Staff picks

Books for preschool to early elementary ages to talk about pregnancy, surrogacy, adoption and what to expect when you become a sibling.

Ghosts, monsters and more for the spooky season

Over 218,000 street trees, 1.2 million park trees, and 2.9 million private property trees -- that's Portland's precious urban forest! Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Urban Forestry's mission is to manage and ensure Portland's urban forest infrastructure for current and future generations. Become a tree champion with these books for all ages.

Stories about families with two moms (or momma, mama, ma, mommy, mum, or mother) for early elementary ages. 

Stories for early elementary ages featuring families with two dads - or daddy, dadda, pop, papa or father.

From local to presidential elections, discover how elections work, who can vote, and the history of voting in the United States of America.

Mid Autumn, also known as Children's Festival in Vietnam, or Moon Festival in China, is the second most festive holiday in both regions. It marks a joyous occasion when the harvest work is finished and there’s time to spend with loved ones. There is storytelling, mooncakes for everyone and colorful lanterns for children. 

Tết Trung Thu là một ngày hội vui nhộn cho các em nhỏ. Các em được nghe kể chuyện cổ tích về Chú Cuội, ăn bánh trung thu và rước lồng đèn.

 农历八月十五日中秋节，一家团圆吃月饼、赏月、提灯笼。

Rainbow Family Storytimes are offered monthly at various MCL locations, celebrating queer families in identity-supporting ways. Here are some of the favorite books we've shared!

May is AANHPI month. Explore the experiences and contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaii'ans and Pacific Islanders in these nonfiction books for elementary and middle school ages. We celebrate Americans who trace their heritage to a vast region: China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia, Native Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, Guam, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea.

Every May we celebrate Americans who trace their heritage to a vast region: China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia, Native Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, Guam, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea.

These books and articles provide an introduction how our clothing is made, how advertising affects our choices, and how what we decide to buy can affect workers and the environment. For 4th-8th graders

2025 OBOB books for grades 3, 4, 5

Read a book, then get out your bike and take a ride! Books for preschoolers to 6th graders

Books for ages 5-12 sharing stories and information about transgender people.

Consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words with short vowel sounds, like bat and hop, are the first words students learn to read in their journey to independent reading.

Blends are two or three consonants that blend together, like /st/ in stop or /ck/ in rock. Each letter in the blend makes a sound. Digraphs are two consonants that together make one sound, such as /sh/ in shop or /ch/ in chat.

Silent-e (also known as magic-e) words follow a pattern of vowel + consonant + e, such as the words lake, slide, and hope. The vowel makes its long sound and the e is silent.

Vowel teams are two or more vowels together that make a sound, such as in the words boot or rain. Sometimes they may contain consonants that create a vowel sound like /ow/ in throw. R-controlled vowels have a vowel followed by r. Sometimes this pattern is called the “bossy r” because the “r” takes over and the vowel makes a different sound, such as in the words car or burn. Consonant -le words end with a consonant, followed by le, such as table or purple.

Illustrated biographies for elementary ages about girls and women who have an impact on our world.