03.12.2018

Staff Book Suggestions Spring 2018

Noé Alvarez

(Library of Congress PZ4.T8163 Sel 2010)

William Trevor was arguably one of the best short-story writers that ever lived. His stories inhabit the lives of ordinary and unremarkable people—protagonists who are at once disturbed, complex, and full of feeling. His language is precise, his settings are quiet, and his tone is empathetic. Read Trevor’s Selected Stories. It opens the mind, fosters introspection, and demands the strictest attention to detail.

Hanna Bertoldi

The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indriðason; translated from Icelandic by Bernard Scudder.

(Library of Congress PZ4.A7525 Dr 2008)

I came across this book while I was planning my trip to Iceland. After finishing The Draining Lake, it is easy to see why it was recommended in my tour book. Indriðason cleverly uses Iceland’s history, landscape, and culture to craft a well-thought-out murder mystery. The title refers to an Icelandic lake, Kleifarvatn, which curiously began draining in 2000. In the novel, the falling water level reveals a body previously hidden on the bottom of the lake. I simultaneously learned about the rugged and isolated country while racing to finish this Nordic noir.

Pat Boulos

The Kinsey Millhone mystery series by Sue Grafton

(Library of Congress PZ4.G7374 Ai/Bi et al)

After seeing the announcement of her death and the tribute display of some of her books on the second floor, I realized I have never read Sue Grafton—although I am addicted to mystery series. I have now completed “A” is for Alibi (PZ4.G7374 Ai ) and am halfway through “B” is for Burglar (PZ4.G7374 Bi 1985). Grafton was a great writer—period. I was immediately taken in by her great attention to detailed description that takes you right into a scene, and makes you “know” the character she’s describing. I’m sure I will continue picking these books up to read periodically. I highly recommend them.

Adam Derington

The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England by Dan Jones

(Library of Congress DA225 .J66 2012)

Dan Jones is a premier popular history writer and his history on the Plantagenets has quickly become one of my favorite go-to historical recommendations for those who wish to read history but don’t want to slog through academic texts. Jones artfully weaves history, anecdote, and narrative that compels any reader to keep the pages turning. The book follows the stories of the (in)famous Plantagenet Kings of England and recounts the tales of how their actions, personalities, and familial conflict forged the nation of England and profoundly affected the entire history of Western Europe. From their rise through force of arms and marriage to their bloody end on Bosworth Field, The Plantagenets: the Kings Who Made England remains a fun, easy, and informative read for anyone interested in historical non-fiction.

Adriene Galindo

Swing Time by Zadie Smith

(Library of Congress PZ4.S66 Sw 2016)

If you liked the tale of two women’s friendship in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan series, and have been looking for something similar, you may find it in Zadie Smith’s Swing Time. Smith tells the story of two friends—one rebellious and wild, the other jealous of her friend’s talent—growing up in the housing estates of London. As the women’s friendship becomes more fraught, so does each character become more disillusioned in her pursuit of success and happiness.

Rachel Lanza

The Woman in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe

(Library of Congress PZ4.A13 Wo)

The Sisyphean tale of an insect collector who gets trapped in a pit of quick sand by a conniving village. It is here that he meets a woman who spends her life digging the sand that is constantly on the verge of entrapping her. This claustrophobic novel left me thirsting for warmer days that are hopefully not spent in an endless cycle of existential banality.

Carolle Morini

The Locusts Have No King by Dawn Powell

(Library of Congress PZ3.P868 Lo 1999)

New York society satire by Dawn Powell. A classic novel with a sharp eye and wit on the literary world with every type of publisher. The main character, Frederick Olliver, is a historian and writer, having an affair with a married, beautiful, and successful playwright, Lyle Gaynor. Olliver’s new book makes it to the bestseller lists just as Lyle’s Broadway career is falling apart. First published in 1948, this book shows NYC, careers of women and men, and the loneliness and hopes they all have after the war.

Danny Norton

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman

(Library of Congress PZ4.A1753 Cal 2007)

Not my usual fare, but the recent film and surrounding chatter inspired me to take part. What I found was something relevant, reverent, rending, relatable, risqué, and recommended (if not downright required). Read this book!

Elizabeth O’Meara

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

(Library of Congress PZ4.W265 Si 2017)

I loved this book, which was the 2017 National Book Award’s winner. It’s a compelling book dealing with racism, family, death, grief, violence, love—and ghosts. Her writing is beautiful and lyrical and the portraits she created evoked such emotion that I couldn’t put the book down. I consumed it so fast I want to reread it.

