Our Summer Reading Kickoff is this week, Saturday, June 6, from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at Graham Recreational Center!

To celebrate the kickoff to our crazy, fun-filled summer of programs and reading, I want to share with you some highlights from our “what to read” lists for every age.

Sometimes you come to the library, and you’re in a hurry. Sometimes, you look at the shelves and you are overwhelmed! We understand, and we want to help you find books that you think your child (and/or you) will enjoy reading.

You can find more information on summer reading, including how to sign up to log your minutes, and some of the prizes that you can win, on our website.

Suggested Books for Preschoolers

Have you seen my invisible dinosaur? by Helen Yoon

Invisible dinosaurs are easy to lose, especially after you give them a bubble bath! The PB & J sandwiches haven’t lured him back, and the Lost Pet posters, featuring a blank photo, aren’t helping either. This young girl muses on all of the things that could help her find her dinosaur, with a great big surprise at the end. This book of gentle humor and huge imagination will appeal to young children.

Suggested Books for K-2nd Grade

The bone wars : the true story of an epic battle to find dinosaur fossils by Jane Kurtz

Have you ever wondered where all of those dinosaur fossils in museums came from? Scientists who study dinosaurs are called paleontologists. Two paleontologists, O. C. Marsh and Edward Cope, once were best friends. But then Marsh found an error in Cope’s work. They became rivals, and began to compete to find the best fossils, and the most complete sets of dinosaur bones. Their drive to one-up each other led to wonderful discoveries! This non-fiction illustrated book will fascinate you as well as your children.

Suggested Books for 3rd-5th Grade

Lost time by Tas Mukanik

Twelve-year-old Evie somehow is sent back to the Cretaceous Period, more than 65 million years in our past! In this graphic novel, she must figure out how to survive in a world far different from her own. She befriends and raises a baby pterosaur named Ava, and finds a partner for her adventures around the prehistoric world. When she has a chance to get back to the future, she and Ada must embark on a hair-raising journey across the world, through storms and predators, to make her dreams come true.

Suggested Books for Middle Grades

The last mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

Sai is an apprentice to a mapmaker in Mangkon. She appears to be a well-bred young lady, but she knows her father is a con man and will be discovered sooner or later. She jumps at a chance to explore and map the southern seas, not realizing that there are others with secrets aboard. They find themselves heading to the fabled Sunderlands, where they might find dragons, gold, fame, fortune, or disaster! This book touches on tough topics like colonialism and manifest destiny while dragging you along on an incredible adventure with Thai-inspired culture and geography.

Suggested Books for Teens

Represent : the unfinished fight for the vote by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau

Teens who are interested in digging into the history of voting rights in the United States will find great information in this non-fiction book. From the Revolution and the Constitution to the present-day (this book was published in 2024), there has been an ongoing discussion in the United States about who gets to vote. This summer begins the celebration of our country’s 250th birthday, making this book a perfect choice for summer reading!

Mary Beth A. is the Community Engagement Librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries.

As the end of May wraps up Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, here are some memoirs written by AAPI authors to check out! 

Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner

Crying in H-Mart details the life of musical artist Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner as she traverses from growing up as the only Asian-American at her school in Oregon to bonding with her mother over food in her grandmother’s apartment in Seoul to reconnecting with her cultural heritage in the wake of a terminal diagnosis and her mother’s passing. This book is a devastating portrait of grief, but Zauner still infuses her writing with such humor and heart while depicting her struggle with her Korean identity, growing up mixed race, and her relationship with her mother. (Be sure to have tissues on hand for this one. You’ll need them… Trust me.) 

Family Style: Memoirs of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham

Family Style is a young adult graphic novel that follows the harrowing but true story of a family’s escape from Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War and their eventual journey to California as refugees. As someone who has read and enjoyed many graphic novel memoirs like The Best We Could Do or When Stars are Scattered, this is a new favorite that I will be thinking about for a while. With beautifully evocative artwork by the author, this book illustrates the power and the cost of the American Dream for immigrant families—the ways that assimilation is often paid for by the loss of one’s cultural identity and heritage.

Beautiful Country by Quin Julie Wang 

Quin Julie Wang shares the daunting account of her childhood growing up as an undocumented immigrant in the memoir Beautiful Country, showing firsthand the trials and tribulations immigrant families frequently encounter. This book also exists in conversation with the complexities of the American Dream. In China, Wang heard tales from family and friends of two Americas: one where everyone is rich, and one where everyone is poor. That duality is accurately captured here and highlights the reason many immigrants continue to make tremendous sacrifices to move to the United States with the hope for a better life—for themselves and their children. Beautiful County is unflinching in its depiction of Wang’s adolescence as an undocumented immigrant, but still offers a glimmer of hope.

Sara D. is a Library Assistant at Graham Public Library.

