Monthly Staff Picks | July, 2026

July 3, 2026 Clare Brooks

New Monthly Staff Picks are here for July to help you beat the heat this summer!

Susie Dent’s mystery ‘Guilty by Definition’ is our Adult selection this month. The kick-off to a brand new series, this crime puzzler sees a letter arrive at the offices of the Clarendon English Dictionary that begins the unraveling of the mysterious disappearance of one of their own. This fun, code-filled novel is perfect for word-nerds and British cozy mystery fans alike.

This month’s Young Adult selection is perfect for those looking for a beachy romance read; K.L. Walther’s ‘Summer of Second Chances’ is a Martha Vineyard set story of summer and young love as Olivia follows in her grandmother’s footsteps during a family vacation only to be reintroduced to a boy from her past who might be the key to opening her heart.

‘Norman and the Smell of Adventure’ is our pick for picture book readers this month. Norman is back in this Ryan T. Higgins sequel and he’s ready for an adventure, but when that means leaving behind his best friend Mildred, a tree, he learns that perhaps the best adventures are the ones that we share.

It’s a cryptid creature double feature for our Chapter Book and Middle Reader picks this month! ‘Big Foot and Little Foot’ is an early chapter book that sees a Sasquatch and a young boy’s worlds collide as they set out on an adventure in search of even more mythical beasts. ‘What Do We Know About Bigfoot?’ is perfect for fact finding fans as this favorite series follows the sightings, science, and lore of one of the world’s most recognizable cryptids.

Visit us throughout the month of July for 20% off of this month’s picks, while supplies last!

Monthly Staff Picks | June, 2026

June 2, 2026 Clare Brooks

Little Village Toy & Book Shop’s Monthly Staff Picks for June are here!

As you may have seen last month, the Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘Angel Down’ kicked things off a little earlier in May than expected but will continue as one of our Adult picks throughout June, too.

We’ve added an additional Adult title this month with ‘Ducks, Newburyport’ by Lucy Ellmann; another title that plays with form and function, like ‘Angel Down’, but in an entirely different setting. This Booker Prize shortlisted tome of a novel follows an American housewife’s stream of consciousness in a not-too-distant Ohio; it’s an ambitious but worthwhile effort for the author and readers alike.

Our Middle Reader and Picture Book Picks this month are a delightful pair with Katherine Applegate’s ‘Odder’ & ‘Odder: An Otter's Story’. ‘Odder’, for middle readers, is the bestselling novel told in verse that follows a remarkable otter off the coast of central California. ‘Odder: An Otter’s Story’ is a picture book adaptation of the novel sure to delight readers young and old. Both versions of this heartwarming tale inspired by the true story of a Monterey Bay Aquarium Program feature gorgeous illustrations from Charles Santoso.

And last but certainly not least, our YA selection this month is ‘Encore!’ (available 6/2). This queer graphic novel rom-com sees two former best friends reunite in high school after drifting apart during childhood.

Visit us this month for 20% off of our Monthly Staff Picks for June, while supplies last!

Monthly Staff Picks | May, 2026

May 1, 2026 Clare Brooks

A new month means new Monthly Staff Picks, here’s what we're highlighting this May!

Romance readers, or perhaps those looking to expand their literary horizons, are in for a real treat with the latest from Chloe Liese, ‘Happy Ending’. The perfect rom-com to kick off your summer follows divorcees who meet when their ex spouses begin dating; what follows is a thoughtful friends-to-lovers, slow-burn tale of a bookseller, a chef, and a “two family” beach vacation that changes everything.

Author and Illustrator Robert McCloskey’s Classic ‘Make Way For Ducklings’ is our Picture Book Pick this month. This merry tale of Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings as they travel to make a new home of the pond at the Boston Public Garden is as heartwarming and meaningful as ever and sure to delight readers new and old.

Another classic, albeit, in a new form is our Middle Reader selection this month; ‘Heidi: A Graphic Novel’ sees the titular heroine sent to live with her Grandfather in the Swiss Alps and this familiar story is given new life as adapted by Mariah Marsden and beautifully illustrated by Elena Bia.

For YA readers, our Pick this month is ‘Happyhead’ from Josh Silver, a dystopian thriller set in an experimental mental health facility where not all is as it seems and the risks one boy is willing to take to escape. The first in a twist-filled duology that is sure to please dystopian fans looking for something new and perhaps a little different.

Visit us this May for 20% off this month’s selection of Monthly Staff Picks, while supplies last!

