The Smithtown Library - Smithtown Building: Books for Kids and Tweens: February 2026

Recent Releases

Super Boba Café #2: Home Sea Home
by Nidhi Chanani

Aria and Nainai are back in this sweet and magical middle-grade, full-color graphic novel about a mysterious ancient monster and the quest to set it free. Aria thought her life would go back to normal when she left her nainai's boba shop--and the monster living below it--behind in San Francisco. But while Aria and Nainai may have stopped the Big One, the aftershocks from her summer adventure are far from over. Each night, the monster visits Aria's dreams, calling her back to the caves below the city. Stranger still, Aria's discovered a newfound ability to manipulate water . . . but her powers aren't quite under her control. So Aria convinces her parents she needs another visit with Nainai, and she packs her bags and heads back to San Francisco. Beneath the boba shop, Aria and Nainai learn the monster's secret--he needs their help to return home. Can Aria learn how to harness her new powers (and a whole lot of boba) to bring the monster back to the sea, or will it be trapped under the city forever? (Ages 8-12.)

Basket Ball: The Story of the All-American Game
by Kadir Nelson

Hit the court with award-winning author/illustrator Kadir Nelson in Basket Ball, a history of the game from its humble beginnings to the high-profile sport of today. Combining vivid full-color paintings with fascinating facts and a focus on Black excellence, this overview is a must-read for sports fans. For fans of: We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, also by Kadir Nelson. (Ages 9-13.)

Sweet Valley Twins: Three's a Crowd: (A Graphic Novel)
by Francine Pascal

Elizabeth and Jessica juggle personal projects as a new friend, Mary, grows closer to their mom, eliciting different emotions in each twin. (Ages 8-12.)

Retro Reads

Check out these awesome books from the not-so-distant past!

The Partition Project
by Saadia Faruqi

At 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.)

Gut Reaction
by Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt

Baking 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.)

The Night Librarian
by Christopher Lincoln

Curiosity 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.)

Contact your librarian for more great books!