New Picture Books

Tito Puente: Mambo King (A Bilingual Picture Book) - Monica Brown
A vibrant bilingual picture-book biography that portrays the musical and cultural phenomenon of Tito Puente, Mambo King. A Pura Belpre Illustrator Award Honor recipient for 2014.

Some Bugs - Angela DiTerlizzi
From butterflies and moths to crickets and cicadas, a rhyming exploration of backyard-bug behavior. This books would be a great introduction to a unit on insects for primary and lower elementary students...and the artwork is a delight!


How to Train a Train - Jason Carter Eaton
A whimsical guide to training a "pet train" instructs young enthusiasts about important issues including where trains live, what they like to eat, and how to get them to perform the best train tricks.

Jesus - Anselm Grün
This graceful retelling of the life of Jesus takes readers back over two thousand years ago to Nazareth, a young girl named Mary, and a miraculous virgin birth. The story continues through the years as Jesus grows up, learns among the great teachers of his day, calls his disciples, preaches, and performs miracles. The book concludes with Jesus last Passover meal, betrayal, crucifixion, and glorious resurrection.

The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever
- H. Joseph Hopkins
Learn about Katherine Olivia Sessions who brought trees to San Diego and created what eventually became Balboa Park.

Hi, Koo!: A Year of Seasons - Jon J. Muth
Jon J Muth--and his delightful little panda bear, Koo--challenge readers to stretch their minds and imaginations with twenty-six haikus about the four seasons.


Secret Pizza Party - Adam Rubin
While Raccoon is eating pizza at his secret pizza party, he sees a masquerade party going on in the house next door to him and joins the fun.

The Bad Birthday Idea - Madeline Valentine
Ben refuses to play with his sister, Alice, because he likes robots and she likes dolls but when her birthday wish is for a robot that Ben really wants, he opens it first, accidentally breaks it, then tries to cover up his deed.

Audiobooks

Doll Bones - Holly Black
Zach, Alice, and Poppy, friends from a Pennsylvania middle school who have long enjoyed acting out imaginary adventures with dolls and action figures, embark on a real-life quest to Ohio to bury a doll made from the ashes of a dead girl.

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Child hero Ender Wiggin must fight a desperate battle against a deadly alien race if mankind is to survive.

Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures - Kate DiCamillo
Rescuing a squirrel after an accident involving a vacuum cleaner, comic-reading cynic Flora Belle Buckman is astonished when the squirrel, Ulysses, demonstrates astonishing powers of strength and flight after being revived.


Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry
Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.


Messenger - Lois Lowry
Knowing that the Village will soon be closed to all outsiders, Matty must make the trek through the dangerous Forest to find Seer's daughter and convince her to return with him before it is too late and he loses her forever.

Paperboy - Vince Vawter
An 11-year-old boy living in Memphis in 1959 throws the meanest fastball in town, but talking is a whole different ball game. He can barely say a word without stuttering, not even his own name. So when he takes over his best friend's paper route for the month of July, he knows he'll be forced to communicate with the different customers, including a housewife who drinks too much and a retired merchant marine who seems to know just about everything.

Audiobooks

The One and Only Ivan - Katherine Applegate
Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all. Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home-and his own art-through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it's up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Joshua Dread - Lee Bacon
Besides being bullied, Joshua faces one more obstacle in middle school, trying to hide his identity as the son of supervillains, the Dread Duo.


Allegiant - Veronica Roth
What if your whole world was a lie? What if a single revelation - like a single choice - changed everything? What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected? The explosive conclusion to the Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

House of Hades - Rick Riordan
After Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld, the other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy's instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea's forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But how will Percy and Annabeth escape?

Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon - Steve Sheinkin
Recounts the scientific discoveries that enabled atom splitting, the military intelligence operations that occurred in rival countries, and the work of brilliant scientists hidden at Los Alamos.


The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater
Though she is from a family of clairvoyants, Blue Sargent's only gift seems to be that she makes other people's talents stronger, and when she meets Gansey, one of the Raven Boys from the expensive Aglionby Academy, she discovers that he has talents of his own--and that together their talents are a dangerous mix.

