For this week’s Butler Bookshelf, we’re taking a look at middle grade fantasy. Full of magic, mythology, and mythical creatures, this selection has something for any reader who wants to venture beyond the fabric of reality. Our feature pick is The Aftermyth by Tracy Wolff. Penelope Weaver arrives at Anaximander’s Academy certain of her path — she and her twin brother, Paris, will be placed in Athena Hall, just like their parents and their parents’ parents before them. But on her first day, everything seems to go wrong, and Penelope isn’t claimed by Athena. Instead, she ends up separated from Paris and stuck in Aphrodite Hall, where parties are prioritized over studying, and everyone seems to think there’s no point in even trying to win the yearly hall contest. But as more and more strange things start to happen, Penelope learns that she has a lot to uncover about herself — and the history and mythology that Anaximander’s legacy is built on.

Check out more middle grade fantasy below!

The Aftermyth
Tracy Wolff
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Aladdin
Available now!

The Curse Breaker
Jen Calonita
HarperCollins Publishers/Clarion Books
Available now!

Lola Gillette and the Summer of Second Chances
Kimberly Behre Kenna
Between the Lines/Willow River Press
Available now!

Hilo Presents: The Mighty: (A Graphic Novel)
Judd Winick
Random House Children’s Books/RH Graphic
Available now!

Rialto
Kate Milford
HarperCollins Publishers/Clarion Books
Available April 14, 2026

The young adult romance genre is one that’s practically evergreen — no matter who they are, every young reader loves a love story. This week, we’re taking a look at some of the teen romances in our collection at the Butler Center. Our feature pick is Steam by Shaenon K. Garrity, illustrated by Emily Holden. When genetically engineered super-genius Ruby escapes from her lab prison, she uses her brains to play matchmaker at a local coffee shop. But Ruby still has a lot to learn about human interaction, and her time is running out with agents hot on her trail and ready to send her back to the lab. Can she figure out humanity (and love) before it’s too late?

Check out more young adult romances below!

Steam
Shaenon K. Garrity
Illustrated by Emily Holden
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available now!

Few Blue Skies
Carolina Ixta
HarperCollins Publishers/Quill Tree Books
Available now!

Love in Ruins
Auriane Desombre
Random House Children’s Books/Delacorte Romance
Available now!

Love Me Tomorrow
Emiko Jean
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Sarah Barley Books
Available now!

Love on Ice
Sara Ney
Random House Children’s Books/Delacorte Romance
Available now!

For this week’s Butler Bookshelf, we’re taking a look at picture book biographies. From sports to literature to music and activism, these biographies introduce young readers to figures from a wide variety of fields, whether those subjects are household names or relatively unknown. Our feature pick is Talking Books: Audiobook Inventor Dr. Robert B. Irwin and a New Way to Read by Jenny Lacika, illustrated by Ashanti Fortson. This informative picture book with full color illustrations follows Dr. Irwin’s life from his struggles growing up blind with limited ways to learn and read, through to his invention of “talking books” and work to make learning and reading accessible to wider numbers of people.

Check out more picture book biographies below!

Talking Books: Audiobook Inventor Robert B. Irwin and a New Way to Read
Jenny Lacika
Illustrated by Ashanti Fortson
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Louisa Learns to Write: Louisa May Alcott Creates Little Women
Kate Hannigan
Illustrated by Sofia Moore
Astra Books for Young Readers/Calkins Creek
Available now!

Mikaela Shiffrin
Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
Illustrated by Anastasia Ryzhkova
The Quarto Group/Frances Lincoln
Available now!

Singing Justice, Singing Peace: The Story of Joan Baez
Monica Brown
Illustrated by Molly Mendoza
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Beach Lane Books
Available now!

Writing Toward Justice: The Life and Reporting of Alice A. Dunnigan
Peggy Thomas
Illustrated by Tonya Engel
Available now!

As Black History Month continues, we’re back with the second of our two blog posts highlighting Black authors, characters, and experiences in our New Book Collection. Last week we took a look at picture books, so this week we’re turning our attention to books for older readers. Spanning fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, these titles are just a selection of what we have available in the Butler Center. Our feature pick this week is Twice Enslaved: Liberty and Justice for Henrietta Wood by Selene Castrovilla, illustrated by Erin K. Robinson. This collection of poetry tells the story of Henrietta Woods, an enslaved woman was granted her freedom and was unjustly kidnapped and re-enslaved. Through Castrovilla’s poems and Robinson’s illustrations, Woods’ life is portrayed from her birth through her freedom and kidnapping, to her eventual successful court case against the man who kidnapped her, all while she continues holding on to hope and a desire for justice.

Check out more Black History Month reads for older readers below!

