Happy June! I don’t know about where you live, but where I am, I think we skipped Spring altogether. It’s toasty and humid, so I think it is best to stay inside where it is air conditioned and enjoy a good book. Here are some of the titles coming out this week:
Books for Kids
Don’t Tell – Another book that breaks the fourth wall by the author of Don’t Blink.
Neck & Neck – A giraffe who is used to being the star of the zoo faces off against a giraffe balloon. This looks hysterical.
Niblet & Ralph – Two cats become friends across a courtyard, but when each decides to go visit the other, their owners mistake them for one another. This looks adorable! Can’t wait to read this one.
Harriet Tubman – The latest in the Little People Big Dreams series. Also out this week is Georgia O’Keeffe and Jane Austen
Peanut Butter’s First Day of School – I love the creative illustrations for this whole series, which is branching into Early Readers after picture books and board books.
Buggin’Out! (Marvel Superhero Adventures) – An early chapter book starring Marvel’s Spider-Man, Ant-man and Wasp. If I was still teaching, this is a series I would have in the library. Great for kids who love superheroes and who are ready to dive into chapter books.
Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults
Annie B, Made for TV – A girl with a best friend who seems to always win everything has a chance to shine in a local web show.
Breakout – The latest from the fantastic Kate Messner is told in letters, emails, and transcripts from three girls whose summer plans change when two inmates escape from the local prison. I’ll be posting a review of this one tomorrow.
Cardboard Kingdom – Graphic Novel about a group of kids who transform their neighborhood with cardboard during their summer vacation. Can’t wait to read this one!
Guardians of Taiga – Wild Rescuers – Illustrated Middle Grade book about a girl raised by wolves whose mission is to help those in the forest. This sounds like an interesting blend of fantasy and environmental conservation.
Lions and Liars – A group of boys at disciplinary camp are just starting to break down barriers and build friendships when a Category 5 hurricane moves their way. The illustrations by Dan Santat got me to put this book on my list. The story makes this a must read for me. I’ve requested this one from my local library.
The Seismic Seven – Seven kids working at Yellowstone race to save the world from a supervolcano. Sounds like a perfect action adventure story for summer reading!
Who Is Pele?
Who Was Leif Erikson?
City of Bastards – Sequel to the fantastic Royal Bastards. While Tilla and her friends are relatively safe in their new home, danger lurks around every corner and things aren’t as they appear. Tilla is attacked and a classmate is killed. Tilla is determined to find out what is really going on. I loved the first book, so this one is at the top of my reading list for the week!
Dear Rachel Maddow – A teen struggles after the death of her brother, but a class assignment to write to a famous person starts to change things. I’ll be reviewing this later this week.
Eden Conquered – The conclusion of the story started in Dividing Eden about twins fighting one another for control of their kingdom. This is the other book at the top of my reading list for this week. I’ve already requested this one from the library, too.
Invisible Ghosts – Girl-meets-boy and boy-meets-girl’s-ghost-brother. This sounds terrific. I have this on my summer reading list, too.
Jacked Up – Ghosts must be a theme this week as this book is about a boy whose parents send him to “Jesus camp” after the death of his sister, but the dead poet Jack Kerouac is following him around. After the poet convinces Nick to place his deepest secret in a locked box at the camp, the box is stolen and campers’ secrets aren’t so secret anymore. This is just quirky enough for me that I will definitely be putting this on my library list to check it out.
Little Do We Know – Former best friends can’t seem to get over their past until an accident brings secrets to light. I have this on my list, too.
Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe – When the school quarterback comes back from a near-death experience and says he saw God, he says God gave him a list of things to do to make their high school less awful – and that Cliff – “Neanderthal” – is supposed to help. Yep, another quirky one that is totally going on my list.
Opposite of Here – A missing person on a cruise ship? Yep, I’m going to need this mystery, too.
Save the Date – A girl hopes her older sister’s wedding will be the chance to put everything in her family back the way it was before they were selling the house and all of her older siblings moved away. But this wedding weekend is shaping up to to be anything but perfect. Sounds like an excellent summer beach read. This is on my list, too.
What You Left Me – Two teens meet at graduation and immediately hit it off, wondering why they didn’t meet sooner. But a car accident puts one of them in a coma and the other is left trying to put the pieces together. This sounds great, too.
Books for Adults
As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles (June 8) – Book 5 in the Food Lovers’ Village series. In the heat of summer, a Christmas book sounds refreshing. I’ll be reviewing this one soon. (Trade paperback*)
Cherry Pies & Deadly Lies – First in a new Very Cherry mystery series. I’ll be reviewing this one on Wednesday this week. Come back and read all about it! (Trade paperback*)
The President Is Missing (June 4) – I am number 34 on the holds list for this book from the library. This team up between Patterson and the former President is a thriller that supposedly could only be written by someone with insider information. I’m curious to see if this one lives up to the hype. (Hardcover*)
The Solace of Water – A woman who lost her son befriends a reclusive Amish woman who in turn befriends the grieving mother’s daughter. But secrets and hurts abound in these two families and in a community divided by race and by faith. I’m really curious to check this one out. (Trade paperback*)
Star Trek Discovery: Fear Itself – An original story based on the characters in the CBS All Access Star Trek series. This is a series I’d like to try out before I read the books, but I have heard mixed reviews on it. (Trade paperback*)
The Word Is Murder – The author of this mystery puts a fictional version of himself into a story of a woman who plans her own funeral and is found murdered several hours later. This sounds dark and twisty. (Hardcover*)
Isaiah – A Bible commentary on the book of Isaiah. I just finished a study of Isaiah, and I loved it. I am eager to read this commentary and see what new insights it might provide.
*I’ve noticed that publishers have shifted some of their new mystery series to Trade paperback (full size paperback with a sale price around $15 or $16) or hardcover (with a sale price around $25) instead of Mass Market paperback which runs around $8. When I think of it, I’ll try to note the format so readers can plan their book budgets – and trips to the library – accordingly.