Family Book Club: Help Us Choose Our Next Books!
We’re choosing our next Family Book Club books—and we need your help!
Below are 10 fantastic books to choose from. Read the descriptions, talk about them with your family, and then use the link at the bottom of the page to vote for the 4 books you’d most like to read with the group.
More about the Library’s Family Book Club, including 2026-2027 dates here.
The Books
1. The Eyes and the Impossible
By Dave Eggers
Johannes is a free dog who lives in an urban park. His job is to observe everything that happens in the park and report back to the park’s three bison elders.
But things are changing. More humans are arriving, a new building is being constructed, and a boatload of goats has appeared. Then Johannes discovers something shocking that changes the way he sees the world.
A story about: friendship, change, adventure, and seeing the world in a new way.
2. The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels
By Beth Lincoln
Every Swift child is given a name and a definition from the family’s sacred Dictionary when they are born. Everyone expects them to grow up and become exactly what their definition says.
Meet Shenanigan Swift: risk-taker, mischief-maker, and troublemaker.
At the big Swift family reunion, Shenanigan is hoping to find Grand-Uncle Vile’s long-lost treasure. But when a family member is pushed down the stairs, Shenanigan decides she has a new mission: become a detective and solve the mystery!
Packed with wordplay, family secrets, clues, and plenty of mischief, this is a clever mystery about discovering who you really are.
A story about: mysteries, family, wordplay, individuality, and adventure.
3. The Last Cuentista
By Donna Barba Higuera
Petra Peña dreams of becoming a storyteller, just like her abuelita.
But Petra’s world is coming to an end. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and Petra and her family are among a small group chosen to travel to a new planet and begin humanity again.
Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes up on the new planet and discovers something terrifying: she is the only person who remembers Earth.
A sinister Collective has taken control and erased the memories of the people aboard the ship. Petra alone remembers the stories of humanity’s past—and those stories may be the key to humanity’s future.
A story about: storytelling, survival, memory, family, and hope.
4. The Ogress and the Orphans
By Kelly Barnhill
The town of Stone-in-the-Glen was once a lovely, thriving place. But after fires, floods, and other disasters, the town has lost its library, school, park, prosperity—and even its sense of community.
The children of the Orphan House know something is wrong. So does the kindly Ogress who lives quietly at the edge of town.
When a child disappears, the townspeople blame the Ogress. But the orphans know the truth: the Ogress has actually been secretly helping the struggling people of the town, with help from a clever flock of crows.
Can the children convince everyone to look past the stories they’ve been told and discover who the real villain is?
A story about: kindness, community, courage, friendship, and standing up for the truth.
5. Impossible Creatures
By Katherine Rundell
Christopher discovers a secret world called the Archipelago—a magical place where mythological creatures have been hidden away for generations.
But something is terribly wrong. The creatures are dying.
Christopher joins forces with Mal, a girl from the Archipelago, and together they must find a way to save the magical creatures—and possibly both of their worlds.
A story about: magic, mythical creatures, friendship, adventure, and saving a world in danger.
6. Olivetti
By Allie Millington
It’s quite possible you’ve never spoken to a typewriter before. That’s not your fault. Humans tend to think typewriters can’t understand them.
But Olivetti can.
Olivetti has spent years quietly listening to humans and learning from them. When his owner disappears, Olivetti decides that he can no longer sit still. He must help find her.
A story about: mystery, friendship, family, and seeing the world from an unexpected perspective.
7. The Labors of Hercules Beal
By Gary D. Schmidt
Herc Beal knows he was named after the legendary hero Hercules—but he certainly doesn’t feel like a superhero. He’s the smallest kid in his class and is starting over at a new middle school.
Then his teacher gives him an unusual assignment: he has to recreate the mythical Hercules’s amazing feats in real life.
There are no Nemean Lions or Hydras waiting for Herc on Cape Cod, but he soon discovers that his own challenges can be just as difficult. Along the way, new friends—and some helpful animals—teach him that he doesn’t have to face everything alone.
A story about: friendship, courage, family, perseverance, and discovering your own strength.
8. The Mona Lisa Vanishes
By Nicholas Day
It’s August in Paris, more than 100 years ago, and something unbelievable has happened:
The Mona Lisa has disappeared from the Louvre!
Who stole the world’s most famous painting? Was it an international gang of thieves? An American millionaire? Or even the young Spanish painter Pablo Picasso?
Travel back to revolutionary turn-of-the-century Paris to meet the detectives and suspects involved in the mystery. Along the way, discover the fascinating life of Leonardo da Vinci and uncover the surprising story behind the Mona Lisa itself.
A story about: art, history, mystery, famous people, and one incredible heist.
9. The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams
By Daniel Nayeri
Travel along the Silk Road with a young monk and his new guardian, Samir, a larger-than-life character known as the “Seller of Dreams.”
Samir is a talented talker—and a scammer who has made plenty of people angry.
Very angry.
So angry that people are hiring assassins to kill him.
When Samir’s young companion decides to save him from these assassination attempts, he discovers that Samir’s life is going to be anything but ordinary. To earn his freedom, he must save Samir six times.
A story about: adventure, friendship, cleverness, storytelling, and the Silk Road.
10. The Lost Library
By Rebecca Stead & Wendy Mass
One morning, a mysterious Little Free Library appears in town.
It is guarded by a large orange cat.
Eleven-year-old Evan takes two weathered books from its shelves, never imagining that these books are about to change his life.
What is the story behind the mysterious library? And why has it appeared now?
A story about: books, mystery, friendship, and the unexpected ways stories can change our lives.
Ready to Vote?
After reading about the books, choose your TOP 4—the four books you would most like to read with our Family Book Club!
https://forms.gle/KSMDLjYKEXBZ5pg89
We can’t wait to see which books you choose! ?????