Books for National Library Week
- Apr 22
- 4 min read
By Alayna N., Collection Services Assistant
This National Library Week show your library love by checking out one or more of these titles all about the joy and magic of libraries.
For Kids
I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy
By Mychal Threets
Illustrated by Lorraine Nam
Mychal Threets – “The Internet’s Librarian” and the host of the newly relaunched Reading Rainbow – takes you on a tour of the library: a place packed with activities, games, books and more; a place filled with stories; a place where everyone is welcome.
Perfect for introducing your little one to the library.
Waiting for the Biblioburro / Esperando el Biblioburro
(Spanish-English bilingual edition)
By Monica Brown
Translated by Adriana Domínguez
Illustrated by John Parra
The Biblioburro is coming! And Ana is so excited. She looks forward to every visit from the librarian and his two donkeys, Alfa and Beto. She knows each visit will bring reading lessons, storytime, and loads and loads of books that the children can borrow. Based on the life and work of the Colombian librarian Luis Soriano.
Perfect for sharing and celebrating the love of reading.
Library Lion
By Michelle Knudsen
Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
Miss Merriwether, the librarian, loves rules. She insists that everyone who visits the library must follow the rules. But what will she do when a lion visits the library? Read this heartwarming classic to find out.
Perfect for young animal lovers.
For Teens
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library
By Chris Grabenstein
First in a series
Twelve lucky children win the chance to stay overnight in the town’s new library, designed by world famous gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello. But in the morning, when they try to leave, they discover all the doors are locked! In order to escape, they’ll have to work together to solve the puzzles and beat Mr. Lemoncello’s game.
Perfect for middle school readers who love puzzles and games.
Voices
By Ursula K. Le Guin
Seventeen years ago, invaders from Ald took control of the city of Ansul, destroyed every book they could find, and made possession of the written word punishable by death. But there is still one hidden library, and Memer and her guardian are its protectors. And when the poet Orric and his wife Gry come to Ansul, Memer begins to hope that maybe, at last, her homeland can be freed from its oppressors.
Perfect for high schoolers who enjoy dystopian fiction
Ink and Bone
By Rachel Caine
First in a series
In Caine’s alternate history, the Great Library of Alexandria never fell. Instead it has grown to become a powerful force that governs the world and holds absolute control over knowledge and information. Jess Brightwell comes from a family of smugglers who trade books on the black market. It’s a dangerous life, one that Jess wants to escape. So when his father enrolls him at the Great Library’s training academy, he agrees to become the family’s spy.
Perfect for high schoolers looking for a page-turning fantasy series.
For Adults
The Book That Wouldn’t Burn
By Mark Lawrence
First in a series
At the center of Crath City stands an ancient and mysterious library. Its endless shelves contain all of the knowledge of the ages…if you can find the right book. Livira, an apprentice librarian, is looking for the knowledge that will save her people. Evar is just looking for a way out. He has been lost in the vast library for generations, trapped within the Mechanism, a device that can bring any book to life. But when the two meet and begin to work together, they realize their problems are only just beginning.
Perfect for fans of epic fantasy that immerses you in another world and its mysteries.
The Library Book
By Susan Orlean
This book is part true crime story, part love letter, and completely fascinating. In 1986 the Los Angeles Public Library burned for more than seven hours. The fire reached 2000 degrees. More than one million books were damaged or destroyed. Thirty years later, the mystery of the fire still hasn’t been solved. Orlean takes the reader with her through all the ins and outs of the investigation. Along the way she also shows how the Los Angeles Public Library and libraries across the country have been and continue to be such beloved parts of our communities.
Perfect for readers who love unputdownable non-fiction like that by David Grann or Erik Larson.
The Book of Form and Emptiness
By Ruth Ozeki
One year ago Benny Oh’s father died, and now Benny has started hearing voices. At first the voices only come from objects in his house. But soon he hears these voices outside in the street, at school, everywhere. So Benny goes to the library, where the objects at least are polite and speak quietly. And it’s here at the library that he meets his very own Book, a talking book that begins to narrate Benny’s life.
Perfect for literary fiction fans who want a book that engages their hearts and their heads.
Want more book recommendations from SRLS staff members? Fill out our What to Read Next form for personalized book recommendations tailored to your tastes: bit.ly/SRLS-WhatToReadNext
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