Summer Staff Picks: Titles Available in Accessible Formats

By NYPL Staff
May 25, 2023
Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library
collage of book covers against a blue background

It's Summer at the Library! Get creative and express yourself all summer long with free events for all ages, programs for kids and teens, reading recommendations, exhibitions, and much more! Learn more.

Looking for something to read to get the creative juices flowing? Our expert librarians have curated a wide array of fun, thought-provoking, and inspiring books for all ages to read this summer! Check out the books available in accessible formats from our new list of recommendations for adults, kids, and teens.

We are committed to serving all patrons all year round. If you find it hard to read standard print, the Andrew Heiskell Library provides free access to talking books, talking book players, braille, a talking book download website, and a free talking book and e-braille app for mobile devices. Learn more and apply.

Most of the Summer Staff Picks books are available in one or more accessible formats. Find links to them below.

DB = available on BARD in talkingbook format and as a mailable talking book, available via the link or by mail (call us at 212-206-5400 to order a physical copy).

BK = available through Bookshare via the link. All Heiskell members can gain access to Bookshare for free.

BR = available on BARD in braille format and as mailable physical braille, available via the link or by mail (call us at 212-206-5400 to order a physical copy).

Books for Adults  |  Books for Kids  |  Books for Teens

Books for Adults

Against the Currant by Olivia Matthews: BK

All the Beauty In the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley: BK, DB

Ana Takes Manhattan by Lissette Decos: BK

An Assassin in Utopia: The True Story of a Nineteenth-Century Sex Cult and a President's Murder by Susan Wels: BK, DB

Bear With Me by Katie Shepard: BK

The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions by Jonathan Rosen: BK

Best Served Hot by Amanda Elliot: BK, DB

Charytín: el tiempo pasa... ¡pero yo no! por Charytín Goyco: BK

Chita: A Memoir by Chita Rivera with Patrick Pacheco: BK

Delicious Martha: mis recetas saludables y sencillas por Marta Sanahuja: BK

Dominicana por Angie Cruz: BK, DB

Every Man a King by Walter Mosley: BK, DB

Gone Like Yesterday by Janelle M. Williams: BK

The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution by Benjamin L. Carp: BK

The Guest by Emma Cline: BK

La hija olvidada por Armando Lucas Correa: BK, DB

Kismet by Becky Chalsen: BK

The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes: BK

Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist by Jennifer Wright: BK, DB

Mott Street: A Chinese American Family's Story of Exclusion and Homecoming by Ava Chin: BK

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang: BK

The New Earth by Jess Row: BK

Pat in the City: My Life of Fashion, Style, and Breaking All the Rules by Patricia Field: BK

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson: BK

Rikers: An Oral History by Graham Rayman & Reuven Blau: BK, DB

The Sense of Wonder by Matthew Salesses: BK

Si yo pude... ¡tú más! por María Antioneta Collins: BK, DB

Still Pictures: On Photography and Memory by Janet Malcolm: BK

Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft: BK, DB

The Survivalists by Kashana Cauley: BK

The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel: BK

Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb: BK

The Tip Line by Vanessa Cuti: BK

We Are a Haunting by Tyriek White: BK

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jiménez: BK, DB

Books for Kids

Beauty Woke by NoNieqa Ramos; illustrated by Paola Escobar: BK, DB

Boogie Boogie, Y'all by C.G. Esperanza: BK, DB

Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins by Michelle Meadows; illustrated by Ebony Glenn: BK

A contar amabilidad / Counting Kindness por Hollis Kurman: BK

Chancho el pug por Aaron Blabey: BK, DB

Daddy and Me and the Rhyme to Be by Chris Bridges & Halcyon Person; illustrated by Parker-Nia Gordon: BK

Darryl's Dream by Darryl "DMC" McDaniels with Shawnee and Johnny Warfield and Adam Padilla; illustrated by Tristan Tait: BK 

A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser: BK

Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega; illustrated by Rose Bousamra: BK

Hello, Friend / Hola, Amigo por 123 Andrés; ilustrado por Sara Palacios: BK 

Hip-Hop Alphabet by Howie Abrams; illustrated by Michael "Kaves" McLeer: DB

Hip-Hop Lollipop by Susan McElroy Montanari; illustrated by Brian Pinkney: BK

Hot Dog by Doug Salati: BK, DB

It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way by Kyo Maclear; illustrated by Julie Morstad: BK

Juana y Lucas por Juana Medina; traducción de Alexis Romay: BK, DB, BR

La orejita que vino a cenar por Steve Smallman: BK

Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña; illustrated by Christian Robinson: BK, DB, BR

Mimi and the Cutie Catastrophe by Shauna J. Grant: BK

Nathan's Song by Leda Schubert; illustrated by Maya Ish-Shalom: BK

New Kid by Jerry Craft: BK, DB

Pasando páginas: La historia de mi vida por Sonia Sotomayor: BK, DB, BR

Pizza! A Slice of History by Greg Pizzoli: BK, DB

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe: BK, DB, BR

Shapes, Lines, and Light: My Grandfather's American Journey by Katie Yamasaki: BK

Simon B. Rhymin' by Dwayne Reed: BK, DB

Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson: BK, DB, BR

The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art by Cynthia Levinson; illustrated by Evan Turk: DB, BR

The Real Riley Mayes by Rachel Elliott: BKUninstall module

The Rhythm of Time by Questlove with S.A. Cosby: BK

The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Frank Morrison: BK, BR

Unfadeable by Maurice Broaddus: BK

Welcome to the Cypher by Khodi Dill; illustrated by Awuradwoa Afful: BR

When Paul Met Artie: The Story of Simon & Garfunkel by G. Neri; illustrated by David Litchfield: DB

When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc & the Creation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrick Hill; illustrated by Theodore Taylor III: BK, DB

Books for Teens

Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds; artwork by Jason Griffin: BK, DB

The Breakbeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop edited by Kevin Coval, Quraysh Ali Lansana and Nate Marshall: BR

By the Skin of Our Teeth: The Art and Design of Morning Breath by Jason Noto and Doug Cunningham: BK

Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman: BK, DB

Cartas de cuba por Ruth Behar: BK, DB

Collage Your Life: Techniques, Prompts, and Inspiration for Creative Self-Expression and Visual Storytelling by Melanie Mowinski: BK

Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop by Vikki Tobak: BK

Graffiti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora by Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón: BK 

Grafity's Wall by Ram V: BK

Hip-Hop (and Other Things): A Collection of Questions Asked, Answered, Illustrated by Shea Serrano: BK

La educación de Margot Sánchez por Lilliam Rivera: BK, DB

Music Is Power: Popular Songs, Social Justice, and the Will to Change by Brad Schreiber: BK

El niño que domó el viento por William Kamkwamba y Bryan Mealer: BK, DB

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman: BK, DB

Open Mic Night at Westminster Cemetery by Mary Amato: BK

Perfectos mentirosos: mentrias y secretos por Alex Mirez: BK

Pocho por Matt de la Peña: BK, DB

Respect the Mic: Celebrating 20 Years of Poetry from a Chicagoland High School edited by Hanif Abdurraqib, Franny Choi, Dan "Sully" Sullivan and Peter Kahn: BK, DB

The Rose That Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur: BK

Spin by Colleen Nelson: BK

Swing by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess: BK, DB

Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles: BK, DB