Coming Home (Adapted for Young Adults)
Brittney Griner with Michelle Buford
Random House Children’s Books/Bright Matter Books
Available now!

Hattie Mae Begins Again
Sharon G. Flake
Random House Children’s Books/Alfred A. Knopf
Available now!

Lovely One (Adapted for Young Adults)
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Random House Children’s Books/Bright Matter Books
Available now!

The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay
Ryan Douglass
HarperCollins Publishers/HarperCollins Children’s Books
Available now!

Twice Enslaved: Liberty and Justice for Henrietta Wood
Selene Castrovilla
Illustrated by Erin K. Robinson
Astra Books for Young Readers/Calkins Creek
Available now!

February is Black History Month, and we’re celebrating with two weeks of posts highlighting Black authors, characters, and experiences in our New Book Collection here in the Butler Center. This week, we’re looking at picture books, with our feature pick being Baseball for Breakfast: A (Mostly) True Story by Judy Campbell-Smith and illustrated by Maggie Carroll. Jimmy loves watching the Milwaukee Brewers with Ma and Pop. But when Pop leaves to fight in World War II, Ma starts working overnight factory shifts to support herself and Jimmy in his absence, and Jimmy suddenly has no one to go with him to baseball games in the afternoons and evenings. When Brewers owner Bill Veeck hears about the conundrum, he comes up with a new idea to keep baseball accessible to Jimmy’s family and all the others like them — morning baseball games, with free admission for night shift workers.

Check out more picture books for Black History Month below!

Baseball for Breakfast: A (Mostly) True Story
Judy Campbell-Smith
Illustrated by Maggie Carroll
Charlesbridge
Available now!

Do I Love You? Yes I Do!
Ruth Forman
Illustrated by Raissa Figeuroa
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Little Simon
Available now!

Haircut Day with Dad
Monica Mikai
Random House Children’s Books/Crown Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Hairstory
Sope Martins
Illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Love That Baby Hair!
Alliah L. Agostini
Illustrated by Sawyer Cloud
Charlesbridge
Available March 3, 2026

This week for our Butler Bookshelf, we’re taking a look at realistic fiction for elementary school. Real-life stories often fly off the shelves in a school library, and with everything from early chapter books to more advanced middle grade books to graphic novels, this selection has something for every young reader. Our feature pick is Sweet Valley Twins: Three’s A Crowd: (A Graphic Novel), written by Francine Pascal, adapted by Nicole Andelfinger, and illustrated by Claudia Aguirre. Elizabeth and Jessica have been entertaining readers across several series in the Sweet Valley universe since 1983. In this graphic adaptation of the seventh book in the Sweet Valley Twins series, the two middle schoolers are put off by their friend Mary, who seems to want to come over to their house just to hang out with the twins’ mom. When the truth about Mary’s past and family situation come to light, Jess and Liz have their previous assumptions challenged and see Mary in a new, more empathetic light.

Check out more realistic fiction for elementary readers below!

A Kid Like Me
Norm Feuti
HarperCollins Publishers/HarperAlley
Available now!

Nadia Islam, On the Record
Adiba Jaigirdar
Illustrated by Avani Dwivedi
HarperCollins Publishers/Quill Tree Books
Available now!

Some of Us Are Brave
Saadia Faruqi
HarperCollins Publishers/HarperCollins Children’s Books
Available February 10, 2026

Sweet Valley Twins: Three’s A Crowd: (A Graphic Novel)
Created and Story by Francine Pascal
Adaptation by Nicole Andelfinger
Illustrated by Claudia Aguirre
Random House Children’s Books/RH Graphic
Available now!

Venus Washington and the Lasagna Drama
Maisha Oso
Illustrated by Courtney Lovett
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Leaving 4B
Chambrae Griffith
Illustrated by Amelie Videlo
Beaming Books
Ages 4-8
Available April 21, 2026

4B is perfect, with its hidey-hole and climbing tree and polka-dot wall. But with their family growing bigger, the main character in this picture book has to leave it all behind. The new house, with no hidey-hole or climbing tree or polka-dot wall, seems like it can never compare. But as the family settles into the new house and meets their neighbors, the main character learns that this new home might not be so bad, after all.

Leaving 4B speaks from the perspective of a child, giving voice to all the fears and uncertainties that come with big changes. Griffith gently validates these feelings while also showing how to look for positives in a changing situation. The new house may never be 4B, but, she points out, there are exciting new adventures to be found. Videlo’s illustrations depict a diverse variety of neighbors both old and new, allowing many readers to see themselves in the story.

Moving is something many children will experience, and it’s something they’re likely to have big feelings about. Leaving 4B can open a conversation about those feelings, while also helping a young reader look forward to the good things that can come from a new home.