Kids' Book Spotlight - Books to Be Thankful For - Teen Collection

 We're thankful for these books about friendship, family, and self-acceptance from our Teen collection. 

Teen Middle (Grades 6-8)

Mango Delight

by Fracaswell Hyman

When seventh-grader Mango Delight Fuller accidentally breaks her BFF Brooklyn's new cell phone, her life falls apart. She loses her friends and her spot on the track team, and even costs her father his job as a chef. But Brooklyn's planned revenge--sneakily signing up Mango to audition for the school musical--backfires when Mango not only wins the lead role, but becomes a YouTube sensation and attracts the attention of the school's queen bee, Hailey Jo. Hailey Jo is from a VERY wealthy family, and expects everyone to do her bidding. Soon Mango finds herself forced to make tough choices about the kind of friend she wants to have . . . and, just as important, the kind of friend she wants to be.

Unstoppable

by Tim Green

If anyone understands the phrase 'tough luck,' it's Harrison. As a foster kid in a cruel home, he knows his dream of one day playing for the NFL is a long shot. Then Harrison's luck seems to change. He is brought into a new home with kind, loving parents--his new dad is even a football coach. Harrison's big build and his incredible determination quickly make him a star running back on the junior high school team. In no time, he's practically unstoppable. But Harrison's good luck can't last forever.

Urban Outlaws

by Peter Jay Black

Deep beneath London, five extraordinary youths, orphans who bonded over their shared sense of justice, have formed the Urban Outlaws and dedicated themselves to outsmarting criminals and performing Random Acts of Kindness (R.A.K.s), but they are in serious trouble when they face a genius super-computer, Proteus.

The Thing About Jellyfish

by Ali Benjamin

Twelve-year-old Suzy Swanson wades through her intense grief over the loss of her best friend by investigating the rare jellyfish she is convinced was responsible for her friend's death.

The Other Half of Happy

by Rebecca Balcarcel

Twelve-year-old Quijana is a biracial girl, desperately trying to understand the changes that are going on in her life; her mother rarely gets home before bedtime, her father suddenly seems to be trying to get in touch with his Guatemalan roots (even though he never bothered to teach Quijana Spanish), she is about to start seventh grade in the Texas town where they live and she is worried about fitting in--and Quijana suspects that her parents are keeping secrets, because she is sure there is something wrong with her little brother, Memito, who is becoming increasingly hard to reach.

Teen High (Grades 9-12)

Kira-Kira

by Cynthia Kadohata

Chronicles the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill.

The Beauty That Remains

by Ashley Woodfolk

Music brought Autumn, Shay, and Logan together. Autumn is a talented artist and a loyal friend. Shay was defined by two things: her bond with her twin sister, Sasha, and her love of music. And Logan has always turned to writing love songs when his real love life was a little less than perfect. But death might pull them apart-- when tragedy strikes each of them, music is no longer enough. Logan can't stop watching vlogs of his dead ex-boyfriend; Shay is struggling to keep it together; Autumn sends messages that she knows can never be answered. It is possible for one band's music to reunite them and prove that beauty thrives in the people left behind?

I'll Give You the Sun

by Jandy Nelson

A story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal told from different points in time, and in separate voices, by artists Jude and her twin brother Noah.

Just As You Are: A Teen's Guide to Self-Acceptance and Lasting Self-Esteem

by Michelle Skeen

Stop comparing yourself to others--you're special just as you are!" That's the message psychologist Michelle Skeen and her daughter, Kelly Skeen, instill in teen readers with this unique self-help guide. With this fun and engaging book, teens will learn how to silence their nit-picky inner critic, overcome feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness, cultivate self-acceptance and self-compassion, and discover what really matters to them.

A List of Cages

by Robin Roe

When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he's got it made. Sure, it means a lot of sitting around, which isn't easy for a guy with ADHD, but he can't complain, since he gets to spend the period texting all his friends. Then the doctor asks him to track down the troubled freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is Julian -- the foster brother he hasn't seen in five years. Adam is ecstatic to be reunited. At first, Julian seems like the boy he once knew. He's still kindhearted. He still writes stories and loves picture books meant for little kids. But as they spend more time together, Adam realizes that Julian is keeping secrets, like where he hides during the middle of the day, and what's really going on inside his house. Adam is determined to help him, but his involvement could cost both boys their lives.

Stephani Lindsey

Youth Specialist

Sharon Forks Library

#WeKnowBooks

Kids' Book Spotlight- Books to Be Thankful For - Juvenile Collection

 We're thankful for these books in our Juvenile collection that inspire kindness, gratitude and generosity! 

Beginning Chapter Books (Grades 1-3)

Heidi Heckelbeck Lends a Helping Hand

by Wanda Coven

Heidi discovers that helping to clean up can be fun, so she brings her community together to make the neglected "Trash Park" beautiful again.

