The Traverse des Sioux Library Cooperative will host its Tween and Teen Battle of the Books on August 8, 2026, at the St. Peter Community Center. Battle of the Books is now accepting participant applications. You can apply at the New Ulm Public Library or on our website at www.newulmlibrary.org. Just scroll down on the library’s home page and click on the poster for the event in your age range. You have until May 29 at noon to apply and space is limited. Tweens (ages 9-12) and teens (ages 13 -18) who are accepted will receive four books to keep. You will be notified when your books arrive at the library for pick-up. Read the books through June and July. You will be placed on a team according to where you live. Those teams will compete in a trivia game based on the books that they receive. Each team member of the winning tween and teen team will receive a $25 gift Amazon gift card. There will be fun activities and door prizes as well. The tweens program takes place 10-11:30 a.m. The teen program runs from 12:30-2 p.m. The St. Peter Community Center is located at 600 S 5th St. in St. Peter. Spectators are welcome.

Even if your child isn’t old enough for Battle of the Books, we offer plenty of great reading material. In “Don’t Eat Eustace” by Lian Cho, Bear is a lighthouse keeper who routinely fishes for his lunch after his morning chores. One morning he reels in a colorful sail with a fish stuck inside. Eustace, the fish, asks Bear not to eat him as soon as he is free of the sail. Bear agrees as he lowers Eustace into a soup pot. As Bear is trying to put the sail back into the sea he is interrupted by a heron with a broken wing. Eustace sees his chance to prolong the inevitable by suggesting that Bear create a wing for heron out of the sail. The story takes a few more unexpected turns before a very satisfying end. This is a fun story full of quirky twists and turns that will have all ages laughing out loud.

In the graphic novel, “Masks” by Margaret Rae and Brian Nathanson, Poe, Rice, and Shelly are monster kids who are hiding from the outside world. When they discover Halloween, they realize it is the one night of the year they can truly be themselves – scales, horns, tails and all! As they dive into all the festivities of the night, they befriend humans who are kind, but they also catch the attention of the Knights, a group of monster hunters. This is a story of the struggle we all face to fit in and find self-acceptance. The full color quirky graphics are done by English graphic artist, Beck Kubrick

Please ask at the children’s desk if there is something you’re looking for and can’t find right away; we’re here to help. Check out our monthly programming calendar, too. We offer a variety of activities for all ages, from story time to STEAM classes. You can find more information on our website at www.newulmlibrary.org on the Library Events page.

The library is located at 17 N. Broadway and is open to the public Monday-Thursday 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.