New for Children
Words with Wings
by Nikki Grimes
Gabby’s world is filled with daydreams. However, what began as an escape from her parents’ arguments has now taken over her life. But with the help of a new teacher, Gabby the dreamer might just become Gabby the writer, and words that carried her away might allow her to soar. Written in vivid, accessible poems, this remarkable verse novel is a celebration of imagination, of friendship, of one girl’s indomitable spirit, and of a teacher’s ability to reach out and change a life.
Ballad
by Blexbolex
“Ballad” builds over seven sequences. The first has three images: school, path, home. The next builds upon the first, giving us: school, street, path, forest, home. The next five sequences take up this story, but with new words and images that nearly double the previous sequence. Here a child encounters the world as he returns home from school, and we see his small world become enormous. This story is as old as the world. It happens every day.
New for Young Adults
Dreams of Gods and Monsters
by Laini Taylor
In this conclusion to the “Daughter of Smoke & Bone” trilogy, Karou is still not ready to forgive Akiva for killing the only family she’s ever known. When a brutal angel army trespasses into the human world, Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat–and against larger dangers that loom on the horizon. They begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people and perhaps, for themselves.
Noggin
by John Corey Whaley
Travis Coates has a good head…on someone else’s shoulders. A touching, hilarious, and wholly original coming-of-age story from John Corey Whaley, author of the Printz and Morris Award–winning “Where Things Come Back.” Travis Coates was alive once, and then he wasn’t. Now he’s alive again. Simple as that.
The in-between part is still a little fuzzy, but Travis can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, it was reattached to some other guy’s body, and well, here he is. Despite all logic, he’s still sixteen, but everything and everyone around him has changed. That includes his bedroom, his parents, his best friend, and his girlfriend. Or maybe she’s not his girlfriend anymore? That’s a bit fuzzy too. If the new Travis and the old Travis are ever going to find a way to exist together, there are going to be a few more scars.
New for Adults
Players First: Coaching From The Inside Out
by John Calipari and Michael Sokolove
John Calipari relates for the first time anywhere his experiences of his first four years coaching the Kentucky Wildcats, college basketball’s most fabled program, from the doldrums to a national championship, drawing lessons about leadership, character, and the path to personal and collective victory.
At its core, Calipari’s coaching philosophy centers on keeping his focus on the players: he is beloved by them for being honest with them and keeping his promises. He knows they come to Kentucky to prepare for the NBA; every year he gets players who in a previous era would have gone directly into the pros from high school but now have to play college basketball for one year. Calipari has fought against this system, but plays within it better than anyone.
The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish
by Linda Przybyszewski
A prize-winning dressmaker and history professor discusses how modern women have lost the fashion sense and ability to professionally, appropriately, and flatteringly dress and describes how the dress doctors from the first half of the twentieth century helped women look their best.
