06.01.2020

STAFF BOOK SUGGESTIONS SUMMER 2020

John Buchtel

Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman by Peter Korn

(Library of Congress TT149 .K67 2013)

Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

(Cutter Classification 65 .P669)

Having recently enjoyed Peter Korn’s Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman (Boston: Godine, 2015), I’ve turned to a book he recommends that I’ve been meaning to read for years: Robert M. Pirsig’s classic Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (first published 1974). I never imagined a disquisition on Aristotelian and Platonic philosophy, scientific method, fixing bikes, and being a better person could keep me on the edge of my seat, but Michael Kramer’s superb reading of the narrative did exactly that. (Yes, your Curator of Rare Books does sometimes opt for audio books, however much he loves the heft of a physical book in his hands….)

Maria Daniels

Starlight Detectives: How Astronomers, Inventors, and Eccentrics Discovered the Modern Universe by Alan Hirshfeld

(available through Interlibrary Loan)

BA docent Scott Guthery recommended this terrific work of science history. I enjoyed the connections between nineteenth-century astronomers’ explorations and the role of photography. Those impressively creative people built technologies to peer into the skies and record what they saw. It’s the lively story of a quest to see the universe in its vast complexity.

Libby Miserendino

Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook

(Library of Congress CT275.R666 C66)

My family’s history intertwined a bit with the Roosevelts and it would seem our fascination with Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor has been passed down from generation to generation. Cook’s volumes on Eleanor are incredibly insightful. By the first chapter you feel close to her, and by the third volume, you’re not totally convinced you haven’t known her your whole life.

Carolle Morini

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

(Library of Congress PZ3.H53985 Tal)

I am sure many of you have seen one of the film adaptations of The Talented Mr. Ripley….but have you read the book? No! Well, you must, as it is the perfect read under the hot sun. No one will know if you’re sweating from the sun or from the building suspense Highsmith creates. And as you close Ripley #1 you must then lean over your lounge chair, hammock, or bed, and pick up Ripley#2, Ripley Under Ground. When you find yourself finished with Ripley #2 don’t fret because there are five Ripley books that can easily fill up the dog days of summer. Nothing to fear.

KL Pereira

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

(On order but not yet in catalog)

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

(Library of Congress NEW PZ7 .A1822 Wi 2019)

I’ve been on a novel kick, so I’ve been jamming to the very vital titles: The Poet X and With the Fire on High, both by Elizabeth Acevedo. The Poet X is a novel-in-verse about a young Latina poet who is finding her voice and her place within her family and her community in Harlem, N.Y. This story has so much beat, passion, and fierce pride that I couldn’t stop devouring it. With the Fire on High reminds me of Laura Esquivel’s classic Like Water For Chocolate with its interspersed recipes and vulnerable, strong characters that never give up. Positive and inspiring, both books encourage you to live deliciously and follow what makes you feel alive.

Kaelin Rasmussen

Imperium in Imperio by Sutton E. Griggs

(On order)

Discovering this novel was my first encounter with Sutton E. Griggs (1872–1933), a Black writer, minister, and activist from Texas. Imperium in Imperio was Griggs’s first novel, which he published and sold himself in 1899, and in it, he explores the themes of racism and Black Nationalism through a fictional (but very powerful) lens. The story follows two young Black men from Texas and their encounters with racism and white supremacy, and their involvement in a secret society whose aim is to establish the state of Texas an all-Black republic. Like Griggs himself, his characters grapple not only with the racism of whites, but also with the dual forces of conciliation and nationalism within the Black community of the time. Though in later life Griggs would become disenchanted with his early spirit of activism, Imperium in Imperio embodies powerful ideas and paints a vivid picture of the all-pervading damage caused by racism. Read more about Griggs here.

Leah Rosovsky

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

(On order)

This short novel tells an unusual coming of age story. Set in Britain, it focuses on seventeen-year-old Silvie, whose father is obsessed with the study of the island’s ancient residents. The family spends their summer holiday re-enacting Iron Age life in an encampment filled with university students. Her situation there leads Silvie to consider a new set of possibilities for her own life. Complications ensue.

Carly Stevens

Waking up White: and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debbie Irving

(Library of Congress NEW E185.615 .I778 2014)

Many of the popular anti-racist books are sold out at independent book shops across the country. A lesser known title, but available online is Waking up White. Irving’s story begins with her childhood and extends into her adult life to explore how racism is learned and reinforced in White Americans through various systems and societal values. She confronts her own discomfort around race and demands readers do the same. Included after every chapter are writing prompts and reflection questions for the reader’s engagement. It’s an important read for anyone looking to engage with anti-racist titles.

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

(Library of Congress PZ4.W85962 In 2013)

I particularly enjoyed this read because Wolitzer is skilled at creating wonderful characters and constructing meaningful relationships. The Interestings focuses on a group of friends who form a lifelong bond at a New York summer camp in 1979. The chapters jump back and forth in time juxtaposing childhood creativity and ingenuity thriving in the heat of summer with the practicality and banality of adulthood. In the time of COVID-19 where connection can be difficult this book transported me to times of friendship and summer. It reminded me that life is nothing if not interesting.

Mary Warnement

Shooting at Chateau Rock by Martin Walker

(On order but not yet in catalog)

Martin Walker is in good form: good food, good characters, a good read. I can’t go to France—or pretty much anywhere—right now, so I was pleased to travel to the world of Bruno, Chief of Police. The links between this village cop and world events stretches belief, but Walker clearly believes what anyone does can have far-reaching effects. Walker was particularly kind in his acknowledgments’ conclusions: “And we’d all be in trouble without the booksellers, book reviewers, librarians, bloggers and book clubs, who bring the books to the most crucial people of all—readers like you.” I could not resist that praise or his convivial imagined world. If you like mysteries and the Mediterranean, then this is for you.

Hannah Weisman

The Girl Before by JP Delaney

(Library of Congress PZ4.D3365 Gr 2017)

The enigmatic architect and landlord of One Folgate Street asks prospective tenants, “Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.” The intrusive application question is just the smallest hint of the manipulation Jane and Emma, successive residents of the house, find themselves embroiled in. This thriller is perfect if you’re looking for a fast read for the beach or for sitting on the porch with a cold drink.

03.13.2020

Staff Book Suggestions Spring 2020

Christina Michelon

Portrait of a Woman in Silk: Hidden Histories of the British Atlantic World by Zara Anishanslin

(Library of Congress E18.82 .A55 2016)

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

(Library of Congress PZ3.R3494 Wi)

By day I’ve been reading Zara Anishanslin’s Portrait of a Woman in Silk: Hidden Histories of the British Atlantic World and by night, Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea. Both books take beloved and familiar cultural products (colonial portraiture and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, respectively) and examine them from a different perspective. Both authors sensitively probe the enduring legacies of slavery, gender, and power dynamics through a panopoly of historical actors (real and fictional). Anishanslin follows the threads presented by one portrait; they lead her to London’s Spitalfields and its textile manufacturers, to high society in Philadelphia, and into the professional nexus of a New England artist. Rhys gives us a poetic but unvarnished glimpse into the life of Mr. Rochester’s first wife, Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway, offering a thought-provoking alternative to Bronte’s story. Ultimately, both texts reveal the complex networks and varied experiences of the British Atlantic World in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries—reading them in tandem has been particularly enriching.

Carolle Morini

Patterns: Inside the Design Library by Peter Koepke

(Library of Congress + NK8805 .K64 2016)

Such joy to step inside this book, absorb the patterns, and learn about this wonderful library and what they do. Just as fun as walking through a colorful garden.

The Little Disturbances of Man by Grace Paley

(Library of Congress PZ4.P158 Li)

Some of these stories are over 60 years old, yet still so resonant and fervent today. Paley said it best: “The wrong word is like a lie jammed inside the story.” In this collection of stories Paley is as careful as a surgeon selecting the precise instruments to make the story live and breathe.

