Staff Picks

The links below the groupings direct you to various blog posts featuring the listed titles. Happy Reading! -Jenna Dauer, Smithton Public Library District Library Director

Tween (5^th grade and up) interests: 

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin – 2009

Inspired picture books:

Thumpy Feet, by Betsy Lewin – 2013

This is Not My Hat, by Jon Klassen – 2012

The Tortoise & the Hare, by Jerry Pinkney – 2013

What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?, by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page – 2003

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Mysteries you’ll WANT to see more than once:

Tenet

Parasite

Unique superpowered movies:

Sleight

Modern zombie/infection movies:

Carriers

Overlord

World War Z

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Books accompanied by Cinda’s highest recommendations:

The Rook, Daniel O’Malley – 2012

Best enjoyed in paper/text form:

Mangaman (or Manga Man in some records), by Barry Lyga – 2011

Exotic Places:

Nocturne Infernum – or – Nocturne, by Elizabeth Donald – 2006

Mysteries you’ll WANT to see more than once:

Knives Out

Books questioning identity:

Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch – 2016

Horns, by Joe Hill – 2010

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Teen Interests:

Almost Perfect, by Brian Katcher – 2009

Does My Head Look Big in This?, by Randa Abdel-Fattah – 2005

Tween (5^th grade and up) interests:

Rain Reign, by Ann M. Martin – 2014

P.S. Be Eleven, by Rita Williams-Garcia – 2013 – or – One Crazy Summer

Banned, Burned, and Challenged stories I happen to love:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (best as a digital book, 2012)by Sherman Alexie – 2007

May in September – Asian-American reads:

We Are Not Free, by Traci Chee – 2020

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Not your kid’s Graphic Novels:

Locke & Key, Vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft – by Joe Hill, 2009

Chew: the Omnivore Edition, Vol 1, by John Layman – 2012

Marvel 1602, by Neil Gaiman – 2005

Identity Crisis, by Brad Meltzer – 2005

Watchmen, by Alan Moore – 1987

Teen interests:

Ms. Marvel: No Normal (Vol 1), by G. Willow Wilson – 2014

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Children’s Lighter Graphic Novels: (Ages 8-13, grades 4-9)

Binky the Space Cat, by Ashley Spires – 2009

Maya Makes a Mess, by Rutu Modan – 2012

The Bad Guys (#1), by Aaron Blabey – 2015

Story-heavy graphic novels for kids: (Ages 8-13, grades 4-9, but more advanced in ability)

Urban Legendz, by Paul Downs – 2019

Stargazing, by Jen Wang – 2019

The Great Chicago Fire: Rising from the Ashes, by Kate Hannigan and Alex Graudins – 2020

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Shakespeare, Period:

Tempest (2010) starring Helen Mirren, Djimon Hounsou, Felicity Jones

Ophelia (2019) starring Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen

Banned, Burned, and Challenged stories I happen to love:

The Hate U Give (listing the movie only because I have yet to read the source material, 2018) by Angie Thomas – 2017

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Books accompanied by Cinda’s highest recommendations:

Wild Cards (1), by G R R Martin and the Wild Cards Trust (various authors) – 1987

An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors, Curtis Craddock – 2017

Soulless, by Gail Carriger – 2009

Books questioning identity:

Dhampir, by Barb and J C Hendee – 2003

Trouble comes in genders:

Undead and Unwed, by MaryJanice Davidson (2004)

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Unique superpowered movies:

Fast Color – 2019, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw

The Darkest Minds – 2018, starring Amandla Stenberg

Birds of Prey – 2020, starring Margot Robbie

Code 8 – 2019, starring Robbie Amell

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Exotic Places:

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, by Balli Kaur Jaswai – 2017

Much Ado About You, by Samantha Young – 2021

Trouble comes in genders:

Ten Rules for Faking It, by Sophia Sullivan (2020)

May in September – Asian-American reads:

A Phở Love Story, by Loan Le – 2021

A Taste for Love, by Jennifer Yen – 2021

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Trouble comes in genders:

This Close to Okay, by Leesa Cross-Smith (2021)

Good Girl, Bad Girl, by Michael Robotham (2019)

The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave (2021)

Audiobooks from this summer:

To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers – 2019

A Hundred Thousand Worlds, by Bob Proehl – 2016

Banned, Burned, and Challenged stories I happen to love:

Speak (I have only read the book, not the 2018 graphic novel nor watched the 2004 movie.)by Laurie Halse Anderson – 1999

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Enlightening nonfiction:

The Talk: Conversations about race, love & truth, by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson – 2020

Childfree by Choice: The Movement Redefining Family and Creating a New Age of Independence, by Dr. Amy Blackstone – 2019

The Book Collectors: A band of Syrian rebels and the stories that carried them through a war, by Delphine Minoui – 2020

Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson – 2017

Popular: A Memoir – Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek, by Maya Van Wagenen – 2014

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Enigmatic Voices:

Dolly Parton – Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, 2020

Michelle Obama – Becoming, 2018

Julie Andrews – Home Work, 2019

Alan Alda – If I Understood You, Would I have This Look on my Face?

Eddie Izzard – Believe Me: a memoir of love, death, and jazz chickens

Books accompanied by Cinda’s highest recommendations:

Gone, by Michael Grant – 2008

Books questioning identity:

Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell – 2015

Teen interests:

I’ll Give You the Sun, by Jandy Nelson – 2014

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