Veronica Chambers writes in her New York Times article, How Negro History Week Became Black History Month and Why It Matters Now, ”Why does Black History Month in particular, and the study of Black history overall, still matter so much? ‘There’s no question that history is and continues to be a battleground. The origin stories that we tell matter a great deal for where we set the bar and how we set the bar going forward,’ noted Professor Jones, of Johns Hopkins. ‘So when you talk about people like Carter G. Woodson, these are men who knew that if you
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Archives for staff recommendations
Parenting Collection: Friendship
Given that February is commonly referred to as the month of love, it seems like a good time as parents to talk to our children about friendship, sharing, and empathy. In that vein, here are some great books from our Parenting collection that focus on these topics. A Little SPOT of Giving: A Story About Sharing and Generosity by Diane Alber Find me on the Library Catalog! Other books in this series can be found here. This book is part of a series called Inspire To Create A Better You! They are all great books to use with your children.
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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. I’ve mentioned my enjoyment of the works of Dan Santat on several previous occasions. So here are four more works either illustrated by or written and illustrated by Dan Santat. These books were all huge hits with my six-year-old daughter, especially Little Fox and the Wild Imagination (which became a great read together as she read Little Fox’s parts
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Essential Cookbooks
Librarians love to create lists, and at the end of each year we publish lists ranging from the best picture books for children to the best audiobooks. But one of my favorites is Essential Cookbooks, a selection of cookbooks for public libraries. This wonderful list highlights titles for both avid home chefs and those just learning the rewards of making a meal. The list also supports those who appreciate the many joys of reading cookbooks, even if they rarely venture into the kitchen! These books are sure to become reliable favorites and nourish readers, today and for years to come.
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Announcing the Winter 2021 Project LIT Titles
Since becoming a Project LIT chapter, we’ve enjoyed reading and discussing Project LIT books with kids and teens. Last month, we were thrilled to see the announcements of new titles in the Winter 2021 Project LIT book list. We’re excited to share the list with you, and to highlight a couple titles that are of particular interest to our librarians. You can find the full Project LIT book lists for Middle Grade and Young Adult on the Reading Lists page of our website. Middle Grade: Ashley’s Picks Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim Libby Library Catalog This book has
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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 looking for dragon books for the October 14, 2021 Peculiar Picks, I discovered there are so many awesome dragon books, so, there will be more draconic Peculiar Picks, including this one, to come, some around certain recurring themes. This month, we look at dragons and their eating habits. What do you think dragons like to eat? The Yin
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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. As 2021 wraps up, I thought I’d focus on some of my favorite peculiar picture books of the year that haven’t been featured in other Peculiar Picks posts. The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld Library Catalog / eBook Selected as a New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Book of the Year, I
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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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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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staff favorites, staff picks, and staff recommendations.
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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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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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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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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#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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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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Dive into Diversity: National Diabetes Awareness Month
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “Diagnosed cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are surging among youth in the United States. From 2001 to 2017, the number of people under age 20 living with type 1 diabetes increased by 45%, and the number living with type 2 diabetes grew by 95%.” According to the article, “New Research Uncovers Concerning Increases in Youth Living with Diabetes in the U.S.,” “The greatest increases in type 2 diabetes prevalence were seen in youth who are Black or Hispanic, and the
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October 2021 LibraryReads
Here are the books published this month that librarians across the country love. All The Feels by Olivia Dade Library Catalog: Print “Alex is an actor on a Game of Thrones-type TV show entering its final season. Lauren’s job is to keep him out of trouble. Their relationship develops over forced proximity, a road trip, and tons of fanfic tropes (only one bed!). This steamy romance, with flawed, genuine characters and sensitive treatment of mental health and body issues, is a delight from start to finish. For fans of Spoiler Alert, Girl Gone Viral, and One To Watch.” —Lauren Mitchell,
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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. My last Peculiar Picks featured two girls who befriended dragons, but that was just scratching the surface of the many wonderful picture books with dragons. In this Peculiar Picks, find some fantastic draconic reads, that all share a similar quality: absolutely amazing artwork. If you like dragons, perhaps you’d like to check out some other Monster-rific Reads – there’s
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Great Podcasts for Kids 5
Here are some more Great Podcasts for Kids on a variety of topics and themes selected by Josh Carlson, Manager of Youth Services. All of these should be available on any service you use to listen to podcasts, such as Apple Podcasts, Apple Music, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, etc. Be sure to also check out earlier entries in the series and if you have some great podcast recommendations of your own, leave them in the comments below! Podcast Potpourri Greeking Out From National Geographic Kids, Greeking Out is all about Greek mythology, told in a very funny, kid-friendly, style. My
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SF/Fantasy and Horror on Audio
This content is taken from the October issue of Booklist Reader. You can find the full issue here. Magic, mayhem, and menace are some of the building blocks of these enchanting sf, fantasy, and horror novels for adults. Masterful narrations, both from individual narrators and cohesive full casts, are another. Read more about each of these superb audiobooks below. For more spooky reads, see our “Witch, Please!” and “Horror Stories” collections on OverDrive. Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre. By Max Brooks. Read by a full cast. 2020. 10hr. Books on Tape. OverDrive & Libby: Audiobook A
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