Dear Gentle Reader,

We have been so fortunate to have recently received several shipments of Jellycat stuffies. We have sugar gliders, bunnies, parrots, boars, an alligator, pandas, pickle balls, tins of sardines, mussels, lattes and dinosaurs to name a few. Swing by and check out our new display case!

A busy week coming up. This Thursday at 10:30am, we have a special storytime withSue Soltis who will read her latest picture book, The Moon Moved In. Stella has been wishing for a new neighbor but is a little disappointed when instead of a kid her age, the whole Moon moves in! The neighbors become friends but when Stella notices all the ways creatures on Earth are now missing the Moon, she must convince her friend how important it is that she make her home in the atmosphere. The author will read aloud, answer questions about her work creating stories, and autograph books for kids and adults. All ages are welcome!

Saturday, the 26th at 11am, we welcome Jack Bernhardt who will discuss his work, Bluegrass Gospel, the first book on one of the genre’s pioneering couples, Jerry and Tammy Sullivan. Jack has a special playlist to sample that he will use to illustrate the book.

And Sunday at 2pm, our series with the North Carolina Poetry Society continues with readings by Han VanderHart, Crystal Simone Smith, and Pat Riviere-Seel.

Have your kids run out of entertainment by this point in summer break? Hopefully we can offer you some new suggestions! Johanna’s got a short list of great middle grade novels that take place over summer vacation below. We also added in two school stories about being creative and making friends, a unique story set at the coast of NC for teens, and a perfect picture book biography all about lightning bugs.

The Usual Suspects,

Pete, Johanna, Sarah G., Tyler, Amy, Sarah C, and Keebe