Kildare Library Service

What is Ireland Reads?

Ireland Reads is a new campaign to get the whole country reading this month in the lead up to a national day of reading on Thursday, February 25th. 

Irish libraries have teamed up with publishers, booksellers, authors and others for the campaign which is part of the government Keep Well initiative and aims to celebrate reading and all the benefits it can have for wellbeing and enjoyment.

The campaign is asking everyone to ‘squeeze in a read’ on Thursday, February 25th , to help you do this we have a list of ebooks here that will be available to borrow without any wait time.

Children’s Suggestions

The 13-Storey Treehouse

By Andy Griffiths

Laugh-out-loud adventures in the wackiest treehouse EVER! The first in a highly illustrated series for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Barry Loser.

 Andy and Terry live in the WORLD’S BEST treehouse! It’s got a giant catapult, a secret underground laboratory, a tank of man-eating sharks and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and shoots marshmallows into your mouth whenever you’re hungry! Just watch out for the sea monkeys, and the monkeys pretending to be sea monkeys, and the giant mutant mermaid sea monster . . . Oh, and, whatever you do, don’t get trapped in a burp-gas-filled bubble . . . !

The story follows Andy and Terry’s crazy adventures in their treehouse as they try to write a book, and is told through a combination of text and fantastic cartoon-style illustrations.

Available to borrow as an ebook on Bolinda Borrowbox.

The Boy Who Lived With Dragons

By Andy Shepherd

So you’ve grown a dragon … now you need to learn to live with one! 

The second book in a wonderfully funny and sparky series illustrated by award-winning artist Sara Ogilvie

Tomas has a secret – a big secret. He has his own tiny dragon, Flicker! A dragon which grew on a very special tree at the bottom of his grandad’s garden. And not only that – his friends Ted, Kai and Kat have dragons too, all grown on the same dragonfruit tree …

Having your own dragon is magical – but Tomas is also about to find out what living with a dragon is REALLY like. When the fire-breathing kicks in and you get singed every five seconds, it’s like having an unpredictable volcano in your pocket. Learning to train the dragons and keep them out of trouble at school and home will take all Tomas’s creativity and patience … What is more, the dragonfruit tree is starting to look droopy and unwell. 

Tomas and his friends have got to do all they can restore it to health and uncover its deepest mysteries, as well as trying to work out what big secret local bully Liam, ‘King of Trouble’, has got up his sleeve … One thing is for sure, life is never dull when you have a dragon in your pocket.

Available to borrow as an ebook on Bolinda Borrowbox.

Young Adult Sugestions

Children of Blood & Bone

By Toni Adeyemi

Magic can burn, turn tides, light the darkness and bring back the dead. But magic is gone. So one girl must bring it back in the first in a gripping fantasy trilogy.

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us. 
Now we rise. 

Zélie remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled – Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoning forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, anyone with powers was targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Only a few people remain with the power to use magic, and they must remain hidden.

Zélie is one such person. Now she has a chance to bring back magic to her people and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. 

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to come to terms with the strength of her magic – and her growing feelings for an enemy.

The movie of Children of Blood and Bone is in development at Fox 2000/Temple Hill Productions with the incredible Karen Rosenfelt and Wyck Godfrey (Twilight, Maze Runner, The Fault In Our Stars) producing it.

Available to borrow as an ebook on Bolinda Borrowbox.

The Cruel Prince

By Holly Black

“Lush, dangerous, a dark jewel of a book . . . intoxicating” – Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Six of Crows

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

One terrible morning, Jude and her sisters see their parents murdered in front of them. The terrifying assassin abducts all three girls to the world of Faerie, where Jude is installed in the royal court but mocked and tormented by the Faerie royalty for being mortal. 

As Jude grows older, she realises that she will need to take part in the dangerous deceptions of the fey to ever truly belong.

But the stairway to power is fraught with shadows and betrayal. And looming over all is the infuriating, arrogant and charismatic Prince Cardan . . . 

Enter the dramatic and thrilling world of the Folk of the Air, brimful of magic and romance from New York Times bestselling author Holly Black.

Available to borrow as an ebook and audiobook on Bolinda Borrowbox.