Today’s First Chapter Friday read is The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson. It’s a fun middle grade mystery about new friends, family history, and secret treasures. This book is available from the in print, as an ebook, and as an e-audiobook.
Category: Book Talk
Treat Yourself to an Ice Cream Read
Yesterday was National Ice Cream Day! Don’t worry if you missed the occasion, it’s never too late to treat yourself. Here are some reads where ice cream factors into the plot or with sweet treats on the cover.
- Full Scoop by Janet Evanovich & Charlotte Hughes
- Peach Clobbered by Anna Gerard
- A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
- Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson
- Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian
- Love & Gelato by Jenna Welch
- Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
First Chapter Friday: Aggie Morton Mystery Queen
Today we’ve got another first chapter teaser of a new book, The Body Under the Piano. It’s the first book in the Aggie Morton Mystery Queen series written by Marthe Jocelyn, with illustrations by Isabelle Follath. This book is great for fans of middle grade mysteries and Agatha Christie.
Guess the Children’s Book Author: Minnesota Edition
There are so many good children’s book authors out there and we’re lucky to have a bunch that live in Minnesota! We’ve created a quiz with some fun facts to help you learn more about these great Minnesota authors. If you need help figuring out the questions, we’ve included links to all of the authors’ websites below. We’ll have the answers and more fun facts about another group of children’s book authors for you next week!
Kate DiCamillo’s novel Because of Winn-Dixie is our state’s first One Book One Minnesota read. You can read it for free, through the end of May on the Biblioboard app on your tablet or mobile device or on a computer at https://library.biblioboard.com/module/one-book-one-minnesota. And while you’re on Biblioboard, check out some of the other wonderful titles on there that are always available for free.
Author Websites
- William Alexander
- Derek Anderson
- Kelly Barnhill
- H. M. Bouwman
- Mary Casanova
- Marsha Chall
- John Coy
- Kate DiCamillo
- Pete Hautman
- Ryan Jacobson
- David LaRochelle
- Alison McGhee
- Bao Phi
- Margi Preus
- Kurtis Scaletta
- Pat Schmatz
- Anne Ursu
- Jacqueline West
- Mike Wohnoutka
Free YA Audiobooks
Every summer AudioFile Sync offers free YA audiobooks. From now until the end of July, we can download two new audiobooks every week! Their selections are a mix of fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary reads, and a variety of genres.
To get started, visit the Audiobook Sync website and enter your email into the registration form. From there, you’ll get instructions on how to access the audiobooks through the Sora, the student reading app from OverDrive. You can also sign up for email or text reminders, so you get a notice every week when new titles are available.
This week’s titles are Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson, a contemporary mystery novel, and The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater, a work of true crime nonfiction. These two titles will only be available to download until May 6th, but they will remain in your Sora app once you’ve downloaded them.
Happy Listening! Emily
Cozy Up With A Good Read
Thanks to one of our generous Friends of the Library, we have an influx of cozy mysteries! Here are some of the new titles cozy readers can enjoy. You can put any of these books on hold using Plum Creek’s online catalog, or by calling or emailing the library. If you haven’t put a book on hold online before, you can watch our tutorial to learn how. We’re at the library for curbside pick up service Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 11am-6pm.
- Pride, Prejudice & Poison by Elizabeth Blake
- Lavender Blue Murder by Laura Childs
- Dying on the Vine by Marla Cooper
- Coconut Layer Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
- One Little Secret by Cate Holahan
- Death on the Page by Essie Lang
- The Scent of Murder by Kylie Logan
- Invitation Only Murder by Leslie Meier
- Read or Alive by Nora Page
- Dead on the Vine by Elle Brooke White
-Emily
Reads for Animal Lovers
This week’s Guess the Librarian theme is animals—one we love, one we hate, and one we’d love to be. Here are some stories featuring prominent animal characters.
Middle Grade Books
- A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold
- Moo by Sharon Creech
- Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
- The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart
- Call of the Wild & White Fang by Jack London
- Pax by Sara Pennypacker
- Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
Young Adult Books
- Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
- The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
- Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto
- Threatened by Eliot Schrefer
- The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Adult Fiction
- Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
- The Long Flight Home by Alan Hlad
- The Bear by Andrew Krivak
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel
- The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
- Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt
Nonfiction
- Marley and Me by John Grogan
- Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
- H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
- Dewey the Library Cat: A True Story by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter
-Emily
Always Available Classics
If there’s a literature classic you’ve always meant to read or want to revisit, chances are that it’s now a part of the new Always Available Classics collection on Plum Creek’s Overdrive and Libby. Much Ado About Nothing, our Classics Book Club April pick, is one of the available titles if you care to join us.
If reading classics isn’t your jam now or ever, we’ve still got you covered. Some staff favorites include the Truly Devious YA series about an unsolved murder at a remote and exclusive boarding school and the Kendra Donovan series about a modern FBI agent who accidentally time-travels to Regency England. Both series are available on Overdrive as audiobooks.
More Books for Avid Readers
Readers of Large Print Inspirational have twenty-six new titles to enjoy at Meinders Community Library. A mix of favorite authors and new faces, these books run the gamut from spy thrillers to sweet romances to Amish B&B mysteries.
We still have prizes available if you completed the Winter Reading Program. Let us know if you would like a book bag or a mug and we’ll reserve your prize. You can let us know the total number of books you read in January, February, and March by calling us at 507-825-6714 or emailing meinders@pas.k12.mn.us.
Book Talk
Do you miss browsing the shelf to find your next library read? Watch the video to find out about a few of our new arrivals.
- Books Discussed
- The Girl in the White Gloves by Kerri Maher
- You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
- The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
How to Place a Library Book on Hold
You can also see Jody and Emily discussing The Lager Queen of Minnesota, a recent book club read, on Pipestone’s public access channel at 10:00am, 2:00pm, and 7:00pm on March 30 and 31 and April 6 and 7.