New Books for April 10
5 tremendously silly Munsch stories
Munsch, Robert N., 1945- author
2023
Five tremendously silly and utterly timeless Munsch stories -- all in one hilarious collection!
Almost surely dead
Akhtar, Amina, author
2024
Dunia Ahmed is the subject of a true crime podcast. She's been missing for over a year, and no one knows if she's dead or alive. Her story has listeners obsessed. In the days before her disappearance, something happens that really shakes up her world: someone tries to murder her. When her would-be killer winds up dead, Dunia figures the worst is over. But then there's another attempt on her life - and another. Dunia struggles to make sense of what's happening. And as childhood superstitions seep into her reality, she becomes convinced that someone - or something - is truly after her.
The big cheese
John, Jory, author
2023
The best at everything and not afraid to let others know it, the Big Cheese is prepared to win the annual Cheese-cathlon, but when the quiet new kid, Wedge Wedgeman, comes out on top, Big Cheese gets a slice of humility.
Big mall : shopping for meaning
Black, Kate (Kate Grace), author
2024
In less than a century, the shopping mall has morphed from a blueprint for a socialist utopia to something else entirely: a home to disaffected mallrats and depressed zoo animals, a sensory overload and consumerist trap. Kate Black grew up in North America's largest mall: West Edmonton Mall - a mall on steroids. Blending a history of shopping with a story of coming-of-age in North America's largest and strangest mall, Kate investigates how these structures have become the ultimate symbol of late-capitalist dread - and, surprisingly, a subversive site of hope.
Big money : what it is, how we use it, and why our choices matter
Donnelly, Rebecca, author
2023
"Big Money aims to explain economic principles to middle-grade readers in a way that combines the weird and the meaningful, like Planet Money for kids. The book will be organized in seven chapters, each posing a general question and answering it through real-world examples to help readers explore the consequences of their everyday economic choices by connecting the dots between themselves and the larger economic and social systems around them."-- Provided by publisher.
Big, big feelings
Emerson, Perry (Children's author), author.
2023
Willow is an adorable little sister--most of the time. Sometimes, her feelings get to be just a bit too much, and WAAAHHH!!--a tantrum ensues. But with a lot of love, support, and patience from her older brother, Willow soon learns that she has a superpower to help deal with those big feelings: her words!
The book of mysteries, magic, and the unexplained
Macfarlane, Tamara, author
2023
A compendium for kids of all things magical and unexplained throughout the ages and around the world. A fascinating look into the secrets of the supernatural world for curious children obsessed with magic and mystery. Informative as well as fun, this compelling book explores every aspect of magic through the ages and across many cultures. It traces the history of magic rituals from spells and potions to alchemy and shamanism, as well as investigating other mysteries of the paranormal. No other book offers the same in-depth, analytical approach to the supernatural. While it's a fun read, it takes its subject seriously-taking a historical, fully comprehensive approach to the supernatural world across all cultures. With stunning illustrations on every page, The Book of Mysteries, Magic, and the Unexplained traces the story of myth and magic from ancient superstitions to medieval alchemy and divination to the modern-day fascination with the occult. Taking a neutral stance, it explores the facts behind spells and potions, seances and tarot cards, fortune tellers, witchcraft and wizardry, unexplained natural phenomena, and much, much more. This intriguing book cannot fail to capture the imagination of kids everywhere.
Crosshairs
Patterson, James, 1947-, author
2024
Officer Rob Trilling doesn't like to talk about himself. But he has an impressive resume as a former Army Ranger and as a sniper with NYPD's Emergency Services Unit. Detective Michael Bennett struggles to connect with the soldier, especially when Trilling begins to log unexplained absences from duty. Trilling may be more comfortable with rifles than he is with people, but only Bennett can prove whether his partner is a lonely hunter or a hardened assassin.
