Featured Reads

A must-read book for introverted teenagers to help them understand and harness their incredible skill set that School Library Journal says is an "insightful and affirming resource for understanding introverts, providing both depth and breadth in its exploration."

Many introverted teenagers feel pressured to exhibit extroverted traits while their vivid inner lives and intelligences are overlooked. Introverts: Insights and Tips for Teenagers explores the difficulties introverts may face while also highlighting how they can develop and embrace their unique abilities to find social, academic, and future career success.

Readers will learn:

• Strategies to thrive in an extroverted world
• Insight into what makes someone an introvert
• The truths behind common myths about introverts
• How to maintain energy and find life balance

Featuring original interviews with other young introverts who share their advice, Introverts addresses a range of common experiences affecting many teenagers and provides practical insight to help readers cultivate their imaginative, thoughtful, sensitive, and quiet strengths.

A New York Times bestseller!

From #1 New York Times bestselling author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and leading historian Doris Kearns Goodwin comes an essential middle grade guide to Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson and how they became leaders.

All four presidents profiled grew up and lived in very different worlds—Lincoln was poor and self-educated; Theodore Roosevelt hailed from an elegant home in the heart of New York City; Franklin Roosevelt loved the outdoors surrounding his family’s rural estate; and Lyndon Johnson’s modest childhood home had no electricity or running water. So how did each of them do it—rise to become President of the United States? What did these four kids have individually—and have in common—that catapulted them to lead America through some of its most turbulent times?

How many female Viking warriors does it take to make a fact?



When archaeologist Dr. Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson discovers that the bones contained in the most significant Viking warrior grave ever opened are, in fact, female, she and her team upend centuries of historically accepted conclusions and ignite a furious debate around the reality of female Viking warriors and the role of gender in both ancient and modern times.



In The Bones of Birka, author C. M. Surrisi introduces young readers to the events that led up to this discovery and the impact it has had on scientists' and historians' views of gender roles in ancient societies and today. This is the inside account of the Birka warrior grave Bj 581 archaeological endeavor, including all of the dreams, setbacks, frustrations, excitement, politics, and personalities that went into this history-changing discovery.



The finding has raised crucial questions about research bias, academic dialogue, and gender identity.

"Should you encounter any of the plants in this book, do not treat them lightly. They can kill you. Or cause you unbearable agony. Or land you in jail. Consider yourself warned."

Explore the strange and remarkable stories of poisonous and even deadly plants.

Science, history, and true crime converge in an informative and exciting look at Mother's Nature's ghoulish garden. From a hallucinogenic fungus linked to the Salem Witch Trials to the weed that killed Abraham Lincoln's mother, learn how certain plants evolved toxicity to avoid being consumed by predators and became the predator on their own.

In A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants: Wicked Weeds and Sinister Seeds author Rebecca Hirsch takes you on a wild journey to look at how toxic chemicals in the natural world have been used for medicine, warfare, and sinister acts of foul play. Tread lightly as we explore these plants' ominous deeds.

CAN THE DEAD TALK TO THE LIVING? Discover the astonishingly true story of Maggie, Kate, and Leah Fox—the Civil War-era sisters and teen mediums who created the American séance. 

A real-life ghost story for young adult readers interested in the supernatural, American history, and women’s rights!

Rap. Rap. Rap. The eerie sound was first heard in March of 1848 at the home of the Fox family in Hydesville, New York. The family’s two daughters, Kate and Maggie, soon discovered that they could communicate with the spirit that was making these uncanny noises; he told them he had been a traveling peddler who had been murdered. This strange incident, and the ones that followed, generated a media frenzy beyond anything the Fox sisters could have imagined. Kate and Maggie, managed (or perhaps manipulated) by their elder sister Leah, became famous spirit mediums, giving public exhibitions, and advising other celebrities of their day. 

But were the Fox sisters legitimate? In the years that followed their rise, the Civil War killed roughly 1 in 4 soldiers, increasing the demand for contacting the dead. However, media campaigns against the sisters gathered steam as well...

This thrilling and mysterious true story from veteran author Barb Rosenstock (Caldecott Honor winner) will spark teens’ interest in American history, encourage media literacy, and reveal insights into the Civil War era, fake news, and women's rights.

One hundred years ago, a small-town science teacher ignited a nationwide debate over what students should learn in school--and who should decide.

* “Compelling.” -School Library Journal, starred review
* “Timely.” -Booklist, starred review
* “Insightful.” -Horn Book, starred review
* “Comprehensive and conversational.” -Shelf Awareness, starred review

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

In 1925, when Tennessee lawmakers banned the teaching of evolution in public schools, teacher John Scopes challenged the law--and set off a gripping circus of a legal battle. Two masterminds faced off in a blistering courtroom debate over creationism and natural selection, each armed with the books they believed belonged in classrooms. Celebrity politician William Jennings Bryan relied on the Bible to make his case, while legal luminary Clarence Darrow defended Charles Darwin's groundbreaking books On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man. Their clash would go down in history as the Scopes Monkey Trial.

A century later, here is the riveting truth of what happened and why it matters. For a nation still arguing about the books and ideas that young people should encounter, award-winning author Debbie Levy delivers an important, insightful and expertly-researched account of our history that illuminates the challenges we face today.

In Pork Belly Tacos with a Side of Anxiety, Yvonne Castañeda shares vibrant stories of her childhood growing up in Miami as the daughter of humble immigrants from Mexico and Cuba . . . and how she came to develop an unhealthy relationship with food.

To help ease her mami's nervios, Yvonne becomes a perfectionist from a young age, achieving high grades at school and mastering the piano. But as her Cuban family members openly make comments about her awkward desarrollo, or puberty, Yvonne enters a new phase of self-consciousness that begins her obsession with weight.

