Category Archives: Butler Bookshelf

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Whether a story is spooky, empowering, or lighthearted, a mysterious plot offers middle-grade readers a fun way to practice close reading and inference skills. This week, we are featuring mysteries from our children’s fiction collection, with a focus on readers ages 8-12. Our Pick of the Week, Bubblegum Shoes: The Big Sleepover by Goldy Moldavsky, takes place at Marlowe Middle School during the school’s annual sleepover. When Maya Mendoza, the leader of the Gumshoes detective group, finds out that the most popular boy in school is being blackmailed, the usual sleepover festivities quickly take a backseat. Dodging school chaperones, questioning popular students they’ve never spoken to before, and causing just enough chaos to keep things interesting, Maya and her crew of detectives are determined to uncover the truth and seek justice for their classmate. But with just one night to freely roam the school, will they be able to find the blackmailer by morning? 

Check out this and other mysterious middle-grade books below:

Bubblegum Shoes: The Big Sleepover
Goldy Moldavsky
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Books for Young Readers
Available now!

The Lost Jewels of Room 713: A Bea Bellrose Mystery Novel
Jo Beckett-King
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Fear Files: Hide and Seek
Christopher Edge
Candlewick Press
Available now!

Detective Baby: Dance Team Drama
Meg Cabot
Illustrated by Amelia Allore
HarperCollins Children’s Books/HarperAlley Books
Available now!

Sneaks
Amy Tern
Holiday House
Available now!


Butler Bookshelf

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There is nothing quite like the vast world of space. It’s fascinated people for centuries, and it’s evident that readers can’t get enough of books about exploring the universe. The books we’re featuring in Butler Bookshelf for this week comes from our nonfiction section. Our featured pick is History Smashers: The Space Race (History Smashers 12) by Kate Messner. Messner explores humanity’s fascination with outer space in this latest addition to the series, and it isn’t limited to the infamous ‘space race’ between Russia and the United States (though it is covered in great detail). The book also features black-and-white graphic novel inserts, a Q&A with Laurie Leshin, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory Director for NASA from 2022-2025, a timeline of the ‘space race,’ and photographs of people, animals, and rockets that made the journey from Earth to the stars.

Here are some more books on the wonders of outer space:

History Smashers: The Space Race (History Smashers 12)
Kate Messner
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Chasing the Moon: A Captivating Journey Through Its Magical Phases
Susan Hayes
Illustrated by Anna Stead
The Quarto Group/Wide Eyed Productions
Available now!

Star, Moon, Zoom!: A Book Full of Space Facts
Moira Butterfield
Illustrated by Ro Ledesma
The Quarto Group/Happy Yak
Available now!

Sound Explorers: Space Adventure
Anna Claybourne
Illustrated by Teo Georgiev
The Quarto Group/Design Eye
Available now!

National Geographic Kids: Little Kids First: Big Book of Space 2nd Edition
Catherine D. Hughes
Random House Children’s Books/National Geographic Kids
Available now!

Butler Bookshelf

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The teenage years are a challenging and exhilarating whirlwind of change. As teens take on new responsibilities and define who they are, they may discover that their personal values do not align with their family’s values. Through authentic portrayals of this complex stage, books can offer guidance while creating opportunities to practice empathy and conflict resolution skills. This week, we included titles from our teen fiction collection featuring teenage protagonists navigating generational trauma, immigration, teen parenthood, grief, and estranged family members. Our Pick of the Week, Like Glass by Jen Ferguson, follows the journey of sixteen-year-old Tatum “Tate” Nova Lambert as she travels to Chamonix, France to reconnect with her father, whom she hasn’t spoken to since her sister’s death. When he fails to pick her up at the airport, Tate quickly realizes that healing her family won’t be easy. As she confronts painful memories, forms new relationships, and experiences new waves of grief, Tate must decide if she can forgive her father and let go of the past.

Check out more family-focused teen fiction books below:

Like Glass
Jen Ferguson
HarperCollins Children’s Books/Heartdrum
Available now!

Foreigners
E.L. Shen
HarperCollins Children’s Books/Quill Tree Books
Available now!

My Killer Family Reunion
Dinesh Thiru
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Atheneum
Available now!

In the Country I Love
Alaa Al-Barkawi
Peachtree Publishing Co/Peachtree Teen
Available now!

The Lovers, The Liars, and Me
DeAndra Davis
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Atheneum
Available now!