Rose Under Fire - Elizabeth Wein
Rose Justice is a young pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War. On her way back from a semi-secret flight in the waning days of the war, Rose is captured by the Germans and ends up in Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi women's concentration camp. There, she meets an unforgettable group of women, including a once glamorous and celebrated French detective novelist whose Jewish husband and three young sons have been killed; one resilient young girl who was a human guinea pig for Nazi doctors who were trying to learn how to treat German war wounds; and a Nachthexen, or Night Witch, a female fighter pilot and military ace for the Soviet air force. These damaged women must bond together to help each other survive.

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel -- a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

Middle Grade Fiction

Copernicus Legacy - Tony Abbott (New Series)
Wade, Lily, Darrell, and Becca fly from Texas to Germany for the funeral of an old family friend. But instead of just paying their respects, they wind up on a dangerous, mind-blowing quest to unlock an ancient, guarded secret that could destroy the fate of the world.


Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony - Eoin Colfer
Once again, Artemis will have to pair up with his old comrade, captain Holly Short, to track down the missing demon and rescue him before the time spell dissolves and the lost demon colony returns violently to Earth.


Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck - Jeff Kinney
Greg Heffley's on a losing streak. His best friend, Rowley Jefferson, has ditched him, and finding new friends in middle school is proving to be a tough task. To change his fortunes, Greg decides to take a leap of faith and turn his decisions over to chance. Will a roll of the dice turn things around, or is Greg's life destined to be just another hard-luck story

Battling Boy - Paul Pope
A twelve-year-old demigod is sent to help the people of Arcopolis, a city infested with monsters.


The Interrupted Tale (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series) - Maryrose Wood
Miss Penelope Lumley assuages the disappointments of her sixteenth birthday by accepting an invitation to speak at her former school, the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, which will be closed if she cannot prove the academic progress of her incorrigible charges.

One Came Home - Amy Timberlake
In 1871 Wisconsin, thirteen-year-old Georgia sets out to find her sister Agatha, presumed dead when remains are found wearing the dress she was last seen in, and before the end of the year gains fame as a sharpshooter and foiler of counterfeiters.

New YA Books

Torn - David Massey
Only eighteen when she is sent to Afghanistan, British army medic Elinor Nielson is continually at odds with her hardnosed bunkmate, Heidi Larson, but connects with a mysterious Afghan girl and local children, as well as an American lieutenant.

Cress - Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles)
Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and prevent her army from invading Earth. Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company.

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
A 2014 Michael L. Printz Honor Book given for excellence in literature for young adults
"Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits--smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try."-- Provided by publisher

Breaking Point - Kristen Simmons (Article 5 series)
After escaping prison, Ember Miller and Chase Jennings are taken in by the Resistance but when Ember tops the government's most-wanted list, Chase urges her to run and Ember must decide whether to hide again or fight back.

Three - Kristen Simmons (Article 5 series)
When Ember and Chase finally arrive at the safe house and find it in ruins, they follow tracks leading away until they find a group of refugees and join forces with them to seek the rumored settlement known as Three.

Palace of Spies - Sarah Zettel
In 1716 London, an orphaned sixteen-year-old girl from a good family impersonates a lady-in-waiting only to discover that the real girl was murdered, the court harbors a nest of spies, and the handsome young artist who is helping her solve the mystery might be a spy himself.

The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi - Neal Bascomb
Recounts how, sixteen years after the end of World War II, a team of undercover Israeli agents captured the Nazi war criminal, Adolf Eichmann, in a remote area of Argentina and brought him to trial in Israel for crimes committed during the Holocaust. Winner of the 2014 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults.

New Books for Elementary & Middle Grades

Baby Bear - Kadir Nelson
As Baby Bear tries to find his way home through the forest, he asks many different woodland creatures for help and finds that much of their advice is more comforting than helpful.

Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies - Cokie Roberts
Brief portraits of women from the period of the Revolution and early United States.

