Staff Picks

What we are reading, watching, and listening to

The Unexpected Solace in Learning to Play Piano

Christoph Niemann is an artist, author, and animator. Part blog post, part graphic novel. Very cool.

Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope

By Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn Available in print. Available as an eBook.

The Second Chance Club: Hardship and Hope After Prison

Available in print.

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

By Jonas Jonasson Available as an ebook here: https://coloradodc.overdrive.com/media/869382

Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious, Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week

By Isa Chandra Moskowitz Well now, I don’t know about y’all but ever since the stay-at-home order I’ve been cooking three meals a day, seven

“The Great Believers” by Rebecca Makkai

A dazzling new novel of friendship and redemption in the face of tragedy and loss set in 1980s Chicago and contemporary Paris.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Available in print Available as an eBook

Good Talk by Mira Jacob

Has your child ever asked you difficult questions? the kind of questions that leave you fumbling, unexpectedly, for an answer? Jacob opens her book with

Some Good News with John Krasinski

John Krasinski highlights some good news from around the world in this YouTube series.

NOAA Live! Webinars

Each webinar includes links to accompanying resources for more exploration of the topics presented including photos, videos, games, Legos activities and more. Click here for

Uncanny Valley: A Memoir

Anna Wiener pops open the Silicon Valley bubble as only an insider can. “Part coming-of-age-story, part portrait of an already-bygone era.” Available in print. Check

The Grisha Trilogy

Immerse yourself in the Grishaverse! See what’s available right now.

The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong

This is my all time favorite children’s book (recommended ages: 2nd grade to adult). Winner of the Newberry Prize in 1955, illustrated by Maurice Sendak,

Ask Again, Yes

By Mary Beth Keane Available as an ebook here.

Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes

This is a middle grade/young adult book that is an excellent family read together to talk about race relations and prejudice. Available in print. Available

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion: The Power of Boundless Compassion

This is my favorite read of this year. Short, powerful, poetic, funny, and deeply moving, you can’t go wrong with this collection of essays by Gregory Boyle who has spent the better part of his life running a gang intervention program in L.A. These essays focus on our universal kinship and are “moving examples of the power of unconditional love in difficult times and the importance of fighting despair.”