Oh, the Thinks You Can Think

Book reviews and other fun for kids and caregivers, by Library Staff

Home At Last

Reviewed by Lisa C.

November is Picture Book Month and National Adoption Awareness Month, with a special focus on the adoption of children currently in foster care.

Home At Last, a collaborative effort of notable authors and illustrators Vera B. Williams and Chris Raschka, portrays the nervousness of Lester, a young boy adjusting to his new home with Daddy Albert and Daddy Rich.

Posted by Lisa C. on November 20, 2018
Home at last
Family Relationships
Picture Book
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think

Staff Picks: The Firefly Code

Reviewed by Ginny H. 

In this adventurous, science fiction story, Mori lives a perfect life in Old Harmonie. Their town is a utopian community where kids are genetically altered to super-enhance a powerful trait, like puzzle solving, physical agility, or photographic memory. But when a strangely perfect new girl named Ilana moves in, Mori and her friends begin to question the only world they have ever known. 

Check out The Firefly Code by Megan Frazer Blakemore! 

Posted by Alex G. on November 13, 2018
The Firefly Code
Adventure
Children's
Read
Science Fiction
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think

Staff Picks: The Doll People

Reviewed by Dana D.

In 1898, a very special dollhouse (complete with a china doll family) arrived from England for a little girl. Annabelle, one of the dolls, has now been an 8-year-old for over 100 years and it’s getting boring. She sees the human girls grow up and new girls come to play with her, but she remains the same.

One night while looking at “books”, which are really just blocks of wood with titles painted on them, she discovers the real diary of her long-lost aunt. No one knows about the diary and she wants to keep it secret. She decides to solve the mystery of how her aunt disappeared by leaving the dollhouse.  When she asks if anyone in her family has ever looked for her aunt outside of the dollhouse, they all answer “NO!” A doll risks Doll State, an inability to move for 24 hours, if it is seen moving about on its own. And if a doll is seen doing something very extraordinary it can end up in Permanent Doll State, which lasts forever.

Posted by Alex G. on October 30, 2018
The Doll People
Read
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think

Staff Picks: The War That Saved My Life

Reviewed by Stephanie H. 

I love Ada! Ada and this character-driven historical fiction won many awards, including the Newbery Honor book. She and her younger brother Jamie are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II. Away from the bombings and their abusive mother, they find the rural setting and their new caregiver both frightening and joyful. 

Never have I been so glad for a sequel! Ada grew so much in the first novel, but in the sequel she really demonstrates her strength against the formidable Lady Thorton, runaway horses, and a war that now reaches the countryside and those she has come to love. 

Powerful and uplifting! 

Posted by Alex G. on October 23, 2018
The War That Saved My Life; The War I Finally Won
Britain
Historical
Read
World War II
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think

Women's History Month in Children's Books

Women’s History Month is almost over, but it’s not too late to check out some of our great children’s books featuring strong female characters. Browse our Women's History Month display in the Main Library Children's Area until the end of March—and celebrate women’s history throughout the year with books that inspire and delight young readers.

Posted by Lizzie F. on March 21, 2018
Firebird
Rosie Revere, Engineer
The Paper Bag Princess
The Princess in Black
The First Rule of Punk
Inside Out and Back Again
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
History
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think

Lunar New Year

year-of-the-dog-lunar-new-year-celebration_social-media_01-18.jpgHappy New Year! Lunar New Year is an important holiday in China—and February 16 is the first day of the Year of the Dog. Unlike the Western calendar, which is based on the sun’s cycle, the lunar calendar tracks the cycles of the moon, meaning the Chinese New Year falls on a different Western date each year. This time of festivities, rest, and family goes back thousands of years.

Posted by Sam O. on February 12, 2018
Holiday
Teens
Information, Answers & Reviews
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think

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