July Recommendations

Novels:

THE BOOK OF BOY, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, is the story of a boy—a hunchback-- who can talk to animals. When he catches the eye of a passing pilgrim, he’s taken along to carry the pilgrim's sack and the holy relics that are intended to fill it. Although Boy fears his new master Secundus is dangerous, the two of them travel together to Rome, collecting relics in dubious fashion, each hoping to be granted a miracle when they reach the tomb of Saint Peter. Boy and Secondus make for a compelling literary duo, in this Newbery Honor book that's an entertaining and ultimately moving look at life in the Middle Ages, when plague was rampant and relics—real and fake—were prized by all. (MG)

In THE THINGS SHE’S SEEN, by Australian Aboriginal storytellers Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina, Beth Teller’s been in an accident. She died, but she’s not ready to move on. At least not yet, when her police investigator dad misses her so much, and Beth's thinks that a new case may help get him unstuck from the muddy swamp of his grief. But it’s a brutal murder in a small town just like the one he grew up in—chock full of nasty secrets, and now they're threatening to surface. Beth’s narration is interspersed with that of Catching, an orphan girl involved in the gruesome goings on, whose got a devastating—yet magical—story of her own to tell. This is a quick and thrilling YA.

Easy Reader:

BRUCE’S BIG FUN DAY, by Ryan T. Higgens, is a Level 1 easy reader, starring the one and only Mother Bruce of picture book fame. Bruce is grumpy, but his friend Nibs is determined to cheer up the determinedly bad-tempered bear with a BIG FUN DAY. Unfortunately, BIG FUN DAYS make Bruce grumpy. The hijinks that follow will provide the utmost satisfaction to new readers.

Picture Books:

Did you ever wonder where the images on road signs go when the sun is down and it’s time to play? In SIGN OFF, by Stephen Savage, the mystery is solved, as the figures of children, animals, and machines all leave their brightly colored perches to enjoy a taste of freedom and perform a very important task. Brightly colored art brings this wordless fantasy to life for readers young and old!

SONNY’S BRIDGE, by Barry Wittenstein, illustrated by Keith Mallett, employs an energetic, rhythmic text to spin the story of jazz legend Sonny Rollins, focusing on his decision to step away at the height of success, to play in "a place no one goes,” up on the Williamsburg Bridge, “where he can make notes cry and squeak, beg and plead,/ bend ‘em up, bend ‘em sideways.” The digital illustrations use vibrant colors and dynamic layouts to mesmerize.

Board Book:

BABY LOVES STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING, by Ruth Spiro, illustrated by Irene Chan, is a board book that aims to introduce advanced concepts to an extremely young audience. And it actually succeeds. Using mostly simple terms, Spiro equates engineering structures, like houses, to a baby playing with Duplo-like building blocks. The illustrations are as simple and as detailed as they need to be. It’s surprisingly satisfying.

--Lynn