National Family Month Reads
August is National Family Fun Month! As summer winds down and kids prepare to return to school, take advantage of the end of summer to spend some time together as a family. Need some ideas? How about hosting a family game night? Pick your favorite board game, make a “kid-chuterie” snack board, and see who can become the family champion! Need more ideas? Try a family movie night, go for a picnic, volunteer together (LINK TO VOLUNTEER APPLICATION HERE?), or make s’mores for a fun summer dessert. Whatever you do, spend some time together as a family and enjoy being together.
The Name Jar
After young Unhei moves from Korea to the United States, she thinks she should choose a new name. A few friends from school help her decide what to do. For grades K-3. 2001.
Book Length: 18 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB088882
A Lesson in Murder
Lady Eleanor Swift has been invited to be a guest speaker at her old school, St. Mary's. Her favorite teacher, Mrs. Wadsworth, has asked her to speak about her travels. But when Eleanor arrives, she's told Mrs. Wadsworth has been murdered. Eleanor must discover who is killing the teachers. Some violence. 2021.
Book Length: 9 hours, 39 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB105666
Master Class
In the future, every child's potential and life path are determined by a standardized test. When teacher Elena's daughter bombs a single monthly test and is taken away from her prestigious school, Elena's perspective on the system shifts. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.
Book Length: 8 hours, 22 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB099636
PTA mysteries, Books 1-3
Three mysteries, written between 2010 and 2012, featuring Beth Kennedy, a PTA secretary, children's bookstore owner, mother of two, and savvy sleuth. Includes Murder at the PTA, Foul Play at the PTA, and Plotting at the PTA, in which a PTA fundraiser is hampered by murder. 2012.
Book Length: 28 hours, 16 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB103378
Tracy Flick Can’t Win
Tracy Flick is a hardworking assistant principal at a public high school in suburban New Jersey. Still ambitious but feeling a little stuck and underappreciated in midlife, Tracy gets a jolt of good news when the longtime principal, Jack Weede, abruptly announces his retirement, creating a rare opportunity for Tracy to ascend to the top job. Energized by the prospect of her long-overdue promotion, Tracy throws herself into her work with renewed zeal, determined to prove her worth to the students, faculty, and School Board, while also managing her personal life—a ten-year-old daughter, a needy doctor boyfriend, and a burgeoning meditation practice. But nothing ever comes easily to Tracy Flick, no matter how diligent or qualified she happens to be.
Book Length: 6 hours, 6 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB108552
The Funny Thing About Norman Forman
Twelve-year-old Norman Foreman and his best friend, Jax, are a legendary comedic duo in waiting, with a plan to take their act all the way to the Edinburgh Fringe. But when Jax dies, Norman decides the only fitting tribute is to perform at the festival himself. The problem is, Norman's not the funny one. Jax was. There's also another, far more colossal objective on Norman's new plan that his single mom, Sadie, wasn't ready for: he wants to find the father he's never known. Determined to put a smile back on her boy's face, Sadie resolves to face up to her own messy past, get Norman to the Fringe and help track down a man whose identity is a mystery, even to her. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2022.
Book Length: 9 hours, 14 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB109019