June 2021

Full disclosure: Hal is a friend of mine, and I just adore him. This 80-year-old educator always has a kind word to say, and this book is just an extension of his life. We’d all be a LOT better off if everyone had a Hal Urban to turn to in this world. This book is the next-best thing.

The extraordinary story of the small Vermont town that has likely produced more Olympians per capita than any other place in the country – and whose citizens provide a model for achieving excellence while leading a well-rounded life.

Need a laugh? I’ve always enjoyed Seth Rogen as an actor, and this collection of short essays literally had me in tears. The perfect antidote to a tough day.

Time has stopped. It has been June 23, 2020 for nearly a year as far as anyone can tell. Frantic adults demand teenagers focus on finding practical solutions to the worldwide crisis. Not everyone is on board, though. Javelin-throwing prodigy Truda Becker is pretty sure her "Solution Time" class won't solve the world's problems, but she does have a few ideas what might. Truda lives in a house with a switch that no one ever touches, a switch her father protects every day by nailing it into hundreds of progressively larger boxes. But Truda has a crow bar, and – one way or another – she’s going to see what happens when she flips the switch.

Many thanks to Tussey Mountain teacher Nathan Thompson for recommending this one, Paulsen’s only attempt at sci-fi (boys LOVE Gary Paulsen). Mark’s solo camping trip in the desert turns into a terrifying and thrilling odyssey when a mysterious beam of light transports him to another time on what appears to be another planet. As Mark searches for a pathway back to his own time on Earth, he must make a new life in a new world. His encounters with primitive tribes bring the joy of human bonds, but violence and war as well – and, finally, a contest in which he discovers his own startling powers.

A severely burned teenager. A guitar. Punk rock. The chords of a rock ‘n’ roll road trip in a coming-of-age novel that is a must-read story about finding your place in the world…even if you carry scars inside and out.

Dahlia 16 sees her face in every crowd. She’s nothing special – just one of five thousand girls created from a single genome to work for the greater good of the city. But meeting Trigger 17 changes everything. He thinks she’s interesting. Beautiful. Unique. Which means he must be flawed. When Dahlia can’t stop thinking about him she realizes she’s flawed, too. Your teens will LOVE this one!

Book lovers everywhere will adore this twist on an old tale, recommended to me by Linda Nelson! This young boy cannot think of a worse way to spend his summer: he has to help his Dad out with his bookstore, and he absolutely hates to read! His job is to watch the store for shoplifters, but things take a twisted turn when he spies a pale character who seems to float through the aisles of the store. But this stranger is not trying to steal books – he is drinking the words out of them with a straw! So the boy goes on a chase to find out what this fellow is all about and they both wind up in a cemetery, where the boy discovers a taste for something much more filling than ink!

A Classic that I’ve always loved. In this enchantingly told original folktale, a wise quiltmaker makes the most beautiful quilts in the world – but she will give them only to those who have nothing. When a rich, dissatisfied king insists that she give him one of her quilts, she gives him what seems an impossible task: to give away all he owns. One by one, the king gives away his many possessions, and finds that the more he gives away, the happier he is. Finally, when the king has nothing, the quiltmaker gives him the promised quilt. But he knows that the true reward for his generosity has been the smiles of those he has helped. I’m starting to think adults need to re-read a lot of children’s books to remind themselves of kindness and decency.

Funny read aloud starring Cat, who starts out perfectly content and relaxed, and Duck, who infuriates him by meowing like a cat instead of quacking like Cat thinks he should. Great illustrations by Anna Raff.