You’re planning a fun vacation for this summer, but you’re dreading the long drive. Will your kids drive you up the wall with their fighting? Or will they be entranced by their own devices, and leave you feeling like a chauffeur?

I recommend getting some great audiobooks that the whole family can enjoy! I’ve broken them up into categories, depending on the age of your child. These audiobooks are available through NC Digital Kids, Libby, or Hoopla.

Early Elementary

It can be too much to expect many younger children to listen to a long book and be able to follow the story. But there are great shorter stories that you can listen to and discuss as you drive! You can pause frequently and ask questions – what do you think will happen next? – to keep your kids invested in the story.

Ron Roy, A-Z Mysteries (and other series)

Ron Roy’s stories are classic detective whodunits with kid detectives, and they are short – around an hour each. Some titles are bundled together (A-Z Mysteries W,X,Y and Z), so you can borrow one “title” and get four books.

Mary Pope Osborne, Magic Tree House series

Two siblings, Jack and Annie, discover a magic tree house that transports them through space and time to visit dinosaurs, knights, mummies, pirates, and more! Some of the titles are bundled together, just like the A-Z Mysteries.

Dan Gutman, Wait? What! Biography series

Dan Gutman has written several book series, including My Weird School and My Weirderest School, but his newest series is biographies of famous people, focusing on the silly, strange, and weird aspects of their lives! Each book is a little more than an hour, making it perfect for young listeners.

Asia Citro, Zoey and Sassafras series

Each of Zoey’s books features a new magical animal that needs help through science. These books will have your children thinking through problems and trying out solutions – just like scientists!

Other series and authors to check out:

Tracey West, Dragon Masters series

Geronimo Stilton series

Jordan Quinn, The Kingdom of Wrenly series

Peggy and Herman Parish, The Amelia Bedelia series

Abby Hanlon, Dory Fantasmagory

Jeff Brown, Flat Stanley

Beverly Cleary

Sally Warner, EllRay Jakes series

Older Elementary School/Middle School Students

You’ll find all of the classics – Peter Pan, Charlotte’s Web, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Pippi Longstocking – on NC Kids. However, there also are some great new books and series of books that parents will enjoy listening to as much as their kids!

Tui T. Sutherland, Wings of Fire series

Book 16 was just released, so this summer is the perfect time to catch up on this series! The first book begins with a prophecy that five small dragonets must fulfill to save their world from the war that rages on around them. These books do have some violence, and puppy (dragonet?) love, but the books are strictly PG.

Tracey Baptiste, The Jumbies series

Corinne’s parents use Caribbean folklore, especially the Jumbies, to frighten her into being good. But she’s not afraid – until she chases an agouti into the forest and sees shining yellow eyes following her. A beautiful stranger arrives at the market the next day, and Corinne knows she must tap into her magic to stop her from taking over her island.

Peter Brown, The Wild Robot Series

Roz, a robot, wakes up on an island, all alone, with no memory of her life before. She must befriend the animals who live on the island to learn how to survive here. When she finally feels like this island is home, her past comes back to upset the balance she’s found.

Other Authors and Series to Check Out

Alan Gratz

Lauren Tarshis, I Survived series

Sarah Mlynowski

Renée Watson

Gordon Korman

Kelly Yang

Karina Glaser

Jerry Craft

Teens

Teens definitely want to do their own thing in the car. But you might be able to capture their interest with one of these great books/series!

Margaret Peterson Haddix – Among the Hidden series

This is a dystopian science fiction series about Luke, one of the shadow children. His society only allows a certain number of children to be born to each family. Luke has spent his entire life indoors, hidden away. But when he sees a face in the house next door, he knows that he’s found another Shadow child. This girl has a dangerous plan to bring the shadow children out of hiding – does he dare join her?

Rebecca Ross – Divine Rivals series

Two gods, two mortals, and a frenemy-to-lovers storyline! Roman and Iris are both brilliant reporters sent to cover the war. The war is caused by two rival gods who are fighting and have involved the mortals of the world in their reckless carnage. There’s one sex scene in the first book that you might have to fast-forward through for everyone in the car’s comfort, but the story is universal and enjoyable for all ages. Book two in the series has plenty of violence (it’s a war), but nothing graphic, and the sex is implied rather than spelled out on the page.

Tracy Deonn – Legendborn Cycle

A young woman begins early college on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill shortly after the untimely death of her mother. She sees a demon on campus one night, and gets pulled into a secret society of the descendants of King Arthur and his court, whose job is to fight the demons and close the gates where they are coming in. Arthurian magic and her root magic combine to make an irresistible series of books. There is violence and death in this series, but it is necessary to the plot. The sex is mostly off-page or implied.

Adult Books/Authors That Appeal to Teens

What Kind of Paradise – Janelle Brown

How to Solve Your Own Murder – Kristen Perrin

Tress of the Emerald Sea – Brandon Sanderson

C.S. Lewis (beyond the Narnia series) On Libby and On hoopla

Mary Beth A. is the Community Engagement Librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries.