Dinner on monster island : essays
De Rozario, Tania, author
2024
In this unusual, engaging, and intimate collection of personal essays, Lamba Literary Award finalist Tania De Rozario recalls growing up as a queer, brown, fat girl in Singapore, blending memoir with elements of history, pop culture, horror films, and current events to explore the nature of monsters and what it means to be different.
Dream town
Goldberg, Lee, 1962-, author
2024
Hidden Hills is a private celebrity enclave of white picket fences and horse trails that seems to exist in a dreamworld. But when reality superstar Kitty Winslow is killed within their gates and corpses are found in the vast state park outside them, LASD detective Eve Ronin realizes there is a deadly, razor-thin line between what's real and what's imagined. Eve's grip on reality and the case is strained to the breaking point as the slayings continue, the media frenzy reaches a fever pitch, and the only inescapable truth she can see is death - and it's coming for her.
Extreme animals
Parker, Steve, 1952- author
2017
Describes animals that have unique characteristics, including the cheetah, peregrine falcon, sunfish, and star-nosed mole.
Fourteen days : a literary project of the Authors Guild of America
2024
One week into the COVID-19 shutdown, tenants of a Lower East Side apartment building in Manhattan have begun to gather on the rooftop and tell stories. With each passing night, more and more neighbors gather, bringing chairs and milk crates and overturned pails. Gradually the tenants, some of whom have barely spoken to each other, become real neighbors. In this Decameron-like serial novel, general editor Margaret Atwood, Authors Guild president Douglas Preston, and a star-studded list of contributors create a beautiful ode to the people who couldn't get away from the city when the pandemic hit.
The game
Kemp, Martin, 1961- author.
2023
Johnny Klein is a rock casualty, a fallen 1980s popstar who has lost everything - his family, his money and his fame. Thrown a lifeline by an old contact in the music business, Johnny doesn't care what he is getting himself into. Dragged down into East London's dark underbelly, Johnny discovers there is more at stake than his own shattered ego. Johnny hates being yesterday's man but now he's wishing he could disappear altogether. The party might be over, but there's no escape from the past.
Harbor lights : stories
Burke, James Lee, 1936-, author
2024
These eight stories move from the marshlands on the Gulf of Mexico to the sweeping plains of Colorado to prisons, saloons, and trailer parks across the South, weaving together love, friendship, violence, survival, and revenge. ... With his nuanced characters, lyrical prose, and ability to write shocking violence in the most evocative settings, James Lee Burke's ... skills are on display in this ... anthology. Harbor Lights unfolds in stories that crackle and reverberate as unexpected heroes emerge.
Hits, flops, and other illusions : my fortysomething years in Hollywood
Zwick, Edward, author.
2024
Ed Zwick has encountered many Hollywood types during four decades of directing, producing, and writing. Though there are many factors behind such success, he's known to have a special talent for bringing out the best in the people he's worked with, especially the actors. In those intense collaborations, he's sought to discover the small pieces of connective tissue, vulnerability, and fellowship that can help an actor realize their character in full. This memoir is a meditation on working, sprinkled throughout with tips for anyone who has ever imagined writing, directing, or producing for the screen.
I'm sorry
Mayer, Gina, author
2023
"Mercer Mayer's Little Critter is having a very bad day! He used his brother's blanket as a cape, and he forgot his sister's jump rope at the park. But no matter what happens, he always remembers to apologize!"-- From publisher's description.
The Kamogawa food detectives
Kashiwai, Hisashi, 1952-, author
2024
Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner serves up deliciously extravagant meals. But that's not the main reason customers stop by. The father-daughter duo are "food detectives." Through ingenious investigations, they are able to recreate dishes from a person's treasured memories - dishes that may well hold the keys to their forgotten past and future happiness. The restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to vanished moments, creating a present full of possibility.
Lore Olympus. Volume 5
Smythe, Rachel (Comics artist), author, artist.
