June Staff Picks for Adults, Teens and Children:

Adults
Michael McArthur, Local History and Genealogy Librarian, coordinated the Washington Avenue Historic Tour - Oshkosh's first app-based tour. He recommends some absorbing reads straight off the library's Local History shelves. 

Oshkosh at 150: an illustrated history
by Michael J. Goc
This is the book that was recommended to me when I first moved to Oshkosh. It is the best overview of Oshkosh’s history, filled with historic photos, maps, timelines, and photographs from every part of Oshkosh’s past. Goc covers all the major historical events including the woodworkers’ strike and numerous fires, major industries and businesses, and many of Oshkosh’s most notable residents. I found the sections that focus on specific ethnic groups and neighborhoods to be the most interesting.

The Breweries of Oshkosh: their rise and fall
by Ron Akin and Lee Reiherzer
This is a fantastic book for anyone interested in Oshkosh history, generally, but it is essential reading for anyone interested in Oshkosh beer. This book is chock full of historic photos and memorabilia from Oshkosh’s brewing past. It covers all the main breweries including Oshkosh Brewing Company, People’s Brewing Company, and Rahr’s Beer as well as many others that didn’t make it into the 20th century. Oshkosh now has four local breweries, so this history seems particularly relevant. Co-author Lee Reiherzer has an interesting new book on Winnebago County Beer out now (Winnebago County County Beer: A Heady History) and will be talking about it at the library on Wed., July 17. Samples provided!

Oshkosh: land of lakeflies, bubblers, and squeaky cheese
by Randy Domer
We are lucky to have several local authors who have taken the time to document the stories from Oshkosh’s past. As a new transplant to Oshkosh, Randy Domer’s book answered several questions of mine: What’s a bubbler? What’s with all the flies in May? People farmed frogs!? Randy also collects stories of Oshkosh citizens who became known nationally, like illustrator Robert Osborn, and some who remained legends locally, such Clarence “Inky” Jungwirth. If you’re interested in more stories of everyday people and places from Oshkosh’s history, dig in to the books by Ron LaPoint and Clarence “Inky” Jungwirth.  All of them are worth a read. 

Maggie Mueller, Teen Librarian, has the inside scoop on all the best stories. Her selections keep us laughing, sometimes make us cry, and always encourage us to think - long after the last page. 

Teens
Let’s Get Lost
by Adi Alsaid
I loved Let’s Get Lost! It was such a great, relaxing escape from reality! The book reads like five separate short stories with one thing in common: Leila. Leila is on a cross-country road trip to Alaska and we don’t know why, but we do know she makes a huge impact on the people she briefly meets along the way. I loved the way all the stories came together in the end and Leila’s secrets were revealed. If you’re a fan of John Green’s Paper Towns or multiple stories that weave together, Let’s Get Lost is the book for you!

We Should Hang Out Sometime
 by Josh Sundquist
This book is laugh-out-loud funny, and I recommend it to everyone looking for a lighthearted read. We Should Hang Out Sometime is the true story of Josh’s abysmal dating life as a teen. In middle school and high school, Josh had lots of crushes but exactly zero girlfriends, unless you count the one girlfriend he had for three hours…in eighth grade. And he just can’t understand why. So as a young adult, Josh decides to go back to all those crushes and ask them why they didn’t want to date him. Which I’m sure you can imagine, was incredibly awkward. And hilarious for us to read about. 

Leah on the Offbeat
by Becky Albertalli
Fans of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda have already met Leah. She’s Simon’s best friend, but she keeps to herself and seems a bit rough around the edges when we meet her in the first book. But now she’s got her own story and we get to know Leah on a whole new level. She’s hilarious and sarcastic and moody and oh-so relatable. If you’re looking for an amusing book with relatable characters and a bit of romance (plus a fair amount of Harry Potter references), you’ll want to check out Leah on the Offbeat.   

A trip to the moon, a dog who wants a friend, a rude dragon, and other engaging stories make up our selections for children this month.

Children
Eight Days Gone (ages 0 – 5)
by Linda McReynolds
Eight Days Gone is the story of the eight-day journey to the moon taken by astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins. The book is written in simple, rhyming text.

Touch the Brightest Star (ages 0 – 5)
by Christie Matheson
Readers are invited to interact with the story using a motion, thought, or words that provoke a change with every turn of the page. First fireflies, a deer, stars, and constellations appear, then a full moon and owls take their turn. All is finally still until the first light of dawn, when the magic of the day returns. The simple text is engaging and conversational.

Dragon Was Terrible (ages 3 – 7)
by Kelly DiPucchio
We all know dragons are terrible, but this one is especially terrible. He scribbles in books. He steals candy from baby unicorns. He even burps in church. Seriously, who does that? Dragon, that’s who. The king, the knights, and the villagers are desperate to take down this beast once and for all. But sometimes it’s up to the unlikeliest of heroes to tame a dragon this terrible.

Alma and How She Got Her Name (ages 4 – 8)
by Juana Martinez-Neal
What's in a name? For one little girl, her long name tells the vibrant story of where she came from - and who she may one day be.
If you ask her, Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela has too many names: six! How did such a small person wind up with such a large name? Alma turns to Daddy for an answer and learns of Sofia, the grandmother who loved books and flowers; Esperanza, the great-grandmother who longed to travel; José, the grandfather who was an artist; and other namesakes, too. As she hears the story of her name, Alma starts to think it might be a perfect fit and realizes that she will one day have her own story to tell.

Good Rosie (ages 5 – 8)
by Kate DiCamillo
Rosie the terrier and her middle-aged owner, George, are loving companions and creatures of habit. But when Rosie sees her reflection in her empty food bowl, she yearns for companions of her own species. One day, George decides to visit the local dog park, and Rosie is more than a little hesitant. Then she meets Fifi the Chihuahua and Maurice the Saint Bernard. Though their friendship is not without missteps, it changes Rosie's world.

The Patchwork Bike (ages 6 – 9)
by Maxine Beneba Clarke
It has a bent bucket seat, bashed tin-can handlebars, and wood-cut wheels -- and riding the patchwork bike that you and your crazy brothers made is the best fun in the whole village.
When you live in a village at the edge of the no-go desert, you need to make your own fun. That's when you and your brothers get inventive and build a bike from scratch, using everyday items like an old milk pot and a used flour sack. You can even make a license plate from bark if you want. The result is a spectacular bike, perfect for whooping and laughing as you bump over sand hills, past your fed-up mother and right through your mud-for-walls home.