Williams, Niall. This is happiness. London : Bloomsbury, 2019.

In the 1950s, a rural Irish village is on the cusp of modernity as the promise of long-awaited electricity is finally making it to the west of the island.  Noel Crowe, Noe for short, is a failed seminarian who has retreated to his grandparents’ home to reconsider his future.  There the entire village of Faha is abuzz with electricity men planting poles, stringing wires and hooking up thatch-roofed stone dwellings.  One of these men, Christy, becomes a lodger with Noe’s grandparents.

Christy is older than the rest of the electrical workers, but Noe and the old lodger quickly hit it off and Noe learns it is not electricity that has brought Christy to Faha.  In fact, he has come to seek the forgiveness of a woman he long-ago left at the altar.  Noe is drawn by Christy’s charm and enthusiasm and becomes a partner in his mission.

The true beauty of This is Happiness is Niall Williams’ wonderful writing.  He fills the fictitious Faha with scores of characters who are unique and quirky and easily come to life.  The novel begins with the ever-present rain abating giving the Fahians rare, glorious sunshine.  However, that sun does not retreat, leaving the locals eventually wishing the sun would go away, at least for a bit.

Under the blazing sun and the buzz of electrical work going on everywhere, Noe and Christy traverse Faha, attempting to mend fences, woo a doctor’s daughters, bicycle from pub to pub and even get crushed by a telephone pole.  The relationship between the elder man and narrator is a poignant one and both learn a great deal from each other by the time the tiny village of Faha is lit up by modernity for the very first time.

James D. is the Public Service Manager at the Mebane Public Library.

Zahn Timothy. Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Chaos Rising. New York, NY: Del Rey 2020.
Zahn Timothy. Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Greater Good. New York, NY: Del Rey 2021.
Zahn Timothy. Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Lesser Evil. New York, NY: Del Rey 2021.

The Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy takes readers back in time from where we meet the character in Star Wars Thrawn. It explores in-depth Thrawn’s life and military career among his own people, the Chiss, and how his goals and indeed his purpose for existing clash with their laws.

The books are set in the Unknown Regions around the same time as the Clone Wars are happening. Thrawn and his allies must dodge and outmaneuver both Chiss politicians, who view Thrawn as a threat to the Ascendancy’s existence, and the Ascendancy’s external enemies to unravel the mystery behind a plan to destroy the Ascendancy. These three books take us on a deep dive into Chiss culture and society exploring government and family hierarchies and how they work with and clash with the military structure, and the overarching goal of protecting the Ascendancy.

These books will be an exciting read for long time fans of Star Wars and Thrawn in particular, but they would also be a good place to start if you are new to Star Wars. They, like the previous Thrawn trilogy, explore his motivations and desires. However, the new setting presents Thrawn with a new set of challenges: he must still fight political battles, but his people’s strict adherence to a policy of isolationism and no preemptive strikes clashes with Thrawn’s desire to keep his people safe at any price. These books would also be a good read for fans of the show Ahsoka as understanding Thrawn’s goals may have bearing on the future direction of the series.

Kyle F. is a Library Assistant at May Memorial Library, and leads the Galactic Book Club, which meets every first Monday of the month.

Freeman, Megan E. Alone. New York : Aladdin, 2021.

Celebrate National Poetry Month by reading Alone by Megan E. Freeman, an exciting novel in verse. The story follows a teenage girl abandoned when the government evacuates her town due to a looming threat. Left utterly alone with only her loyal canine companion named George, she must navigate the wilderness and discover her own strength, despite knowing almost nothing about survival.

Who could resist a story about a kid braving the wild all by themselves? Packed with action and adventure, I recommend this to fans of classic novels with similar themes, like Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins. It’s also a great read for kids in grades 6 and up, as it features a mature protagonist who grows over the course of the story.

Novels written in verse often appeal to young audiences because their lyrical storytelling and visual accessibility attract reluctant readers. It offers a fresh way to enjoy poetry, its beauty, and the novelty of storytelling.

Alone is a beautiful reflection on finding your place in the world, human resourcefulness, and the importance of believing in yourself. It’s also an exceptionally fun and fast-paced read that will have you flipping the pages and eager to find out what happens next. If you want more answers after finishing Alone, read the follow-up book in the series, Away, which offers a compelling new perspective on the government evacuation through the eyes of different group of kids. Both physical copies are available at Alamance County Public Libraries.

Trigger warnings/subjects: parental divorce, physical injury & illness, natural disasters, and animal deaths/abuse.

Sharada F.M. is a Library Assistant II at Graham Public Library Children’s Department.

Skate It Till You Make It : a novel. Mazarura, Rufaro Faith. New York : Flatiron Books, 2026.

