Culpeper County Library271 Southgate Shopping Center, Culpeper, Virginia 22701 | 540-825-8691https://www.cclva.org |
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Books for Kids and Tweens February 2026 |
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The Stage of Shadows: Adventure Stories for K-Pop Fans (Book 1)
by Mina Finch
The first book in a thrilling new middle-grade series for fans of K-pop and the hottest animated movie of the decade Twelve-year-old Hana Kim has always dreamed of becoming a K-pop idol--singing, dancing, and dazzling the world on stage. When she earns a scholarship to K-Pop Academy, Seoul's most prestigious training school, she's ready for hard work, long hours, and intense competition. What she's not prepared for are the shadows--dark, whispering demons that slink into rehearsal rooms and feed on the students' fears of failure. With the help of her new friends, confident rapper Minji, perfectionist dancer Soojin, shy singer Nari, and jokester drummer Taeyang--Hana must confront her own insecurities: that she's not good enough, that she doesn't belong, that she'll always be in the background. Perfect for fans who are obsessed with K-pop and the hottest animated movie in decades, The Stage of Shadows offers a welcome return to the stage with a fresh new friend group of soul-searching, demon-fighting performers.
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| Saber-Tooth by Robin GowFeeling lonely and angry after his brother (and best friend) leaves for college, trans and autistic eighth-grader Jasper begins a backyard fossil dig, spurred on by the voice of a saber-toothed tiger in his head. Told through high-impact poetry, Saber-Tooth explores how Jasper finds new friendships and excavates explosive emotions. (Ages 10-13.) |
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The Wish Ring Cipher
by Alexandra Ott
A group of code-busting friends races to find a powerful ring before their rivals can use it for dark magic.
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Marty Moose: First Class Mischief
by Claire Powell
A roller coaster of a book loaded with mayhem, wordplay, burps and farts, and onomatopoeia that will keep readers tuned in and laughing out loud. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)Who knew delivering the mail could be so perilous? A silly, mischievous story of independence, self-confidence, bravery, and friendship. Just because you're small doesn't mean you can't be brave. That's the advice Great-Aunt Ada gives Marty Moose for his first day on the job as a mailmouse for the Little Ditch Post Office. With his mailbag in hand, Marty is ready to follow in her footsteps, but filling them proves difficult even with the help of a scrappy and energetic bunny named Nibbles. When a pair of pesky neighbors prevents him from delivering his last package, Marty and his new friend Nibbles must figure out together how to finish the job, even if that means breaking the rules. With lively, funny, and characterful illustrations and a charming narrative voice, this series first is just right for newly confident readers.
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| Gumshoe by Brenna ThummlerAnxious Willa dreams of becoming a mailwoman, which makes it extra unfair when she's mistaken for mail-stealing outlaw Two Gum Tilly and forced to go on the run. Luckily, Willa is taken in by the Gumshoe Gang, fellow runaways determined to stop Tilly's crimes. Colorful, high-energy artwork will keep you glued to this Western-themed graphic novel. (Ages 8-13.)
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Opal Watson: A Case Most Fowl
by Brittany J. Thurman
In this second book in the middle-grade mystery series based on the popular Pinna podcast, super sleuth Opal Watson teams up with a new friend to find a missing bird and unravels even more secrets about her family's legendary history.Opal's schoolmate Piper has lost a beloved pet: a bird named Blizzard that disappeared while her family was moving into a new house. Opal and Frank agree to track down Blizzard, even though it means teaming up with Piper's older brother, Jake, a former bully who claims he has changed his ways.Meanwhile, Opal is still solving a mystery of her own: Who was Maude Watson--the woman whose picture she stumbled across in an old issue of the Chicago Defender newspaper--and how is she related to Opal?As Opal and her friends investigate both cases, they discover that Blizzard is more than just a missing pet--and she's not the only one missing. Meanwhile, Maude's case has Opal puzzling through a series of ciphers that take her from Chicago's historic cemeteries to abandoned underground tunnels. Can Opal and her friends outwit the birdnappers while unraveling Maude's past, or will these two cases prove to be too much?
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| The Partition Project by Saadia FaruqiAt first, Texas 12-year-old Maha Raheem is annoyed by her Pakistani grandmother, Dadi. But when Dadi begins to share stories from the violent 1947 partition of India and Pakistan, Maha finds a subject for her school documentary project, as well as a new understanding of her history and heritage. Read-alikes: Reem Faruqi's Zarina Divided; Katherine Marsh's The Lost Year. (Ages 8-12.)
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| The Other Side of Perfect by Melanie Florence and Richard ScrimgerThings get complicated after two Toronto middle schoolers' lives intersect unexpectedly: Autumn is a popular Cree girl, and Cody is a white classmate who stays with Autumn's family after running away from his racist, abusive dad. The two characters take turns narrating this bittersweet, realistic story. (Ages 9-13.)
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| Gut Reaction by Kirby Larson and Quinn WyattBaking makes Tess feel closer to her late dad, and she's eager to compete in this year's big baking competition. But there are plenty of complications in her way, including stomach pains that turn out to be Crohn's disease. Realistic fiction fans won't want to miss this funny yet sensitive look at life with chronic illness. Read-alike: The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet by Jake Maia Arlow. (Ages 8-12.)
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| The Night Librarian by Christopher LincolnCuriosity and boredom prompt twins Page and Turner to visit the New York Public Library, where an encounter with the night librarian reveals that magical energy is escaping from the books -- along with some dangerous fictional characters. Cartoony illustrations add to the offbeat energy in this graphic novel adventure. Read-alike: Kekla Magoon's The Secret Library, Polly Shulman's The Grimm Legacy. (Ages 8-12.)
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| The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnonAfter getting expelled from etiquette school again, orphaned sisters Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee Porch are invited to study with mad scientist Millicent Quibb -- and their first lessons involve enormous, puppy-eating worms. Fast-paced, clever, and unapologetically weird, this series-starter by actor Kate McKinnon is a must-read for fans of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. Next in the series: Secrets of the Purple Pearl.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Culpeper County Library271 Southgate Shopping Center, Culpeper, Virginia 22701 | 540-825-8691https://www.cclva.org |
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