Butler Bookshelf

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With October around the corner comes the creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky season known as Halloween. There are at least two kinds of scary in youth literature. Some books feature uncanny but cute stories and characters, that make the season less scary, especially for younger readers. The middle-grade novels featured in this week’s Butler Bookshelf lean more toward eerie, unsettling, and downright frightening. This week’s feature pick is a new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women: Little Monsters by Máire Roche. Meg March and her younger sisters, Jo, Beth, and Amy, have more to worry about than being children in foster care. The March sisters are monsters. To make matters worse, a mysterious creature has been terrorizing their new town, and Meg can’t always remember where she is when she transforms. Will the March sisters find their way while still keep their real identities a secret, or will it all come crashing down?

Check out this and other monstrous titles:

Little Monsters
Máire Roche
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/ALADDIN
Available now!

Kiki and the New Magic (Kiki’s Delivery Service Book 2)
Eiko Kadono
Random House Children’s Books/Delacorte Press
Available now!

Remember Me, Daphne
Celia Krampien
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Atheneum
Available now!

The Doll House
D.W. Gillespie
Random House Children’s Books/Delacorte Press
Available now!

The Replay Trap
Juliana Brandt
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/ALADDIN
Available now!

Butler Bookshelf

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Nature is omnipresent and can be fun to interact with, especially for young children. Reading books about nature can introduce young readers to the wonders of the great outdoors, which is why we’re featuring nature literature from our nonfiction collection! This week’s feature pick is A Visit With the Birds: A Hands-On Nature Book by Sara Levine and illustrated by Ashley Barron. In this picture book, a child and their parent go to the park to feed and look at the birds that inhabit the city park. Young readers can point at which birds or other creatures they find on the pages. There is also a page spread that encourages readers to take a moment to move and make bird sounds. At the back of the book, there’s end matter about all the birds featured in the illustrations.

Check out this and other nature titles!

A Visit with the Birds: A Hands-on Nature Book
Sara Levine
Illustrated by Ashley Barron
Sourcebooks Kids/sourcebooks eXplore
Available now!

Buzz: A Family Guide to Bugs and Bees and How to Spot Them
Richard “Bugman” Jones
Illustrated by Sara Boccaccini Meadows
ABRAMS/Magic Cat Publishing
Available now!

Encyclopedia of Fungi
Jules Howard
Illustrated by Namasri Niumin
The Quarto Group/Wide Eyed Productions
Available now!

Nature School: In the Garden: Lessons and Activities to Cultivate Children’s Connection to the Natural World
Lauren Giordano, Stephanie Hathaway, and Laura Stroup
The Quarto Group/Quarry Books
Available now!

Woodlore: Discover the Seasons and Stories of the Forest
Kevin Parr
Illustrated by Anja Sušanj
ABRAMS/Magic Cat Publishing
Available now!

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Graphic novels are enjoyable reads for any age. The characters showcase emotion, fostering a reader’s empathy, and the format is a fantastic pathway for complex storytelling. This week we’re featuring some graphic novels from our Teen Fiction collection! This week’s feature pick is Someday Perfect written and illustrated by Kat Schneider. This graphic novel centers on teen girl Meg facing a crisis of faith. At a Christian sleepaway camp, Meg is at a crossroads between her pastor father’s expectations and her friends testing the limits of the camps’ rules. Meg doesn’t seem to want to follow her friends’ lead until she meets Danny, a gentle and charming teen boy who only seeks out her attention (and affection). Can Meg reconcile her role in her church and family with her budding romantic feelings for Danny?

Check out this and other YA graphic novel titles here:

Someday Perfect
Kat Schneider
Random House Children’s Books/RH Graphic
Available now!

Lovely Recipe
Myra Rose Nino
Random House Children’s Books/RH Graphic
Available now!

School Bus Graveyard Book 1
Red
Random House Children’s Books/Ink Pop
Available now!

Our Aimless Nights Vol 1
Koumori
Random House Children’s Books/Ink Pop
Available Now!

To Dance the Moon and Stars
Barbara Perez Marquez
Tasia S.M.
Random House Children’s Books/Joy Revolution
Available now!

Butler Bookshelf

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It’s the first full week of September, which means students are either already in school or about to start! This is a time of transition that brings up lots of big feelings, especially for those attending school for the first time. This week, we’re looking at picture books to ease the transition into the start of the school year. Our feature pick is A Not So Perfect Start by Trudy Ludwig and illustrated by Maribel Luchuga. Thea is excited for school, but she’s also nervous, and her first few days are filled with ups and downs. As she puts pressure on herself to be the perfect student and have a perfect start to the school year, her teacher reminds her that it’s ok to let go of expectations of perfection.

