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When I was in the seventh grade, or eighth, or maybe it was ninth, I was presented with a brief bit on Reconstruction. The gist: Reconstruction was a terrible time in American history, terrible in part because a number of black men held political office and, boy, oh, boy, did they made a mess of things with their corruption, their ignorance.

I’ve been in love with writing stories since I was a tiny ten-year-old girl with a curious mind and big opinions. In those three decades, it has been through writing that I’ve come to understand the world and my connection to it.

I was five years old the first time someone called me "filthy" because of my dark skin. I went home and spent the rest of the day trying to scrub the brown off my body. I turned to books early on, finding an escape in the pages that I couldn’t get on the playground—never stopping to notice how no one in the stories ever looked like me.

What does the power of story mean to me? Entertainment. Expression. Escape. But, that’s only scratching the surface. The power of story is so much more. To borrow some gamer lingo, story can be “OP”—as in overpowered. And, that is a good thing. 

I was the child born into the loving arms of storytellers. Just weeks before I came into this world, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his landmark “I Have a Dream” speech as 250,000 believers listened to Martin’s hope for a better tomorrow. It was August 28, 1963.

From its gorgeous gold-foiled jacket to its curious collection of creatures, An Anthology of Intriguing Animals is an unputdownable treasure! Including the well-loved and the lesser-known, this animal encyclopedia features extraordinary facts about more than 100 species.

Ever dreamed of having a robot as a pet? Dream even further! These animal-inspired robots are being used to perform extraordinary tasks, as roboticists turn to the natural world for inspiration. From Octobots to RoboBees, these five extraordinary creations from DK's book Robot will change the way you think about technology.

Toddlers and their caregivers in Meridian, ID, have a cool new space to love with the arrival of the Tiny Library branch, geared toward early learning.