April is National Arab American Heritage Month! Check out the 2022 winners of the Arab American Book Awards.
Sustainable Reads for Earth Day
Looking for ways to live more sustainably? Great news: using the library is already a great start! Especially if you're able to borrow seldom-used items from our Library of Things rather than purchase new ones. If you're looking for more tips, though, check out some of these books! Plus, check out MHL's virtual event with Louise Gray, the author of Avocado Anxiety: And Other Stories About Where Your Food Comes From.
Novels in Verse for National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month, so why not take a break with one of these novels in verse written for teen and adult audiences? Novels in verse are beautifully compact ways to tell a story--and as a bonus, that usually means they're pretty quick reads.
April 2023 Mid-Month Sudoku
This month's Sudoku comes out in April, one of those oddball months that has 30 days. Lots of other months have 31 days, but do you know how many months have 28 days?
MHL Will Be Closed on Monday, April 17th
MHL will be closed on Monday, April 17th in observance of Patriot's Day, which in Boston is also observed as Marathon Monday. If you're looking for ways to improve your running technique, here are some books you can check out before Monday.
DEAR: Drop Everything And Read
April 12th is observed as DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) Day, in honor of author Beverly Cleary's birthday. To celebrate, here are some great early reader chapter books that would be great for younger readers to DEAR, or perhaps for a fun family readaloud.
Artist of the Month: April 2023 – Joe Gemellaro
I was born to draw. I never thought it was anything special until I started receiving complements from both students and teachers in grammar school. The Edgar Allen Poe portrait is a slight revision of a portrait I did of the author back in sixth grade. My portraits often celebrate and honor those who have given much to society: musicians, athletes, authors, poets, actors, and even a few politicians.
April 2023 Book of the Month
Called "an accomplished first novel" by NYT's Book Review and an MHL staff favorite, Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu is April's Book of the Month. Check out your copy today!
April 2023 Puzzle: This puzzle has birds in it
April is a great time for bird watching! All kinds of waterfowl, raptors, shorebirds, warblers, orioles, and other neat birds* are coming back to Massachusetts from wherever they migrated to last fall.
Transgender Day of Visibility
March 31st is the International Transgender Day of Visibility, which makes it a particularly great day to check out books written by transgender and nonbinary authors. Here are 15 recent books written by transgender and nonbinary authors for teen and adult readers, representing a wide variety of genres including memoir, science fiction, romance, and fantasy.