Sometimes we all need a little help from our friends and neighbors. These books and more are on display now in the Youth Services area. Check them out!
Picture Books
All of Usby Carin Berger
With beautiful collage art and lyrical text this book offers a message of hope in the face of adversity and celebrates the power of community, family, and most of all, love.
The Concrete Garden
by Bob Graham
After a long, cold winter, doors finally open, and children spill out like candies from a box. Amanda is the last one out of the apartment building, with a carton of chalk in her hands. On every inch of the pavement outside, the children draw pictures of flowers and trees, mushrooms and snails, and a few very unexpected things. It’s a concrete garden. Their creativity, unfettered in the open air, brings something beautiful, something hopeful, to the residents there, and to many more across the globe.
Our Little Kitchen
by Jillian Tamaki
A crew of resourceful neighbors comes together to prepare a meal for their community. Includes a recipe and an author’s note about the volunteering experience that inspired the book.
Watercress
by Andrea Wang and Jason Chin
Embarrassed about gathering watercress from a roadside ditch, a girl learns to appreciate her Chinese heritage after learning why the plant is so important to her parents.
Something, Someday
by Amanda Gorman and Christian Robinson
Reveals how even the smallest gesture can have a lasting impact on the world’s biggest problems.
What You Need to Be Warm
by Neil Gaiman
During the coldest season, when the world feels scary — what do you remember about being warm? Baked potatoes. Trust. A kettle on the stove. Blankets. A smile. And, most of all, the reassurance that you belong. In his powerful and moving poem, featuring illustrations from thirteen extraordinary artists, bestselling author and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Neil Gaiman draws together many different memories to answer the question, “what do you need to be warm?”
Maddi’s Fridge
by Lois Brandt and Vin Vogel
Maddi’s fridge is almost empty, while Sophia’s fridge is full of food. How can Sophia help her friend Maddi without breaking her promise not to tell anyone?
A New Harvest
by Cristina Esposito Escalana and Miguel Angel Diaz
Rodrigo has lost his family home due to a devastating tornado. Surrounded by rubble, he almost gives up. But then he remembers his father’s words of encouragement and finds the strength to build a new life. He slowly developed the confidence start again and bring hope to lonesome, vulnerable and homeless people.
Chapter Books
Wishtree
by Katherine Applegate
An old red oak tree tells how he and his crow friend, Bongo, help their human neighbors get along after a threat against an immigrant family is carved into the tree’s trunk.
Almost Home
by Joan Bauer
When Sugar and her mother lose their beloved house, they head to Chicago for a fresh start, only to discover that fresh starts aren’t so easy to come by for the homeless. Nevertheless, Sugar’s mother has taught her to be grateful no matter what, so Sugar does her best. With the help of a rescue dog, Shush; a foster family; a supportive teacher; a love of poetry; and her own grace and good humor, Sugar comes to understand that while she can’t control the hand life deals her, she can control how she responds.
A Duet for Home
by Karina Yan Glaser
It’s June’s first day at Huey House, and as if losing her home weren’t enough, she also can’t bring her cherished viola inside. Before the accident last year, her dad saved tip money for a year to buy her viola, and she’s not about to give it up now. Tyrell has been at Huey House for three years and gives June a glimpse of the good things about living there: friendship, hot meals, and a classical musician next door. Can he and June work together to oppose the government, or will families be forced out of Huey House before they are ready.
Front Desk
by Kelly Yang
Recent immigrants from China, ten-year-old Mia Tang’s parents take a job managing a motel in Southern California. The owner, Mr Yao exploits them, while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants–not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade class, the other being Mr. Yao’s son, Jason.
The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser When catastrophe strikes their beloved upstairs neighbors, the Vanderbeeker children set out to build the best, most magical healing garden in Harlem–in spite of a locked fence, thistles and trash, and the conflicting plans of a wealthy real estate developer.
