staff picks - Page 2 of 4

Alfonso Jones is shot and killed by an off-duty cop while shopping in a store for his first suit. He’s 15 years old. Thus begins his journey as a ghost through the NYC subway system, interacting with other spirits who were also murdered through gun violence. In Tony Medina’s I am Alfonso Jones, these stories… Read More

True story: In 1910, the United States was suffering from a meat shortage. In addition, an invasive plant, the water hyacinth, was choking U.S. waterways and hindering transportation. A bold idea was presented to Congress to import hippos from Africa and raise them in the bayous of Louisiana. The Hippos would eat the water hyacinths… Read More

Unless you’re studying for the National Spelling Bee, you wouldn’t want to read the dictionary cover to cover. But books about the dictionary can be pretty compelling. Don’t believe me? Check out “Word by Word” by Kory Stamper. Written by an editor at Merriam-Webster, “Word by Word” takes us through the strange, complicated, and occasionally… Read More

It is hard for me to accurately describe how much I adore space. Everything about it, from the vastness to the composition of stars, has always fascinated me. That has mainly manifested itself in a love for all things science fiction, but luckily for me and everyone else who loves space, Neil deGrasse Tyson has… Read More

Children’s author and artist Jason Chin is best known for his innovative spins on nonfiction topics, and his newest project, “Grand Canyon”, does not disappoint. This engaging picture book highlights one of America’s most beloved landforms. The text begins with the basics: “Rivers carve canyons. When they cut down into the earth, canyons grow deeper.… Read More

Lin-Manuel Miranda read "Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow on a beach in Puerto Rico and was inspired to create the musical, "Hamilton". The story of Alexander Hamilton is an amazing one. He was born poor in the Caribbean, immigrated to New York City just before the Revolution broke out, and ended up becoming Washington’s senior… Read More

When I am helping patrons pick out a new book to read, I am often asked for something “light.” This can be tough, because one person’s “light” is not necessarily another’s. But I get it. Our lives are busy, complicated, and sometimes stressful. Sometimes we need to escape into a good book where nothing really… Read More

The animal kingdom contains many fascinating stories, and one of the best appears in William Stolzenburg’s “Heart of a Lion”. Stolzenburg follows the odyssey of a male mountain lion (aka cougar, puma, or panther) who walked halfway across the continent before being killed by an SUV in Connecticut in 2011. This is a sad story,… Read More

Exactly how much can your physical demeanor influence your choices and the path you travel, from the moment you are born onward? Robert Hoge explores this question in his autobiography “Ugly,” which covers his life from birth to 17 years old. Hoge was born with twisted legs and a tumor in the middle of his… Read More

One of my favorite historical periods to learn about and experience vicariously through historical novels is the Danish invasion of England during the late 800s and early 900s AD. There’s something about the Danes and the Vikings that calls to me, and Bernard Cornwell’s “The Last Kingdom”, the first in his “Saxon Stories” series, is… Read More