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The ICPL Friends Foundation celebrates the library's Bright Future on April 11. Enjoy one of these hopeful novels this month!

Share the love of poetry with your littles.

Love thy mother

More featured collections

ICPL Recommends

Abundance book cover
Abundance book cover

Abundance

Ezra Klein

330.973 /Klein
Political

This book discusses the history of the twenty-first century as a story of unaffordability and shortage in America. It highlights the national housing crisis, labor shortages due to limited immigration, insufficient clean-energy infrastructure, and delayed, over-budget public projects. The author...

Our ability to learn, unlearn and relearn is absolutely essential if we are to share common ground and build well-ran communities in an ever-increasingly polarized world. That pertains especially to the political ideas we hold to be true. In Abundance, Klein and Thomspon, instead of pointing fingers at a party that mostly opposes their stance on issues, they look at the follies and shortcomings of American liberalism, and how liberal policies have impeded progress. They argue that it is often the stringent red tape and policies of democratic cities that stifle issues like affordable housing and developing infrastructure. This was a very-well argued and thoughtful take sure to spark a dialogue. -Victoria

Thank you, everything book cover
Thank you, everything book cover

Thank you, everything

author Icinori (Publishing studio)

jE Icinori
Picture Books, Nature

"What starts as a series of "thank yous" addressed to common objects that inhabit our daily lives gradually builds into a fantastic journey across landscapes, seasons, and inner discoveries."--

If art washes away the dust of everyday life, consider your life squeaky clean after reading this one. This is one of the best wordless picture books I've read in a long time. The premise is simple: gratitude for the simplest of things. But the gratitude evolves into being thankful for so much more. There is no text, and the illustrations are divine. You'll have to covet and pore over the pages at least two or three times before returning. Stunning! -Victoria

When the Wolf Comes Home. book cover
When the Wolf Comes Home. book cover

When the Wolf Comes Home.

Cassidy, Nat.

ON ORDER BOOK
Horror, Thriller

"One night, Jess, a struggling actress, finds a five-year-old runaway hiding in the bushes outside her apartment. After a violent, bloody encounter with the boy's father, she and the boy find themselves running for their lives. As they attempt to evade the boy's increasingly...

If you're in the mood for classic monster horrors, this is the book for you. Not only does Nat Cassidy deliver on a novelized creature feature, but also offers readers a deep exploration of family bonds and grief navigation. -Madison C

Hope : the autobiography book cover
Hope : the autobiography book cover

Hope : the autobiography

Pope Francis

282.092 /Francis
Nonfiction, Memoir

"Hope is the first autobiography in history ever to be published by a Pope. Written over six years, this complete autobiography starts in the early years of the twentieth century, with Pope Francis's Italian roots and his ancestors' courageous migration to Latin America, continuing...

Pope Francis was a passionate advocate for the climate and was a papal pioneer in many other ways; LGBTQ+ rights, migration, and the atrocities of war to name a few. While this book did meander at times and is not as not as concise as it could have been, there were so many glimmers of hope and humility that would resonate with your humanity; regardless of your faith. Pair this with Conclave, in our DVD collection for a gripping thriller on the selection process for the next Pope. -Victoria

The Paris express : a novel book cover
The Paris express : a novel book cover

The Paris express : a novel

Emma Donoghue

FICTION Donoghue Emma
Fiction, Historical Fiction

Based on an 1895 disaster that went down in history when it was captured in a series of surreal, extraordinary photographs, The Paris Express is a propulsive novel set on a train packed with a fascinating cast of characters who hail from as close as Brittany and as far as Russia, Ireland, Algeria,...

Emma Donoghue brings imaginative storytelling to a famous photograph: the Montparnasse derailment, the one with the steam engine hanging out of the station. Donoghue wonders who was on that train, what were their lives like, what did their interactions look like. What she creates is riveting. -Anne M

Godkiller book cover
Godkiller book cover

Godkiller

Hannah Kaner

SCIENCE FICTION Kaner Hannah
Diverse Characters, Fiction, Fantasy, LGBTQ+

"Gods are forbidden in the kingdom of Middren. Formed by human desires and fed by their worship, there are countless gods in the world--but after a great war, the new king outlawed them and now pays "godkillers" to destroy any who try to rise from the shadows. As a child, Kissen saw...

"Godkiller" has wonderful, immersive world building (I want to eat, like, all of the food described in this series), and memorable characters. The cast is incredibly diverse, featuring multiple characters with disabilities, casual queerness, and thoughtfully executed fantasy racial diversity. The first novel has strong DnD vibes, but the characters quickly evolve past those initial archetypes as the series continues. This is one of my new favorite fantasy series, and I would recommend the sequels, "Sunbringer" and "Faithbreaker" as well. -Chelsea

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Human Library Event. Sunday, April 27. 1 to 5 p.m. Meeting Room A. Iowa City Public Library.
Preschool Stories & More: Preucil's Music Together Storytime. Thursday, May 1. 10:30 to 11 a.m. Storytime Room. Iowa City Public Library.
Weekly Storytime. Chinese Bilingual Storytime, Mondays, 10:30 a.m. Spanish Bilingual Storytime, Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m. StoryJAM, Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. Stories & More, Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. Book Babies, Fridays, 10:30 a.m. Family Storytime, Saturdays, 10:30 a.m. Iowa City Public Library.
Iowa City Public Library. English Conversation Group. Every Friday, January 10 to May 30. 10 a.m. to noon. Meeting Room E.
Get Making with Creativebug. Iowa City Public Library.
Staff Picks Just for you - get recommendations on what to read next. Iowa City Public Library.
Bookmobile schedule

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