House of Lords and Commons by Ishion Hutchinson

(Library of Congress PR9265.9.H85 A6 2016)

Hutchinson writes powerful, stunning, thought provoking poems that will not leave you in a hurry. You will put the book down and become a different kind of listener to the world around you (near and far). These poems will not be ignored nor will you be able to shake the waves of truth afterwards.

Elizabeth O’Meara

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

(Library of Congress HV6574.G7 K44 2019)

I found this a riveting story of the so-called Troubles that took place in Northern Ireland during the seventies. Keefe uses the story of the disappearance of a mother from a family of ten children as a framework to look at these tragic times and tragic lives of people in Northern Ireland. There is also an interesting Boston connection to Keefe’s story. After the Good Friday Agreement, Boston College collected oral histories from the participants which were to remain sealed until after their deaths. The portrait of Jerry Adams and the betrayal felt by many of his fellow IRA members that Keefe learned from that archive has stayed with me.

The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age by Leo Damrosch

(Library of Congress PN452 .D36 2019)

This was such a fun read. Damrosch paints a fascinating portrait of English life in the late eighteenth century with brief character sketches of members of a club created to help Samuel Johnson cope with one of his bouts of depression. A number of the men in the club went on to have very distinguished careers. Joshua Reynolds was the friend who first proposed the idea of a group of friends getting together for drinks, food and conversation. Oliver Goldsmith and Edmund Burke were part of the original group and the club expanded out to include James Boswell, David Garrick and Adam Smith. Although there were no women in the club, Johnson was quite close with a number of women who we meet in the book. Damrosch did a great job of bringing all these people to life.

KL Pereira

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

(Library of Congress PZ4.W3292 Ni 2006)

I can’t get enough queer historical fiction, so obviously I’m a fan of Sarah Waters. I’ve been revisiting her gorgeous novel of London in the 1940s, The Night Watch (shortlisted for the Man Booker and Orange Prizes). Centered around four protagonists, this novel (which begins in spring 1947 and ends in 1941) moves between very different characters and their common experiences of love, death, and survival during and after wartime. Rather than confusing the reader, the backward motion of the text builds tension and a delicious dramatic irony. The prose is both lush and sharp with Waters’s trademark eye for historical detail and keen description. A fantastic examination of the inner worlds and growth of those on the front lines of a world crisis, and of course, the power of friendship.

Kaelin Rasmussen

The Magazine Novels of Pauline Hopkins, with an introduction by Hazel V. Carby

(Library of Congress PZ3.H777 Ma)

One of my BA colleagues alerted me to the existence of the novel Of One Blood by Pauline Hopkins (1859–1930), having seen the book highlighted as part of the recent Ancient Nubia Now exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts. I was immediately intrigued by their description and was very pleased to find the Athenæum had a copy as part of a collection of Hopkins’s serially-issued novels published in 1988. So far, I have only read Of One Blood. Set in the early 1900s, the book tells the story of Reuel Briggs, a brilliant young Harvard medical student with a mysterious past, who although himself lacking funds, has social ties with his wealthy, high-society classmates. In their company, Reuel attends a performance of a company of jubilee singers (African American performers singing spirituals of the old South) and there encounters a beautiful young woman of mixed race who will change his life forever. Reuel’s adventures take him from Boston mansions and hospitals all the way to Africa, where he discovers that the legacy of the Ancient Nubian civilization is not dead and gone, and it is up to him to help it rise again. Pauline Hopkins (born in Portland, Maine) was known for her use of the romantic novel to explore social and racial themes, and this amazing book is an example of that. The plot has elements of the romantic, fantastic, and melodramatic, but the novel’s portrayal of the all-encompassing menace of racism, the long shadow cast by slavery, and the desire to restore the deliberately obscured significance of Nubia in the ancient world ring all too true. As I read Of One Blood, I became astonished and angry that I had never known about it before. So I am spreading the word and recommending it now!

Mary Warnement

Square Haunting: Five Women, Freedom and London Between the Wars by Francesca Wade

(On order but not yet in catalog)

If you’re a fan of Bloomsbury—both the area of London and the literary set that populated it—then you’ll enjoy this book from Faber and Faber. I recommend the British edition—its cover resembling a white line woodcut entices me to walk around the square and the “Hazlitt” endpapers designed by Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher both charm and suit the subject perfectly. The subjects are five writers who lived in Mecklenburgh Square: HD (Hilda Doolittle), Dorothy Sayers, Jane Harrison, Eileen Power, and Virginia Woolf. I knew them all (although only a little about HD) and was intrigued at the grouping. I’ve read much (probably a small percentage of what I could) about Virginia Woolf, a biography of Dorothy Sayers, and Mary Beard’s biography of Jane Harrison. Eileen Power was the main attraction for me. I’d read that many of her papers were destroyed and had thought there was no bio. I now know there was one written in 1996, after my keen interest in Power whose stature as a historian caught my undergraduate eye. How pleased I was to pull my Penguin of Medieval People off my shelves and recall my younger self reading The Goodman of Paris and Medieval Women. Would Wade’s group treatment be more than a look at the coincidental, and non-concurrent, residential circumstances of five women? Yes.

I pre-ordered my copy for pick-up at the London Review Bookshop. I didn’t care that it was a signed edition, but I chose this as my main souvenir for a trip, months in the planning, for winter. I had bought a cheap airline ticket that allowed only a carry-on, necessitating a disciplined approach in bookstores and museum shops. I picked it up my first day and admit my first thought was mundane—it is much bigger than expected. I saved it to read for after the trip, when I wanted to return virtually. Travel is not advised right now, so if reading takes you away and you want to visit or revisit London, let Wade take you there in good company. Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own informs most of the chapters, a fact Wade acknowledges (338): “The story I’ve told in this book has been one of community: not only between Bloomsbury women, but also between past and present and across the wider world.” Wade satisfied my own search for a sense of community right now.

Hannah Weisman

A Shoemaker’s Story: Being Chiefly about French Canadian Immigrants, Enterprising Photographers, Rascal Yankees, and Chinese Cobblers in a Nineteenth-Century Factory Town by Anthony W. Lee

(Library of Congress F74.N8 L43 2008)

Originally I selected this book only to inform my Eye of the Expert presentation on the Chinese workers who came from the west coast to work at the CT Sampson Shoe Factory in North Adams, MA, in June 1870. I expected dry, academic writing that I would have to slog through. Instead I was delighted to discover that Lee weaves the story in a way that compels the reader to turn page after page. The incredibly unique story of Chinese shoemakers in western Massachusetts reveals universal themes of how we understand (or don’t understand) people who are different from us and how we cope with changes that are out of our control.

Rachel Wentworth

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

(Library of Congress PN6727.B3757 Z46 2006)

If all this warm weather and sunshine has you longing for the days when we could hole up inside with a good book without any guilt at all, I’ve got the perfect thing. Despite its readability, this graphic novel packs a huge punch. I finished it in just two commutes to the Athenæum and, each day, I left the train with my head spinning. It was one of those rapturous reading experiences where you’re left in the same confused and dissociated state you might wake up in at the beginning of Daylight Savings. I highly recommend listening to the Original Broadway Cast Recording of the soundtrack to the musical based on the book once you’re done reading. You’ll smile, you’ll cry, it’s an ordeal. No wonder it won so many Tonys. I might be a couple years behind the eight ball with this but I think it’s one that will last far beyond its initial success.

01.25.2020

New Beginnings

Picture Books

Two White Rabbits by Jairo Buitrago ; pictures by Rafael Yockteng ; translated by Elisa Amado

(Children Picture Book BUITR)

“In this moving and timely story, a young child describes what it is like to be a migrant as she and her father travel north toward the US border. They travel mostly on the roof of a train known as The Beast, but the little girl doesn’t know where they are going. She counts the animals by the road, the clouds in the sky, the stars. Sometimes she sees soldiers. She sleeps, dreaming that she is always on the move, although sometimes they are forced to stop and her father has to earn more money before they can continue their journey. As many thousands of people, especially children, in Mexico and Central America continue to make the arduous journey to the US border in search of a better life, this is an important book that shows a young migrant’s perspective” — Provided by publisher.

