Orem Library

Santa Claus stops believing that Harold, a small child, exists, and comes up with a plan to find out once and for all if Harold is real.

Cinnamon Haynes has fought hard for a life she never thought was possible--a good man by her side, a steady job as a career counselor at a local community college, and a cozy house in a quaint little beach town. It may not look like much, but it's more than she ever dreamed of or what her difficult childhood promised. Her life's mantra is to be good, quiet, grateful. Until something shifts and Cinnamon is suddenly haunted by a terrifying question:...

"A simple story exploring the feelings of a mixed heritage child who begins to notice the physical differences between her mother's features and her own. One day, Izzy notices that her skin looks different from her mama's. "Mama," exclaims Izzy. "We don't match! You're sand, and I'm chocolate." Then Izzy realizes that her hair has big swirls and curls that jump out from her braids, while her mama's hair is smooth and straight with a braid that hangs...

"Marvelous Maravilloso Me and My Beautiful Family is a story from the point of view of a young interracial child about what color means within the dynamics of race, ethnicity, and culture. This sweet simple story blends the colors of the world and the color of the people in her life and shares the experience of her culture in a complex multicultural world"--

"Nina's visits to her two faraway grandmothers-one in Malaysia and one in England-unfold side-by-side, featuring similarities and differences between the two"--

As they look forward to the New York City Marathon in which their friend Mr. B. will run, the Vanderbeeker children learn that one of their good friends is homeless.

The sounds of lapping water and dipping oars ease readers into the famous canals of Venice, Italy. With mother as gondolier and father singing his calming song to baby, a family floats serenely through this one-of-a-kind historic city, past features as unusual as stone winged lions and golden masks and as comfortably familiar as babbling neighbors and drying laundry. The baby drifts deeper and deeper into Venice's maze and--finally--sweet sleep.

Three brothers tear their way through childhood -- smashing tomatoes all over each other, building kites from trash, hiding out when their parents do battle, tiptoeing around the house as their mother sleeps off her graveyard shift. Paps and Ma are from Brooklyn -- he's Puerto Rican, she's white -- and their love is a serious, dangerous thing that makes and unmakes a family many times. Life in this family is fierce and absorbing, full of chaos and...

Stevie's life is fluctuating rapidly. She's starting over in a brand new middle school. Quiet and observant, it's hard for her to make friends. Plus, her mind is too occupied. The tension in her home is building as her parents' arguments are becoming more frequent. To top it all off, Stevie's older cousin Naomi is coming to live with the family in an attempt to keep her from a "bad" crowd--The Black Panthers. Stevie agrees to keep Naomi's secrets....

In Big Apple Diaries, a heartfelt diary-style graphic memoir by Alyssa Bermudez, a young New Yorker doodles her way through middle school--until the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack leaves her wondering if she can ever be a kid again. It's the year 2000 in New York City. For 12-year old Alyssa, this means splitting time between her Puerto Rican dad's apartment in Manhattan and her white mom's new place in Queens, navigating the trials and tribulations...