Staff Picks - LibGuides at Boulder Public Library

Britt-Marie recommends Nosotros Means Us by Paloma Valdivia

12/30/2024

Boulder Library

children's, animals, picture books, juvenile fiction, Latinx, multicultural

This gentle book encourages imagination and affirms that whoever you want to be you, you will be loved.

Publisher's description:
A moving bilingual ode to the unshakeable bond between a parent and child in the tradition of Runaway Bunny and The Wonderful Things You Will Be.

Find Nosotros Means Us in our online catalog

Kyra recommends The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

12/29/2024

Boulder Library

historical fiction, mystery, .Teen Picks

The Bletchley Riddle is a historical fiction book about Bletchley Park, a code breaking operation in England. The story follows Jakob and Lizzie. Jakob is a mathematician who was recruited to join the code breaking team at Bletchley Park to help break the enigma machines, a code making device used by the Germans in World War II. Lizzie is determined to find out what happened to their mother; she doesn't believe that she's really dead. This book is amazing and might be my favorite piece of historical fiction I've read. It has facts about World War II and even has some characters who actually existed. I've read other books by one of the authors, Ruta Sepetys, and they were also really amazing. So, if you're looking for a historical fiction book to read, I highly recommend The Bletchley Riddle.

- Kyra, ninth-grade volunteer

Publisher's description:

Follows siblings Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister Lizzie as they find themselves at Bletchley Park, the home of WWII codebreakers working to decrypt the Nazi's Enigma cipher, where the two struggle to unravel a mystery surrounding their mother's disappearance against the backdrop of the Battle of Britain and Hitler's feared invasion.

Find The Bletchley Riddle in our online catalog.

David S recommends Redshirts by John Scalzi

12/28/2024

Boulder Library

adult fiction, fantasy, science fiction, .David S.'s reviews

Cover Art A fun little read that plays like original-series Star Trek gone meta, basically "what if characters on a science fiction TV show realize their actions are being purposely manipulated?" John Scalzi brings the creativity and makes it funny to boot.

Publisher's description:

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, with the chance to serve on 'Away Missions' alongside the starship's famous senior officers. Life couldn't be better...until Andrew begins to realize that (1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship's senior officers always survive these confrontations, and (3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed. Unsurprisingly, the savvier crew members belowdecks avoid Away Missions at all costs. Then Andrew stumbles on information that transforms his and his colleagues' understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is...and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

Find Redshirts in our online catalog

Kyra recommends The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life by Amy Butler Greenfield

12/26/2024

Boulder Library

biography, .Teen Picks

The Woman All Spies Fear is an amazing non-fiction book about Elizebeth Smith Friedman, an American code breaker and cryptanalyst who worked on breaking codes during both World Wars. The book tells everything we know about her life, from when she was a kid to when she died, and the recently revealed cases she and her husband helped solve. There are so many facts in it, and it tells you how she figured out many of the codes she had worked on. This is an awesome non-fiction book that gives you a lot of information in an attention-grabbing way. I highly recommend it.

- Kyra, ninth-grade volunteer

Publisher's description:

Elizebeth Smith Friedman had a rare talent for spotting patterns and solving puzzles. These skills led her to become one of the top cryptanalysts in America during both World War I and World War II. She originally came to code breaking through her love for Shakespeare when she was hired by an eccentric millionaire to prove that Shakespeare's plays had secret messages in them. Within a year, she had learned so much about code breaking that she was a star in the making. She went on to play a major role decoding messages during WWI and WWII and also for the Coast Guard's war against smugglers. Elizebeth and her husband, William, became the top code-breaking team in the US, and she did it all at a time when most women weren't welcome in the workforce. The author aims to shed light on this female pioneer of the STEM community.

Find The Woman All Spies Fear in our online catalog.

Lara recommends Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien

12/25/2024

Boulder Library

.Lara's reviews, juvenile fiction, holidays

As a child, there were few things as thrilling as waking up on Christmas morning to discover that Santa Claus had eaten all his cookies and left a letter in their place. Tolkien reflects this youthful joy in the way he writes to his own children as Father Christmas over the years. Filled with his trademark, art nouveau inspired watercolor illustrations, the letters grow a cast of arctic characters that help Father Christmas, and weave a timeless story of life at the North Pole. A perfect yuletide read, this book will spark the imaginations of children while filling adults up with the kind of cozy nostalgia we all crave this time of year.

Publisher description:

For fans of Tolkien and lovers of Christmas holidays, Letters from Father Christmas is a gorgeous, festive gift featuring a wealth of letters that Tolkien created for his children, appearing in this format for the first time. Published on the 100th anniversary of the first letter Tolkien sent to his firstborn, John, in 1920, this handsome edition will also include an introduction from daughter-in-law Baillie Tolkien, reflecting on the centenary anniversary of the letters, as well as a personal note by Tolkien himself reproduced for the first time.