Big Cat, Little Cat by Elisha Cooper

(Children Picture Book COOPE)

“A moving tale about friendship, new beginnings, and cats” — Provided by publisher.

Going North by Janice N. Harrington ; pictures by Jerome Lagarrigue

(Children Picture Book HARRI)

A young African American girl and her family leave their home in Alabama and head for Lincoln, Nebraska, where they hope to escape segregation and find a better life.

Neville by Norton Juster ; illustrated by G. Brian Karas

(Children Picture Book JUSTE)

When a boy and his family move to a new house, he devises an ingenious way to meet people in the neighborhood.

Nine Months: Before a Baby is Born by Miranda Paul ; illustrations by Jason Chin

(Children Picture Book + PAULM)

As a baby grows in her mother’s womb, a soon-to-be big sister and her family spend nine months preparing for the newest member of the family to arrive.

A Piece of Home by Jeri Watts ; illustrated by Hyewon Yum

(Children Picture Book + WATTS)

When Hee Jun’s family moves from Korea to West Virginia he struggles to adjust to his new home. He can’t understand anything the teacher says, and even the sky seems smaller and darker. Hee Jun begins to learn English words and make friends on the playground. One day at a classmate’s house he sees a flower he knows from his garden in Korea: mugunghwa, or rose of Sharon. Hee Jun is happy to bring a shoot to his grandmother to plant a “piece of home” in their new garden.

Beginning Reader

Yasmin the Fashionista by Saadia Faruqi ; illustrated by Hatem Aly

(PZ7.F2466 Yaf 2019)

While her parents are out to dinner, a bored Yasmin decides to try on some of her mother’s clothes, including her new shalwar kameez, which gets ripped–but with the help of Nana, Nani, and a glue-gun, the garment gets fixed, and Yasmin puts on an impromptu fashion show when her parents get home.

We Are Growing! by Laurie Keller

(Children Picture Book KELLE)

“Walt is not the tallest or the curliest or the pointiest or even the crunchiest. A confounded blade of grass searches for his ‘est’ in this hilarious story about growing up”–Provided by publisher.

Zelda and Ivy and the Boy Next Door by Laura McGee Kvasnosky

(Children Picture Book KVASN)

In three brief stories, two fox sisters meet the boy next door, play pirates, and camp out in the yard in sleeping bags.

Chapter Books

Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker

(PZ7.B9151 Ze 2019)

Zenobia July, an excellent coder and hacker, investigates a mystery while wrestling with the challenges of a new school, a new family, and presenting her true gender for the first time.

The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup

(PZ7.K655 Bo 2006)

After moving with her parents to Iowa, twelve-year-old Lucy discovers a mysterious notebook that can bring stories to life and which has a link to the 1914 disappearance of her great uncle.

Year of the Dog by Grace Lin

(PZ7.L65775 Yea 2006)

Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding oneself, to her own life.

Juana & Lucas: Big Problemas by Juana Medina

(PZ7 .M51278 Bi 2019)

“Juana’s life is just about perfect. She lives in the beautiful city of Bogotá with her two most favorite people in the world: her mami and her dog, Lucas. Lately, though, things have become a little less perfect. Mami has a new hairdo and a new amigo named Luis with whom she has been spending a LOT of time. He is kind and teaches Juana about things like photography and jazz music, but sometimes Juana can’t help wishing things would go back to the way they were before. When Mami announces that she and Luis are getting married and that they will all be moving to a new casa, Juana is quite distraught. Lucky for her, though, some things will never change — like how much Mami loves her.”–Amazon.com.

Young Adult Books

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

(PZ7 .C672 Li 2018)

“When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she isn’t sure if she’ll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (as well as her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support. But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new…the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel’s disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself–or worse.” — From publisher’s website.

New Boy by Julian Houston

(PZ7.H823 Ne 2005)

As a new sophomore at an exclusive boarding school, a young black man is witness to the persecution of another student with bad acne.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

(PZ7.R91 If 2016)

“Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school. Like anyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret, and she’s determined not to get too close to anyone. But when she meets sweet, easygoing Grant, Amanda can’t help but start to let him into her life. As they spend more time together, she realizes just how much she is losing by guarding her heart. She finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself, including her past. But Amanda’s terrified that once she tells him the truth, he won’t be able to see past it” — Provided by publisher.

12.05.2019

Staff Book Suggestions Winter 2020

Patricia Boulos

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

(Library of Congress Z733.L8742 O75 2018)

The main subject of The Library Book is the horrifying fire at the Los Angeles Central Public Library in 1986, when 400,000 books were totally destroyed, and 700,000 more damaged. This in itself would make a compelling book, but the author broadens her investigation of the fire, its investigation, the perpetrator, the importance of books and libraries in the world, and so very much more. Read the publisher’s description (not one exaggeration) at the link above, and you’ll be hooked.

Maria Daniels

The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald

(Library of Congress PZ4.F555 Be)

I bought this for myself, wrapped it, and put it under the tree “from Santa.” Shh! Don’t tell my family. It’s absurd to work at the BA and buy a book, but I own most of this astounding writer’s other novels and I reread them sometimes, so I couldn’t resist. The story opens in 1913 Moscow, at a moment between two revolutions. A Russian-born Englishman and his three children have been abandoned by his wife. Things are not going to go well.

Kurt Grewal

Dreyer’s English by Benjamin Dreyer

(Library of Congress PN145 .D74 2019)

On cold winter days, some people love to stay warm and write. This modern and witty guide by Benjamin Dreyer is a great read for writers of all abilities. Dreyer covers numerous examples of writing from amateur writers to famous authors. Regardless of your prose, you will learn about grammar, punctuation, and more in a way that will leave you smiling and a better writer.

Carolle Morini

Three Poems by Hannah Sullivan

(Library of Congress PR6119.U438 A6 2018)

Hannah Sullivan’s debut collection, which won the T. S. Eliot Award, is three long poems that stand apart and together they are a compelling unity showing the complexity of being human.

The three poems are:

“You, Very Young in New York” which is a tender study of romantic possibility, disenchantment, and of innocence.

“Repeat Until Time” begins with a move to California, explores repetition, returning home as a young adult (what we take and what we leave behind)—a balance of the personal and philosophical.

“The Sandpit After Rain” explores the birth of a child and the loss of a father.

The Order of the Day by Éric Vuillard ; translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti

(Library of Congress PQ2682.U45 O73 2018)

A brilliant haunting book that tells the story of one day, February 20, 1933. A meeting of 24 German leaders of industry and senior Nazi officials meet in secret during a harsh Berlin winter. Vuillard puts you in the room, sits you at the table, and feeds you the details with the stress of that fateful evening. There is a very good reason this book won the Prix Goncourt in 2017.

The Party by Elizabeth Day

(Library of Congress PZ4.D27292 Pa 2017)

Have you read all of Patricia Highsmith’s books and found yourself craving a book with characters who remind you of Ripley and Greenleaf (outsider versus insider) with a touch of Gatsby? The Party is about a friendship that takes place at a fortieth birthday party. British society, champagne, drugs, glamour, new money, old money, and a secret between friends boils over. You’ll be able to feel the champagne fizz over the tension—thankfully.

KL Pereira

The Book of Dust: Volume 1 by Philip Pullman

(Young Adult/Children’s Room PZ7.P968 Bo 2017)

The perfect novel to dive into on these cold, dark, winter days. In this first book of a trilogy, Pullman returns to the world of His Dark Materials to explore an alternative universe much like our own but with magic, witches, societies of scheming scholars, armored bears, and daemons. Those who loved His Dark Materials will revel in learning the origin story of Lyra Belaqua and the theocratic Magisterium that she fights against, while also being introduced to some compelling new characters. And for those who fall in love, volume 2 of the trilogy (The Secret Commonwealth) just came out so you won’t have to wait for the next installment! Best for a cozy afternoon beside the fire with your favorite cup of tea.