She abandons the piano for the high school cheerleading team, and reinvents herself, becoming both skinny and popular. However, as a first-generation adolescent born in the United States, Yvonne wrestles with the conflict between the cultural norms of her Hispanic/Latino heritage and American societal expectations.

Plagued by doubt and low self-esteem, Yvonne begins a vicious cycle of weight gain and loss, as she battles Bulimia Nervosa. Beleaguered by feelings of guilt, shame, and inferiority, she develops anxiety, depression, and a reliance on dangerous coping mechanisms.

Ultimately, sage advice from her dear abuela in Guadalajara, Mexico, guides Yvonne to a realization that shifts her perspective of herself and the purpose of her life, providing a foundation for inner peace, and la solución to her past struggles.

The stories of the flavors we love are steeped in history, mythology and cultures from around the world.

Did you know that salt has been around for almost 5,000 years or that pepper was once called black gold? Have you heard that two billion cups of coffee are consumed every day and that tea was first discovered by Chinese emperor Shennong in 2737 BCE?

In Salt, Pepper, Season, Spice, discover where our favorite spices, condiments and confections come from and how they're grown, harvested and prepared. Find out how they're used to enhance and create flavors in the foods we know and love today. A tasty read guaranteed to get your mouth watering!

From a Robert Frost poem on her debut album to the myth of Cassandra on The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift’s lyrics are filled with literary connections.

Make sure you're catching them all with this expert guide to the novels, poems, and plays that influence her songwriting.

Let a literature professor and a musical theater artist guide you through the Taylor Swift canon—from Shakespeare to the Brontë sisters to Daphne du Maurier!

 

• Learn what "New Romantics" has to do with the old Romantics
• Get to know the Gothic monsters haunting Midnights
• Spot Taylor's many Great Gatsby references
• Discover what Taylor Swift and Emily Dickinson have in common
• And find your new favorite tortured poet!

Packed with fun facts, entertaining analysis, and literary-themed playlists that fans will love, Taylor Swift by the Book will turn anyone from a Taylor Swift lover into a Taylor Swift scholar.

With full-color illustrations highlighting the literary eras of Dr. Swift (yes, she has an honorary PhD), it’s a perfect gift for the Swiftie in your life.

The story behind Shohei Ohtani's legendary MVP season as baseball's greatest two-way player—dominant pitcher and DH with otherworldly power at the plate—from his early days in Japan to his historic 2021 season, the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and more!
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels plays baseball like no other athlete on the planet—an electric two-way player awarded the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player, the only player ever named an All-Star Selection as both a two-way dominant pitcher and elite hitter, a member of Time 100's most influential people of 2021, and now the MVP of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In Ohtani's first two-way game of the 2021 season, he threw a pitch at 100 mph and hit a homer that left his bat at 115 mph, a confluence of feats unmatched by anyone else in the sport. He's racked up eye-popping achievements throughout his career, but awards and numbers tell only part of his amazing story.
In Sho-Time, award-winning sportswriter Jeff Fletcher—who has covered Ohtani more than any other American journalist—charts Ohtani's path through Japanese baseball to a championship with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, the recruiting war to bring him to the majors, his AL Rookie of the Year campaign, subsequent injury-riddled seasons, the historic 2021 season, his 2023 World Baseball Classic, and beyond. Fletcher weaves in the history of two-way players—including Babe Ruth and unsung Negro Leagues players like Bullet Joe Rogan, Martin Dihigo, and Ted Double Duty Radcliffe—and the Japanese athletes who preceded Ohtani in the majors. With insight from Japanese and American baseball front office personnel, managers, scouts, athletic trainers, ballplayers, and more, Sho-Time breaks down the physics of Ohtani's game, his technologically advanced training, his international fame, and the role his role leading baseball into a new era.

YouTube sensations Shane and Hannah Burcaw are back with a groundbreaking, uproarious collection of essays and short stories about what it means to be in an interabled relationship.

With their signature wit and hilarious voice, authors, bloggers, and entrepreneurs Shane and Hannah Burcaw have put together a true story collection of sweet and unforgettable love stories about interabled couples.

Follow the lives of several couples as they navigate their love story in an ableist world. Sometimes tear-jerking, sometimes funny, and always heartwarming, this moving collection comprised of interviews and short stories - with interludes from Shane and Hannah about their own dating and marriage journey - will have readers laughing and sobbing as they discover true stories of love and commitment.

The young adult edition of the unconventionally honest, deeply personal, and sharply funny account from Michigan governor and rising Democratic star Gretchen Whitmer is packed with remarkable insights for young people wishing to make a difference in the world.

When Gretchen Whitmer was growing up, her beloved grandmother Nino taught her that you can always find something good in other people. “Even the meanest person might have pretty eyes,” she would say, a piece of advice that Gretchen carries with her today in her role as the governor of Michigan. (And one that resonated more than another her grandmother offered: “never part your hair in the middle.”)

From navigating a kidnapping and assassination plot in which she herself was a target to facing monumental challenges during a global pandemic, Big Gretch (as she’s now known) shares the key pieces of wisdom that have shaped her trailblazing career and personal experiences in this often hilarious, always uplifting book. Along the way, she tells stories about growing up gutsy in the Midwest, the wild comments she’s encountered as a public figure, and how to neutralize high-profile bullies with a fearless sense of humor.

Told in her famously straightforward and slyly funny voice, this young adult edition of the governor’s story not only offers an intimate insight into the life of a politician with an astounding journey, but also affords extraordinary lessons for young people everywhere who wish to make a difference in the world.