Reading List: Authors with February Birthdays

February may be our shortest month, but we still had several authors to choose from as we continued with our Author Birthday Read Aloud Series. This blog will include the ones featured on the library’s Instagram, plus a few others.

Langston Hughes was born on February 1^st, 1901. I (Rachel) read three poems from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. Over 800 poems are featured in this book, and they’re written over a span of five decades.

Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7^th, 1867. Amber read a portion of On the Banks of Plum Creek, but we have several other titles written by her in our collection.

Jules Verne was born on February 8^th, 1828. Darius read a portion from  20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. If you like this book, you may also enjoy Daughter of the Deep, which drew inspiration from Verne’s classic tale and was written by Rick Riordan.

Jacqueline Woodson was born on February 12^th, 1963. She mostly writes for children and adolescents, but adults can also enjoy and learn from her works. Some of her titles we have here are as follows: Brown Girl Dreaming, The Year We Learned to Fly, and Red at the Bone.

Marissa Meyer was born on February 19^th, 1984. She is best known for her retelling of various fairytales. If you enjoy Little Red Riding Hood, I recommend reading Scarlet, which is part of her Lunar Chronicles series. If origin stories are what you’re in the mood for, I recommend Heartless. This delves into the world of Alice in Wonderland where we meet the girl that eventually becomes The Queen of Hearts. One of her most recent releases is Gilded and that gives us a story inspired by Rumpelstiltskin. It was one of my favorite books that I read in 2022. If you have interest in reading a little more, I give a brief description in this blog.

Last, but certainly not least, is W.E.B. Du Bois. He was born on February 23^rd, 1868. While he is well known as the first Black American to earn a PhD from Harvard University, he is also credited for his work on sociology, history, and civil rights activism. Du Bois on Religion and The Social Theory of W.E.B. Du Bois are two of his works that we have in the Logos.

Which of these authors and titles have you heard of? Which ones do you think you’ll add to your TBR list? Hope you join us again next month as we feature authors that were born in the month of March.

Featured Book: “Daughter of the Deep” by Rick Riordan

Daughter of the Deep is a middle school action-adventure book by Rick Riordan that pays homage to Jules Verne in a modern view of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Ana Dakkar attends Harding-Pencroft Academy, a school that provides education in all things concerning marine science. The school is divided into four sections (a nod to Harry Potter): the Dolphins, the Sharks, the Cephalopods, and the Orcas. These four groups have specialized skills, and they must learn to work together as a team. There is a lot of nerdy marine talk, as well as diverse representation among the students which should appeal to the intended audience.

As Ana and her classmates are traveling to their 120-foot vessel, the Varuna, for a day of freshman underwater trials there is a life-altering attack at the school which forces Ana and the other students to board the Varuna and fight back against an unknown enemy. Using their wits and training to figure out the advanced technology on the yacht and with the help of Ana’s pet dolphin, Socrates, the students race to save the school and their lives.

*You can find Daughter of the Deep in our Family Room.