, Virginia Woolf, Alvin Ailey, Larry Kramer,
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June 12, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: activism, Alla Nazimova, Alvin Ailey, Bayard Rustin, Francisco Manicongo, Freddy McConnell, George Michael, Good Trouble, James Baldwin, Jazz Jennings, John Lewis, Jonathan Van Ness, Krsiten Stewart, Larry Kramer, Laverne Cox, Leonard Bernstein, LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ Pride, LGBTQIA+, McKellan, Pride Month, staff picks, staff recommendations, Virginia Woolf, and We’Wha.

Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month!

Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month!

Graphic Novel Discussion: Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne Monday, June 17th at 5:30 p.m. For 3rd to 6th Graders Location: Galaxy Hall To celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, we will be discussing the graphic novel, Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne, and playing Book BINGO. Refreshments will be served at this celebration! We will be giving out copies of the graphic novel to the first 8 registrants. Please include your name, phone number and email when you register for this program. Pick up your free graphic novel to keep, and read beforehand to be prepared for the conversation and
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June 5, 2024 3:30 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, June 2024, June festivities, LGBTQ+ Pride, LGBTQIA+, and Observances and Celebrations.

Gayathri Waring LGBTQIA+ Pride Month Storytime

Gayathri Waring LGBTQIA+ Pride Month Storytime

Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month In June! Author Visit & Family Storytime Off to Nana and Grandma’s Home written by Gayathri R. Waring & illustrated by Hallie Guidry Saturday, June 22nd at 11:00 a.m. For Families Location: Galaxy Hall Come join us to celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month! Enjoy a Special Author Storytime with Gayathri R. Waring who will be reading her book, Off to Nana and Grandma's Home. The storytime will also include a fun craft activity! In the book Off to Nana and Grandma’s Home, explore the heartwarming relationship between a child and his two lesbian grandparents. Each expresses her
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June 5, 2024 3:25 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: author storytime, author visits, children's literature, Gayathri R. Waring, LGBTQ+ Pride, LGBTQIA+, Pride Month, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

June is…Joyful June!

June is…Joyful June!

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 June ____ is… June 7th:  National Donut Day! The Case of the Missing Doughnut by Alison McGhee All available formats The sheriff and his deputy dog have been charged with a mission: to bring a dozen donuts home safely. All seems to be going well until the young sheriff peeks inside the box to check on the tasty treats. They're practically calling his name, and in the blink of an eye (and with just
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May 26, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for children, books for kids, children's books, June 2024, June festivities, and Observances and Celebrations.

New Books in the Trove: May 2024

New Books in the Trove: May 2024

We have new books coming in all the time with them on display right as you enter the Trove.  Here’s some of our recent favorite new titles! For Wee Ones DJ Baby by DJ Burton & Andy J. Pizza (Birth to 3 years-old) Library Catalog “While some may say that babies do not need to learn how to do a record scratch, I for one disagree heartily! These are important skills and, happily, we finally have an interactive board book to go along with this need. Now if I were handing out awards for the most creatively constructed board books
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May 24, 2024 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: books for children, children's book, new books, new books in the trove, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

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, Spooktober, 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, 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.