I love this 2020 picture book title. This beautifully illustrated book describes what children are. A child is a non-stop ball of energy. A child is a force of nature. A child is also a tight hug. Every child is worthy of success. Many of the pictures depict African American boys. Find a child you are proud of and read this book together. Share this book with a child who needs to hear that he or she is worthy to be loved. Read this book to yourself. Read it again and again.

This title available in print and as a ebook.

This new J fiction book features Maggie. Maggie is eleven years old and has one older brother and one younger brother. Maybe you know how Maggie feels. She just wants to be noticed, she just wants to be looked at with admiration for something she has accomplished. But Maggie knows in her society the eldest is always the one who gets noticed! What can she do, she wonders to get noticed. Maggie doesn't really want to break the rules but if she can become a hero in doing so maybe just maybe it will be okay.
Meanwhile, we meet Una, a wanderer whose father is sick and not getting better. How can she help her father but maintain their way of life?
I do not normally enjoy the fantasy genre but the author, Kirsty Applebaum drew me into the story early and I was hooked. I wanted to know if Maggie would feel appreciated even as a "middler" child. I wanted to know what happens to all the eldest children when they go off to camp. And what about Una and her father, would he get better? Would they stay wanderers forever? If your curiosity is piqued, maybe you’d like to check this book out from the Youth Services area of our Vigo County Public Library.

The library has one print copy of this title. You can listen to this title on Hoopla as an audiobook.

If you want to be inspired to start releasing creative work, this book is -- and isn’t -- for you. It’s inspiring, sure, but one of the key messages in the book is “Don’t wait for inspiration.” Instead, Godin says that you should develop a practice of creating, then trust that the practice is worth doing. Inspiration isn’t something to wait for. It’s the people who continue their practice without waiting for inspiration that ultimately are inspired. Famous authors, sculptors, architects, and other artists are often the ones who sit down and create. People who sit and try to figure out the perfect next move are just fooling themselves, hiding behind their fear of failure, and never get anything of consequence shipped.

“Show us your hour spent on the practice and we’ll show you your creative path. You already know what to do to be creative. And you already know how to do it. You’ve done it before, at least once. At least once you’ve said or done something insightful, generous, and original. At least once you’ve solved a problem or given someone a hand by shining a light. The practice simply asks you to do it more than once, to do it often enough that it becomes your practice.”

Early in the book, Godin describes art as being an “act of doing something that might not work, something generous, something that will make a difference. The emotional act of doing personal, self-directed work to make a change that we can be proud of.” For most of the remainder of the book, he walks through each bit of this definition, showing how each facet results in high quality creative work that is worth doing. When a thing is worth doing, he says, the outcome isn’t the important part. The practice is.

Camino Rios loves the summer. That’s when her father comes to visit her in the Dominican Republic. This year though when she gets to the airport she isn’t greeted by her father’s smile. Instead she’s greeted by the crowds of crying people. In New York, Yahaira Rios is in the principal’s office listening to her mother telling her that her father has died in a plane crash. As the girls are forced to face the loss of their father and the reality of life without him they discover each other. This novel in verse tells the story of two sisters, separated by an ocean and decades of Papi’s secrets, supporting each other through their grief and finding out what having a sister means to them.

A reluctant king, a shut-in queen, a mad monk, and a rebellion on the rise. The fall of the Russian empire is famously shrouded in myth and mystery. How did Czar Nicholas manage to lose the trust and adoration of the Russian people? Was the monk Rasputin really a holy man or a con-artist trying to steal the crown? Did Princess Annastasia survive the massacre that killed the rest of the royal family? Through thorough research and thoughtful writing Candace Fleming answers all these questions and more. Using diary entries and letters from the last rulers of the Russian Empire the author brings to life the people behind the stories. Perfect for history buffs and fans of royal intrigue.

Through poems, prose, interviews, and art the women in this collection share their stories of what it’s like to be an indigenous woman in today’s world. From outsiders antiquated pictures of Native Americans, to just plain racism, these women shed light on their experiences and the experiences of their peers. A fantastic book for anyone wanting to learn more about Indigenous American experiences today.

A Gumiho is a fox, specifically a fox with 9 tails that hunts people and eats their livers. They are demons known in many cultures as monsters that can disguise themselves as beautiful women to seduce and capture their prey. But is it really that simple? Gu Miyong is a Gumiho but she doesn’t rip her victims apart, and she preys upon only the most heinous criminal. She hates that she has to kill to live but such is the life of a Gumiho. She knows humans will never trust her if they ever find out what she truly is, or at least that’s what she has been told. She trusts no one except her mother, has no one that she considers a friend, and wants to keep it that way. Everything changes in an instant when a charming slacker named Jihoon stumbles upon her secret. Cho does a fantastic job of world building. Fans of folklore and the paranormal, romance, and K-Dramas will love this book and its sequel Vicious Spirits.

When Allie’s crayon broke while coloring, she became an angry furious red anger monster. As she stomps around and throws a tantrum, her brother shows her ways to manage her anger, which sometimes can be overwhelming and tough for children. Allie All Along is a great read-aloud exploring simple ways kids can center themselves in the face of overwhelming emotions.