Kaelin Rasmussen

Harlem Renaissance: Four Novels of the 1930s

(Library of Congress PS508.N3 H368 2011)

This collection of Harlem Renaissance classics is a definite must-read. Both individually and as a collection, these four powerful novels deserve to be read as powerful and enduring classics of American literature, from the African American perspective. Whether you enjoy realism, science fiction, mystery stories or historical fiction, there is something here for you!

Langston Hughes’s Not Without Laughter (1931), the poet’s only novel, an elegiac, elegantly realized coming-of-age tale suffused with childhood memories of Missouri and Kansas, follows a young man from his rural origins to the big city. George S. Schuyler’s Black No More (1931), a darkly comic satire founded on the science fiction premise of a wonder drug permitting blacks to change their race, savagely caricatures public figures white and black alike in its raucous, carnivalesque send-up of American racial attitudes. Considered the first detective story by an African American writer, Rudolph Fisher’s The Conjure-Man Dies (1932) is a mystery that comically mixes and reverses stereotypes, placing a Harvard-educated African “conjure-man” at the center of a phantasmagoric charade of deaths and disappearances. Black Thunder (1936), Arna Bontemps’s stirring fictional recreation of Gabriel Prosser’s 1800 slave revolt, which, though unsuccessful, shook Jefferson’s Virginia to its core, marks a turn from aestheticism toward political militancy in its exploration of African American history.

Mary Warnement

How to be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery and illustrated by Rebecca Green

(Library of Congress QL85 .M65 2018)

This title may sound like a self-help book, but although it is more a nature memoir, it may indeed help those who have resolved to improve themselves in the new year. Sy Montgomery writes a charming and searingly honest memoir of thirteen animals whose goodness has inspired her. “Good” isn’t a word many would choose to describe an ermine/weasel who kills a beloved hen, but Sy understands animals—that they kill to eat and to defend themselves. While she adores them, she doesn’t anthropomorphize them (too much). She knows they are other beings, especially the octopus who seemed “alien” to her and yet with whom she felt a shared connection. It’s a delightful reminder to respect our fellow creatures, whether human, furry (even a hard-to-love furry spider), or an inside-out skeletal sea animal.

Hannah Weisman

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

(Library of Congress PZ4.M85265 Bi 2014)

Young, single mother Jane and her son Ziggy move into the seaside community of Pirriwee, where Jane befriends beautiful but reserved Celeste and vivacious but insecure Madeline on the day of kindergarten orientation. An incident between two children at orientation sets the ball rolling on a Rube-Goldberg-like series of events that lead to a death. Was it murder? An accident? And will Jane, Celeste, and Madeline divulge their secrets to find answers? Moriarty develops characters facing relatable challenges and strikes the right balance between a considered exploration of adult friendship and a fast-paced mystery.

Rachel Wentworth

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

(Library of Congress PZ4 .V9755 On 2019)

If you, like me, find the melancholy of winter quite appealing to your inner angst-monster, pick up Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous as soon as you can. It’s the perfect book for those days when you take pleasure in the gloomy, dreary weather and walk the damp streets with some sad tune playing in your earbuds like your own personal soundtrack. Vuong explores his heartbreakingly beautiful relationship with his mother in the form of a letter she may never get to read. It’s a love poem wrapped in a memoir shot through with striking condemnations of racism, homophobia, and systemic oppression. A quick and intense read, this one leaves you with a chill that’s hard to shake.

12.05.2019

Families

Picture Books

B is for Baby by Atinuke; illustrated by Angela Brooksbank

(Children Picture Book ATINU)

“B is for Baby. B is for Brother. B is for going to see Baba! One morning after breakfast, Baby’s big brother is getting ready to take the basket of bananas all the way to Baba’s bungalow in the next village. He’ll have to go along the bumpy road, past the baobab trees, birds, and butterflies, and all the way over the bridge. But what he doesn’t realize is that his very cute, very curious baby sibling has stowed away on his bicycle.” —Provided by publisher

All Around Us by Xelena Gonzalez; illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia

(Children Picture Book GONZA)

Finding circles everywhere, a grandfather and his granddaughter meditate on the cycles of life and nature.

When Aidan Became a Big Brother by Kyle Lukoff; illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

(Children Picture Book LUKOF)

Aidan, a transgender boy, experiences complicated emotions as he and his parents prepare for the arrival of a new baby.

A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary; illustrated by Qin Leng

(Children Picture Book + OLEAR)

“When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways —but the same in the one way that matters most of all. One child is worried that her family is just too different to explain, but listens as her classmates talk about what makes their families special. One is raised by a grandmother, and another has two dads. One is full of stepsiblings, and another has a new baby.” —Provided by publisher

Benji, The Bad Day, and Me by Sally J. Pla; illustrated by Ken Min

(Children Picture Book PLASA)

Sammy is having a very bad day at school and at home until his autistic brother, Benji, finds a way to make him feel better.

Kevin and His Dad by Irene Smalls; illustrated by Michael Hays

(Children Picture Book + SMALL)

Kevin feels excitement, pride, pleasure, and love as he spends an entire day working and playing with his father.

Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow; illustrated by Ebony Glenn

(Children Picture Book THOMP)

A young Muslim girl puts on a head scarf and not only feels closer to her mother, she also imagines herself as a queen, the sun, a superhero, and more.

More, More, More Said the Baby: 3 Love Stories by Vera B. Williams

(Children Picture Book + WILLI)

Three babies are caught up in the air and given loving attention by a father, grandmother, and mother.

Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson ; illustrated by Sophie Blackall

(Children Picture Book WOODS)

When Mama’s pregnancy draws attention away from Gia, she worries that the special bond they share will disappear forever once the baby is born.

Beginning Readers

Rotten Ralph’s Rotten Family by Jack Gantos; illustrated by Nicole Rubel

(Children Picture Book GANTO)

“Ralph takes a swing through his family tree to find out why he’s so rotten.” —Provided by publisher

Charlie & Mouse: Even Better by Laurel Snyder ; illustrated by Emily Hughes.

(Children Picture Book SYNDE)

Charlie and Mouse are getting ready for Mom’s birthday and things are not going exactly as planned… but with plenty of humor and imagination, they’ll prove that sometimes

Chapter Books

Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke; illustrated by Lauren Tobia

(Children PZ7.A858 Ann 2010)

Anna Hibiscus, who lives in Africa with her whole family, loves to splash in the sea and have parties for her aunties, but Anna would love to see snow.

Younguncle Comes to Town by Vandana Singh; illustrated by B.M. Kamath

(Children PZ7.S61754 You 2006)

In a small town in northern India, three siblings await their father’s youngest brother, Younguncle, who is said to be somewhat eccentric.

Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire by Susan Tan; illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte

(Children PZ7.T161235 Cif 2017)

“A half-Chinese, half-Caucasian girl’s ‘memoir’ about a new sibling, being biracial, and her path to literary greatness.” —Provided by publisher

Stef Soto, Taco Queen by Jennifer Torres

(Children PZ7.T626 St 2017)

“Seventh grader Estefania ‘Stef’ Soto is itching to shake off the onion-and-cilantro embrace of Tia Perla, her family’s taco truck. She wants nothing more than for her dad to get a normal job and for Tia Perla to be put out to pasture. It’s no fun being known as the ‘Taco Queen’ at school. But just when it looks like Stef is going to get exactly what she wants, and her family’s livelihood is threatened, she will have to become the truck’s unlikely champion. In this fun and multicultural middle grade novel, Stef will discover what matters the most, and ultimately embrace an identity that even includes old Tia Perla.” —Provided by publisher

Graphic Novels

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani

(Children PZ7 .C356 Pa 2017)

“Priyanka Das has so many unanswered questions: Why did her mother abandon her home in India years ago? What was it like there? And most importantly, who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? But Pri’s mom avoids these questions—the topic of India is permanently closed. For Pri, her mother’s homeland can only exist in her imagination. That is, until she find a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase. When she wraps herself in it, she is transported to a place more vivid and colorful than any guidebook or Bollywood film. But is this the real India? And what is that shadow lurking in the background? To learn the truth, Pri must travel farther than she’s ever dared and find the family she never knew.” —Provided by publisher

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier; with color by Braden Lamb

(Children PZ7.T245 Si 2014)

“Three weeks. Two sisters. One car. A true story. Raina can’t wait to be a big sister. But once Amara is born, things aren’t quite how she expected them to be. Amara is cute, but she’s also a cranky, grouchy baby, and mostly prefers to play by herself. Their relationship doesn’t improve much over the years. But when a baby brother enters the picture, and later, when something doesn’t seem right between their parents, they realize they must figure out how to get along. They are sisters, after all.” —Provided by publisher

Young Adult

Solo by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess

(Young Adult PZ7.A3771 So 2017)

Seventeen-year-old Blade endeavors to resolve painful issues from his past and navigate the challenges of his former rockstar father’s addictions, scathing tabloid rumors, and a protected secret that threatens his own identity.

