Tag Archives: Book Suggestions

Books, Check it Out:

Valentine’s Reads for Kids

Even if you’re not a fan of Valentine’s Day, it’s still a good excuse to find some new books to enjoy! We’re suggesting titles you can share with your young students or patrons at your library!

All the links on these books go to Amazon.com. If you click on one, and then buy anything at all, Amazon will give us a small percent of their profits on the sale. It’s anonymous, so we won’t know it’s you – but we will still be grateful!

The Boy Who Loved Everyone by Jane Porter illus. by Maisie Paradise Shearring
“Dimitri may be small, but his heart is as big and as open as a cloudless blue sky. “I love you,” Dimitri tells his new classmates at preschool. “I love you,” Dimitri tells the class guinea pig and the ants on the ground. “I love you,” Dimitri tells the paintbrushes and the tree with heart-shaped leaves. So why doesn’t anyone say “I love you” back? Could love also be expressed in unspoken ways? In a familiar story of navigating the social cues of new friendship, author Jane Porter and illustrator Maisie Paradise Shearring offer a thoughtful tribute to the tender ones—those who spread kindness simply by being, and who love without bounds.”

How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? by Jane Yolen illus. by Mark Teague
“Parents and children can never have enough ways to say “I love you”–and now, America’s favorite dinosaurs are giving families a funny book, perfect for bedtime, storytime, anytime. Even when little dinosaurs are naughty, it’s important to remind them that no matter what they do, they are always loved. In this book, readers will laugh aloud as parents cope with the typical antics of childhood, but in the end, hugs and kisses show your little one how much you care.”

I’m Programmed to Love You by Elias Barks illus by Gemma Román
“From hologram projector eyes to extending arms filled with books, this mom robot has a built-in feature or contraption for every parenting need. This delightful homage to innate parental love shows that a mother’s love for their child has many applications, and it’s always automatic.”

Sit, Stay, Love: A Wish Novel by J.J. Howard
“Cecilia Murray has been wishing for a dog for as long as she can remember. And when a cute pug named Potato is brought in to Orphan Paws, the shelter where she volunteers, she knows he is the dog she’s been waiting for. There’s just one problem: Eric Chung — a popular, arrogant boy from school — adopts Potato first. What’s worse, he hopes to train the little tater to become a show-dog superstar. Cecilia knows that Potato is not cut out for a life of sparkly collars and snobby judges, so she sets out to sabotage Eric’s plans. But the more time Cecilia spends with Potato and Eric, the more she questions everything she thought she knew about dog shows … and a certain cute show-dog trainer. Can Cecilia save Potato — while also listening to her heart?”

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
“Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat. People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it’s hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn’t help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter. But there’s one person who’s always in Charlie’s corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing–he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her?”

Love is a Revolution by Renée Watson
“When Nala Robertson reluctantly agrees to attend an open mic night for her cousin-sister-friend Imani’s birthday, she finds herself falling in instant love with Tye Brown, the MC. He’s perfect, except . . . Tye is an activist and is spending the summer putting on events for the community when Nala would rather watch movies and try out the new seasonal flavors at the local creamery. In order to impress Tye, Nala tells a few tiny lies to have enough in common with him. As they spend more time together, sharing more of themselves, some of those lies get harder to keep up. As Nala falls deeper into keeping up her lies and into love, she’ll learn all the ways love is hard, and how self-love is revolutionary.”

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
“Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor. But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down . . . until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen. There’s nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.”

Books, Check it Out:

Reading for Human Trafficking Awareness Month

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, “Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide – including right here in the United States.” Human trafficking is not the same as human smuggling, which involves illegal transportation of a person across a border.
 
While human trafficking can happen to anyone, people who are already in vulnerable situations – such as youth and people experiencing homelessness – may be more likely to be targeted. 

In St. Cloud, Terebinth Refuge provides a safe space for women that have been victims of trafficking. Learn more on their website or find additional information on this PDF. The Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force also has information on their website.

Here are some titles to help spread awareness during this month and all year long:

Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls are Not for Sale: A Memoir by Rachel Lloyd
“In Girls Like Us, Lloyd reveals the dark, secretive world of her past in stunning cinematic detail. And, with great humanity, she lovingly shares the stories of the girls whose lives she has helped—; small victories that have healed her wounds and made her whole. Revelatory, authentic, and brave, Girls Like Us is an unforgettable memoir.”

Harvesting by Lisa Harding
“Sammy is a spiky, quick-witted and sharp teenager living in Dublin; Nico is a warm and conscientious girl from Moldova. When they are thrown together in a Dublin brothel in a horrific twist of fate, a peculiar and important bond is formed . . .This is a novel about a flourishing but hidden world, thinly concealed beneath a veneer of normality. It’s about the failings of polite society, the cruelty that can exist in apparently homely surroundings, the bluster of youth and the often appalling weakness of adults. Harvesting is heartbreaking and funny, gritty, raw and breathtakingly beautiful, where redemption is found in friendship and unexpected acts of kindness.”