Find Letters from Father Christmas in our online catalog

Jessica recommends Drawn Onward by Daniel Nayeri

12/23/2024

Boulder Library

children's, fantasy, picture books, grief

Not only is this book gorgeously illustrated, it also features a touching and achingly lovely story about a little boy dealing with the grief of losing his mother. But beware! You'll probably cry!

Publisher's description:
This lyrical, heartfelt story a young boy who’s lost all hope braves the dark forest to ask, “Mom, were you glad you were mom?” Gorgeously illustrated, Drawn Onward gently guides readers through the depths of grief and provides comfort and hope to those who seek answers when it feels like all is lost.

Find Drawn Onward in our online catalog

Bergen recommends And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott

12/21/2024

Boulder Library

adult fiction, Indigenous, mental health, .Bergen's reviews

This horror novel is also a thoughtful exploration of mental illness, intergenerational trauma, and love, and the power of storytelling. The tone changes frequently, which kept me on the edge of my seat, and the ending is so powerful and surprising that I found myself wanting to re-read it immediately.

Publisher's description:

On the surface, Alice is exactly where she should be in life: she's just given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Dawn; her ever-charming husband Steve--a white academic whose area of study is conveniently her own Mohawk culture--is nothing but supportive; and they've just moved into a new home in a wealthy neighbourhood in Toronto, a generous gift from her in-laws. But Alice could not feel like more of an imposter. She isn't connecting with Dawn, ... and every waking moment is spent hiding her despair from Steve and their picture-perfect neighbours, amongst whom she's the sole Indigenous resident. Even when she does have a moment to herself, her perpetual self-doubt hinders the one vestige of her old life she has left: her goal of writing a modern retelling of the Haudenosaunee creation story. Then strange things start happening ...

Find And then she fell in our online catalog

Kyra recommends The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

12/19/2024

Boulder Library

dystopian fiction, fantasy, folklore, science fiction, .Teen Picks

The Last Cuentista takes place in 2060 when Earth is going to be destroyed and three ships of scientists are the only humans who will leave to go settle a new world. The main character, Petra Peña, and her family are some of the people who are leaving. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes up to find that The Collective, a sinister group who believe only in sameness had taken over the ship she was on. The Collective had managed to get rid of everyone's memories -- everyone's but Petra's. Now Petra is the only one who knows anything about humanities' past, the last one who knows their stories. The Last Cuentista is probably my favorite sci-fi book and I would recommend it to anyone who thinks it looks interesting.

- Kyra, ninth-grade volunteer

Publisher's description: There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past . . . [by] systematically purg[ing] the memories of all on board - or purg[ing] them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

Find The Last Cuentista in our online catalog.

Melissa recommends Burn It Down: Women Writing about Anger by Lilly Dancyger

12/18/2024

Boulder Library

adult nonfiction, .Melissa's reviews, psychology, feminism

"I wanted this to be a place where our anger could live, a place for us to take up space after generations of being told to shrink, to rage after a lifetime of being told to behave. I wanted these pages to sizzle and smoke with women's awesome rage, no longer tucked away or extinguished, but right here on the surface- so get ready or get out of the way," Dancyger writes in the introduction of Burn it Down, and I feel like now is the time for the world to see the flames. Read these 22 essays and allow your own anger to come to the surface.

Publisher description:

A rich, nuanced exploration of women's anger from a diverse group of writers. Women are furious, and we're not keeping it to ourselves any longer. We're expected to be composed and compliant, but in a world that would strip us of our rights, disparage our contributions, and deny us a seat at the table of authority, we're no longer willing to quietly seethe behind tight smiles. We're ready to burn it all down. In this ferocious collection of essays, twenty-two writers explore how anger has shaped their lives: author of the New York Times bestseller The Empathy Exams Leslie Jamison confesses that she used to insist she wasn't angry -- until she learned that she was; Melissa Febos, author of the Lambda Literary Award--winning memoir Abandon Me, writes about how she discovered that anger can be an instrument of power; editor-in-chief of Bitch Media Evette Dionne dismantles the "angry Black woman" stereotype; and more. Broad-ranging and cathartic, Burn It Down is essential reading for any woman who has scorched with rage -- and is ready to claim her right to express it.

Find Burn it Down in our online catalog

Rachel recommends Killer Underwear Invasion! by Elise Gravel

12/16/2024

Boulder Library

children's, graphic novels, .Rachel's reviews, juvenile nonfiction

This was recommended to me by a friend who is in second grade, and it's a great first guide for kids (and some adults!) about how to spot fake news, and what questions to ask yourself to make sure you are able to figure out what is true and what's false. Also a fun silly read with great pictures!

Publisher's description:
In this hilarious, yet fact-filled book, Elise Gravel uses her kid-friendly wit and quirky illustration style to break down what fake news is, why people spread it, and how to tell what is real and what isn't. And that's the truth!

Find Killer Underwear Invasion! in our online catalog