Fall is here! And at Red Balloon that means we’re putting on our sweaters and stocking our shelves with so many incredible new books. Books that make you giggle and books that make you think deeply. Books that take you on fantastic adventures and nonfiction books that fill you with fascination and inspiration. Of course, there are so many more. Stop by the bookshop. We’d love to show you our favorite fall books!
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Picture Books & Early Readers
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Home in the Woods
By Eliza Wheeler
What a beautiful, compelling story by a charming local author/illustrator! This is a wonderful, longer picture book filled with the kinds of specific details and stunning art that are sure to engage developing readers (and the adults who love them). Highly recommended for any picture book collection, especially if you live near or spend time in the Northwoods.
— Angela (RBB Staff)
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Once Upon a Goat
A word to the wise
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if you desire a child, don't tell your fairy godmother "any old kid will do"! This delightful picture book proves that even the best of us make mistakes sometimes, and that's okay as long as you put things right in the end. Highly recommended for fans for fairy tales and anyone who likes a sweet story.
— Angela
(RBB Staff)
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Chick & Brain: Smell My Foot!
by Cece Bell
An homage to the Early Readers of our childhood. Chick and Brain
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Dick and Jane
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get it? Chick is trying to teach Brain a few manners, but Brain just won't learn. This is an Early Reader graphic novel for the most discerning of the young humorists. I was pulled in and laughed so hard milk came out my nose. Well, not really, but it is quite a silly book and I think we all can use a giggle now and again. Perfect for the beginning reader and everyone else!
— Julie
(RBB Staff)
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Lintang and the Pirate Queen
By Tamara Moss
Lintang is sure that if she could travel with the legendary pirate Captain Shafira instead of staying on her boring island, everything would be different. But when she gets her chance, being a pirate turns out to be a lot harder than she expected, especially once she discovers her best friend has stowed away on the ship—and won't tell her why. Filled to the brim with sword fights, mythic monsters, big secrets, and wonderful characters, this is a great start to a new series. Adventure awaits!
— Lily (RBB Staff)
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The Star Shepherd
by Dan Haring & MarcyKate Connolly
A fun, cinematic adventure story about a boy and father who retrieve, rescue, and restore fallen stars. When many stars suddenly start falling, the father goes to try figure out what's happening, leaving the boy, Kyro, Star Shepherding alone. But the stars have always kept back the monsters—if too many stars fall, their world will be overrun. Can Kyro and his friends figure out how to save the stars and stop the monsters before it's too late?
— Lily (RBB Staff)
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Anthem
by Deborah Wiles
It is 1969 in America. Molly’s brother, Barry, has just run away after having a fight with their dad over the Vietnam War. Molly and her cousin, Norman, set off on an unforgettable road trip from South Carolina to California with the hopes of finding Barry and bringing him home. This coast-to-coast journey is filled with all the interesting things happening in 1969, musically, socially, and politically. As with her other books in the Sixties Trilogy, Deborah Wiles tells an unforgettable story and gives it
great
context with lots of historical headlines, quotes, lyrics and photos.
— Holly (RBB Staff)
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It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way
by
Kyo Maclear, Julie Morstad (Illustrator)
A beautifully rendered account of the life of beloved illustrator, Gyo Fujikawa. A Japanese American girl, Gyo was often invisible to the white people around her, but she pursued her love of art. When her family was incarcerated during World War II, her work as an artist in New York City helped support them. Eventually the Civil Rights Movement inspired her to create, with her illustrations, a world where no child was invisible. She did the unthinkable—put brown babies with white babies together on the page. Illustrations in Fujikawa’s style make this a beautiful, as well as moving, story.
(Ages 4+)
— Joan (RBB Staff)
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My Mighty Journey
By John Coy
This is a masterpiece of storytelling and illustration working together to create the most marvelous story. And it's a true story, an amazing recounting of a waterfall as it has existed through time. It's St. Anthony Falls, the only one on the Mighty Mississippi, and it lives in Minneapolis where it is treasured. The falls has actually moved through the centuries to its current, and probably permanent, location. And it is smaller now, but still a wonder. Read this to get a sense of nature's power and beauty, resourcefulness, and sustainability.
(Ages 5+) — Susan (RBB Staff)
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The Wonders of Nature
By Ben Hoare
This beautifully-illustrated volume is a nature-lover's dream! Want to know more about the ghost plant, or the cassowary? Open up to any page to find gorgeous photos, intricate drawings, and fun facts about common as well as uncommon plants, animals, and rocks. What a great addition to a young person's bookshelf!
(Ages 7+)
— Barb (RBB Staff)
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Big Ideas for Curious Minds: An Introduction to Philosophy
by
The School Life, Alain de Botton, Anna Doherty (Illustrator)
Not only is this a great introduction to philosophy for young readers, it’s also an introduction to emotional intelligence with a few thoughtful “self-help” exercises included. Each chapter is short, a bit playful, and uses everyday scenarios to explain the big thoughts of 25 philosophers. Sure to inspire interesting conversations about life and how to best work through all that comes our way.
(Ages 10+
)
— Holly (RBB Staff)
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Infinite Hope: A Black Artist's Journey from World War II to Peace
by
Ashley Bryan
Ashley Bryan was a nineteen-year-old art student when he was drafted into the Army in 1943, at the height of WWII. This amazing and powerful memoir is full of journal entries, letters, sketches, and paintings, and is an eye-opening account of what it was like being a person of color in wartime. Ashley Bryan is an award-winning African-American artist and storyteller, but this is possibly his masterpiece.
(Ages 10+)
— Barb (RBB Staff)
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Pet
by Akwaeke Emezi
When we won’t look, we can’t see. Who suffers when we decide not to see? This is an incredible book, which turns large concepts into a story of Jam, who must be brave enough to question the assumptions she’s made about the people she loves best. Jam has always been taught that her town is free of monsters. But now a hunter claims there is a monster
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and she must help them find it. Can she find courage enough to see the monster she doesn't want to see? Heartbreaking, hopeful, and wise.
— Joan (RBB Staff)
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Cracking the Bell
By Geoff Herbach
To Isaiah, football isn't just a sport; it is his life. Discipline and structure are what he needs when he falls apart after the death of his sister, and football gives him that. And, he's good. Really good. Cornell scholarship good, but then the worst happens. He is injured during a play and soon realizes he has a serious concussion and cannot play the only sport that keeps himself, and his family together. The only thing that keeps him from sliding back to the terrible habits he had acquired before football.
Cracking the Bell
is a deep, heartfelt look at the decisions we make even though they may harm us, and how friends and family are truly important in helping us to see who we really are, and what we really can be.
— Julie (RBB Staff)
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I Hope You Get This Message
by Farah Naz Rishi
It's the end of the world as we know it
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at least, that's what government officials are telling people. Apparently, Earth was created by aliens as an experiment
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one that the people of Earth have failed. They have one week before the aliens decide to keep Earth...or destroy it forever. With a possible apocalypse on the horizon, teens Jesse, Cate, and Adeem have one week left to live.
— Kelsie (RBB Staff)
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Around the Table That Grandad Built
By Melanie Heuiser Hill, Jaime Kim (Illustrator)
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Small in the City
By Sydney Smith
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Thanku
Edited by Miranda Paul, Marlena Myles (Illustrator)
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Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky
By Kwame Mbalia
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Secrets of Winterhouse
By Ben Guterson
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Emmy in the Key of Code
By Aimee Lucido
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The Last True Poets of the Sea
By Julia Drake
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Fountains of Silence
By Ruta Sepetys
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Frankly in Love
By David Yoon
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