Slaves Among Us: The Hidden World of Human Trafficking by Monique Villa
“Written by a global leader in the fight against human trafficking, this powerful book uncovers the hidden world of slaves–no longer physically in chains–who walk among us, trapped in a cycle of exploitation. Despite significant progress in the fight for human rights, slavery continues to flourish. In fact, there are more slaves today, in countries rich and poor, than at any point in the past. By giving voice to survivors of this horrific trade, Villa vividly illustrates dire situations we can do something about. Her call to action outlines concrete steps to safeguard the vulnerable among us and to eliminate slavery in our time.”

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
“From two of our most fiercely moral voices, a passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world.”

Sold by Patricia McCormick
“Written in spare and evocative vignettes, this powerful novel renders a world that is as unimaginable as it is real, and a girl who not only survives but triumphs.”

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
“Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people lose in a lifetime. But she’s learned how to forget. The broken glass washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don’t have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you. Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge.”

Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy by Kevin Bales
“Slavery is illegal throughout the world, yet more than twenty-seven million people are still trapped in one of history’s oldest social institutions. Kevin Bales’s disturbing story of contemporary slavery reaches from Pakistan’s brick kilns and Thailand’s brothels to various multinational corporations. His investigations reveal how the tragic emergence of a “new slavery” is inextricably linked to the global economy. This completely revised edition includes a new preface. All of the author’s royalties from this book go to fund antislavery projects around the world.”

Books

Need Gift Ideas? Try a Book Series!

Books make great gifts and we have some ideas for you!

Just a heads up, the books we link to have info from Amazon.com. If you click a link and then buy anything at all from Amazon, we get a small percent of their profits from your sale. Yay!!! Thanks!!! We really appreciate the assistance! 💕😊

This post came from a conversation I was having with a friend. She wanted to buy some books for her niece for the holidays but wasn’t sure what to get. This seemed like a problem other book-loving people may be encountering this time of year, so I’m sharing the list I gave her!

As always, if you’re looking for book suggestions or help with Reader’s Advisory, our Reading With Libraries podcast or Book Bites quickie podcast can definitely help! 🎧
We also encourage you to visit the Resources page from We Need Diverse Books for additional recommendations!

Note: This is a specialized list for a 12-13-year-old reader who also enjoyed Hunger Games, Divergent, and Twilight. If you’d like CMLE staff to find alternative book recommendations for your gift recipients, just comment below or send us an email, we’d love to help! 😊

Title and AuthorGenre
Matched series by Allie Condie
1. Matched
2. Crossed
3. Reached 		Dystopian
The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
1. City of Bones
2. City of Ashes
3. City of Glass 
4. City of Fallen Angels
5. City of Lost Souls
6. City of Heavenly Fire 		Urban Fantasy
The Selection series by Kiera Cass 
1. The Selection
2. The Elite
3. The One
4. The Heir
5. The Crown 		Dystopian mashup of The Bachelor and Cinderella
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
1. The Raven Boys
2. The Dream Thieves
3. Blue Lily, Lily Blue
4. The Raven King 		Fantasy

What books do you like to give as gifts? Comment and let us know!

Books

Book Bouquet: Pasta!

 

I can’t help it, readers, I am in love with noodles. If you ever show up to my house for dinner the odds that you will be eating some sort of noodle dish is high. So tuck into these noodly, doughy reads and make some delicious dinner tonight and enjoy.

(All the book links below lead to Amazon; if you click on one and buy things from Amazon, CMLE may receive a small percentage of Amazon’s profits. Thanks!)

 The Ultimate Pasta and Noodle Cookbook by Serena Cosmo

“Presenting the ultimate resource for every level chef—over 300 recipes for pasta, soups, stir-fries, sauces, desserts and baked dishes!

Go beyond spaghetti and meatballs and whip up baked lamb orzo, or a savory squid ink frittata! There are 300 recipes from around the world, and nearly 350 pastas to discover in this definitive book! Easy-to-follow instructions for making your own pasta flow into complete meals for the whole family to enjoy—even those with dietary restrictions! Handy tips and techniques make you the master chef in your home kitchen as you wow guests and savor the fruits of your labor. The Ultimate Pasta and Noodle Cookbook will be a gorgeous keystone addition to any cookbook library!”

The Geometry of Pasta by Caz Hildebrand  (Author), Jacob Kenedy  (Author)

“Wheels and tubes, twists and folds and grooves—pasta comes in hundreds of shapes, each with its own unique history, beauty, and place on the dinner table. For centuries these shapes have evolved alongside Italy’s cornucopia of local ingredients; if you know how the flavours relate to the forms, you hold the secret formula to good taste.