2023
It is Persephone's birthday, and she receives the ultimate gift: Hades confesses his desire for her, leading to their first kiss. But that doesn't necessarily make things easier for the goddess of spring, who is still in over her head in gossip-driven Olympus. Persephone feels intense guilt over the official breakup between Hades and Minthe, she is struggling to find her footing in her fast-paced job, and-worst of all-the shades of her past are slowly coming to light.
Once upon a time in the north
Pullman, Philip, 1946- author
2023
American balloonist Lee Scoresby and the great armored bear Iorek Byrnison meet when Lee and his hare daemon Hester crash-land their trading balloon onto a port in the far Arctic North and find themselves in the middle of a political powder keg. Provided by publisher.
The other significant others : reimagining life with friendship at the center
Cohen, Rhaina, author
2024
Rhaina Cohen invites us into the lives of people who have defied convention by choosing a friend as a life partner. Platonic partners reveal how freeing and challenging it can be to embrace a relationship model that society doesn't recognize. Based on years of original reporting and striking social science research, Cohen argues that we undermine romantic relationships by expecting too much of them, while we diminish friendships by expecting too little of them. Cohen challenges us to ask what we want from our relationships - not just what we're supposed to want - and transforms how we define a fulfilling life.
Plastic
Guild, Scott, author.
2024
Erin is a plastic girl living in a plastic world. Every day she eats a breakfast of boiled chicken, then conveys her articulated body to Tablet Town, where she sells other figurines Smartbodies: wearable tech that allows full, physical immersion in a virtual world, a refuge from real life's brutal wars, oppressive governmental monitoring, and omnipresent eco-terrorist insurgency. Then secrets from Erin's family's past begin to invade her carefully constructed reality, and cracks in the facade she's constructed around her life threaten to reveal everything vulnerable beneath.
A sign of her own
Marsh, Sarah, author
2024
Ellen Lark is faced with a dilemma. After losing her sense of hearing as a child, she's learned from the best deaf school teachers, including Alexander Graham Bell. After learning about Bell's past, she has a new story to tell - that Bell has betrayed her and the deaf community in his work on the telephone. When a rival inventor disputes his right to the patent, Bell asks Ellen to speak up publicly in his defense as his gifted former student. Ellen knows that this is her one opportunity to tell the true story - her story.
Unicorn for a day : another Phoebe and her unicorn adventure
Simpson, Dana, 1977- author, illustrator
2023
"Being best friends with a unicorn is truly incredible, as 10-year-old Phoebe Howell knows from experience. But what would it be like to actually trade places with a magical unicorn for a day? As it turns out, it's much harder than it looks! Phoebe's botched muffin spell turns the sky plaid. And things aren't any easier for Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, who has no idea how to hold a pencil. In this new collection of Phoebe and Her Unicorn comics, the friends also meet a three-eyed flying creature named Glorpie and encounter an enigmatic ghost"-- Provided by publisher.
Village in the dark
Yamashita, Iris, author
2024
Anchorage Detective Cara Kennedy's husband and son disappeared on a hike a year ago, their bones eventually found and buried. But shocking clues have emerged that foul play was involved, potentially connecting them to a string of other deaths and disappearances. Somehow tied to the mystery is Mia Upash. Although she remains haunted by the tragedy of what happened to the man and the boy in the woods, she has her own reasons for keeping quiet. Cara's investigation will lead them on a dangerous path that puts their lives and the lives of everyone around them in mortal jeopardy.
What have we here? : portraits of a life
Williams, Billy Dee, 1937- author.
2024
Billy Dee Williams was born in Harlem in 1937 and grew up in a household of love and sophistication. He writes of landing the role of a lifetime: co-starring alongside James Caan in Brian's Song, the made-for-television movie that was watched by an audience of more than fifty million people. And when, as the first Black character in the Star Wars universe, he became a true pop culture icon, playing Lando Calrissian in George Lucas's The Empire Strikes Back. A legendary actor, in his own words, on all that has sustained and carried him through a lifetime of dreams and adventure.