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez

(Young Adult PZ7.A48 Be 2002)

In the early 1960s in the Dominican Republic, twelve-year-old Anita learns that her family is involved in the underground movement to end the bloody rule of the dictator, General Trujillo.

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

(Young Adult PZ7 .S1975 Iam 2017)

“Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed. But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought.” —Provided by publisher

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

(Young Adult PZ7.Z76 Pr 2018)

“Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable. When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding. But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all. In a timely update of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, critically acclaimed author Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic.” —Provided by publisher

Informational

The House Baba Built: An Artist’s Childhood in China by Ed Young, text as told to Libby Koponen

(Children Lg CT275.Y6475 A3 2011)

“In Ed Young’s childhood home in Shanghai, all was not as it seemed: a rocking chair became a horse; a roof became a roller rink; an empty swimming pool became a place for riding scooters and bikes. The house his father built transformed as needed into a place to play hide-and-seek, to eat bamboo shoots, and to be safe. For outside the home’s walls, China was at war. Soon the house held not only Ed and his four siblings but also friends, relatives, and even strangers who became family. The war grew closer, and Ed watched as planes flew overhead and friends joined the Chinese air force. But through it all, Ed’s childhood remained full of joy and imagination.” —Provided by publisher.

The African American Family Album by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

(Children + E185.86 .H72 1994)

“Vintage photographs and first-person accounts illustrate a comprehensive summary of the black experience, from roots reaching back hundreds of thousands of years, to the more recent history of African Americans.” —Provided by publisher

How Artists See Families: Mother, Father, Sister, Brother by Colleen Carroll

(Children N8217.F27 C37 1997)

“Children can see how Carmen Lomas Garza captured the simple pleasure of a family eating watermelon on the front porch; how Kikugawa Eizan used curved lines to show the gracefulness with which a mother carries her young son; how John Singer Sargent depicted the flowerlike delicacy of two sisters as they light lanterns in a twilit summer garden; and how Winslow Homer showed a boy’s protectiveness of his younger brother in a dangerous situation. “How Artists See” is a series of interactive, inquiry-based books designed to teach children about the world by looking at art and about art by looking at the world.” —Provided by publisher

10.26.2019

Music for All

Picturebooks

Miguel and the Grand Harmony by Matt de la Peña; illustrated by Ana Ramírez

(Children Picture Book + DELAP)

“La Música exists in many places —in the twang of a guitar, in the beat of a drum, even in the whistling wind and the morning bird’s son. She brings color and life wherever she goes, connecting people to a grand harmony. And in the town of Santa Cecilia, she is everywhere. When La Música discovers a boy with longing in his heart and no music in his home, she vows to help him find his passion.” —Provided by publisher

Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle; illustrations by Rafael López

(Children Picture Book + ENGLE)

Follows a girl in the 1920s as she strives to become a drummer, despite being continually reminded that only boys play the drums, and that there has never been a female drummer in Cuba. Includes note about Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, who inspired the story, and Anacaona, the all-girl dance band she formed with her sisters.

Gabriella’s Song by Candace Fleming; illustrated by Giselle Potter

(Children Picture Book FLEMI)

A young girl finds music all around her as she walks about the city of Venice, Italy, and she shares her song with everyone she meets.

Imani’s Music by Sheron Williams; illustrated by Jude Daly

(Children PZ7.W668175 Im 2000)

Imani, an African grasshopper, brings music to the new world when he travels aboard a slave ship.

Mr. Frog Went A-Courting written and illustrated by Gary Chalk

(Children + PZ8.3.C355 Mr 1994)

Illustrations and supplementary text elaborate on the story of the wedding of a frog and a mouse in a traditional folk song.

This Land Is Your Land words and music by Woody Guthrie; paintings by Kathy Jakobsen

(Children PZ8.3.G9635 Th 1998)

This well-known folk song is accompanied by a tribute from folksinger Pete Seeger, the musical notation, and a biographical scrapbook with photographs.

Beginning Readers

Mr. Putter & Tabby Toot the Horn by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Arthur Howard

(Children Picture Book RYLAN)

Mr. Putter’s neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry, decides that they should join a band, but finding the right one isn’t as easy as it sounds —for them or their pets.

Dance! Dance! Underpants! By Bob Shea

(Children Picture Book SHEA)

Ballet Cat and her friend Butter Bear have practiced a dance to perform for an audience, but Butter Bear will need a lot of encouragement to try the super high leaps.

Chapter Books

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez

(Children PZ7 .P42 Fi 2017)

Twelve-year-old María Luisa O’Neill-Morales (who really prefers to be called Malú) reluctantly moves with her Mexican-American mother to Chicago and starts seventh grade with a bang —violating the dress code with her punk rock aesthetic and spurning the middle school’s most popular girl in favor of starting a band with a group of like-minded weirdos.

Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

(Children PZ7.R9553 Ec 2015)

Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica. Decades later, as the second World War approaches, the lives of three children —Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California —become interwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together. Pulled by the invisible thread of destiny, their solo stories converge.

Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia; illustrations by Frank Morrison

(Children PZ7.W6714 Cl 2017)

Clayton feels most alive when he’s with his grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd, and the band of Bluesmen —he can’t wait to join them, just as soon as he has a blues song of his own. But then the unthinkable happens. Cool Papa Byrd dies, and Clayton’s mother forbids Clayton from playing the blues. And Clayton knows that’s no way to live. Armed with his grandfather’s brown porkpie hat and his harmonica, he runs away from home in search of the Bluesmen, hoping he can join them on the road. But on the journey that takes him through the New York City subways and to Washington Square Park, Clayton learns some things that surprise him.

Young Adult

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

(Young Adult PZ7.A334 Le 2018)

Leah Burke is an anomaly in her friend group: the only child of a young, single mom; her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends —not even her openly gay BFF, Simon. When her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways, it’s hard for Leah to strike the right note. And with prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. If only real life was as rhythmic as her drumming…

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

(Young Adult PZ7.G8233 Wi 2010)

When two teens, one gay and one straight, meet accidentally and discover that they share the same name, their lives become intertwined as one begins dating the other’s best friend, who produces a play revealing his relationship with them both.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

(Young Adult PZ7.H2645 Se 2012)

In a world where dragons and humans coexist in an uneasy truce and dragons can assume human form, Seraphina, whose mother died giving birth to her, grapples with her own identity amid magical secrets and royal scandals, while she struggles to accept and develop her extraordinary musical talents.

Informational Books

Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and his Orchestra by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney

(Children + CT275.E42 P56 1998)

A brief recounting of the career of this jazz musician and composer who, along with his orchestra, created music that was beyond category.

Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa by Andrea Davis Pinkney with Scat Cat Monroe; illustrated by Brian Pinkney

(Children + CT275.F5662 P56 2002)

A brief recounting of the career of this jazz musician in the voice of “Scat Cat Monroe.”

Harlem Hellfighters by J. Patrick Lewis & Gary Kelley

(Children Lg D570.33 369th .L49 2014)

“A regiment of African American soldiers from Harlem journeys across the Atlantic to fight alongside the French in World War I, inspiring a continent with their brand of jazz music.” —Provided by publisher.

