Staff Picks

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Pigs Make Me Sneeze!-An Elephant and Piggie Book By Mo Willems Cover Image
$9.99
ISBN: 9781423114116
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Hyperion Books for Children - October 6th, 2009

No one has ever been as excited as Elephant to learn that they have a cold. Hopefully Hammie doesn't make you sneeze!

Katie


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Oceanology: The True Account of the Voyage of the Nautilus (Ologies) By Ferdinand Zoticus de Lesseps, Emily Hawkins (Editor), Various (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Ferdinand Zoticus de Lesseps, Emily Hawkins (Editor), Various (Illustrator)
$29.99
ISBN: 9780763642907
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Candlewick - August 25th, 2009

Look at this! It's beautiful! Alternative history in the deep sea. I'm sold. (This endorsement brought to you by Stacey)

Engel


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All Our Hidden Gifts (The Gifts) By Caroline O'Donoghue, Stefanie Caponi (Illustrator) Cover Image
$9.99
ISBN: 9781536225266
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Walker Books US - May 3rd, 2022

This one has it all—magic, a non-binary love story, and an unconventional mystery. When Maeve accidentally wishes her best friend out of existence using a pack of magic Tarot cards, she must team up with her friend's sibling to find her. But that's not the only mystery. Why are these cards magic in the first place? And why can Maeve suddenly see into people's minds? This is the coziest, weirdest mystery I have ever read, and I wish I could climb inside it with a blanket and a cup of tea.

Meghan, Writer in Residence for Young Readers


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The Midnight Bargain By C. L. Polk Cover Image
$18.95
ISBN: 9781645660293
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Erewhon Books - December 7th, 2021

Bridgerton…but make it fantasy! Beatrice's family is on the brink of financial ruin, and the only way  to bring them back is to find a wealthy husband during this year's Bargaining Season. And while someone will surely agree to marry her, Beatrice isn't sure the payday is worth the price—her freedom to practice sorcery. Does she choose herself and her love of the magic within her? Or does she choose her family and their financial well-being? And what happens when she accidentally falls in love and gets a demon involved? For lovers of atmosphere, this one's got it in spades.
 

Meghan, Writer in Residence for Young Readers


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The Secret Lives of Church Ladies By Deesha Philyaw Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781949199734
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: West Virginia University Press - September 1st, 2020

Respectable, upstanding people on the surface; a tangle of complicated desires and messy choices underneath. From the biting “Instructions for Married Christian Husbands” to the epistolary “Dear Sister” – a letter from four sisters to a possible fifth after their father’s death – Deesha Philyaw has a knack for creating characters who feel like sisters and cousins, and zeroing in on their intimate truths in just a few pages.

Pia, Writer in Residence for Adults


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Ear Worm! By Jo Knowles, Galia Bernstein (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Jo Knowles, Galia Bernstein (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781536207835
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Candlewick - January 25th, 2022

There's a song stuck in Little Worm's head, and he's trying to find out who put it there! But all his friends have OTHER songs stuck in their heads. What's a worm to do? Great for reading, singing, and dancing along to.

Piera


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Horses (A Day in the Life): What Do Wild Horses like Mustangs and Ponies Get Up To All Day? By Dr. Carly Anne York, Chaaya Prabhat (Illustrator), Neon Squid Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781684492503
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Neon Squid - September 27th, 2022

While animal compendiums are often fantastic, sometimes you just want to dive into one particular creature. Behold, the magestic horse! As presented by the fun "A Day in the Life" series. Recommended reading buddy: Pony Boy! Cuddly and dashing with his little kerchief, but hilariously cute with his oversized head.

Stacey


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Books Aren't for Eating By Carlie Sorosiak, Manu Montoya (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Carlie Sorosiak, Manu Montoya (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781536214963
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Walker Books US - September 20th, 2022

A playful picture book about the value of a good story. Join bookseller Leopold as he tries to find the perfect read that will tempt a goat into reading a book instead of eating it! Perfect for a cozy bedtime book.

Kendall


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Tin Man: A Novel By Sarah Winman Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780735218765
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: G.P. Putnam's Sons - April 9th, 2019

Tin Man is a sparse and sort of lonely book, but it is filled to the brim with those quiet moments that over a lifetime add up to something quite big. Your heart will ache, but in a good way.

Kendall


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Betye Saar: Serious Moonlight By Betye Saar (Artist), Stephanie Seidel (Editor), Alex Gartenfeld (Foreword by) Cover Image
By Betye Saar (Artist), Stephanie Seidel (Editor), Alex Gartenfeld (Foreword by)
$55.00
ISBN: 9781636810362
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Delmonico Books - September 20th, 2022

Betye Saar's body of work is just mindblowing. Her visual story-tellling and artistic talents are revolutionary, and I feel like she should receive much more recognition for her work. This particular collection, with its themes of the African Diaspora and the night sky, really just left me floored.

Stacey


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Nine Color Deer By Kailin Duan, Jeremy Tiang (Translated by) Cover Image
By Kailin Duan, Jeremy Tiang (Translated by)
$18.99
ISBN: 9781646141784
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Levine Querido - September 13th, 2022

Please open to any page of this picture book. Have you done it? Good, then that should be all I need to convince you this book is amazing. If that hasn't done it, how about this: The Nine Color Deer is a beautiful retelling of a classic Chinese tale emphasizing generosity, gratitude, keeping promises, and conservation.

Katherine


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Really Good, Actually: A Novel By Monica Heisey Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9780063235410
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: William Morrow - January 17th, 2023

Actually, this book is really F’ing great. It is funny as hell, smart, poignant, painful and relatable. There is nothing romantic about divorce, and Monica Heisey captures the messy search for meaning (and joy?) with hilarity and tenderness. Too bad this book wasn’t around years ago because some of us would have clutched it to their chest as they cried in a heap in their closet over their failed marriage (or any failure for that matter) and thanked God Monica came into their life and was now their BFF. But don’t you worry - even if you are one of those happy, well-adjusted, non-single people (goodie for you) you will still ADORE this book and not be able to put it down!

Babbie


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To the Realization of Perfect Helplessness By Robin Coste Lewis Cover Image
$35.00
ISBN: 9781524732585
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Knopf - December 6th, 2022

In this breathtaking combination of photography and poetry Robin Coste Lewis again asks, what can we do with our history? Our past is the material for our future but only if we engage with it critically & creatively. Coste Lewis is doing powerful things with history, art, and poetry.

Josh


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