Book Recommendations: January Little Free Library Additions

Every time I restock my Little Free Library, I tell myself I’m just putting out a few books. Sometimes there is a central theme and sometimes I am adding books with the kids that live in the neighborhood in mind. This month’s additions lean a little dark, a little weird, and very much like the kind of books I hope someone picks up without knowing exactly what they’re getting.

I added Hansel and Gretel by Stephen King, with art by Maurice Sendak. It’s still the fairy tale you know, but quieter and darker in a way that feels unsettling. The art does a lot of the talking here, and it’s one of those books that feels just as much for adults as it does for younger readers who like their stories a little eerie. I absolutely would have picked this up as a kid.

I also put in The Snowman Code by Simon Stephenson, which feels deceptively light at first and then unfolds. It’s thoughtful without trying too hard and emotional without being heavy. And it mirrors this weird winter we are having here in Ohio.

And because graphic novels (and books with graphics!) almost always disappear first, I added Scarlet Morning by ND Stevenson. It’s visually bold and emotionally open in that way ND does so well. I love that it is prose and graphical, and I hope the youth in our neighborhood will, too.

TY to Simon and Harper for sending some new reads to share in my rural neighborhood!

Scarlet Morning (Scarlet Morning #1)

by N.D. Stevenson
on September 23, 2025
Bookshop
Goodreads

From the powerhouse creator of Nimona comes a breathtaking illustrated novel following two orphans who leave the only home they’ve ever known to sail with an eccentric crew of pirates.

Viola and Wilmur have been waiting for their parents for fifteen boring years in the colorless town of Caveat. Their lives are a drudge of salt, trash, pirate stories, and what-ifs . . . until one very stormy night, when Captain Cadence Chase breaks down their door. They cut a deal with the Chase can take their most prized possession, a mysterious book, but only if she takes them, too. After all, if their parents aren’t coming, Viola and Wilmur might as well have a grand adventure to find them.

Setting sail into the treacherous and beautiful world beyond Caveat, the two inseparable friends must uncover the facts behind legend—and the key to saving all of Dickerson’s Sea from obliteration—before the truth tears them apart.

Wickedly funny, deeply emotional, and sharply incisive, Scarlet Morning is a tale of love, betrayal, and the extraordinary lengths we’d go to save a world broken beyond repair.