
Children's Summer Reading Challenge Starts June 21st
Summer is the perfect time to read a good book with our summer reading challenge. We welcome all SHPL patrons (ages 2 years to entering grade 6) to read any eight books chosen from the Children's Library. Everyone will earn prizes and those who complete the club will receive a free paperback book. P...

Look to the Stars for National Astronaut Day
National Astronaut Day happens on May 5th every year, but you can celebrate all month long! We have plenty of fiction and nonfiction books for future astronauts, or those who are simply interested in life beyond our planet. Check out the highlighted books listed below, or pop into the children’s dep...

Celebrate National Crayon Day!
Break out your crayon box and indulge in some coloring fun to celebrate National Crayon Day, which takes place on March 31st! This day is meant to recognize the creativity and comfort of this special form of art. Through the booklist below, we’d like to take this opportunity to share some fict...
Recommended Books
-
I Am the Subway
Accompanied by the constant, rumbling ba-dum ba-dum of its passage through the city, the subway has stories to tell. Between sunrise and sunset, it welcomes and farewells people, and holds them--along with their joys, hopes, fears, and memories--in its embrace.
Originally published in Korean and brought to English-speaking audiences with the help of renowned translator Deborah Smith (The Vegetarian), I Am the Subway vividly reflects the shared humanity that can be found in crowded metropolitan cities.
-
The Hen Who Sailed Around the World
Meet Monique! In this true story, French sailor Guirec Soudée shares his adventures both unbelievable and heartwarming, sailing around the world with his brave, affectionate red hen, Monique.
Monique is a highly accomplished chicken: she surfs, she skateboards, and she just crossed the world on a tiny boat with her human companion, Guirec, who helped steer. On their three-year journey, together they were unstoppable. When they became stranded in the ice off Greenland for four months, Monique, unruffled as always, kept Guirec alive with her eggs-- and they both made it home.
Guirec and Monique are irresistible as unlikely comrades and friends taking on the world, and Guirec documented their journey with his remarkable, comical photographs. A deeply touching portrait of the real-life bond between animals and the humans who love them as well as a thrilling survival story, The Hen Who Sailed Around the World is an adventure for the ages. -
Sail Away
A family takes an enjoyable trip in their sailboat and watches the weather change throughout the day.
-
All Different Now
Through the eyes of one little girl, All Different Now tells the story of the first Juneteenth, the day freedom finally came to the last of the slaves in the South. Since then, the observance of June 19 as African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond. This stunning picture book includes notes from the author and illustrator, a timeline of important dates, and a glossary of relevant terms.
Told in Angela Johnson’s signature melodic style and brought to life by E.B. Lewis’s striking paintings, All Different Now is a joyous portrait of the dawn breaking on the darkest time in our nation’s history. -
Ultimate Explorer Field Guide: Wildflowers
The latest in the Ultimate Explorer line is a hands-on, fun, fact-filled guide to spotting, discovering, and identifying wildflowers in your own backyard. Go ahead--dig in--and don't be afraid to get your hands dirty!
What do you call a garden filled with lots of flowers? A polli-nation! Nat Geo Kids is back with the newest fact- and photo-filled Ultimate Explorer Field Guide, and this one packs some real flower power! This guide to wildflowers will make kids stop and look for all kinds of blossoms blooming right under their noses. From buttercups to bladderworts, primroses to pitcher plants, kids will learn how, where, and when to spot these wildflowers in their backyard, down the street, or all over town! Jam-packed with tons of info, interactive prompts, tips for budding botanists, super stats, and jokes--it's the perfect companion for exploring the backyard or field trips, camping, or vacation. Durable and portable, it's just right for your pocket or backpack! -
Freedom Soup
The shake-shake of maracas vibrates down to my toes.
Ti Gran’s feet tap-tap to the rhythm.
Every year, Haitians all over the world ring in the new year by eating a special soup, a tradition dating back to the Haitian Revolution. This year, Ti Gran is teaching Belle how to make the soup — Freedom Soup — just like she was taught when she was a little girl. Together, they dance and clap as they prepare the holiday feast, and Ti Gran tells Belle about the history of the soup, the history of Belle’s family, and the history of Haiti, where Belle’s family is from. In this celebration of cultural traditions passed from one generation to the next, Jacqueline Alcántara’s lush illustrations bring to life both Belle’s story and the story of the Haitian Revolution. Tami Charles’s lyrical text, as accessible as it is sensory, makes for a tale that readers will enjoy to the last drop. -
Grandad's Camper
Gramps and Grandad were adventurers. They would surf, climb mountains, and tour the country in their amazing camper. Gramps just made everything extra special. But after Gramps died, granddad hasn't felt like traveling anymore. So, their amazing granddaughter comes up with a clever plan to fix up the old camper and get Grandad excited to explore again.
This beautiful picture book honors love and reminds us not only to remember those we have lost, but to celebrate them. -
A Meerkat Diary
Spend two wild and action-packed weeks with the author observing and photographing a mob of meerkats. Daily accounts describe the early life of the five meerkat pups being raised by the mob's matriarch and two adult males. The pups grow from tiny creatures who wobble as they walk and are wholly dependent on their adult caretakers, to adolescents who practice killing scorpions for their dinner and have nearly perfected the famous tripod stance meerkats use when on lookout for danger. Jam-packed with amazing and often adorable photos.
