Arlington Public Library
Wizards Book Of The Month Presented by KPMG
Check out Arlington Public Library's picks for the Book of the Month. Click the month tab to browse through their title choices. Be sure to grab a library card and check out these books through the links below. Digital and physical copies are available.
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February 2026
The Band in Our Basement
Drawn to the sound of their father’s band, two siblings sneak out of bed and wiggle and sway to the music.
Will’s Race for Home
It’s 1889, barely twenty-five years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and a young Black family is tired of working on land they don’t get to own. So when Will and his father hear about an upcoming land rush, they set out on a journey from Texas to Oklahoma, racing thousands…
American Wings: Chicago’s Pioneering Black Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky
“In the years between World War I and World War II, aviation fever was everywhere, including among Black Americans. But what hope did a Black person have of learning to fly in a country constricted by prejudice and Jim Crow laws, where Black aviators like Bessie Coleman had to move…
January 2026
Pickle on Wheels
The irrepressible Pickle is back, and now he wants to emulate his favorite superhero who makes rescues on Roller Skates. But if you’re going to learn to skate, maybe you shouldn’t try it on a big hill! When Pickle finally learns to skate himself, he can’t wait to share what…
Pacheco and the Witch of the Mountain
Pacheco’s biggest dream is to practice magic! There’s just one problem: commoners, and especially boys, aren’t allowed to learn witchcraft. However, once his family’s fishing business begins to suffer, Pacheco is determined; he’s certain that learning magic is the best way to help his family and community. He meets Doris,…
Angelica and the Bear Prince
Angelica was the girl who could do it all-until suddenly, she couldn’t. Burnout hit hard. Now, after some very low moments, she’s ready to get her life back together, thanks to her friends, and one very surprising source of comfort. A bear. Peri is the mascot of the local theater….
November 2025
My Friend May
From the winner of the New York Times Best Illustrated Book Prize and the American Indian Youth Literature Award I’d like to tell you a rather true story about a big black cat who started out gray. Her name was May. Margaux and her cat May became friends when Margaux…
The Ribbon Skirt
A joyful coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel by debut Indigenous creator Cameron Mukwa about the journey of a two-spirit kid who wants to create a ribbon skirt for the upcoming powwow. Ten-year-old Anang wants to make a ribbon skirt, a piece of clothing typically worn by girls in the Anishinaabe tradition,…
Find Her
In dreams, Wren can see her again: her eyes, her hair, her smile. She can even hear her laugh. Her mother, one of hundreds of Native Americans considered missing or murdered in Oklahoma. Sometimes it seems like Wren and her grandmother are the only people still looking. Even more frustrating,…
October 2025
The Mango Monster
Someone is stealing from the family’s mango tree! Could it be a mango monster? After waiting all year for mango season, Marianne is excited that the mangoes on their tree are ripe and ready to eat. She loves mangoes and plans to eat all of them. But when she and…
The Haunted States of America
Fifty two different stories. Fifty two different Authors. Endless fright for all ages. Every state has an urban legend that evokes fear and curiosity in equal parts, and we’ve chronicled all of these logic-defying horrors here in the Haunted States of America anthology. From the Jersey Devil to La Llorona,…
The Sister Who Ate Her Brother and Other Tales
Jen Campbell’s collection of terrifyingly gruesome tales lends a modern edge to fairy tale collections for young readers. Drawing on her extensive knowledge of fairy tale history, Campbell’s stories undo the censoring, gender stereotyping and twee endings of more modern children’s fairy tales, to return both classic and little-known stories…
Menudo Sunday
Sundays are the best: that’s when a little girl and her mamá, abuelitos, tías and primos all gather together to eat yummy menudo, a traditional Mexican soup. But when playtime with the cousins and family dogs gets out of hand and Abuelito Esteban’s special bowl of menudo breaks, everyone has…
The Island of Forgotten Gods
From the author of Time Villains comes a new fantastical adventure about family, tradition, and seeing things for what they truly are. Nico wants to be a famous film director. He’s pretty sure if he can make the right movie, and soon, his life will completely change. The catch? His…
The Pecan Sheller
In 1930s San Antonio, thirteen-year-old Petra dreams of going to college and becoming a writer. But with her beloved father dead, two younger siblings to care for, and with a stepmother struggling to make ends meet, Petra has to drop out of school to shell pecans at a factory. Hoping…
Scarecited on the First Day of School
Some feelings are so big, one word just doesn’t cut it. It’s the first day of school for Afua! There’s no one word to name her feelings. Is she scared? Excited? Oh wait, she’s scarecited! Her own combination of both. Why should she have to choose? Scarecited on the First…
First Day Around the World
How do children around the world spend their first day of school? Some eat warm akara for breakfast in Nigeria, while others unwrap lunches of kluski in Poland. In China, they practice intricate characters in special notebooks, and in Argentina, they learn each other’s names in a sing-song memory game. No matter where…
Bubblegum Shoes: The Case of the Contraband Closet
Life isn’t easy on the streets, er, hallways of Marlowe Middle School. Luckily, private eye Maya Mendoza never stops paying attention. She knows who is passing notes in class. Spots which teacher wore shoes a half-size too tight. And she certainly notices when her former best friend Jordan suddenly stops…