Harlem Stomp!: A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance by Laban Carrick Hill

(Children + E185.6 .H515 2003)

A whirlwind tour of the Harlem Renaissance era of the early 20th century.

Poetry

I, Too, Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry s elected and annotated by Catherine Clinton; illustrated by Stephen Alcorn

(Children + PS591.N4 I35 1998)

A collection of poems by African-American writers, including Lucy Terry, Gwendolyn Bennett, and Alice Walker.

Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxane Orgill; illustrated by Francis Vallejo

(Children + PS3615.R45 J39 2016)

“When Esquire magazine planned an issue to salute the American jazz scene in 1958, graphic designer Art Kane pitched a crazy idea: how about gathering a group of beloved jazz musicians and photographing them? He didn’t own a good camera, didn’t know if any musicians would show up, and insisted on setting up the shoot in front of a Harlem brownstone. Could he pull it off? In a captivating collection of poems, Roxane Orgill steps into the frame of Harlem 1958, bringing to life the musicians’ mischief and quirks, their memorable style, and the vivacious atmosphere of a Harlem block full of kids on a hot summer’s day. Francis Vallejo’s vibrant, detailed, and wonderfully expressive paintings do loving justice to the larger-than-life quality of jazz musicians of the era.” —Provided by publisher

09.27.2019

Something Wicked

Picture Books

A Job for Wittilda by Caralyn Buenher illustrated by Mark Buenher

(Children Picture Book + BUEHN)

When Wittilda the witch is forced to look for a job, she finds her broom-flying ability comes in handy in applying for a job delivering pizzas.

Corduroy’s Halloween by B. G. Hennessy illustrated by Lisa McCue

(Children Picture Book HENNE)

The latest adventure of the adorable bear created by Don Freeman as he chooses a Halloween costume, joins a window-painting contest, goes trick-or-treating, and bobs for apples.

Only a Witch Can Fly by Alison McGhee illustrated by Taeeun Yoo

(Children Picture Book + MCGHE)

A young girl wants to fly like a witch on a broom, and one special night, through enormous effort and with the help of her brother, her black cat, and an owl, she fulfills her dream.

The Witch’s Walking Stick by Susan Meddaugh

(Children Picture Book + MEDDA)

When a witch loses her magic walking stick, which has been used over the years to grant hundreds of miserable wishes, she tricks a young girl into finding and returning it, with unexpected results.

Boo! by Ben Newman

(Children Picture Book NEWMA)

Scared you! This little mouse thinks he’s the bravest animal around, but it seems that he’s not the only one … All the animals are keen to show off their bravery from the crocodile with his mighty jaws, to the tiger with her scary claws! But who will be the bravest of them all?

The Skeleton in the Closet by Alice Schertle illustrated by Curtis Jobling

(Children Picture Book + SCHER)

A scary skeleton terrorizes a boy in his bedroom while it searches his closet for clothes to wear.

Can You See What I See? On a Scary Scary Night by Walter Wick

(Children Picture Book + WICK)

Twelve scary picture puzzles invite children to look and find images hidden in the pictures.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams Illustrated by Megan Llyod

(Children Picture Book WILLI)

A little old lady who is not afraid of anything must deal with a pumpkin head, a tall black hat, and other spooky objects that follow her through the dark woods trying to scare her.

Wee Winnie Witch’s Skinny: An Original African American Scare Tale by Virginia Hamilton

(Children + PZ7.H1828 We 2004)

James Lee and Uncle Big Anthony become victims of Wee Winnie Witch, who takes them on a ride up into the sky, but Mama Granny saves them.

Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock by Bill Peet

(Children PZ10.3.P2989 Sp)

When Prewitt’s shamefully scraggly tail develops the appearance of a scary greeneyed monster, the other peacocks decide it has to go.

Beginning Readers

Bookstore Burglar by Barbara Maitland

(Children Picture Book MAITL)

Cobweb the cat and her best friends, who are mice, save the spooky Black Cat Bookstore from a burglar who says he doesn’t believe in ghosts.

Aggie and Ben: Three Stories by Lori Ries illustrated by Frank W Dormer

(Children Picture Book RIES)

After choosing a new dog, Ben describes what the pet Aggie can do and should not do around the house.

Henry and Mudge and the Bedtime Thumps by Cynthia Rylant and Sucie Stevenson

(Children Picture Book RYLAN)

Henry worries about what will happen to his big dog Mudge during their visit to his grandmother’s house in the country.

Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon by Cynthia Rylant and Sucie Stevenson

(Children Picture Book RYLAN)

In the autumn Henry and his big dog Mudge watch the leaves turn, meet with some Halloween spooks and share Thanksgiving dinner

Chapter Books

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

(Children PZ7.B26 Gi 2016)

“An epic fantasy about a young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, who must unlock the powerful magic buried deep inside her.” —Provided by publisher

The House with a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs

(Children PZ7.B413 Ho)

A boy goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion that has a clock hidden in the walls which is ticking off the minutes until doomsday.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

(Children PZ7.C677475 Ar 2001)

When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll.

Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott

(Children PZ7 .Z44 Dr 2018)

In Brooklyn, nine-year-old Jax joins Ma, a curmudgeonly witch who lives in his building, on a quest to deliver three baby dragons to a magical world, and along the way discovers his true calling.

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman

(Children PZ7.G125 Sl 2014)

“You may think you know this story. There’s a young queen, about to be married. There are some good, brave, hardy dwarves; a castle, shrouded in thorns; and a princess, cursed by a witch, so rumour has it, to sleep forever. But no one is waiting for a noble prince to appear on his trusty steed here. This fairy tale is spun with a thread of dark magic, which twists and turns and glints and shined. A queen might just prove herself a hero, if a princess needs rescuing…” —Provided by publisher

Shadow Magic by Joshua Khan

(PZ7.K497 Sh 2016)

“Thorn, a boy sold into slavery who must serve the royalty of Castle Gloom for a year and a day to earn his freedom, and Lilith Shadow, the 13-year-old ruler of Gehenna, who is forbidden to practice the magic that is her heritage, join forces to solve the murders taking place in Gehenna.” —Provided by publisher

Young Adult

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

(PZ7.B52878 Dar 2015)

“In the town of Fairfold, where humans and fae exist side by side, a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives awakes after generations of sleep in a glass coffin in the woods, causing Hazel to be swept up in new love, shift her loyalties, feel the fresh sting of betrayal, and make a secret sacrifice to the faerie king.” —Provided by publisher

Half World by Hiromi Goto

(PZ7.G6936 Hal 2010)

“Melanie Tamaki is an outsider. She is unpopular at school. At home, where she and her loving but neglectful mother live in poverty, she has had to learn to take care of herself. Melanie is just barely coping. Everything changes on the day she returns home to find her mother is missing, lured back to Half World by a nightmare creature calling himself Mr. Glueskin. Soon Melanie has embarked on an epic and darkly fantastical journey to Half World to save her mother. What she does not yet realize is that the state of the universe is at stake…” —Provided by publisher

The Minister’s Daughter by Julie Hearn

(PZ7.H34625 Mi 2005 )

In 1645 in England, the daughters of the town minister successfully accuse a local healer and her granddaughter of witchcraft to conceal an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, but years later during the 1692 Salem trials their lie has unexpected repercussions.

Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire

(PZ7.M2762 Eg 2014)

In 1905 czarist Russia, an impoverished country girl Elena and the aristocratic Ekatrina meet and set in motion an escapade that includes mistaken identity, a monk locked in a tower, a prince traveling incognito, and the witch Baba Yaga.

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

(PZ7.O39 Awi 2017)

“Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are African, but she’s albino. She’s a terrific athlete, but can’t go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits in. And then she discovers something amazing–she is a ‘free agent’ with latent magical power. Soon she’s part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But will it be enough to help them when they are asked to catch a career criminal who knows magic too?” —Provided by publisher

09.19.2019

Books About Climate

Children’s Library Intern Samantha Gill put together a book display on our changing climate. She extended the list beyond our holdings, including many books you can read as a family to understand the ecology of our planet.