-
Fly with Me
This thoughtful and beautifully curated collection of our flying, feathery friends highlights the role birds play in human life from centuries ago to present day. While it's beautiful, it's also full of valuable real science about these wondrous creatures. From history and behavior to spotting and photographing, there's sure to be something for every bird fan in your flock. Young birders will learn all about migration and the importance of habitat conservation. They'll find stories about bird rescues and fun facts about the fastest, strongest, and tiniest fliers. They'll also discover the best bird nests, sweet songs to sing, ways to listen for and identify the birds around them, and more. Paired with stunning art and photography and beautiful design, this treasury is sure to become a classic for bird enthusiasts of all ages.
-
How to Explain Robotics to a Grown-Up
Do you want to know a secret? Sometimes grown-ups need YOU to explain things to THEM. Like robotics! In this tongue-in-cheek guide, an in-the-know narrator instructs kid readers in the fine art of explaining robotics to a grown-up. Both children and their adults learn:
- what makes a robot a robot,
- who designs and builds robots,
- and how robots work on their own to get a job done.
Fun and fact-filled, the How to Explain Science series will empower kid experts to explore complex scientific concepts with any grown-up who will listen.
-
The Fabulous Fannie Farmer
Fannie Farmer, America’s most famous cooking teacher, discovers that precise measurements are a recipe for cooking success in this STEAM picture book that includes two of her classic recipes.
When Fannie Farmer learned to cook in the late 1800s, recipes could be pretty silly. They might call for “a goodly amount of salt” or “a lump of butter” or “a suspicion of nutmeg.” Girls were supposed to use their “feminine instincts” in the kitchen (or maybe just guess). Despite this problem, Fannie loved cooking, so when polio prevented her from going to college, she became a teacher at the Boston Cooking School. Unlike her mother or earlier cookbook writers, Fannie didn’t believe in feminine instincts. To her, cooking was a science. She’d noticed that precise measurements and specific instructions ensured that cakes rose instead of flopped and doughnuts fried instead of burned. Students liked Fannie’s approach so much that she wrote a cookbook. Despite skepticism from publishers, Fannie’s book was a recipe for success. -
Vacation
In the second book in the Bat, Cat & Rat series from New York Times bestsellers Ame Dyckman and Mark Teague, the roommates try to compromise on vacation plans in three-and-a-half sweet and silly stories.
Bat, Cat, and Rat decide they need a vacation, but planning a trip is no picnic. Conflicts, compromise, and some well-meaning pranks ensue as prep work brings out the trio’s mischievous side.In “Working,” Bat, Cat, and Rat discover their Vacation Jar is empty, and set off working odd jobs to save up funds. But Rat believes that all work and no play is no fun at all—and he knows just the way to fix that.
In “Choosing,” the trio can’t decide where to go on their vacation. Bat wants an adventure, Cat wants some R&R, and Rat just wants everyone to stop bickering about it.
In “Vacationing,” Rat takes the vacation planning into his own hands. Will he be able to come up with a compromise that makes everyone happy?
Bat, Cat, and Rat’s dynamic friendship and amusing antics are sure to have readers laughing.
-
The First State of Being
It's August 1999. For twelve-year-old Michael Rosario, life at Fox Run Apartments in Red Knot, Delaware, is as ordinary as ever--except for the looming Y2K crisis and his overwhelming crush on his sixteen-year-old babysitter, Gibby. But when a disoriented teenage boy named Ridge appears out of nowhere, Michael discovers there is more to life than stockpiling supplies and pining over Gibby.
It turns out that Ridge is carefree, confident, and bold, things Michael wishes he could be. Unlike Michael, however, Ridge isn't where he belongs. When Ridge reveals that he's the world's first time traveler, Michael and Gibby are stunned but curious. As Ridge immerses himself in 1999--fascinated by microwaves, basketballs, and malls--Michael discovers that his new friend has a book that outlines the events of the next twenty years, and his curiosity morphs into something else: focused determination. Michael wants--no, needs--to get his hands on that book. How else can he prepare for the future? But how far is he willing to go to get it?
A story of time travel, friendship, found family, and first loves, this thematically rich novel is distinguished by its voice, character development, setting, and exploration of the issues that resonate with middle grade readers.
-
Chooch Helped
A Cherokee girl introduces her younger brother to their family's traditions -- begrudgingly! -- in this picture book written by Walter Award-winner Andrea L. Rogers and featuring gorgeous collage illustrations from debut artist Rebecca Lee Kunz.
Sissy's younger brother, Chooch, isn't a baby anymore. They just celebrated his second birthday, after all. But no matter what Chooch does -- even if he's messing something up! Which is basically all the time! -- their parents say he's just "helping." Sissy feels that Chooch can get away with anything!
When Elisi paints a mural, Chooch helps. When Edutsi makes grape dumplings, Chooch helps. When Oginalii gigs for crawdads, Chooch helps. When Sissy tries to make a clay pot, Chooch helps . . .
"Hesdi!" Sissy yells. Quit it! And Chooch bursts into tears. What follows is a tender family moment that will resonate with anyone who has welcomed a new little one to the fold. Chooch Helped is a universal story of an older sibling learning to make space for a new child, told with grace by Andrea L. Rogers and stunning art from Rebecca Lee Kunz showing one Cherokee family practicing their cultural traditions.
-
Most Magnificent Thing, The
A little girl and her canine assistant set out to make the most magnificent thing. But after much hard work, the end result is not what the girl had in mind. Frustrated, she quits. Her assistant suggests a long walk, and as they walk, it slowly becomes clear what the girl needs to do to succeed. A charming story that will give kids the most magnificent thing: perspective!