Kids Library

Humans live longer now than they ever have in their more than three hundred thousand years of existence on earth. And most (if not all) of the advances that have permitted the human lifespan to double have happened in living memory. Extra Life looks at vaccines, seat belts, pesticides, and more, and how each of our scientific advancements have prolonged human life.

The kids of Cooperstown made it to the World Series! Technically, Mike and Kate are just there to support their friend, Colin, and his teammates as they play for the championship. But the competition gets tricky when someone starts trying to sabotage Cooperstown's team - they punch holes in the tires of their bus, and the team's equipment goes missing! Can Mike and Kate find the trickster before it's too late? Or will these shenanigans cost Cooperstown the series?

When fifth grader Penny Lowry and her classmates get invited to go to New York City for a weekend hosted by Billy J. Plumberry, the famous author her school is named for, Penny finds a lot to worry about. After all, isn't the city full of aggressive bike messengers ready to run kids over? And what if she gets stuck in an elevator for life? Not to mention all the pianos falling out of windows everywhere! On the other hand, what if it might actually be fun to explore an exciting new place with some of her best friends?

Laila knows how clever, kind, and funny her Mama and Baba are—but sometimes they need her help translating things from English. With English classes being too expensive, Laila decides to become her parents’ teacher, even though she’s just learning the language too. There’s lots that Laila knows (like you don’t pronounce the t in ballet) but there’s so much she doesn’t know too. Together, they embrace the joy and struggles of learning a new language.

Two food trucks staffed by sworn enemies: ducks vs. geese. Before you can say "curly fries", these two rivals are in an epic food truck face-off. "Battle on! At dawn, we ride!" But soon, Goose becomes overwhelmed by hangry crowds. He sure could use some extra wings to help out! Will these foes find a solution and become feathered friends?

Most things are easy-peasy, regular-pegular for Bibsy Cross. She loves her parents, her cat, her best friend, Natia. She loves school and the library. And she loves to lend a helping hand. For their class project, Bibsy and her group must create a self-sustaining pickle-jar terrarium. That means the plants and bugs will live in a harmonious balance. But when things go a little off-kilter in the pickle jar, will Bibsy's instinct to help out truly do good?

Susan the duck has the worst luck. Her rollerskates are two sizes too big. She's lost her favorite marble. And she's run out of pickles. But with each unfortunate discovery, Wolf shows up with a gift she's won. Her luck has turned around . . . hasn't it? Come see just how lucky Susan is, in this slyly funny story about finding luck when you least expect it.

When Leda wakes up by falling out of bed, she knows that gravity is in a very bad mood. Again. Sure enough, she struggles with stumbles and bumbles at home, trips and blips on the bus, and bashes and crashes in the classroom. But a lesson on gravity helps her understand what’s really going on. And after a visit to a science center, Leda's mood is lifted...just in time for her to tumble—happily!—into bed. With a very funny text from award-winner Wendelin Van Draanen, Gravity is Bringing Me Down makes it hilariously clear how this science concept impacts kids' lives every day.

When Rufus, Murphy, Lurena, and their pets go camping, they meet Pedro, a shy boy who seems afraid of just about everything - especially the water. One thing leads to another and the kids go into a nearby town to buy him a pet to cheer him up - a guinea pig, naturally. Yet what they bring home may look like a guinea pig, but it can swim - like an otter.

Rockhopper penguin Freya has always craved - and feared - adventure. When she hears about Captain Salomon August Andrée's hot-air balloon expedition to the North Pole, Freya packs her copy of Hints to Lady Travellers and hops on board. Only moments after leaving land, Freya discovers a fellow stowaway! Meet Zoose, the scrappy, uncouth mouse whose endless wisecracks and despicable manners make him a less-than-ideal travel companion. When the hot-air balloon is forced to land in the Arctic, these polar opposites must learn how to get along. Their very survival depends on it.

When Eleanor Roosevelt time travels to Nolan and Olive's house in modern-day Illinois, the kids don't know who she is at first. After all, she's old and wearing a hairnet. But the First Lady of the United States - some 80 years ago, that is - isn't a mystery for long when she starts spouting things like, "You must do the things you think you cannot do." Fresh off a visit from Ben Franklin, Nolan and Olive know what they're in for with this latest guest: an adventure.

It’s picture day at school! Lots of people are dressed up, and Bea is even wearing a fluffy dress, which she’s not exactly excited about. When she tells Buddy that he should take his glasses off for the photo, he listens. Everything will be blurry without them, but he decides he won’t take them off for long. Except then his glasses go missing. Are they lost? Did someone take them? Bea volunteers to help track them down, though her “help” isn’t always helpful.

French bulldog Billy the Kid was born with an ear for music. And not just any music. He loves barking to the beat of country music! So Billy sets out to Nashville to sing his heart out. But when he meets some big bullies at the Battle of the Bow-wows, Billy worries he's barking up the wrong tree. He'll need his favorite songs ("Jowlene" and "I Will Pawlways Love You," of course), a group of scrappy new friends, and his favorite country music star to regain self-confidence and be the star he always knew he could be.

Four hundred years ago, no one bothered to write down the exact words of stage plays. Characters’ lines were scribbled on small rolls of paper (as in, an actor’s role) and passed around, but no master script was saved for the future. The main reason we’ve heard of Romeo, Juliet, Hamlet, and Shakespeare himself is that a group of people made the excellent choice to preserve the plays after the Bard died. If they hadn’t created the book known as the First Folio, Shakespeare and his works would surely have been lost to history.

The bewitching second book in the Witches of Brooklyn series captures what it means to be a friend, and how growing up can be a little less scary if you throw some magic in the mix.

In 2005, a group of construction workers in Jerusalem made an incredible discovery. Underneath the parking lot they were digging up lay an ancient city that was built in the tenth century! Three years later, gold coins from an even earlier century were found at the site. The city of Jerusalem is like a layer cake of history—more than five thousand years of complicated history—all of which author Ellen Morgan explains clearly and objectively in this audiobook.

Second-grader Keena Ford loves writing in her journal. One day, Keena accidentally leaves her journal in the apartment of her mean classmate Tiffany Harris. The next day, Tiffany informs Keena that she's read the journal and is going to tell all of Keena's secrets! Well, unless Keena does everything Tiffany says, of course. With a little help from her brother, some classic fables, and a visiting author, Keena discovers what she must do to stand up to Tiffany and apologize to her friends.

Keena Ford is so excited to go on a field trip to the United States Capitol with her second-grade class! At school, she is running for a spot on the student council, and on the field trip she's going to meet a real live U.S. representative. The only trouble is, mean Tiffany Harris keeps teasing Keena and taking the best place in line. Keena doesn't mean to get into trouble, but trouble seems to find her anyway!

Keena Ford doesn't mean to be a troublemaker, but sometimes things get out of hand. Lucky for her, it's the beginning of the second grade and Keena's got a clean slate. So when her new second-grade teacher, Ms. Campbell, mistakenly thinks it's her birthday and brings in a huge chocolate cake, Keena realizes that she's gotten herself into a sticky situation. She knows she has to tell the truth, but it's not easy to turn down her very own birthday cake and a chance to wear a sparkly crown. How will Keena get out of this mess?

Most famous for his surrealist painting The Persistence of Memory and its melting clocks, Salvador Dalí combined his dreamlike ideas with his excellent technical skills to become one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century. Beyond painting, Dalí pursued the arts in many other mediums including sculpture, film, fashion, photography, architecture, and more. He was friends with many of his famous contemporaries, including Picasso, Bunuel, Miro, and Duchamp.