Great Reads for Girls
Book Club
FOR GIRLS AGES 8 TO 11 AND THEIR ACCOMPANYING ADULT
EVERY second Thursday AT 6:30 PM in the community room unless indicated differently in the schedule.
Come enjoy discussions of amazing tween novels, create a craft, and have a treat! All while enjoying the friendship of other girls and their accompanying adults.
Book club reading copies will be available for checkout from the circulation desk about a month prior to the meeting. There is a limit of one copy per household.
SCHEDULE
September 11, 2025—Kick Off Event!*
October 9, 2025—The Power of Poppy Pendle
November 13, 2025—A Rover’s Story*
No book club in December
January 15, 2026, at 6:00 pm—The Wide-Awake Princess
February 12, 2026—You Throw Like a Girl
March 12, 2026—Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock
April 9, 2026—The False Prince*
April 30, 2026—Summer of the Monkeys*
*combined with the Books for Boys Book Club
Reading List
September 11, 2025
Kick-Off Event!
We’ll have this event with the members of the Books for Boys Book Club! We will “meet” the books we’re reading this year, create a cool reading buddy & book pin banner, enjoy a …
Learn More!
October 9, 2025
The Power of
Poppy Pendle
by Natasha Lowe
Poppy Pendle was born on the floor of the Patisserie Marie Claire bakery in the little town of Potts Bottom. When, as an infant, Poppy unexpectedly …
Read the full synopsis
November 13, 2025
A Rover’s Story
by Jasmine Warga
Res was built to explore Mars. He was not built to have human emotions. But as he learns new things from the NASA scientists who assemble …
Read the full synopsis
JANUARY 15, 2026
The Wide-Awake Princess
by E.D. Baker
Princess Annie is the younger sister to Gwen, the princess destined to be Sleeping Beauty. When Gwennie pricks her finger and the whole castle falls …
Read the full synopsis
February 12, 2026
You Throw Like a Girl
by Rachele Alpine
Gabby’s summer vacation isn’t shaping up to be that great. Her dad was just deployed overseas, and Gabby is staying at her grandmother’s house with …
Read the full synopsis
MARCH 12, 2026
The Secret of
the Old Clock
by Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew solves her first mystery when the accidental rescue of a little girl who …
Read the full synopsis
April 9, 2026
The False Prince
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an …
Read the full synopsis
April 30, 2026
Summer of the Monkeys
by Wilson Rawls
The last thing fourteen-year-old Jay Berry Lee expects to find while trekking through the Ozark Mountains of Oklahoma is a tree full of …
Read the full synopsis
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September 11, 2025, at 6:30 pm in the Community Room
Kick-Off Event!
We’ll be meeting with the members of the Books for Boys Book Club
Join us for our Fall Kick-off Party!
Calling all young adventurers ages 8-11 and your side-kick adult!
Join the Books for Boys or Great Read Reads for Girls Club, where we dive into exciting stories, get creative with hands-on projects, and satisfy your taste buds with delicious treats. Every month, we’ll explore a new world through a thrilling book, chat about our favorite parts, and bring the story to life with an awesome craft or STEM project!
For this kick-off book party, we will “meet” the books we’re reading this year, create a cool reading buddy & book pin banner, enjoy a snack, and make new friends!
Join us for an hour of non-stop fun!
October 9, 2025, at 6:30 pm in the Community Room
The Power of Poppy Pendle by Natasha Lowe
Poppy Pendle was born on the floor of the Patisserie Marie Claire bakery in the little town of Potts Bottom. When, as an infant, Poppy unexpectedly performs her first bit of magic, her parents, Edith and Roger, know their dream has come true. Their daughter has inherited the family gift.
But as Poppy grows up she isn’t as thrilled about her magical talents. Even though she was born into a long line of witches, has inherited the extraordinary gifts of famed Great-Grandmother Mabel, and is enrolled at the exclusive Ruthersfield Academy, a school for witchcraft, she wants to be a baker instead. Making yummy lemon cakes, buttery almond cookies, chocolate melt-aways, and caramel crunch cookies is Poppy’s passion—and it makes her happy. Poppy Pendle has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. “Whose life is it anyway?” she asks.
part of The Power of Poppy Pendle series
November 13, 2025, at 6:30 pm in the Community Room
A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga
We’ll be meeting with the members of the Books for Boys Book Club
Meet Resilience, a Mars rover determined to live up to his name.
Res was built to explore Mars. He was not built to have human emotions. But as he learns new things from the NASA scientists who assemble him, he begins to develop human-like feelings. Maybe there’s a problem with his programming….
Human emotions or not, launch day comes, and Res blasts off to Mars, accompanied by a friendly drone helicopter named Fly. But Res quickly discovers that Mars is a dangerous place filled with dust storms and giant cliffs. As he navigates Mars’s difficult landscape, Res is tested in ways that go beyond space exploration.
As millions of people back on Earth follow his progress, will Res have the determination, courage—and resilience—to succeed… and survive?
Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians
Miranda rated it ★★★★ and said “Great information for kids wondering about space exploration and a very humanized look at using robots for that job.”
