Picture books can serve as a wonderful window for young readers into the worlds and cultures of other people (and themselves!), which is why for this week’s Butler Bookshelf, we’re focusing on picture books about culture and traditions. Our feature pick is With You in Spirit: A Qing Ming Story by Jenny Liao and illustrated by Lenny Wen. The young protagonist in this story celebrates Qing Ming, or Tomb Sweeping Day, as she remembers and honors her late grandfather.

Check out more picture books on culture and traditions below!

With You in Spirit: A Qing Ming Story
Jenny Liao
Illustrated by Lenny Wen
Random House Children’s Books/Alfred A. Knopf
Available now!

A Ramadan Night
Nadine Presley
Illustrated by Asma Enayeh
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Salaam Reads
Available now!

Jeong is Jeong
Jessica Yoon
Illustrated by Michelle Lee
Random House Children’s Books/Make Me A World
Available now!

Something Sweet: A Sitting Shiva Story
Leslea Newman
Illustrated by Sarita Rich
Charlesbridge
Available now!

Sometimes We Pray
Mary Wagley Copp
Illustrated by Felishia Henditirto
Charlesbridge
Available now!

For this week’s Butler Bookshelf, we’re looking at some of the board books in our collection. Our feature pick is Like So by Ruth Forman and illustrated by Raissa Figeroa. A board book adaptation of the 2024 picture book, this story focuses on family and nature, accompanied by colorful images of a grandmother and her granddaughter.

Check out more board books below!

Like So
Ruth Forman
Illustrated by Raissa Figeroa
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Little Simon
Available now!

Hello, Sleep!
Illustrated by Ania Simeone
The Quarto Group/Happy Yak
Available now!

Mi Cielo, My Sky
Dori Elys
Illustrated by Erika Rodriguez Medina
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Little Simon
Available now!

My Heart Knows Love
Yuli Yav
Illustrated by Sydney Hanson
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Little Simon
Available now!

Baby Loves Robotics!
Ruth Spiro
Illustrated by Kat Uno
Charlesbridge
Available now!

In this week’s Butler Bookshelf, we’re looking at a staple in any school library: graphic novels. Across fiction and nonfiction and covering multiple reading levels, these graphic novels appeal to a wide variety of readers. Our feature pick is Harper Sharp: Kid Detective by Jarrett Williams. The Young Inventor’s Fair is coming up, but someone at Starview Elementary is threatening to ruin it. Harper Sharp is sure he can crack the case, but can he juggle the mystery, working on his own project, and spending time with his friends and family? The clock is ticking, and Principal Toughcook is counting on Harper to find the culprit before the fair starts!

Check out more graphic novels below:

Harper Sharp, Kid Detective
Jarrett Williams
Random House Children’s Books/RH Graphic
Available now!

Oh Brother: A Graphic Memoir
Georgina Chadderton
Random House Children’s Books/RH Graphic
Available now!

Pizza and Taco: Go Viral!
Stephen Shaskan
Random House Children’s Books/RH Graphic
Available now!

Squirrel Lock Holmes: The Pet Rock Mystery
Ashley Belote
Random House Children’s Books/RH Graphic
Available now!

StEvEn & Parker: Dinos Are Forever!
Parker James
Ilustrated by Toonstar Studios
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Books for Young Readers

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