Skate It Till You Make It by Rufaro Faith Mazarura is a delightful fake-dating hockey romance that hits all the right notes. Ari Shumba never imagined she’d make it to the Olympic Games, let alone lead Great Britain’s female hockey team to victory. But when the role of team captain reluctantly falls to her, she must navigate the pressures of the biggest competition of her life while also managing family drama and dodging her toxic ex.

Drew Dlamini has always played it safe. After a painful breakup and dropping out of college to deal with a family crisis, he’s eager for a fresh start. When he lands a job photographing a celebrity party on New Year’s Eve, his dream of becoming a professional photographer reignites.

When Ari and Drew cross paths at that party, neither is looking for love. Despite the instant chemistry, the distance between them seems insurmountable. They spend that night sharing secrets and red flags, convinced they’ll never see each other again. But fate has other plans, and when they reunite at the Olympic Games, they are forced to confront their wildest dreams and each other.

As the stakes rise, Ari and Drew agree to fake-date their way through the competition. Rufaro crafts characters with sizzling chemistry and witty banter, making it impossible not to root for them. Skate It Till You Make It is a perfect pick for fans of sports romances and fake-dating stories alike.

Chantell H. is a Circulation Assistant at North Park Library.

Murata, Sayaka. Life Ceremony. New York : Grove Press, 2022.

Sayaka Murata brings new meaning to flipping societal norms. After digesting “Convenience Store Woman,” I was ready to try something new and short stories are a great palate cleanser. Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata is a compilation of 12 short stories that really makes you wonder about our societal norms and mores.

These stories take place in Japan where there are clear gender roles and norms. Murata seeks to explore these in provocative and often disturbing ways. Right off the bat, we start with “A First Rate Material” where a soon-to-be bride is picking out only the finest items for her wedding registry but the most coveted and valuable items are made from human materials. The title story, “Life Ceremony” is a very different take on commemorating the dead. The final story, “Hatchling” is about a woman that takes fitting in with societal norms to an extreme. She becomes a completely different person in each social setting. As her wedding comes near, she has to find a way to reconcile these different personalities.

“Life Ceremony” is not an easy read. Some of the stories are deeply disturbing but they are also inventive and thought provoking. If you like stories that keep you thinking long after you are finished with them, this is just right.

Amy S. is a Library Assistant at Mebane Public Library.

Miller, Vanessa. The American Queen. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2024.

Have you started reading our Alamance Reads 2026 selection yet? If you’re new to Alamance Reads, it’s a community‑wide reading program funded by the Friends of the Alamance County Public Libraries. The goal is simple but powerful: bring our community together by encouraging everyone to read the same book, join in meaningful conversations, and enjoy a special visit from the author.

This year is the perfect time to jump in—and there’s still plenty of time to finish this remarkable book before author and North Carolinian Vanessa Miller visits in just two weeks. She is generously offering three opportunities for the community to meet her and hear her inspiring story. Plus, we have her book available in every format—from print to e‑audiobook—so there’s no excuse not to dive into this fantastic read.

This year’s book, The American Queen, pulls you in from the very first page. It tells the story of freed men and women who built a thriving, resilient community during some of the most challenging times for African Americans. The Kingdom of the Happy Land was a self‑sufficient, communal society established in the 1870s in Henderson County, NC, by formerly enslaved people fleeing violence in Mississippi. Led by King William and Queen Louella, the community thrived on shared labor, farming, and education before declining in the early 1900s. At the height of its prosperity, the Kingdom owned more than 200 acres of land.

As an avid lover of anything North Carolina, I was excited to read this little‑known history about a thriving community of freed slaves—and it did not disappoint. The book is engaging and heartfelt; I didn’t want it to end. It has stayed with me long after I turned the last page, and I continue to recommend it to anyone looking for their next great read. I was so moved by the story that I even traveled to the Henderson County Library and Historical Museum to explore the history they’ve preserved about these inspiring people.

Queen Louella stands at the heart of this story—a woman of noble character, unshakable strength, and a fierce commitment to her people. She endures heartbreak, violence, and discrimination for being both a woman and Black, yet her resilience inspires everyone around her. While the novel doesn’t shy away from the hardships this community faced, it blossoms with hope, love, and the power of unity through faith. You finish the book feeling uplifted and eager to share this story with others. It is a novel that feels especially meaningful in this moment in history.

When a book sparks conversations about courage, legacy, and the strength of community, you know it’s the perfect choice for Alamance Reads—and Vanessa Miller’s The American Queen does exactly that.

 Vanessa Miller will be with us on Tuesday, April 14th at 2:00 p.m. at the Alamance Community College Auditorium, or at 6:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Burlington. Her final visit will be Wednesday, April 15th at 12:0o p.m. at the Elon Community Church (registration required).

Alexis V. is the Branch Manager of North Park Library.