Book Nook
AGES 5 to 8
Me First: Prefixes Lead the Way
Written by Robin Pulver Illustrated by Lynne Rowe Reed
Mr. Wright is teaching his students about leadership, but the anthropomorphic prefixes thought today’s lesson was going to be about them. After all, the PREfixes are EXTRAordinary SUPERstars of the English language—in their own opinions. Fortunately, Mr. Wright gets back on track, making connections between Abraham Lincoln’s leadership qualities and those of the prefixes. The text helps show the reader where the prefixes are by capitalizing the letters throughout the book, and a mini lesson on Abraham Lincoln and how to be a good leader is woven into the story. This picture book is educational and fun from beginning to end. (Holiday House, 2016, hardcover, $16.95)
AGES 9 to 12
Booked
By Kwame Alexander
Twelve-year-old Nick is great at soccer, upset by his
parents’ announcement, and bad at paying attention in English class. Good thing he has a supportive best friend, a maybe girlfriend, and a cool librarian to help him deal. This fast-paced novel-in-verse is recommended to fans of soccer, poetry, and the author’s award-winning novel, The Crossover. The mix of first- and second-person points-of-view and sections of blackout poetry — where existing text has sections blacked out so the remaining words form a new meaning — tell the story of a smart guy dealing with a bad hand. Fans of other novels-in-verse will appreciate the shout-outs to those titles. Here’s to meta storytelling at its best! (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, hardcover, $16.99)
AGES 15 to 18
Fangirl
By Rainbow Rowell
Cath is not excited about moving an hour away from her home in Omaha to attend college. She worries about leaving her father (who can be manic), moving into the dorms with a stranger (since her twin sister didn’t want to room with her), and having to grow up (and give up her obsession with Simon Snow, the lovable character in the Harry Potter-like series who she writes popular fan fiction about). That is until her hip roommate and a quirky guy show her that there is more to the world when she looks past her computer screen. Cath feels completely real, from her fears of being a college freshman to her conflicting emotions as she falls in love for the first time. Sections from her fan fiction and the Simon Snow novels are interspersed, giving the reader two stories in one (for those who fall in love with Simon Snow, Rainbow Rowell also released an entire novel about him, Carry On). This upper young adult novel hits many feelings and frustrations that go along with moving on from high school to college. A fabulous read that may get you writing. (St. Martin’s Press, 2013, hardcover, $18.99)
PICTURE BOOKS
AGES 3 to 7
This Is My Book
By Mark Pett
(Knopf, 2016, hardcover, $17.99)
AGES 4 to 8
Help! We Need a Title!
By Herve Tullet
(Candlewick, 2014, hardcover, $16.99)
I Am a Story
By Dan Yaccarino
(Harper, 2016, hardcover, $17.99)
AGES 5 to 8
Ideas Are All Around
By Philip C. Stead (Roaring Brook Press, 2016, hardcover, $18.99)
MIDDLE GRADE
AGES 8 to 12
House Arrest
By K.A. Holt
(Chronicle, 2016, paperback, $7.99)
OCDaniel
By Wesley King
(Simon & Schuster, 2017, paperback, $7.99)
Our Story Begins
Edited by Elissa Brent Weissman
(Atheneum, 2017, hardcover, $17.99)
Writing Magic
By Gail Carson Levine
(HarperCollins, 2014, paperback, $6.99)
YOUNG ADULT
AGES 10 to 14
How to Be a Blogger and Vlogger in 10 Easy Lessons
By Shane Birley
(Walter Foster Jr., 2016, Spiral-bound, $12.93)
AGES 12 to 15
The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever
By Jeff Strand
(Sourcebooks, 2016, paperback, $9.99)
Writing Fantastic Fiction
By Jennifer Joline Anderson
(Lerner, 2016,paperback, $10.99)
AGES 15 to 18
Afterworlds
By Scott Westerfeld
(Simon Pulse, 2015, paperback, $12.99)