The Noisy Paint Box - Barb Rosenstock
Describes how his creative life was profoundly shaped by a neurological condition called synesthesia which caused him to experienced colors as sounds and sounds as colors.


Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great - Bob Shea
Envy turns to admiration and finally to friendship for Goat and Unicorn.

Hide-And Seek Science: Animal Camouflage - Emma Stevenson
Shows how animals use camouflage in seven different ecosystems by asking the reader to find all the animals in each picture.


The Dolphins of Shark Bay - Pamela S. Turner
A scientific journey to study the dolphins of coastal Australia considers the many potential sources of dolphin intelligence and what dolphin behavior can inform the scientific community about human intelligence, captive animals and the future of the oceans.

If It's Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws! - Kim Norman
Animals enjoy a variety of wintery activities in the snow.





What's Your Favorite Animal? - Eric Carl and Friends
Everybody has a favorite animal. Some like little white dogs or big black cats or hoppy brown bunnies best. Others prefer squishy snails or tall giraffes or sleek black panthers. With beautiful illustrations and charming personal stories, 14 children's book artists share their favorite animals and why they love them.

Preschool & Elementary Books

The Cart That Carried Martin - Even Bunting (nonfiction)
Introduces young readers to details about Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral.

Musk Ox Counts - Erin Cabatingan
Musk Ox and Zebra are back...and trying to make it through a counting book. As usual, Musk Ox has his own ideas and Zebra does not fail to show his frustration trying to get Musk Ox back on track. Will they make it from 1-10, or will their efforts end in annoyance?

Friends - Eric Carle
When his friend moves away, a boy sets out on a journey to find her.

Two Little Birds - Mary Newell DePalma
Two little birds make their first grand migration south, and later return home to start new families.


Here I Am - Patti Kim
"Tells the story in pictures of a family newly immigrated to the United States and the challenges of starting a life in a new place."--Provided by publisher

Thomas the Toadilly Terrible Bully - Janice Levy
After feeling ignored in his new town, a young toad tries to act like a bully but learns the value of being a good friend instead.


Poem-Mobiles: Crazy Car Poems - J. Patrick Lewis and Douglas Florian
Presents thirteen poems about wacky, imaginative cars, including the "Sloppy-Floppy-Nonstop-Jalopy," the "Bathtub Limousine," and the "High Heel Car."

Pantone Color Puzzles: 6 Color-Matching Puzzles
In this fourth offering for the preschool set, children learn to match shades of each of the six basic colors in a self-correcting format. Each spread focuses on variations of a single color category (such as purple), featuring a full-bleed tonal illustration on the left side of the spread and a grid of shades on the right. The illustration has four removable puzzle pieces that fit into the four associated quadrants, arranged by shade. This puzzle book enables young children to further their color familiarity in a uniquely engaging way, strengthening both their visual acuity and their spatial and fine motor skills. An appropriately challenging and satisfying matching book for toddlers, preschoolers, and color-conscious adults.

God's Love for You Bible Storybook - Rich and Renee Stearns
Traditional Bible favorites and faith stories from children show kids that God's love reaches all the way around the globe.

New Nonfiction

Parrots Over Puerto Rico - Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore
Winner of the 2014 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for the most distinguished informational book for children.
A combined history of the Puerto Rican parrot and the island of Puerto Rico, highlighting current efforts to save the Puerto Rican parrot by protecting and managing this endangered species.

The Big Book of Art - Herve Tullet
This spiral-bound, divided-page book with die-cuts encourages children to look at art from every angle, mixing and matching to create their own masterpieces.




Arctic Animals series - Julie Murray
Readers travel to the Arctic Circle to learn about each animal's body structure, diet, life cycle, social behavior, habitat, predators, and ways of defense. Simple, labeled maps highlight the animal's home territory. Background information about the Arctic is also given, as well as threats to the animal's survival. Grades 2-5.
Arctic Foxes
Beluga Whales
Polar Bears
Puffins
Snowy Owls
Walruses