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The Tea Dragon Society

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The Tea Dragon Society Series by Kay O’neill
Format: Book & eBook on Hoopla
Who is it for?: Everyone

Prepare yourself for an overload of adorable in a world where tea leaves grow on the antlers of tiny dragons. In volume one, Greta a blacksmith’s apprentice, meets new friends and the tea dragons that they care for. Minette is a former prophetess with a mysterious past. Hesekiel and Erik, retired adventurers, are the last remaining members of The Tea Dragon Society. Together they work to keep the knowledge of tea dragon care alive. In volume two, The Tea Dragon Festival, we meet Rinn, a forager from a small village in the mountains. On one of their quests, they meet Aedhan, a dragon from the Silver Wing Clan that accidentally took an 80-year nap. In volume three, The Tea Dragon Tapestry, Greta pursues an apprenticeship with a famous blacksmith from a faraway city and Minette has reoccurring dreams of memories she thought were lost to her.

The series touches on a lot of very important themes such as friendship, grief, and personal growth. Each volume includes pages from the Tea Dragon Handbook. Kay O’neill’s art is warm and charming. I enjoyed seeing how they “dragonified” the different kinds of teas. Chamomile is cute and sleepy while Jasmine is regal and well-groomed. This graphic novel series is perfect for someone who wants something calm, endearing, and lovely to read. Find The Tea Dragon Society in the catalog or on Hoopla!

Margaret’s Unicorn

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Margaret’s Unicorn by Briony May Smith
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Kids

Margaret’s life completely changes after her family moves to a cottage by the sea, but not in all the ways she might have expected. A little lonely and missing the familiarity of her old home, she goes out to explore. She soon discovers a baby unicorn tangled up in weeds, accidentally left behind by its herd. They become inseparable fast friends, crunching through the leaves of fall together, stargazing, chasing waves at the beach, and making a snow unicorn with an icicle as its horn. As the seasons change Margaret misses her old home less and less, but every day spent together brings them closer to the day she knows her unicorn will return to his family in the spring. Despite having to say goodbye, they will never forget each other.

Margaret’s Unicorn is gorgeously illustrated, with warm and inviting tones depicting a wild countryside reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands. As you read Margaret’s story, you can almost feel the wind flying over the rolling green hills littered with thistles and purple heather, a gloomy sea in the distance. Every page is magically and thoughtfully crafted. Kids ages 4-8 will be spellbound.

Find Margaret’s Unicorn in the catalog here!

We Ride Upon Sticks

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We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
Format:  Book
Who it’s for:  Adults

It’s 1989 in Danvers, Massachusetts, and the Lady Falcons field hockey team is easily the worst team in their high school league. Fed up with losing, the team uses their knowledge of the town’s history as the site for the 1692 Salem Witch Trials to make a deal. This dark deal involves armbands cut from a blue athletic sock and an Emilio Estevez journal.

All of a sudden, the Lady Falcons cannot be stopped. They’re breaking records and are on their way to the state championships. But at what cost? Emilio needs to be fed dark energy. The girls begin doing wicked deeds in order to strengthen the journal and continue winning.

Their goalie has a mark on her neck that looks like it’s growing teeth and it really does seem like their center forward’s bangs might be communicating with them telepathically.

If this sounds to you like the weirdest book ever, you wouldn’t be wrong. While the writing is dense, the description, ‘80s references, and strange point-of-view make you feel like you are a part of the 1989 Lady Falcons. You really get to know each member of the team and what drives them to make the pact with Emilio.

We Ride Upon Sticks is truly impossible to put down once you begin. This is a great choice for fans of Bunny by Mona Awad or anyone else who enjoys strange stories about witchcraft and dark magic.

Find We Ride Upon Sticks in the catalog!

 

Backyard Fairies

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Backyard Fairies by Phoebe Wahl
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Kids

A young girl goes searching for fairies in the woods in her backyard. She sees evidence of them everywhere, but they always seem to manage to stay just out of her sight. Luckily for readers, magical creatures are on every page of Wahl’s multi-textured, whimsical illustrations, bringing the forest and magic to life.

Backyard Fairies by Phoebe Wahl is the perfect short and sweet bedtime read-aloud for children ages 3-7 (and – spoiler alert! – it even ends with our heroine’s bedtime). Little ones will love searching each page for fairies and sprites hidden in plain sight.

Find Backyard Fairies in the catalog here!

Across the Green Grass Fields

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Title: Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
Format: Book
Published: January 12, 2021
Who it’s for: Adults and Teens

As with the previous 5 books in the Wayward Children series, this next novel is beautifully written in such a way that draws the reader into a fantasy world that is tempting and beautiful, but always expects more of its inhabitants than meets the eye.

Young Regan is growing up, and her parents have decided that now is the time to tell her about her genetic identity. As she grapples with this news, she hopes that she can trust Laurel with this really big secret about herself. She can’t. Regan runs to the woods between school and home, and stumbles across a strange doorway. It beckons her, but is she sure that she wants to enter? As she passes through the twisted branches, she enters Hoofland, and leaves her world behind. The supposed mythical, but very real, centaurs explain that the appearance of a human in their world means that “something’s coming”; and Regan will be expected to be a hero.

Across the Green Grass Fields is a stand alone novel in The Wayward Children series, introducing a new character. If you are curious about the first book, check out this previous blog post by Tess.

This series can be found in the adult fiction collection, but the stories will be loved by teens as well.

Find it in the catalog

Mooncakes

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Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker (Author) & Wendy Xu (Illustrator)
Format: Graphic Novel
Who’s it for: Teens & Adults

Mooncakes is a paranormal graphic novel following two Chinese-American childhood best friends, Tam Lang, a werewolf, and Nova Huang, a hard-of-hearing witch, as they reconnect, fall in love, and solve a mystery. The illustrations are adorable, the plot is inclusive, and here is a ton of every day representation mixed in amongst the magical, the bittersweet, and the fantastical.

It’s a cute and fun read, if really predictable; It is not especially deep, so it may suit someone looking for something quick and light. Not only is it a story about a romance, but also about the importance of a supportive family, blood or found.

Find it in the catalog & on Hoopla Digital