Wallace and Grace and the Lost Puppy

by Heather Alexander

While owl detectives Wallace and Grace are on a scavenger hunt, they find a lost puppy, Jasper, and try to help him find his way home.

Turkeys We Have Loved and Eaten (and Other Thankful Stuff)

by Barbara Park

To celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, Mr. Scary's first grade class prepares a Thankful List for the school contest, but Junie B. Jones finds it hard to be grateful for squash or Tattletale May.

Thanks to Lucy

by Ilene Cooper

Bobby Quinn has a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving--his grandmother's visit, an adopted baby brother or sister on the way--but what he's most thankful for is his beagle Lucy, who hasn't been acting like herself lately.

The Life of Ty: Non-Random Acts of Kindness

by Lauren Myracle

Ty Perry’s second-grade life is crazier than ever. He’s trying hard not to worry too much, but that’s not easy when his brain is filled with so many thoughts, like finally finding a pet for Baby Maggie, his sometimes-crazy classmates, and the dreaded neck-pinch-of-death. And then there’s his upcoming recitation about doing an act of kindness in front of the whole class!

Chapter Books (Grades 3-5)

Captain Superlative!

by J. S. Puller

Janey, a quiet outsider, is inspired by the eccentric and enigmatic Captain Superlative, a masked superhero who runs through the halls of their middle school, performing radical acts of kindness.

Chloe on the Bright Side

by Courtney Sheinmel

Rejected by the cool girls club, fifth-grader Chloe Silver, new in town after her parents' divorce, forms a different type of club, with offbeat Lucy Tanaka and nerdy Leo Barish, that tests out different acts of kindness on classmates.

Things Seen from Above

by Shelley Pearsall

April is looking for an escape from the sixth-grade lunch hour, which has become a social-scene nightmare, so she signs up to be a "buddy bench monitor" for the fourth graders' recess. Joey Byrd is a boy on the fringes, who wanders the playground alone, dragging his foot through the dirt. But over time, April realizes that Joey isn't just making random circles. When you look at his designs from above, a story emerges... Joey's "bird's eye" drawings reveal what he observes and thinks about every day. Told in alternating viewpoints--April's in text and Joey's mostly in art--the story gives the "whole picture" of what happens as these two outsiders find their rightful places.

Finding Home

by Karen Kingsbury

For Ashley, moving to Bloomington, Indiana, is especially hard but with time, prayer, a few surprises, and especially the love of her family, she finally feels at home.

Before the Ever After

by Jacqueline Woodson

ZJ's friends Ollie, Darry and Daniel help him cope when his father, a beloved professional football player, suffers severe headaches and memory loss that spell the end of his career.

Stephani Lindsey

Youth Specialist 

Sharon Forks Library

#WeKnowBooks

Staff Picks: Music to Read By

Music can tell a story and set a mood as much as any book. The next time you want to "listen" to a story, try one of these pieces of music inspired by classic literature.

Scheherazade by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov

Composed by Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888, Scheherazade is thematically based on the series of stories known as One Thousand and One Nights or The Arabian Nights. You can hear the voice of Scheherazade in the sweet strains of the violin solo, while the threatening tones of the Sultan are evoked by the bass motif in the first movement.

The Arabian Nights

The clever and beautiful Scheherazade enchants her husband, a bloodthirsty sultan who executes each of his wives after one night of marriage, with a story each evening, always ending on a cliffhanger in order to postpone her execution for one more day. After one thousand and one nights of stories, the sultan decides to spare her life.

Romeo and Juliet by Sergey Prokofiev

Prokofiev's dramatized ballet is based on Shakespeare's tragic play and originally had a happy ending in which Romeo and Juliet dance away hand in hand. After some controversy - and at the insistence of Soviet cultural officials - Prokofiev reinstated the original ending, although he wasn't happy about some of the musical changes made to his score. The ballet premiered in 1938 and a film version was made in 1955.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

One of Shakespeare's most popular plays, this tragic romance tells the story of two young lovers from warring families. The play has been retold countless times and has inspired books, operas, ballets, and movies.

The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical is a little different from - and perhaps better known than - the book that inspired it. The modernized operatic music from the hit Broadway play sweeps listeners into the romantic world of young opera singer Christine, Raoul, and the mysterious Phantom.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

The Phantom of the Opera is partially inspired by true events and by the rumors surrounding a Paris opera house, the Palais Garnier, in the nineteenth century. Leroux, a courtroom reporter and drama critic, also wrote detective stories, and the mystery of the Phantom's identity is central to the plot.


You might also want to try this book, which is inspired by some of the great music of the 1970s!

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Written as an oral history and including interviews from members of the eponymous band, Daisy Jones and the Six is a fictional telling of the meteoric rise and mysterious fall of one of the bands that defined rock music in the 1970s. Author Taylor Jenkins Reid draws inspiration from actual bands of the era, such as Fleetwood Mac.

You can listen to the music of Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin by checking out music CDs in the library's collection.

Melissa
Information Specialist
#WeKnowBooks