The Geometry of Pasta pairs over 100 authentic recipes from acclaimed chef Jacob Kenedy with award-winning designer Caz Hildebrand’s stunning black-and-white designs to reveal the science, culture, and philosophy behind spectacular pasta dishes from throughout Italian history.

A triumphant fusion of food and design, The Geometry of Pasta invites us to unlock the hidden properties of Italy’s most mathematically perfect deliciousness.”

 Noodlemania!: 50 Playful Pasta Recipes by Melissa Barlow  

“You’ll go noodle crazy with the playful and colorful pasta recipes in Noodlemania! It’s filled with hot and cold main dishes, salads, and even desserts! Try Super Stuffed Monster Mouths made with jumbo pasta shells, Rapunzel Pastamade with extra-long spaghetti, Spider Cookies made with crunchy ramen noodles, or Gloppy Green Frog Eye Salad made with acini di pepe. Noodlemania! also teaches basic math skills and includes fun trivia. Which pasta name means “little ears”? What’s the world record for the largest meatball ever made? Kids will have fun in the kitchen while sharpening their cooking skills with Noodlemania!”

 Pasta Wars by Elisa Lorello

“Slim, successful, and soon to marry the man of her dreams, Katie Cravens is leading the life she always wanted. As the face and CEO of Pasta Pronto, a “Carbs for the Calorie-Conscious” line of frozen food, Katie chooses to live life like one of her Slimline Spaghetti dinners―no mess, no surprises, and everything tied up in a neat little package. But when Katie’s fiancé runs off with another woman and a quality control fiasco sends her customers running for the hills, it’s time for Katie to make a change. Her company’s salvation presents itself in the form of a partnership opportunity with the legendary Ristorante Caramelli of Rome, and Katie has no other choice but to jet off to Italy to convince gorgeous, hotheaded co-owner Luca Caramelli that she’s a worthy partner. Gaining Luca’s respect proves harder than Katie could have ever imagined, however, when he insists that she must learn how to cook―and how to eat―true Italian food before he will ever agree to their companies’ partnership.

Katie and Luca’s tension in Italy mounts into a fierce public rivalry that erupts back in the States with a nationally televised cooking competition. As Katie tries to channel her inner Mario Batali to win the competition, she must choose between the flavorless prepackaged life that she worked so hard to maintain and the mouth-watering uncertainty of a life chock full of carbohydrates and Caramellis.”

 Takashi’s Noodles by:Takashi Yagihashi

“A collection of 75 recipes from James Beard Award-winning chef Takashi Yagihashi for both traditional and inventive hot and cold Japanese noodle dishes.
Combining traditional Japanese influences, French technique, and more than 20 years of cooking in the Midwest, James Beard Award-winning chef Takashi Yagihashi introduces American home cooks to essential Japanese comfort food with his simple yet sophisticated recipes. Emphasizing quick-to-the-table shortcuts, the use of fresh and dried packaged noodles, and kid-friendly dishes, Takashi explains noodle nuances and explores each style’s distinct regional identity. An expert guide, Takashi recalls his youth in Japan and takes cooks on a discovery tour of the rich bounty of Japanese noodles, so readily accessible today. Takashi’s exuberance for noodles ranging from Aje-Men to Zaru is sure to inspire home cooks to dive into bowl after soothing, refreshing bowl. ”

Thanks for reading with us this week!! We will have another bouquet of books next week.
You can also always get book suggestions by joining our book group podcast: Reading With Libraries. Join us! Stream it here! Download it to your own app! Read books! Drink themed beverages! Have fun with us!!
Books

Book Suggestion: The Coroner’s Lunch

We love to read books, and to talk about books. Check out our entire series here! Need more book chatting and suggestions in your life? Check out our book group podcast, Reading With Libraries! You can find every episode, and stream all of them, right here!

 

The Coroner’s Lunch (A Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery), by Colin Cotterill

 

I have been trying to read some books outside of my usual themes, and this one is interesting! I like mysteries, and I really enjoy discovering a new series. This one will take me a while to work through, so I’m looking forward to it. I don’t usually read a lot of historical fiction, and I do not have a lot of experience in reading books set in Southeast Asia – but this is a really interesting look at a period in time and a place I know only from news stories.

From Amazon: “Laos, 1978: Dr. Siri Paiboun, a 72-year-old medical doctor, has unwillingly been appointed the national coroner of the new socialist Laos. His lab is underfunded, his boss is incompetent, and his support staff is quirky, to say the least. But Siri’s sense of humor gets him through his often frustrating days. When the body of the wife of a prominent politician comes through his morgue, Siri has reason to suspect the woman has been murdered. To get to the truth, Siri and his team face government secrets, spying neighbors, victim hauntings, Hmong shamans, botched romances, and other deadly dangers. Somehow, Siri must figure out a way to balance the will of the party and the will of the dead.”