Kids are heading back to school, and before you know it, the required reading list gets sent home, leaving little to no time for kids or adults to make it out to the library to pick out a decent book.
M. Allan Vogelson Library Youth Services Director Emily Moore said the Youth Services Department staff recommends the following books for children, young adults and teens to check out and take a break from required reading.
For picture books, the staff recommends:
• “The Day the Crayons Quit,” by Drew Daywalt. A story about how Duncan’s pack of crayons is fed up with how he uses them, so they quit and write letters airing their grievances.
• “Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great,” by Bob Shea, tells the story of Goat who is sick of Unicorn showing him up by flying, turning stuff into gold, and making it rain cupcakes.
• “Steam Train, Dream Train,” by Sherri Duskey Rinker. This picture book tells the story of animals taking turns loading cargo into a train traveling through dreamland.
• “Sophie’s Squash,” by Pat Zietlow Miller. Sophie decides to save the squash her parents bought at the farmers market from becoming dinner and names it Bernice.
• “Leaf Man,” by Lois Ehlert. The autumn classic about a man of leaves who travels by wind.
For children who have stretched beyond reading picture books and onto chapter books, youth services staff recommends:
• “How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli and Snake Hill,” by James Patterson. A story about summer camp, friendship and how to survive being an underdog. Another hilarious addition to Paterson’s Middle School series.
• “Fyre,” by Angie Sage. This suspenseful conclusion to the best-selling series Septimus Heap, finds three children in a magical world in efforts to defeat the Dark Domaine.
• “The Great Cake Mystery,” by Alexander Mcall Smith. Young readers are introduced to Precious Ramotswe, a young sleuth in Botswana, in this prequel to the adult series “The №1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.”
• “Stranded,” by Jeff Probst. A fast-paced adventure story about a massive storm that strands four young people on a deserted island.
For teens who want to get away from required reading such as Shakespeare or F. Scott Fitzgerald, youth services staff recommends the following:
• “The Boy on the Bridge,” by Natalie Standiford. Set in 1982, Laura is spending a semester in Leningrad studying Russian when she meets the dangerous and addictive Alyosha.
• “Golden,” by Jessi Kirby. Valedictorian Parker is about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules — and she’s feeling like she might just take a chance.
• “5th Wave,” by Rick Yancey. Aliens have invaded and Cassie has managed to survive. She is determined to rescue her younger brother who has been captured by Them, and the only help she has is from a boy who she isn’t quite sure is human.
• “Adventure Time,” (series) by Ryan North. The loveable Finn and Jake, from Cartoon Network’s show with the same name, are as silly as ever in comic book form.
• “The Testing,” by Joelle Charbonneau. Cia’s dystopian society has selected her to participate in The Testing.
It’s all she ever wanted, but Cia comes to realize she may not have anyone to trust — and she may not survive.
Rosemary Scalese, head of adult services, said adult services librarians complied a book list for adults for fall reading:
• “Comfort of Lies,” by Randy Susan Meyers. This general fiction novel tells the story of Tia who falls into obsessive love with a man she could never have. Married, and the father of two boys, Nathan was unavailable in every way. When she became pregnant, he disappeared, and she gave up her baby for adoption.
• “The Cooked Seed,” by Anchee Min. In 1994, Anchee Min made her literary debut with a memoir of growing up in China during the violent trauma of the Cultural Revolution.
• “Going, Going, Ganache,” by Jenn McKinlay. McKinlay’s latest entry in the cozy mystery of the “Cupcake Bakery” series finds main characters Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura holding a corporate boot camp for the magazine “Southwest Style” at their bakery, Fairy Tale Cupcakes.
When one of the magazine’s writers is found dead, it’s of course up to Melanie and Angie to help find the killer before the bad press ruins their business.
• “How the light gets in,” by Louise Penny.
This is the latest in a series featuring Montreal police Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, who is investigating the murder of locally famous woman. At the same time, he is also trying to uncover a conspiracy within his own organization.
• “The Keeper of the Secrets,” by Julie Thomas. Beautiful and mysterious, this family sage follows a priceless violin across generations — from WWII to Stalinist Russia to the gilded international concert halls of today — and reveals the loss, love, and secrets of the families who owned it.
• “The Sandman,” by Neil Gaiman. Comic/graphic novel series following the “Lord of Dreams” as he interacts with Egyptian gods, classic DC characters, the personifications of Destiny, Death, Desire, and others.
• “The Storyteller,” a fiction novel by Jodi Piccoult. Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death.
When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship.
Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can’t, and they become companions.
The library offers books in both paper and eBook format. For more information, visit www.camdencountylibrary.org or call 772–1636.
M. Allan Vogelson Library, located at 203 Laurel Road, is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The M. Allan Vogelson Library is closed on Sundays for now, opening again on Sept. 2.