January 15, 2026, at 6:00 pm in the Community Room
The Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. Baker
Princess Annie is the younger sister to Gwen, the princess destined to be Sleeping Beauty. When Gwennie pricks her finger and the whole castle falls asleep, only Annie is awake, and only Annie-blessed (or cursed?) with being impervious to magic-can venture out beyond the rose-covered hedge for help. She must find Gwen’s true love to kiss her awake.
But who is her true love? The irritating Digby? The happy-go-lucky Prince Andreas, who is holding a contest to find his bride? The conniving Clarence, whose sinister motives couldn’t possibly spell true love? Joined by one of her father’s guards, Liam, who happened to be out of the castle when the sleeping spell struck, Annie travels through a fairy tale land populated with characters both familiar and new as she tries to fix her sister and her family . . . and perhaps even find a true love of her own.
book 1 in the Wide-Awake Princess series
Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians
Miranda rated it ★★★ and said “Super cute mixture of a bunch of the better known fairytales. Could be read as a good stand alone.”
February 12, 2026, at 6:30 pm in the Community Room
You Throw Like a Girl by Rachele Alpine
Gabby’s summer vacation isn’t shaping up to be that great. Her dad was just deployed overseas, and Gabby is staying at her grandmother’s house with her mom and baby sister until he returns.
The one bright spot is that Gaby plans to sign up for the local softball league—her greatest love and a passion she shares with her Dad who was a pitcher in college. But when Gabby goes to sign up for the summer league, she discovers that there wasn’t enough interest to justify a girl’s team this year. And to top it off, a horrible miscommunication ends with Gabby signed up to participate in the Miss Popcorn Festival—the annual pageant that Gabby’s mom dominated when she was younger.
Besides not having any interest in the pageant life, Gabby made a promise to her dad that she would play softball for the summer. Since her pitching skills rival any boy her age, Gabby creates a master plan: disguise herself as a boy and sign up for the boy’s baseball team instead—and try to win the pageant to make Mom happy. Can Gabby juggle perfecting her pageant walk and perfecting her fastball? Or will this plan strike out?
March 12, 2026, at 6:30 pm in the Community Room
The Secret of The Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew solves her first mystery when the accidental rescue of a little girl who lives with her two great-aunts leads on an adventurous search for a missing will.
book 1 in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series
April 9, 2026, at 6:30 pm in the Community Room
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
We’ll be meeting with the members of the Books for Boys Book Club
In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point—he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well.
As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.
book 1 in the Ascendance series
Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians
Bekka rated it ★★★1/2 and said “this was a fun book! I enjoyed the characters, and by the end I was rooting for the hero. I look forward to reading the other books in this series.”
Mary rated it ★★★★★.
April 30, 2026, at 6:30 pm in the Community Room
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
We’ll be meeting with the members of the Books for Boys Book Club
The last thing fourteen-year-old Jay Berry Lee expects to find while trekking through the Ozark Mountains of Oklahoma is a tree full of monkeys. But then Jay learns from his grandpa that the monkeys have escaped from a traveling circus, and there’s a big reward for the person who finds and returns them.
His family could really use the money, so Jay sets off, determined to catch them. But by the end of the summer, Jay will have learned a lot more than he bargained for—and not just about monkeys.
Ratings and Reviews from the Librarians
Lorna rated it ★★★★★ and said “I liked the humor and the unique flavors of Key West.”
Patty rated it ★★★★.
May 5, 2024, at 6:30 pm in the Community Room
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm
Life isn’t like the movies. But then again, 11-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple.
She’s smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it’s 1935 and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle’s mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn’t like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida, to live with relatives she’s never met.
Florida’s like nothing Turtle’s ever seen before though. It’s hot and strange, full of ragtag boy cousins, family secrets, scams, and even buried pirate treasure! Before she knows what’s happened, Turtle finds herself coming out of the shell she’s spent her life building, and as she does, her world opens up in the most unexpected ways.
Regular Hours of Operation
- Monday: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
- Tuesday - Wednesday: 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
- Thursday: 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
- Friday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
- Saturday: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Sunday: CLOSED
Closures in 2025
- January 1 – New Year’s Day
- January 20 – Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
- February 17 – Presidents Day
- March 28 – Staff Development Day
- April 5 – Building Maintenance
- May 24-26 – Memorial Day
- June 19 – Juneteenth
- July 4-5 – Independence Day
- August 30-September 1 – Labor Day
- September 12 – Staff Development Day
- October 4 – Building Maintenance
- November 11 – Veterans Day
- November 26 – Closing at 5:00 pm
- November 27-29 – Thanksgiving
- December 24-26 – Christmas
- December 31 – New Year’s Eve
- January 1, 2026 – New Year’s Day
Address
73 North Center
Rexburg, Idaho 83440
We are located on Center Street, just north of Main Street, by the Historic Rexburg Tabernacle.
Contact Us
(208) 356-3461
24 Hour Phone Renewal: (208) 356-6658
askmadisonlibrary@madisonlib.org