First Library

Meet Shirley, a little girl who asks way too many questions! After spending her early years on her grandparents' farm in Barbados, she returns home to Brooklyn and immediately makes herself known. Shirley kicks butt in school; she breaks her mother's curfew; she plays jazz piano instead of classical. And as a young adult, she fights against the injustice she sees around her, against women and Black people. Soon she is running for state assembly...and winning in a landslide. Three years later, she is on the campaign trail again, as the first Black woman to run for Congress.

Perfect for Teacher Appreciation Week and graduation, here is an inspirational, rhyming picture book ode to the extra-special teachers we remember all those years later. Children will love seeing themselves and their favorite teachers in scenes bursting with positivity, highlighting not just academics but sports, drama, art, music, and community. And teachers will appreciate seeing their honored profession depicted with love and gratitude.

Melody Ellison loves singing and gardening, and is inspired by friends and family and the Civil Rights Movement to make changes in her community. Melody's story of leadership and making one's voice heard is sure to engage today's readers as they learn what it was like to be a girl in 1964. This Step 3 Step into Reading leveled reader is great for American Girl fans ages 5 to 8. This exciting Step into Reading is based on an American Girl story by Denise Lewis Patrick.

An audiobook about Champ and Major, President-elect Joe Biden's two adorable dogs! Major will be the first shelter dog in the White House, and Champ can't wait to show him around.

When the twins start a summer basketball league at their local park, they notice the once rundown court is getting freshened up with each passing day. First new nets, then the benches have been completely restored. But who's behind it? Zach and Zoe are on the case!

Told from the perspective of a student, The New Kid Welcome (or Welcome the New Kid when flipped) presents listeners with two versions of what happens when a "new kid" joins the protagonist's school. In the first half of the book, the student tells us that they don’t want to be nice to the new kid or welcome them into their group simply because they seem different. In the second half, the same lines of the story are placed in reverse order. When heard this way, the student encourages us to say hello to someone new, saying they will share their table and snacks.

It's the first day of school and Little Tortoise is ready with a backpack filled with new school supplies. Little Tortoise can't wait to get to school and tries very hard not to be the last student there. But soon Cheetah, Llama, and even a snail on a scooter, overtake her. And then when she gets stuck in the gutter of the book, she's sure she'll be the last pupil to arrive! But the timely arrival of Mr. Sloth, her new teacher, changes everything.

Miles has been waiting forever to be part of a city-wide science competition. Now his dream is finally coming true, and he's even part of an all-star team that includes his good friend, Jada. He should be in his element, so he can't seem to figure out why he feels like the weak link instead. While everyone else is rocking the project, Miles keeps messing up, and the team bickers and loses momentum. Miles is filled with self-doubt, and he has to wonder: Is he really a whiz at science, or is he actually a flop?

Katie's best friend Jeremy and the other boys from Class 3A have decided that all girls have cooties. But when Katie finds herself in one of Jeremy's shoes (literally), she tries to reunite the boys and the girls. Will Katie's plan work? Or will it just be one big mess?

There's nothing like a good monster movie--except when the second reel gets stolen. It's up to Cam and her friend Eric to piece together clues that leave everyone else in the dark.

When fifth-grader Cam notices that the prizes for the most difficult game at the school carnival are rapidly disappearing, she uses her amazing photographic memory to investigate.

No mystery is too great for super-sleuth Cam Jansen and her amazing photographic memory! Mysteries follow super-sleuth Cam Jansen everywhere she goes...even to a book signing. Cam is waiting in line for a book "pawtograph" from famous TV dog Poochie when he mysteriously disappears and is replaced with an imposter! Can Cam find the real Poochie?

The first day of kindergarten is finally here, and Henry can't wait to paint pictures, sing songs, and practice counting. When he gets to school, though, he's not so sure he's ready for kindergarten. But before long Henry discovers that the only thing he's not ready for is how much fun he's going to have at school! This gently humorous, encouraging story will give children about to enter kindergarten an extra boost of confidence.

Mysteries follow super-sleuth Cam Jansen everywhere she goes...even to the zoo. When a few monkeys suddenly go missing from their cage, Cam is sure she knows how the thief took them. Can she find the missing monkeys before they are lost forever?

Mysteries follow super-sleuth Cam Jansen everywhere she goes...even to the museum. Cam and her class are on a fild trip at the museum when Cam discovers that some bones are missing from a dinosaur skeleton. Can Cam find the bones and catch the thief?

At age 14, Hillary Clinton thought it would be thrilling to become an astronaut, so she sent an application to NASA. The reply was a flat-out rejection: The space program didn't take women. It was a critical moment for the young girl, one that made her realize the world she lived in needed changing and that she had better try to make those changes happen. Clinton's life has been a thrilling series of firsts - First Lady of the US, then first First Lady to become a US Senator, Secretary of State, and the first woman to run as the Democratic candidate for President.

On Vanessa's first day of school, her parents tell her it will be easy to make friends. Vanessa isn't so sure. She wears her fanciest outfit so her new classmates will notice her right away. They notice, but the attention isn't what she'd hoped for. As the day goes on, she feels more self-conscious. Her clothes are too bright, her feather boa has way too many feathers, and even her name is too hard to write.

Two best friends are so excited to go back to school. They're in the same class, their classroom is full of art supplies, and they've even made a new friend. But then it happens: Just as the teacher introduces herself, the giggles show up! They're everywhere and impossible to escape. And as if that wasn't embarrassing enough, soon a guffaw shows up, and then the chuckles! What will their teacher think if they can't avoid laughing in the middle of her first lesson?

In this chapter book biography by award-winning author Atia Abawi, listeners learn about the amazing life of Sally Ride - and how she persisted. As the first American woman in space, Sally Ride broke barriers and made her dreams come true. But she wanted to do even more! After leaving NASA, she created science and engineering programs that would help other girls and women make their dreams come true as well.

When Aunt Molly's wallet is stolen at the circus, Cam suspects that there's something not-too-funny going on under the big top. Is one of the clowns really a criminal?