GPL Blog

New Children’s Books — April 2022

Warmer days are ahead — looking for something to read while you enjoy the sunshine! Look no further for five new children’s titles for you and your kiddos. If you see something that interests you, give us a call or visit the catalog to put one on hold!


YOUR BIRTHDAY WAS THE BEST! by Maggie Hutchings

From the author of the best-selling Mermaid! and Unicorn! and one of the world’s hottest new picture-book illustrators comes the story of a plucky young cockroach who gate-crashes a birthday party – with hilarious results. Funny, silly and surprisingly cute, Your Birthday Was the BEST! is the perfect blend of downright gross and delightfully entertaining.

Children’s, Picture Books


THIS BOOK WILL PUT YOU TO SLEEP by Jory John

ATTENTION, READER: This book is going to MAKE YOU TIRED! It will CALM YOU DOWN! Yes, this book WILL PUT YOU TO SLEEP! How? Easy.

There are monster trucks dashing across the pages. There are sheep being chased by dragons. There are electric guitars wailing throughout. Plus so MUCH MORE! Yep. All the typical stuff that makes you sleepy. So . . . are you asleep yet? No? Well, maybe another method would work better . . . So read on, and it’s guaranteed you’ll start to snooze!.

Children’s, Picture Books


A SONG CALLED HOME by Sara Zarr

Lou and her family don’t have much, but for Lou it’s enough. Mom. Her sister, Casey. Their apartment in the city. Her best friend, Beth. It would be better if Dad could stop drinking and be there for her and Casey, and if they didn’t have to worry about money all the time. But Lou doesn’t need better–she only needs enough.

What’s enough for Lou, however, is not enough for Mom. Steve, Mom’s boyfriend, isn’t a bad guy, he’s just…not what Lou is used to. And now, he and Mom are getting married, and that means moving. Packing up life as they’ve known it and storing it in Steve’s garage. Lou will be separated from everything in her small but predictable life, farther from Dad than ever.

Their last night in the city, Lou receives a mysterious birthday gift: A guitar, left for her by their front door. There’s nothing saying who left it, but it must be from Dad. And as she leaves the only place she’s ever known, she starts to believe that if she can learn how to play it, maybe she can bring a piece of him, and of her old life, home.

Children’s, Middle Grade


STELLA KEEPS THE SUN UP by Clothilde Ewing

In this incandescently fun, hijinks-filled picture book, a young girl schemes to keep the sun up in the sky so she never has to go to bed.

If Stella had her way, she would stop sleeping on her sixth birthday. Because sleep is boring. And there are so many better things you could be doing. And Stella is tired of being tired. So she comes up with a plan. People only have to go to bed when it gets dark, and it only gets dark because the sun goes down. If she can keep the sun in the sky, she and her best friend, Roger, can stay up for a hundred years!

They enact their magnificent, wonderful, genius plan, offering the sun a cup of coffee, shining a light at it so it will shine back, and jumping on a trampoline to reach the sun and push it higher. But before long, Stella begins to wonder…are there downsides to keeping the sun up forever?

Children’s, Picture Books


HAPPY SLOTH DAY by April Pulley Sayre

Come meet sloths in the rainforest canopy where these slow, gentle creatures live and see what they eat, how they hide from predators, and much more. Young readers will also learn about some of the other creatures that share this interconnected and fragile tropical forest ecosystem. With gorgeous photographs, a text that’s perfect for reading aloud, info-packed side bars, and detailed end matter, this book will captivate sloth enthusiasts of all ages!

Children’s, Middle Grade


All book descriptions are courtesy of the publisher.