Nature Writing

Autumn is a beautiful time of year to spend outdoors, but it’s also a perfect season to curl up with a book. Whichever you prefer, you can reconnect with nature, ponder your place in the animal kingdom, and immerse yourself in the rhythm and routines of the wilderness around us with these pieces of nature writing.



Digging Deep

It’s never too early to learn self-care skills. Whether kids are dealing with major or minor issues, it’s helpful to know that something as simple as taking a few deep breaths can make things better. (At least a little bit.) Check out these titles about dealing with everyday anxieties, disappointments and digging deep.


Hear Me Out: Racial Histories

Systemic racism touches all parts of life and is linked to everything from poverty, to health, to education, to incarceration. It’s a racism that doesn’t rely on racist thoughts or actions from individuals, but rather on the laws, regulations, preferences and power structures that have built up over the centuries, and that continue to harm people of color. Check out these titles to learn more about systemic racism. And if you’d like to discuss these and related issues, the Library is co-hosting a virtual event on Wednesday, May 26 as part of the ‘Hear Me Out’ Dialogue Series.



Pittsburgh Poets

In this list we celebrate poets that have lived in Pittsburgh, either growing up here or coming here later in life, and whose work is informed by this city. Whether the influence is obvious or more subtle, the crucial worlds that they spin with their words have the power to evoke these landscapes we live in every day.  


Black Joy

These books celebrate Black kids–from babies to middle schoolers–being kids.