Library Browser: Children's Books

"Mama may have, Papa may have, But God bless the child That's got his own! That's got his own." The song "God Bless the Child" was first performed by legendary jazz vocalist Billie Holiday in 1939 and remains one of her enduring masterpieces. In this picture book interpretation, renowned illustrator Jerry Pinkney has created images of a family moving from the rural South to the urban North during the Great Migration that reached its peak in the 1930s. The song's message of self-reliance still speaks to us today but resonates even stronger in its historical context. This extraordinary book stands as a tribute to all those who dared so much to get their own.

A brown-skinned daughter and her white father experiment to see what it would be like to have the others skin color.

Describes the life of pre-Civil War children from 5 social groups, including Native Americans, slaves, and farmers.

Part memoir, part speculative fiction, this novelexplores the often surreal experience of growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee. Dream Country author Shannon Gibney returns with a new book woven from her true story of growing up as the adopted Black daughter of white parents and the fictional story of Erin Powers, the name Shannon was given at birth by the white woman who gave her up for adoption. At its core, the novel is a tale of two girls on two different timelines occasionally bridged by a mysterious portal and their shared search for a complete picture of their origins. Gibney surrounds that story with reproductions of her own adoption documents, letters, family photographs, interviews, medical records, and brief essays on the surreal absurdities of the adoptee experience. The end result is a remarkable portrait of an American experience rarely depicted in any form.

Dumplin' meets Geekerella in debut author Jenna Miller's queer, body-positive love story that explores online and offline relationships in all of their messiness. If you asked seventeen-year-old Cass Williams to describe herself, she'd happily tell you she's fat, a lesbian, and obsessed with the Tide Wars books. What she won't tell you--or anyone in her life--is that she's part of an online Tide Wars roleplay community. Sure, it's nerdy as hell, but when she's behind the screen writing scenes as Captain Aresha, she doesn't have to think about her mother who walked out or how unexpectedly stressful it is dating resident cool girl Taylor Cooper. But secretly retreating to her online life is starting to catch up with Cass. For one, no one in her real life knows her secret roleplay addiction is the reason her grades have taken a big hit. Also Cass has started catching feelings for Rowan Davies, her internet bestie . . . and Taylor might be catching on. As Cass's lies continue to build, so does her anxiety. Roleplaying used to be the one place she could escape to, but this double life and offline-online love triangle have only made things worse. Cass must decide what to do--be honest and risk losing her safe space or keep it a secret and put everything else on the line. 

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians is the first action-packed fantasy adventure in the Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series for young readers by the #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson. These fast-paced and funny novels are now available in deluxe hardcover editions illustrated by Hayley Lazo. On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry gets a bag of sand in the mail-his only inheritance from his father and mother. He soon learns that this is no ordinary bag of sand. It is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians who are taking over the world by spreading misinformation and suppressing truth. Alcatraz must stop them, using the only weapon he has: an incredible talent for breaking things. "In this original, hysterical homage to fantasy literature, Sanderson's first novel for youth recalls the best in Artemis Fowl and A Series of Unfortunate Events." -VOYA