Author: Ashley Barnes

Aquatic Adventures for Kids

Posted on by Ashley Barnes

Just keep swimming, we mean reading! The Read to Reef Book Club is back this month and Enoch Pratt Free Library is excited to offer these fun books that are sure to make a splash.

Not familiar with Read to Reef? In March, the program allows Baltimore-area children in fifth grade and younger to receive a Read to Reef bookmark at their local branch of Enoch Pratt Free Library (while supplies last).

After students read five aquatic or conservation-themed books they can exchange their completed bookmark for up to four admission tickets to the National Aquarium. For a full list of the instructions and details on Read to Reef, please visit here.

Dive into these picks:

Dolphins! Strange and Wonderful
 By Laurence Pringle

With fascinating facts and detailed, illuminating artwork, dolphin species are introduce to readers of all ages.
Read here
Exploring the Deep, Dark Sea
By Gail Gibbons

Dive deep into the mechanics and discoveries of deep-sea exploration.
Read here
Hey, Water!
By Antoinette Portis

Join a young girl as she explores her surroundings and sees that water is everywhere. 
Read here
Hello, World! Ocean Life
By Jill McDonald

Told in clear and easy terms with featuring bright, cheerful illustrations, babies and toddlers learn about the world under the sea.
Read here

You might want to also check these books out.

Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid
By Jeff Kinney
Read here

Planting Stories : The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
By Anika Denise
Read here
Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish
By Beth Ferry
Read here

Spotlight on Women’s History Month

Posted on by Ashley Barnes

Happy Women’s History Month! We’re excited to celebrate with curated lists from Hoopla. Whether its eBooks, audiobooks, film, or music, Pratt staffers are enjoying seeing women from the past highlighted and how they are inspiring the leaders of the future. Here are some of our favorite picks from Hoopla.

eBooks
For a full list of eBooks available in honor of Women’s History Month visit here.

Girl, Wash Your Face
By Rachel Hollis
Read here
Milk and Honey Cover
Milk and Honey
By Rupi Kaur
Read here.
Difficult Women Cover
Difficult Women
By Roxane Gay
Read here.

Audiobooks
Fans of audiobooks, check out what else Hoopla has to offer for Women’s History Month here.

Girls Resist Cover
Girls Resist!
By KaeLyn Rich
Listen here.
The Mother of Black Hollywood
By Jenifer Lewis
Listen here.
Yes Please Cover
Yes Please
By Amy Poehler
Listen here.

Movies
Interested in more movies for Women’s History Month? Visit here for a full list of recommendations.

Dark Girls Cover
Dark Girls
Watch here.
Frida
Watch here.
Served Like a Girl
Watch here.

Music
Hoopla has a not only the latest but greatest from popular female artists. Take a look of a list of featured albums here.

Thank U Next Cover
Thank U, Next
By Ariana Grande
Listen here.
Golden Hour Cover
Golden Hour
By Kacey Musgraves
Listen Here
Invasion of Privacy Cover
Invasion of Privacy
By Cardi B
Listen here.

From the Screen to Paper: Spotlight on Graphic Novels

Posted on by Ashley Barnes

With bold art work and intriguing stories, graphic novels can appeal to so many readers. This month, we have a list of recommendations that continue the stories of popular characters you might have already seen on the big or TV screen.

From superheroes to literary classics, there’s something for everyone. Click on the cover to reserve your copy today.

Books to marvel over:

Black Panther: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, Part One
 Explore Wakanda even further with the latest graphic novel from Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Read here | Watch Black Panther here
Spider-Man Spider-Verse: Miles Morales
See what adventures Miles Morales swings himself into.
Read here | Watch Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse here

Classics get a modern update:

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy
The story of Little Women is retold for a new audience.
Read here | Read the original here | Watch film here
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Margaret Atwood novel gets a new look. 
Read here | Read the original here

Don’t forget to check these graphic novels out.

Incredibles 2: Heroes at Home
Read here | Watch The Incredibles 2 here
The Umbrella Academy
Read here
Green Lanterns: Rage Planet
Read here

What’s on our Reading List this March

Posted on by Ashley Barnes

Here are some new releases that members of the Pratt staff are excited to read next. We hope fiction readers will enjoy!

The Night Visitors Cover
The Night Visitors
By Carol Goodman

Don’t miss this thrilling story of mistaken identities, missed chances, forgiveness, and vengeance.
Find out more here.
Daisy Jones & the Six Cover
Daisy Jones & The Six
 By Tara Jenkins Reid

The making of a legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies.
Find out more here.
The Bird King
By G. Willow Wilson

Follow this epic journey set during the reign of the last sultan in the Iberian peninsula at the height of the Spanish Inquisition.
Find out more here.
Yor Pastor My Husband Cover
Your Pastor, My Husband
By B.M. Hardin

What’s a woman to do when she learns that the one man that she thought was “praying” for her…had all along been “preying” on her?
Find out more here.

Don’t forget to check out these books too.

Blood Orange
By Harriet Tyce
Read here.

The Island of Sea Women Cover
The Island of Sea Women
By Lisa See
Read here.
99 Percent Mine Cover
99 Percent Mine
By Sally Thorne
Read here.

Delve into Race Relations with Nonfiction Works

Posted on by Ashley Barnes

This month, new books to the Pratt help start a dialog about race relations in our community. With a diverse group of authors, these books are sure to offer different and unique perspectives.

Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America’s Heartland
By Jonathan Metzl

Physician Jonathan Metzl’s explores the health implications of “backlash governance” across America’s heartland. Named one of the most anticipated books of 2019 by Esquire and The Boston Globe.

Check it out here.

Good Kids, Bad City: A Story of Race and Wrongful Conviction in America
By Kyle Swenson

Learn about the case of three African-American men wrongly convicted of a brutal crime and how their exoneration may have ended one of American history’s most disgraceful miscarriages of justice.

Check it out here.

Black is the Body: Stories from My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, And Mine
By Emily Bernard

This collection of personal essays explores the complexities and experiences of growing up black in the South with a white surname as well as the author’s experiences with interracial marriage, international adoption, and teaching at a Northern white college.

Find out more here.