Books We Love
We work with lots of amazing books and love to take the opportunity to highlight our favorites. Each month, our literacy team selects a few of our favorite books to share with our community. We will be sharing amazing books for a wide age range. We will also use this space to highlight the voices and stories of those from historically marginalized groups. You can donate any of these titles - and previous Books We Love - using our Book Wish List.
January
This is Ballet and Other Classical Dances
by Rekha S. Rajan (Author), Chris Park (Illustrator), Rise x Penguin Workshop (Publisher)
The first in a series that introduces three major dance families: ballet, hip-hop, and jazz, from a world-renowned early childhood educator and performer.
This first introduction to classical dance begins with a simple explanation of what defines a classical dancer. Young readers are then invited on a global exploration of different classical dances, from ballet to synchronized swimming to Kabuki; the ways dancers move; and who they move with.
This encouraging dance series will inspire young children to dance in their home or in their community, in socks or ballet shoes, and alone or with others.
Moon Song
by Michaela Goade (Author/Illustrator), Little Brown Books for Young Readers (Publisher)
On an island at the edge of a silvery sea, when the moon rises and night falls, a girl spins a story for her worried cousin to help him find comfort in the wintery dark. She invites him to see moonlight glittering in the forest, bioluminescence sparkling by the shore, and northern lights blazing in the sky. In the dark of the night, the whole world sings.
Celebrated Tlingit creator Michaela Goade, who brought us a summer's celebration in the Caldecott Honor Award‑winning Berry Song, invites us to discover the wonder and comfort of a winter's night through a magnificent Moon Song.
The Golden Necklace
by Mitali Perkins (Author), Maithili Yoshi (Illustrator), Charlesbridge (Publisher)
National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins crafts a contemporary chapter-book mystery about a Nepali girl who sets out to solve the disappearance of her Bengali friend's missing jewelry. Set within a tea plantation in Darjeeling, 7-10-year-old readers are transported across the world to a politically and culturally rich setting, following our brave heroine, Sona.
High School Students Unite!: Teen Activism, Education Reform, and FBI Surveillance in Postwar America
by Aaron G. Fountain Jr. (Author), The University of North Carolina Press (Publisher)
High School Students Unite! highlights the crucial impact of high school activists in the 1960s and 1970s. Inspired by civil rights and antiwar movements, students across the nation demanded a voice in their education by organizing sit-ins, walkouts, and strikes. From cities such as San Francisco and Chicago to smaller towns such as Jonesboro, Georgia, these young leaders fought for curricula that reflected their evolving worldviews. Drawing on archival research and interviews, Aaron G. Fountain Jr. reveals how teenagers became powerful agents of change, advocating for constitutional rights and influencing school reform. Ironically, the modernization of school security, including police presence, was partly a response to these student-led movements. Through oral histories and FBI records, this fascinating history offers a fresh perspective on high school activism and its lasting impact on American education.