Members: you can always request a book you can’t find at the Athenæum via our Interlibrary Loan service.

On Our Shelves

The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs by Kate Messner
(Children’s Library Picture Book MESSN)
This picture book, a Junior Library Guild selection, looks at the life of coral restoration pioneer Ken Nedimyer, from his early fascination with the ocean to his ongoing efforts to save and rebuild the world’s coral reefs.

How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate by Lynne Cherry
(Children’s Library QC981.8.C5 C475 2008)
Scientists and kids explore global warming; part of the Sharing Nature With Children series.

If Sharks Disappeared by Lily Williams
(Children’s Library Picture Book WILLI)
This nonfiction picture book explores what would happen if sharks vanished from our planet.

Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell
(Children’s Library Picture Book MCDON)
Holding her stuffed toy chimpanzee, young Jane Goodall observes nature, reads Tarzan books, and dreams of living in Africa and helping animals. Includes biographical information on the prominent zoologist.

Out of the Blue by Alison Jay

(Children’s Library Picture Book + JAY)

When a giant octopus entangled in fishing line is washed ashore during a big storm and becomes stranded on the beach, a young boy and girl, assisted by various sea creatures, push and pull him back to sea. Includes endnotes on marine life, lighthouses, and items that wash up on beaches.

The Water Princess by Susan Verde
(Children’s Library Picture Book VERDE)
The story of one young girl’s quest to bring clean drinking water to her African village, based on the childhood experience of Georgie Badiel.

Staff Book Suggestions Autumn 2019

Carolle Morini

Autumn by Ali Smith

(Library of Congress PZ4.S64231 Au 2017)

Autumn is the first of a quartet to span the four seasons. Intensely divided England during the months following the Brexit vote. The protagonist is an art lecturer named Elisabeth Demand who is facing the loss of two things she cherishes: human decency and the elderly neighbor Daniel, who was her unofficial babysitter and unconventional kindred spirit from her childhood. With all the emotional adjustments happening within her, her family, and her environment, she quickly learns that the veil of human decency can easily be swept away but her memories of childhood and her determination to be kind keep her strong and compassionate.

Milkman by Anna Burns

(Library of Congress PZ4 .B9666 Mi 2018)

It is no surprise that this book won the Man Booker in 2018 (along with many other prizes). A novel of chatter, hearsay, and calculated quietness. Burns creates a place full of fear, misjudgment, misunderstanding, tradition, and hope to be your true self. Beautifully crafted with characters, environments and dreams that will long live with you (and haunt you) after you put the book down.

KL Pereira

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

(Library of Congress PZ7 .N25 Li 2019)

A valentine of sorts, to a period that has been getting a lot of love in pop culture these days: the 1980s. Certainly, it reminds me of the 1986 classic Pretty in Pink except the primary focus stays on the outcasts and their love and activism (as well as the subversive glitter of so many gay icons). This narrative takes on a lot: questioning queerness, immigrating to the US from Iran in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution, familial and romantic relationships, the AIDS crisis, and finding out what it means to love and be loved. Highly recommended for teens and adults.

Kaelin Rasmussen

The Radiance of the King, by Camara Laye, translated from the French by James Kirkup, introduction by Toni Morrison

(Library of Congress Call number TBD)

The 1954 novel Le regard du roi (translated here as The Radiance of the King) is considered a masterpiece of Francophone African literature. I came upon this fascinating book by chance, wanting in a general way to read more African fiction and intrigued by the promise of an introduction by the late Toni Morrison (originally written in 2001). The story is told from the perspective of Clarence, a white man who has come to Africa and fallen on hard times. In debt and repudiated by the white community, Clarence resolves, rather vaguely, to seek employment with the king, a figure shrouded in grandeur and mystery he does not understand. An old beggar takes Clarence under his wing, and together they journey to “the South,” where the beggar, by turns comical and sinister, assures him the king will come. Someday. Clarence’s Kafka-esque journey, his inability or refusal to understand what is happening around him in a land not his own, reimagines the literary cliché of the white man’s journey into Africa, turning it on its head. Although scholars have debated whether Guinean author Camara Laye had full authorial control while writing this novel, reading it as an African subversion of a classic colonial European trope, which was Morrison’s interpretation, is immensely rewarding.

Anthea Reilly

I am on an Ann Patchett kick:

This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage

(Library of Congress CT275.P37885 A3 2013)

2013: essays on the craft of writing, love, friendship art.

Run

(Library of Congress PZ4.P294 Ru 2007)

2007: absorbing novel about family and politics.

Patron Saint of Liars

(Library of Congress PZ4.P294 Pa)

1992: notable fiction.

Mary Warnement

Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt by Ken Krimstein

(Library of Congress CT1098.A73 K75 2018)

Philosophy is not my thing. Does that slang convey my ignorance? I mean it to. I have no head for philosophical thought. It’s too wispy, I can’t grasp it and hold it. I’ve wondered about Arendt’s philosophy for some time but my natural disinclination to read this subject has hindered me. When I glanced through this graphic novel biography I was hooked, and this gave me an understanding of Arendt’s thought as well as her life. Would a philo-philosophy reader find it too simplistic? There were more footnotes in tiny print than one would expect in a book like this. Arendt knew everyone who was any intellectual, and while I knew most, I found it helpful. The book held heartbreaking moments, in particular Walter Benjamin’s decision in the south of France in 1940. I am interested to know what others think of Krimstein’s handling of Arendt’s relationship with Heidegger. If you have an opinion, let me know.

Rachel Wentworth

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

(Library of Congress PZ4.F356 My 2012)

As our days here in Boston get shorter, darker, and chillier, I’ve been seeking wrapped-in-a-blanket-with-a-mug-of-tea cozy books. As I think everyone would agree: the coziest book in the world is Pride and Prejudice. The second coziest book, however, just might be My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante from the Neapolitan Quartet. In the words of John Freeman of The Australian, “Imagine if Jane Austen got angry and you’ll have some idea of how explosive these works are.” Now, I don’t know if I’d describe My Brilliant Friend as explosive, but its slow burn surely did warm me up. It is a remarkable portrayal of an intimate female friendship that provides space for all its inherent complexity. Escape from the Northeastern chill into the warm bay of Naples for just a few hundred pages and see if you can stop yourself from rushing out to pick up the sequel.

08.24.2019

True To You

Picture Books

Neither! by Airlie Anderson

(Children Picture Book ANDER)

Because Neither is unlike both the rabbits and birds of the Land of This and That, it sets out to find a new place where all kinds of creatures are welcome.

Why Am I Me? by Paige Britt; illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko

(Children Picture Book + BRITT)

In a poetic, philosophical exchange, two children of different races ask themselves why they are who and what they are, and speculate on how they could be different.

Guji, Guji by Zhiyuan Chen

(Children Picture Book + CHEN)

Crocodile Guji Guji was raised by a family of ducks and things are great until one day he meets three crocodiles who tell him that he isn’t a duck. When they ask Guji Guji to help them trap the ducks he feels torn and must decide who he is, what he is, and what’s really important.

Gaston by Kate DiPucchio; illustrated by Christian Robinson

(Children Picture Book + DIPUC)

A proper bulldog raised in a poodle family and a tough poodle raised in a bulldog family meet one day in the park.

Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

(Children Picture Book LOVE)

While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic he’s seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress. But what will Abuela think about the mess he makes—and even more importantly, what will she think about how Julián sees himself?

Spork by Kyo Maclear illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

(Children Picture Book MACLE)

His mum is a spoon, his dad is a fork, and he’s a bit of both: he’s Spork, a utensil who just doesn’t seem to fit into the regimented world of the cutlery drawer, and this is his “multi-cutlery” tale, a humorous commentary on individuality and tolerance, that capture the experience and emotions of all who have ever wondered about their place in the world.

