Sian's post last week brought so many visitors to our blog! We are so honored that Sian has chosen us to share his reviews with you. We know he'll be one of your favorite reviewers too! Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte and Ann Xu This story is about a girl named Cici trying to get her grandmother to America. Cici and her family came from Taiwan and settled in Seattle. She is 12 years old. Her grandmother, A-má does not have money to buy a plane ticket. So Cici joined a cooking contest that would give her money if she won.  In the contest, she teamed up with Miranda. She learned cooking from her mom, Miranda, and through reading library books. She became good at cooking and went on to win the contest. With the money she won, she brought her grandmother to Seattle and surprised her dad.  Measuring Up is a beautiful story and it is presented from Cici's perspective. It is a graphic novel. The story takes you through the journey of Cici's cooking contest and various dishes. Th...

We are so excited to be able to share with you a review from one of our very own WPL patrons, Sian Nissam !  (If you would like to write a review and be featured on our blog please reach out to us  here !) When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed This book was about two brothers in a refugee camp. Their names were Omar and Hassan. They did not have parents so they had a foster mother named Fatuma. Hassan is 7 and Omar is 8. They lived in a refugee camp for 7 years. Omar spent the whole time taking care of Hassan and playing. Hassan could not talk except for saying the word "hooyo." Tall Salan, an educated adult from the U.N., was the person who told Omar to go to school. Although Omar refused at first he still decided to go to school. After 12 years in a refugee camp Omar and his brother resettled in America. Omar grew up to be an adult that helped other refugees.  The thing I liked about this book is the way the story is presented. It showed cartoo...

Calling all book lovers! The 2021-2022 Massachusetts Children's Book Award (MCBA) nominees are here! What you need to know: -These books aren't just amazing books-they're on this list because kids like you think they're awesome too! For information on how to vote for this year's winner or how to lend your own voice to nominate your favorites for future awards, click here , or contact any of the children's librarians at the Worcester Public Library. -Tune into Facebook Live with Ms. Rezarta to learn more about the authors, illustrators, and titles that have been nominated! Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander: Cassius Clay was just a regular kid before he became Muhammad Ali. Also available in eBook , eAudio , and Playaway  formats. Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows (Book 1) by Ryan Calejo The monsters from Charlie Hernandez' childhood are no longer figments of his imagination. Also available in eBook format. City Spies  ...

Tune into Facebook Live  to get the scoop on all of the nominees for this year's Massachusetts Children's Book Award (selected and nominated by kids just like you!) where c hildren's literature extraordinaire, Ms. Rezarta Reso, will highlight the nominated books so you can learn all about them (and fill up your to-read book list!) Watch our first episode today at 4 (scroll down on the page if you don't see it right away) or watch the recording anytime) featuring Pablo Cartaya! Here are some of Ms. Rezarta's reflections on two of Pablo Cartaya's wonderful books:  I have such fond memories of reading  *Pablo Cartaya’s The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora In this award winning (The Pura Belpré award for outstanding Latinx literature and the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award-MCBA) story, Arturo, a thirteen year old from Miami, has to save his town from the threat of land developers. In addition to being a great advocate for his community, he is so sweet to his crush, Ca...