2021 was the first “official” year for the Lightbulb Heart Lending Library. Pandemic meant very few in-person storytimes (and then only with single families), a few online gatherings with Rock Reachout (Burlington, ON) and other groups, and Iots of lending!
Favorites!
Board Book: La Catrina: Emociones, by Patty Rodríguez – so much fun! Día de los Muertos inspired illustrations about emotions by Ariana Stein.
Picture Book: A Map Into the World, by Kao Kalia Yang – this was a Very Hard Decision, as so many beautiful books came into my world this year. Gorgeous illustrations bring this story of loss, art, and neighborliness to life.
Poem/Poetry Collection: Dear Treefrog, by Joyce Sidman – Minnesota legend Sidman strikes again with this charming collection of nature poetry, lovingly illustrated by Diana Sudyka.
Middle Grade/YA: Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation, by Monique Gray Smith – a brilliant and sensitive look at the legacy of residential schools in Canada, appropriate for grade school readers.
A complete list of 2021 acquisitions
While many titles were found used in thrift stores, yard sales, and tiny libraries, it certainly helped to be working for a bookshop for the first quarter of the year…a gigantic THANK YOU to Jaime Krakowski at Epic Books in Hamilton, ON for the generous staff discount! 🙂
I am also so very thankful to my generous donors! In addition to physical donations, $88 was re-donated to the Conscious Kid Anti-Racist Children’s Book Fund.
Board Books
- Egg Board Book, Kevin Henkes
- La Catrina: Emotions – Emociones, Patty Rodríguez
- The Story of Hanukkah, David A. Adler
- Together, Mona Damluji*
Picture Books
- A Different Pond, Bao Phi*
- A Map into the World, Kao Kalia Yang
- A Stone for Sascha, Aaron Becker
- Aaron Slater, Illustrator, Andrea Beaty* –
- All Because You Matter, Tami Charles
- Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon, Kat Zhang*
- Another, Christian Robinson
- Bright Star, Yuyi Morales
- Can Bears Ski?, Raymond Antrobus
- Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem, Amanda Gorman
- Cicada, Shaun Tan*
- Dear Treefrog, Joyce Sidman
- Divorce Is the Worst, Anastasia Higginbotham
- Dog Loves Drawing, Louise Yates
- Fairy Tales and Fables, Gyo Fujikawa
- Fairy Tales for Fearless Girls, Anita Ganeri
- Franklin’s Flying Bookshop, Jen Campbell
- Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, Natasha Yim*
- Grandad’s Camper, Harry Woodgate
- Hand Over Hand, Alma Fullerton*
- Hear My Voice/Escucha mi voz: The Testimonies of Children Detained at the Southern Border of the United States, Warren Binford
- Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales, Virginia Hamilton
- How to Find a Fox, Nilah Magruder
- Hush Hush, Forest, Mary Casanova
- I Dream of Popo, Livia Blackburne
- I Sang You Down from the Stars, Tasha Spillett-Sumner
- I Want to Be, Thylias Moss
- I’m Bored, Michael Ian Black
- Ida, Always, Caron Levis
- It Fell from the Sky, Fan Brothers
- Jayden’s Impossible Garden, Mélina Mangal
- Ladder to the Moon, Maya Soetoro-Ng
- Lovable Lyle, Bernard Waber*
- Lyle Finds His Mother, Bernard Waber*
- Lyle, Lyle, crocodile, Bernard Waber*
- Mightier Than the Sword: World Folktales for Strong Boys, Jane Yolen
- My Hair is Magic!, M. L. Marroquin
- My Two Border Towns, David Bowles
- Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness, Anastasia Higginbotham
- Not One Damsel in Distress: Heroic Girls from World Folklore, Jane Yolen
- Ohana Means Family, Ilima Loomis*
- Old Turtle, Douglas Wood*
- Oscar Otter, Nathaniel Benchley
- Our Favorite Day, Joowon Oh*
- Over and Under the Canyon, Kate Messner
- Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma, Joanna Ho
- Rhoda’s Rock Hunt, Molly Beth Griffin
- Running The Road To ABC, Denizé Lauture
- School’s First Day of School, Adam Rex
- Something Happened in Our Town (A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice), Marianne Celano
- Sootface, Robert D. San Souci
- Spring Stinks: A Little Bruce Book, Ryan T. Higgins
- Ten Beautiful Things, Molly Griffin
- Ten ways to hear snow, Cathy Camper
- Téo’s Tutu, Maryann Jacob Macias
- The ABCs of Black History, Rio Cortez
- The Bare Naked Book, Kathy Stinson
- The Eight Knights of Hanukkah, Leslie Kimmelman
- The Fog, Kyo Maclear*
- The Heart and the Bottle, Oliver Jeffers
- The Huge Bag of Worries, Virginia Ironside
- The Most Beautiful Thing, Kao Kalia Yang*
- The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read, Rita Lorraine Hubbard
- The Rough Patch, Brian Lies
- The Rough-Face Girl, Rafe Martin
- The Serpent Slayer: and Other Stories of Strong Women, Katrin Tchana
- The Wind and the Trees, Todd Stewart
- Treaty Words: For As Long As the Rivers Flow, Aimée Craft
- Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged!, Jody Nyasha Warner
- Waiting for the Biblioburro, Monica Brown*
- Watercress, Andrea Wang*
- What Happened to You?, James Catchpole
- What Will You Be?, Yamile Saied Méndez
- Where Are You From?, Yamile Saied Méndez
- Where Happiness Begins, Eva Eland
- William’s Doll, Charlotte Zolotow
- Wishes, Muon Thi Van*
- Your Name Is a Song, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
- Zonia’s Rain Forest, Juana Martinez-Neal
Chapter Books/Middle Grade/YA
- A Boy Called Bat, Elana K. Arnold
- Bat and the End of Everything, Elana K. Arnold
- Bat and the Waiting Game, Elana K. Arnold
- Blood Brother: Jonathan Daniels and His Sacrifice for Civil Rights, Rich Wallace
- Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson
- Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats: Urban Ecology, Community Science, and How We Share Our Cities, Cylita Guy, PhD*
- Song for a Whale, Lynne Kelly *
- Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation, Monique Gray Smith
- The Beatryce Prophecy, Kate DiCamillo
Much love to everyone who has supported Lightbulb Heart in 2021 – here’s to staying safe and getting back to in-person storytimes when it’s once again wise to do so! If you’re in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area, the Lending Library is here for you!
Lightbulb Heart 