November 2022

A hilarious and moving story of one girl’s fight for freedom of expression, filled with nuggets for grammatical nerds like me.

Cast out of the royal court by Eleanor of Aquitaine, deemed too coarse and rough-hewn for marriage or courtly life, seventeen-year-old Marie de France is sent to England to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey, its nuns on the brink of starvation and beset by disease. The son/brother/husband/father of strong women, I’m always looking for strong female protagonists who change the world. Wonderfully written.

Guilty pleasure: Karate Kid and Cobra Kai. I must confess that I am a huge Ralph Macchio fan (he is awesome in My Cousin Vinny, too). This autobiography provides red meat for fans like me, as the book mostly centers on the original Karate Kid film itself, focusing on the reason that the characters and themes have endured in such a powerful way and how these personal experiences have impacted Macchio's life. Easy, satisfying reading.

Nima wishes she were someone else. She doesn’t feel understood by her mother, who grew up in a different land. She doesn’t feel accepted in her suburban town; yet somehow, she isn't different enough to belong elsewhere. Her best friend, Haitham, is the only person with whom she can truly be herself. Until she can't, and suddenly her only refuge is gone. As the ground is pulled out from under her, Nima must grapple with the phantom of a life not chosen – the name her parents meant to give her at birth: Yasmeen. But that other name, that other girl, might be more real than Nima knows.  And the life Nima wishes were someone else's…is one she will need to fight for with a fierceness she never knew she possessed.

I LOVE this series of Disney villains. In this entry we hear the story of the Little Mermaid Ariel's nemesis, Ursula, the sea witch. What led to her becoming so twisted, scorned, and filled with hatred? Many tales have tried to explain her motives. Here is one account of what might have shaped the sea witch into a detestable and poor unfortunate soul. You’ll get hooked on the entire series.

Here’s a question every teen needs to ask themselves, “Are you kind to everyone but yourself?” Bluth, a psychologist, offers fun, everyday exercises grounded in mindfulness and self-compassion to help teens overcome crippling self-criticism and respond to feelings of self-doubt with greater kindness and self-care. Needed now more than ever.

A middle grade graphic novel about Marlene, a young girl who stops straightening her hair and embraces her natural curls.

Told in an age-appropriate fashion, with a perfect pause for parents to insert their own discussions with their children to accompany prompting illustrations, this book is a gently honest and sensitive starting point for this far-too-necessary conversation, for Black children, Brown children – ALL children.

The inspiring tale of a seamstress-turned-scientist who invented the world's first aquarium at a time when women in STEM were startlingly rare. Truth be told, I had never heard of Jeanne Villepreux-Power before. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you’re an adult and NOT reading Children’s books, you are definitely missing out.

Squirrel loves counting the leaves on his tree – red leaves, gold leaves, orange and more. But hold on! One of his leaves is missing! On a quest to find the missing leaf, Squirrel teams up with his good friend Bird to discover who the leaf thief could be among their forest friends. Great read aloud – the perfect book for Autumn.