As our Summer Reading Program continues into July with the theme of heroes, so does the focus on books with heroes both imaginary and true. Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee  Suggested ages: 8 – 12 years The heroine in this book is Ophelia who accompanies her father and sister to a city which...Continue Reading

The theme for the Placitas Library’s Summer Reading Program is “Every Story Has A Hero.” Our lives are filled with many heroes who change lives in big and small ways. A hero may be someone who pushed history to change in a positive direction or possibly an individual who took time from his or her...Continue Reading

April was officially “Poetry Month”, but being May doesn’t mean that one can’t devote time for poems – especially when it comes to children! Children’s language is often scattered with poetic phrases as they begin to put words together. They see the world through different eyes than adults and in doing so create word pictures...Continue Reading

This month the Children’s Book News is featuring the award winning author, Kate DiCamillo. She has won two Newbery Medals for her children’s novels, The Tale of Despereaux (2003) –made into an animated movie in 2008- and Flora and Ulysses (2013), reviewed below. The Newbery recognizes the year’s “most distinguished contribution to American literature for...Continue Reading

Rain, Reign by Ann Martin Recommended for ages 9- 12 Rain, Reign is narrated by Rose, a fifth-grader with high-functioning autism (Asperger’s syndrome). It touches on family connections, sense of belonging, love, bravery, and doing what is right. Rose is obsessed with homonyms, delighting in each discovery of a homonym pair (or even triplet!) which she...Continue Reading