Check out more books for the beginning of school below!

A Not So Perfect Start
Trudy Ludwig
Illustrated by Maribel Lechuga
Random House Children’s Books/Alfred A. Knopf
Available now!

I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy
Mychal Threets
Illustrated by Lorraine Nam
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Books for Young Readers
Available now!

It Won’t Be Forever
John Dougherty
Illustrated by Thomas Docherty
The Quarto Group/Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Available now!

School Spirits
Charlotte Gunnufson
Illustrated by Rebecca Crane
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Atheneum
Available now!

Welcome to Our Classroom
Alexandra Penfold
Illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
Random House Children’s Books/Alfred A. Knopf
Available now!

Butler Bookshelf

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The first day of school is just around the corner, but the adventurous summer fun never ends here at the Butler Center. This week we’re featuring middle-grade adventure novels from our Children’s Fiction collection! Our feature pick of the week is Wilderness Hacks by Joslin Brorsen. Twelve-year-old Sadie Hahn didn’t picture herself on a raft with world famous YouTube star Radley “Rad” Shaw after winning a contest, but she’ll do anything to cheer her younger brother and Rad Shaw superfan, Silas, who was too young to compete. Rad, on the other hand, has millions of online followers but no real-life friends, and to make matters worse, he doesn’t give Sadie a good first impression. Things quickly devolve into disaster when their scripted rafting adventure goes off script, leaving both tweens to need to put aside their differences to survive in the wild.

Check out this and other adventurous titles here!

Wilderness Hacks
Joslin Brorsen
Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books
Available now!

The Misfits: A Sea Monster Conundrum (The Misfits Book: 3)
Lisa Yee
Illustrated by Dan Santat
Random House Books for Young Readers/Random House Children’s Books
Available now!

Anna-Jane and the Endless Summer
Paige Classey
Random House Books for Young Readers/Random House Children’s Books
Available now!

RV There Yet?
Suzanne Nelson
Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books
Available now!

Alex Wise Vs. The Gods of the Apocalypse (Alex Wise Book: 3)
Terry J. Benton-Walker
Labyrinth Road/Random House Children’s Books
Available now!

Butler Bookshelf

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There’s nothing quite like the horror genre. Horrific action in mystery stories can send chills down a reader’s spine, and some readers crave that thrilling sensation that leaves them at the edge of their seats, dreading and anticipating what will come next. This week’s Butler Bookshelf is focused on thrillers in our Teen Fiction collection! Our feature pick is What Lies Beneath the Flowers by Natasha Díaz. Pippa and Bidi are on a mission to find the popular, wealthy, and missing Estella Aubergine, whose reward money could help the two friends achieve their dreams. They infiltrate Estella’s school, the prestigious Beaumont Academy, where the students and teachers have dark secrets of their own. As their investigation leads to more questions than answers, Pippa and Bidi’s friendship starts to crack, and to make matters worse, someone seems to be tracking their every move. Will the two friends solve the mystery behind Estella’s disappearance before it’s too late?

Check out this and other thrilling titles!

What Lies Beneath the Flowers
Natasha Díaz
Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books
Available now!

Our Wicked Gifts
Kathryn Foxfield
Random House Books for Young Readers/Random House Children’s Books
Available now!

Monarchs in the Wild
Israel Moya
Tu Books/Lee & Low Books
Available now!

Mystery Guest
Maren Stoffels
Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books
Available now!

Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls
Cynthia Murphy
Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books
Available now!

Butler Bookshelf

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For this week’s Butler Bookshelf, we’re looking at picture books about animals. Our feature pick is Puggle Snuggles by Mo O’Hara, illustrated by Loretta Schauer. In this rhyming picture book about baby animals, Platypus’s puggle just wants to snuggle the day away. But when nighttime comes, the puggle and the other baby nocturnal animals come out to party!

Check out more books about animals below:

Puggle Snuggles
Mo O’Hara
Illustrated by Loretta Schauer
The Quarto Group/Happy Yak
Available now!

Duck Delivers
Tom Tinn-Disbury
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Studio
Available now!

Gigantic: The Small Whale With a Big Heart
Rob Biddulph
Random House Children’s Books/Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Lulu Didn’t Want a Dog
Laurel Molk
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Studio
Available now!

Pretty Close, but Not the Same: A Side-By-Side Look at Confusable Critters
Meg Fleming
Illustrated by Steph Stilwell
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Beach Lane Books
Available now!