Monthly Staff Picks | April, 2026

April 2, 2026 Clare Brooks

Our Monthly Staff Picks this April are perfect selections for those looking for a great springtime read!

From bestselling author Kristin Harmel comes ‘The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau’, our Monthly Staff Pick for adults this month. This decades spanning historical novel follows Colette, a one-time jewel thief helping to fund the French Resistance during WWII, as the mysteries and tragedies of the past resurface when a long lost bracelet resurfaces in a Boston Museum.

‘Beatrix Butterfly Wings It for Once’ is our Picture Book selection this month. This bright and colorful tale from Maren Morris & Karina Argow features illustrations from Kelly Anne Dalton is perfect for Spring. When Beatrix wakes up on the wrong side of her watermelon bed and is daunted by a long to-do list it’s through her friends that she learns to find a way to improve a day that gets off on the wrong foot.

For centuries, these gated woods have protected mythical creatures; and for twenty years Brandon Mull’s ‘Fablehaven’ has been delighting readers of all ages. Our selection for Middle Readers this April, join siblings Kendra and Seth as they inherit the role of Fablehaven’s caretaker. When the rules are broken and a powerful evil unleashed, they must race against the clock to save worlds both new and old in the first entry of this beloved series.

Our Young Adult pick this month, journeys into a much, much darker forest in CG Drews’s ‘Don't Let the Forest In’. This psychological horror novel follows two friends as one discovers that the other has been fighting his dark fairy tale drawings and they must band together to destroy these increasingly strong monsters before they can destroy their creator.

Join us this month for 20% off of all four of this April’s selections and for much more!

Monthly Staff Picks | March, 2026

March 1, 2026 Clare Brooks

March is here! Spring is… thinking about it. And a new batch of Monthly Staff Picks are here at Little Village Toy & Book Shop!

Our Adult selection this month is a real treat for those looking for a Spring-time read, as Chloe Dalton’s acclaimed ‘Raising Hare’ is now in paperback. This nature memoir follows the author as she takes in a newborn hare she finds in the English countryside and is both a heartwarming tale of their relationship and how hares have been viewed across the history of art, literature, and folklore.

The sun shines. The temperature falls. Snowfall is in the forecast once again. And beloved author Kevin Henkes is asking ‘Is It Spring?’; this month’s Picture Book pick, full of colorful illustrations, is perfect for little ones looking to explore the signs as Spring slowly begins to show itself but Winter seems to want to stay.

For Middle Readers, and fans of all ages, our selection is ‘Wings of Fire: A Guide to the Dragon World ’- just in time to prepare for this month’s latest entry. From the world of the bestselling Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland comes this collection that sees the dragons of Pyrrhia and Pantala join forces to tell the histories of their tribes through all-new short stories, letters, songs, recipes and so much more. Featuring full-color maps and new illustrations throughout, this is a delightful expansion of the much loved fantasy series.

There be dragons in store for our YA readers this month, too. ‘A Language of Dragons’ by S.F. Williamson is our YA Pick this March; a thrilling alternate history fantasy set in 1920s London sees one young woman’s efforts to free a dragon ignite a civil war.

Visit us in store this March for 20% off all our Monthly Staff Picks, while supplies last!

Monthly Staff Pick | February, 2026

February 1, 2026 Clare Brooks

February has arrived and with it a new selection of Monthly Staff Picks here at Little Village Toy & Book Shop!

For adults this month, we have ‘Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space’. This riveting history follows decades of spaceflight all leading to a moment-to-moment account of the 1986 tragedy that forever changed America.

‘Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee’ is our Picture Book selection this month and is a seasonal New England favorite. Author and Illustrator Chris Van Dusen’s Mr. Magee returns, with his pet dog Dee in tow, as he heads out to ski and slapstick hi-jinks ensue in this fun read aloud tale for all ages.

Our Young Adult pick this month is ‘Alanna: The First Adventure’, the first book in the Song of the Lioness Quartet, by beloved fantasy author Tamora Pierce. This fantasy adventure classic follows Alanna as she finds a way to switch places with her brother and disguise herself in order to train as a page, all in the hopes of fulfilling her dream and setting her off on the road to knighthood.

And, releasing this Tuesday 2/3, for Middle Readers we have ‘The Lions’ Run’ from the award-winning Sara Pennypacker as our pick this month which is a thrilling historical WWII adventure of animals, friendship, and resistance!

Visit us this February for 20% off all of this month’s selections, while supplies last, and for so much more!