Fireworks
Fireworks is a sparkling picture book from the award-winning team of Matthew Burgess and Cátia Chien, highlighting the simple delights of a steamy July day in the city as two siblings eagerly anticipate a spectacular fireworks display. POP! As a hot day sizzles into evening, everyone on stoops and sidewalks…
A Day at the Beach
Look Both Ways meets Seedfolks in this masterful novel from two titans of kid lit that follows a diverse cast of young people whose lives intersect in surprising and hilarious ways over the course of a summer day. Here’s what’s so cool about the beach. Kids are everywhere! Kids you know, kids you want…
We Could be Magic
When Tabitha Laurie was growing up, a visit to Sommerland saved her belief in true love, even as her parents’ marriage was falling apart. Now she’s landed her dream job at the theme park’s prestigious summer program, where she can make magical memories for other kids, guests, and superfans just…
One Day in June
It’s a hot summer day and New York City is buzzing like a hive of eager honeybees. From Riis Beach to the Flower District, into the West Village and over to the Brooklyn Museum, folks young and old embrace the resolute and love-filled spirit of icon activist Marsha P. Johnson…
Tales from Beyond the Rainbow
These are the fairy tales that history forgot—or concealed. Ten tales in which gender is fluid and where queer stories can have a happy ending. Some are rare examples of LGBTQ+ folklore, like “The Dog and the Sailor,” which features a male protagonist who meets his own handsome prince. These…
Its All or Nothing, Vale
No one knows hard work and dedication like Valentina Camacho. And Vale’s thing is fencing. She’s the top athlete at her fencing gym. Or she was . . . until the accident. After months away, Vale is finally cleared to fence again, but it’s much harder than before. Her body doesn’t…
Binna’s Dalgona
Binna’s finally starting to feel like she’s not a baby-she can read long books in English, beat her older sister at word games, and she can make dalgona by herself. But when she tries to tell her classmates about her weekend and the sugary, sandy treat she made . ….
The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon
Jin is a Stone Lion-one of the guardians of the Old City Gate who is charged to watch over humans and protect the Sacred Sphere. But to Jin, those boring duties feel like a waste of time. What isn’t a waste of time? Perfecting his zuqiu kick, scoring a Golden…
At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom
World War II spy, Filipino guerrilla fighter, war hero, Medal of Freedom recipient, leprosy survivor, teacher, peacemaker . . . The legendary and inspiring life and work of Josefina “Joey” Guerrero is introduced to readers by two-time Newbery Medal winner, National Book Award finalist, and bestselling author Erin Entrada Kelly….
April 2025
Awesome Earth
Fun, accessible concrete poems and bold, vibrant artwork celebrate the many shapes and forms of our planet Earth. Perfect for National Poetry Month and Earth Day! The Earth’s crust shakes, water swells, lava flows, and glaciers advance. In this ingenious picture book, the landforms created by Earth’s powerful forces are…
Beware the Dragon and the Nozzlewock
Vikram Madan packs this whimsical poetry collection with surprise twist after surprise twist and a host of unusual characters. In these pages, you’ll meet ghost guppies (and the brave girl who creates them), Stan the Slouching Man(tm) who’ll teach you blackbelt slouching, oozing dinosaurs called squishosaurs, a suspicious dragon, and…
Knucklehead: Poems
dear Knucklehead, perhaps you are like me: always figuring out if your soul and your skin are thick enough to protect your body from sticky stones thrown from the mouths of those who know that spoken words have the power to spit out freedom and break-in bones. While society often…
March 2025
Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World
Featuring the true stories of 35 women creators, ranging from writers to inventors, artists to scientists, Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World inspires as it educates. Readers will meet trailblazing women like Mary Blair, an American modernist painter who had a major influence on how color was used in…
Noise Makers: 25 Women who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World
Did anyone ever get anywhere by being quiet? To change anything, you have to make some noise! From the creators of the award-winning Kazoomagazine comes a look at the lives of 25 extraordinary women through the eyes of 25 extraordinary comic artists. In chapters titled Grow, Tinker, Play, Create, Rally,…
Rad American Women A to Z
Like all A-Z books, this one illustrates the alphabet–but instead of “A is for Apple”, A is for Angela–as in Angela Davis, the iconic political activist. B is for Billie Jean King, who shattered the glass ceiling of sports; C is for Carol Burnett, who defied assumptions about women in…
About Arlington Public Library
Vision
Arlington Public Library is the heart of a thoughtful, inclusive and dynamic community where people and ideas connect.
Mission Statement
We champion the power of stories, information and ideas.
We create space for culture and connection.
We embrace inclusion and diverse points of view.
Our Promise
Arlington Public Library promises to:
- Inspire and quench your thirst to know.
- Encourage you to ask why and why not?
- Embrace inclusion and diverse points of view.
- Be a wellspring for ideas, for conversation, for disagreement, for enlightenment.
- Create opportunities for an increased understanding: of our world, of our community and of each other.
We will do all of this with good will, humor and kindness. Through books and community programs. Within our walls and outside in the community.
We are here for you.