Library Blogs

Library blogs feature book reviews, author interviews, and more.

Subscribe

Nonfiction Book Reviews: Happy, Happy, Happy and The Duck Commander Family

Fans of the show Duck Dynasty will be pleased to know that their favorite TV family is now a publishing powerhouse with two bestselling books:   “Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander” and “The Duck Commander Family: How Faith, Family, and Ducks Built a Dynasty.”...

More

Fiction Book Review: The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan

The Engagements is an absorbing novel about marriage and love. Sullivan tells the story of four different couples in different time periods and at different stages of their married/romantic lives. Interwoven with their stories is the story of Frances Gerety, an advertising copywriter in the 1940s,...

More

Teen Fiction Review: Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian

Tom Bouchard has a lot going for him. His girlfriend is hot; he's captain of his high school soccer team; his grades are good. When senior year begins, Tom is on top of the world--but the world around him is changing. Change comes to Enniston, Maine in a wave of Somali refugees. Soon, Tom's...

More

Baby and Toddler Storytime - Summer Adventurers!

All summer long our Baby and Toddler Storytime focuses on traveling to exciting destinations both near and far.  Books, songs and rhymes explore different  languages, countries and cultures. Introducing children to second language skills at an early age helps them learn faster and easier...

More

Fiction Book Review: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

After recently finishing Life After Life, I now have a clear front runner for the my best book of 2013. Beautifully written, thought-provoking, moving, darkly funny, and sublime are just a few adjectives to describe this book. Audaciously complex, the novel begins with in 1930 Germany, with an...

More

Our Summer Reading Picks for Kids, Teens, and Teachers

Where will books take you this summer? Action, mystery, laughs and more await you on these lists that compile the latest and greatest titles for kids in grades K-6 and teens. And we didn’t forget the teachers, either: our Inspiration for the Classroom and Beyond the Classroom lists bring together...

More

Picture Book Review: I Scream! Ice Cream! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Phrases like "I scream!" and "Ice cream!" have little in common--but they sound the same. In this silly and smart book, author Amy Krouse Rosenthal gathers together an intriguing and giggle-inducing collection of these "wordles," also known as groups of homophones (words that sound alike but have...

More

Non-Fiction Book Review: After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story by Michael Hainey

If you grew up in Chicago and especially the far Northwest Side in the 50’s and 60’s you will love this book, but After visiting friends is also a wonderful  non-fiction mystery and a love letter to Hainey’s parents and family. Michael Hainey, the deputy editor of GQ, loses his father at the...

More

Picture Book Review: Ball by Mary Sullivan

Dog just wants to play with his favorite toy: a bright, red ball. This near-wordless tale unfolds in comic-like panels, featuring expressive illustrations that charm and amuse. Readers who wonder what their pets do while they're at school will appreciate the insight in Ball.

More

Youth Science Fiction Review: The Fellowship of Alien Detection by Kevin Emerson

Author Kevin Emerson begins a new series with the story of eighth graders Haley, from Connecticut, and Dodger, from Washington State, who have been awarded the chance to do two weeks of summer field research on extraterrestrial visitors to Earth. Traveling with their parents, the two find...

More