Awe!

Chana Stiefel

Picture Book

Feelings are hard, and sometimes we can’t quite explain what we are feeling in one word. Illustrated by Susan Gal, “Awe!” offers the reader a kaleidoscope of pictures showing positive experiences that can invoke awe. From small experiences like petting kittens, lighting a candle, or sharing a meal. To big experiences like seeing the Aurora Borealis, visiting the Grand Canyon, watching fireworks. Feeling awe is a powerful, complex emotion. This is a great book to help explain that overwhelming feeling you get when you experience something awesome, wonderous, and empowering. I would recommend it to everyone.

-Emily Stone, Youth Services Librarian

 

Tate Tuber, Space Spud

Michael Slack

Juvenile Graphic Novel

Tate Tuber has always known he was destined for greatness. A couch potato? Not Tate—he’s going to be an astronaut! So when Tate sees his chance to join space training, he literally jumps at the chance. But on his first mission, Tate learns that his role doesn’t include finding aliens or stopping asteroids. The human astronauts want to use Tate in a space farming experiment. How disappointing! But when the space station loses power and begins hurtling back towards earth, it’s up to Tate to save the day with his ability to conduct electricity! Potato power!

- Holiday House

 

The Lions' Run

Sara Pennypacker

Middle Grade

Petit éclair. That’s what the other boys at the orphanage call Lucas DuBois. Lucas is tired of his cowardly reputation, just as he’s tired of the war and the Nazi occupation of his French village. He longs to show how brave he can be. He gets the chance when he saves a litter of kittens from cruel boys and brings them to an abandoned stable to care for them. There he comes upon a stranger who is none too happy to see him: Alice, the daughter of a horse trainer, who is hiding her filly from German soldiers. Soon Lucas begins to realize they are not the only ones in the village with secrets. The housekeeper at the German maternity home and a priest at the orphanage pass coded messages; a young mother at the home makes dangerous plans to keep her baby from forced adoption; and a neighbor in town may be harboring a Jewish family. Emboldened by the unlikely heroes all around him, Lucas is forced to decide how much he is willing to risk to make the most courageous rescue of all.

-Balzer + Bray

 

Defying China: A Memoir

Tsultrim Dolma

Young Adult Non-Fiction 

Tsultrim Dolma, born in a tiny village in the stunning mountains of eastern Tibet, always knew there had to be more than the life expected of her: More than no education, because her family was poor. More than being married off at a young age, because she was a girl. More than barely getting by under oppressive Chinese occupation, because she was Tibetan. When she was sixteen, Tsultrim found more, joining protests for the Tibetan independence movement, the call for her beloved country’s liberation from the People’s Republic of China. Shortly after, she was arrested and sent to Gutsa Detention Center, notorious for its brutal torture of political prisoners like Tsultrim.

-‎Dial Books

 

Rings of Fate

Melissa de la Cruz 

Adult Fantasy

She's a barmaid who doesn't believe in fairy tales. He's a prince cursed to live one. Aren Bellamore has no interest in being anyone's princess. She's too busy running the Raven's Beak tavern, fending off unwanted marriage proposals, and dreaming of escape. But when a brush with death and a dangerously handsome stranger upend her life, Aren finds herself bound to a bargain that could change everything. Prince Dietan has carried the cursed Rings of Fate―ancient weapons of devastating power―since childhood. The magic is killing him, and the enemies are closing in. To make the journey to reverse his curse, he needs a bride to hide his secrets. Aren wants freedom. Pretending to be his fiancée should give them both what they want. But as their perilous journey pits them against political schemes, monstrous Kilandrar, and a growing attraction neither can deny, the line between make-believe and destiny begins to blur. And the fate of two kingdoms may depend on whether a cynical barmaid and a cursed prince are willing to risk their hearts.

-‎Entangled: Red Tower Books

 

Rick Steves Croatia & Slovenia

Rick Steves

Adult Non-Fiction

Stroll along Dubrovnik's ancient walls, hike the idyllic Julian Alps, and set sail on the glimmering Adriatic: with Rick Steves, Croatia and Slovenia are yours to explore! Inside Rick Steves Croatia & Slovenia you'll find:

• Comprehensive coverage for spending a week or more in Croatia and Slovenia, with side trips to Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Rick's strategic advice on how to get the most out of your time and money, with rankings of his must-see favorites
• Top sights and hidden gems, from Roman ruins in the heart of bustling Split to stunning waterfalls and mountains in Slovenia
• How to connect with culture: Taste wines at a vineyard in Hvar, tour museums and Baroque churches in Zagreb, and sample fresh seafood at an open-air market in Dubrovnik
• Beat the crowds, skip the lines, and avoid tourist traps with Rick's candid, humorous insight
• The best places to eat, sleep, and relax with a glass of local wine
• Self-guided walking tours of lively towns and interesting museums
• Detailed maps for exploring on the go
• Useful resources including a packing list, Slovenian and Croatian phrases, a historical overview, and recommended reading
• Over 900 bible-thin pages include everything worth seeing without weighing you down
• Complete, up-to-date information on Zagreb, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Istria, Split, Hvar, Korčula, Dubrovnik, Montenegro, Mostar, Sarajevo, Ljubljana, Lake Bled, the Julian Alps, Logarska Dolina and the Northern Valleys, Ptuj, the Karst, Piran, and more

Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves Croatia & Slovenia.

-‎Rick Steves