Exclamation Mark! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

(Children Picture Book ROSEN)

A punctuation mark feels bad that he doesn’t fit in with the others until a friend reveals the possibilities that exist when differences are accepted.

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems

(Children Picture Book WILLE)

Wilbur, a naked mole rat who likes to wear clothes, is forced to go before the wise community elder, who surprises the other naked mole rats with his pronouncement.

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson illustrated by Rafael López

(Children Picture Book + WOODS)

Other students laugh when Rigoberto, an immigrant from Venezuela, introduces himself but later, he meets Angelina and discovers that he is not the only one who feels like an outsider.

Beginning Readers

Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin

(Children PZ7.L65775 Li 2010)

Ling and Ting are identical twins that people think are exactly the same, but time and again they prove to be different.

Zelda and Ivy by Laura McGee Kvasnosky

(Children Picture Book KVASN)

In three brief stories, Ivy, the younger of two fox sisters, goes along with her older sister’s schemes, even when they seem a bit daring.

We Are Growing! by Laurie Keller

(Children Picture Book KELLE)

“Walt is not the tallest or the curliest or the pointiest or even the crunchiest. A confounded blade of grass searches for his ‘est’ in this hilarious story about growing up.” —Provided by publisher

Harold and Hog Pretend for Real by Mo Willems and Dan Santat

(Children Picture Book WILLE)

Can the friendship of best friends Harold and Hog, a carefree elephant and a careful hog, survive a game of pretending to be Mo Willems’s Elephant and Piggie?

Chapter Books and Middle Grade

Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen by Debbie Michiko Florence

(Children PZ7.F637 Ja 2017)

Eager to do something her big sister has not done first, Jasmine Toguchi, eight, decides to pound mochi with the men and boys when her family gets together for New Year’s.

George by Alex Gino

(Children PZ7.G379 Ge 2015)

“When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl. George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part . . . because she’s a boy. With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte—but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.”—Provided by publisher

Emmaline and the Bunny by Katherine Hannigan

(Children PZ7.H19816 Em 2009)

Everyone and everything in the town of Neatasapin is tidy, except Emmaline who likes to dig dirt and jump in puddles, and wants to adopt an untidy bunny.

Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai

(Children PZ7 .L182 Pi 2019)

Knowing very little English, eleven-year-old Jingwen feels like an alien when his family immigrates to Australia, but copes with loneliness and the loss of his father by baking elaborate cakes.

As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds

(Children PZ7.R333 As 2016)

“When two brothers decide to prove how brave they are, everything backfires—literally.” —Provided by publisher

Ellray Jakes Is Not a Chicken by Sally Warner illustrated by Jamie Harper

(Children PZ7.W2444 Eli 2012)

Eight-year-old EllRay’s father has promised a family trip to Disneyland if EllRay can stay out of trouble for a week, but not defending himself against Jared, the class bully, proves to be a real challenge.

Young Adult

The Tragic Age by Stephen Metcalf

(Young Adult PZ7.M5451 Tr 2015)

“This is the story of Billy Kinsey, heir to a lottery fortune, part genius, part philosopher and social critic, full time insomniac and closeted rock drummer. Billy has decided that the best way to deal with an absurd world is to stay away from it. Do not volunteer. Do not join in. Billy will be the first to tell you it doesn’t always work—not when your twin sister, Dorie, has died, not when your unhappy parents are at war with one another, not when frazzled soccer moms in two ton SUVs are more dangerous than atom bombs, and not when your guidance counselor keeps asking why you haven’t applied to college. Billy’s life changes when two people enter his life. Twom Twomey is a charismatic renegade who believes that truly living means going a little outlaw. Twom and Billy become one another’s mutual benefactor and friend. At the same time, Billy is reintroduced to Gretchen Quinn, an old and adored friend of Dorie’s. It is Gretchen who suggests to Billy that the world can be transformed by creative acts of the soul. With Twom, Billy visits the dark side. And with Gretchen, Billy experiences possibilities. Billy knows that one path is leading him toward disaster and the other toward happiness. The problem is—Billy doesn’t trust happiness. It’s the age he’s at. The tragic age.” —Provided by publisher

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

(Young Adult PZ7.M95352 Du 2015)

“Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin'” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked… until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back. Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates – to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.” —Provided by publisher

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

(Young Adult PZ7.R79613 Ele 2013)

“Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.” —Provided by publisher

StarGirl by Jerry Spinelli

(Young Adult PZ7.S7546 St 2002)

“In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.” —Provided by publisher

Informational Books

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist by Cynthia Levinson; illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton

(Children CT 275.H46 L46 2017)

Presents the life of nine-year-old Audrey Faye Hendricks, who became the youngest known child to be arrested for picketing against Birmingham segregation practices in 1963.

Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calavera by Duncan Tonatiuh

(Children CT 558.P67 T66 2015)

” Funny Bones tells the story of how the amusing calaveras—skeletons performing various everyday or festive activities—came to be. They are the creation of Mexican artist José Guadalupe (Lupe) Posada (1852-1913). In a country that was not known for freedom of speech, he first drew political cartoons, much to the amusement of the local population but not the politicians. He continued to draw cartoons throughout much of his life, but he is best known today for his calavera drawings. They have become synonymous with Mexico’s Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival. Juxtaposing his own art with that of Lupe’s, author Duncan Tonatiuh brings to light the remarkable life and work of a man whose art is beloved by many but whose name has remained in obscurity.” —Provided by publisher

Anything But Ordinary Addie: The True Story of Adelaide Hermann Queen of Magic by Mara Rockliff; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno

(Children CT 788.H478 R63 2016)

“Some girls are perfectly happy never doing anything out of the ordinary. But Addie was anything but ordinary. She longed for thrills and excitement! At a time when a young lady appearing onstage was considered most unusual, Addie defied convention and became a dancer. And when she married the world-famous magician Herrmann the Great, she knew she had to be part of his show. Addie wanted to shock and dazzle! She would do anything to draw the crowds, even agree to be shot out of a cannon. But when Herrmann the Great died, Addie couldn’t disappoint her loyal fans — the show had to go on. What could she do? She would perform the show all by herself! ” —Provided by publisher

Malala Yousafzai and the Girls of Pakistan by David Aretha

(Children CT1518.Y68 A73 2014)

When fifteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai spoke out against the Taliban’s policy of forbidding education for girls, an attempt was made on her life. This is her story, which also includes information on other hardships faced by young women in Pakistan.

Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revoluntionaries Who Shaped History by Kate Schatz; illustrated by Mariam Klein Stahl

(Children CT3202 .S26 2016)

“A bold new collection of 40 biographical profiles, each accompanied by a striking illustrated portrait, showcasing extraordinary women from around the world.Featuring an array of diverse figures from Hatshepsut (the great female king who ruled Egypt peacefully for two decades) and Malala Yousafzi (the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize) to Poly Styrene (legendary teenage punk and lead singer of X-Ray Spex) and Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft (polar explorers and the first women to cross Antarctica), this progressive and visually arresting book is a compelling addition to women’s history.”—Provided by publisher

Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell; illustrated by Christian Robinson

(Children GV1785.B3 P68 2014)

A portrait of the passionate performer and civil rights advocate Josephine Baker, the woman who worked her way from the slums of St. Louis to the grandest stages in the world.

STAFF BOOK SUGGESTIONS SUMMER 2020

Staff Book Suggestions Spring 2020

New Beginnings

Picture Books

Beginning Reader

Chapter Books

Young Adult Books

Staff Book Suggestions Winter 2020

Families

Picture Books

Beginning Readers

Chapter Books

Graphic Novels

Young Adult

Informational

Music for All

Picturebooks

Beginning Readers

Chapter Books

Young Adult

Informational Books

Poetry

Something Wicked

Picture Books

Beginning Readers

Chapter Books

Young Adult

Books About Climate

On Our Shelves

Other Readings

Staff Book Suggestions Autumn 2019

True To You

Picture Books

Beginning Readers

Chapter Books and Middle Grade

Young Adult

Informational Books