Hannah Ovaska

Spook by Mary Roach

(Library of Congress BL535 .R63 2005)

Explore the endless possibilities of life after death with the cheeky, intelligent, and endearing Mary Roach. In this book, Roach explores the lore and theories behind reincarnation, the soul, ghosts, mediums, near-death experiences, and more. Like her other books, Roach interviews an array of individuals, including scientists, and gathers her findings to present well-rounded, scientific arguments to explain these spooky phenomena. This book will keep you guessing and will introduce you to science you’ve never heard of before.

Kaelin Rasmussen

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

(Library of Congress NEW PZ4 .B98666 Ki 2003)

Spring is a good season to fulfill literary resolutions, and Kindred has been on my list for a long time! First published in 1979, it’s considered a classic of science fiction, as well as of African American literature. Octavia E. Butler was an extraordinary writer, and an African American woman who wrote in what was a very male genre. Not only did she win multiple Hugo and Nebula awards, science fiction’s highest honors, but she was also the first science fiction writer to win a MacArthur Fellowship.

In my opinion, Kindred, her most popular book, should be required reading. (See this recent NPR story on Butler, which talks about Kindred‘s significance.) The premise is relatively simple, not really science fiction, but in the author’s own words, “a kind of grim fantasy”: Dana, a modern-day African American woman and an aspiring writer, finds herself drawn through time, pulled back by some connection to her ancestors living in the antebellum plantation South. There she comes to know first-hand the evils of slavery, and the roots of racism and hatred that have so long impacted the experience of African Americans in this country. Beautifully written, with not a word wasted, and thoroughly researched, it is a difficult, necessary book full of uneasy truths. Also not for the squeamish. It made an impact on me, and I think others will feel the same.

Anthea Reilly

All For Nothing by Walter Kempowski

(Library of Congress PZ4.K326 Al 2015)

Memorable novel about a family and various characters that come to stay while the German Army is in retreat and the Red Army is approaching. This book is part of the NYRB classic book club. I receive 12 books a year and so far each selection has been an excellent read.

Mary Warnement

Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck

(Library of Congress NEW PZ4 .E719 Go 2017)

“Where can a person go when he doesn’t know where to go?” Erpenbeck places this sentence and this sentence alone on page 266 and repeats it, alone, on the facing page 267 in case we missed it. That question is at the heart of this novel about Richard, a widower and retired scholar. Richard was born in the chaos of post-war Berlin and knew only his mother, not his father. He lived in the east and taught Classics. He now lives on a lake in the northern suburbs of Berlin and as he gropes for a new life post-retirement, he discovers the refugees in Oranienplatz. An agreement with the Berlin Senate results in their removal to a nursing home near his home, and Richard begins to spend time with them. He seeks out their stories and we learn much about them, but this novel is about Richard. We first hear his wife’s name on p. 69 (I think) and bits appear here and there—as they appear in our thoughts. The author saves the most information on that for the last two pages. This is a snapshot, nothing is wrapped up in a bow, as in life. I heard Erpenbeck speak, and she claimed Richard represented her; she grew up in the East and loves Latin and Greek. She described how after the fall of the wall, she emigrated without ever packing her bags. Everything changed but the street layout. That personal experience and her family’s twentieth-century history in Germany informed her reaction to what happened when refugees flooded Germany in 2015. This book takes place over several seasons, but I consider it appropriate for spring. Erpenbeck’s sensitive consideration gives me hope, and hope is spring’s primary emotion.

Hannah Weisman

Cop Town by Karin Slaughter

(Library of Congress Acquisitions dept.)

This book should be classified as a controlled substance because it can lead directly to being addicted to Karin Slaughter’s work. Slaughter’s character development and ability to tell stories from multiple characters’ perspectives makes her work engaging, suspenseful, and fun to read.

03.01.2018

Mysteries

Picture Books

7 Ate 9: The Untold Story by Tara Lazar; illustrated by Ross MacDonald

(Children Picture Book LAZAR)

When 7 is accused of eating 9, worried 6 hires a detective to investigate.

Hermelin the Detective Mouse by Mini Grey

(Children Picture Book + GREY)

A mouse with typewriting skills secretly helps the people of Offley Street find lost items, and eventually saves the day.

Beginning Readers

A Ghost Named Fred by Nathaniel Benchley

(Children Picture Book BENCH)

A small boy finds shelter from the rain in an old house and meets a ghost named Fred.

The Case of the Baffled Bear by Cynthia Rylant; illustrated by G. Brian Kraus

(Children Picture Book RYLAN)

Bunny and Jack, animal detectives, take a break from playing cards to look for Bernard Bear’s missing messenger whistle.

Chapter Books

Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen by M.T. Anderson

(Children PZ7.A54395 Clu 2006)

Looking forward to a vacation, Katie, Lily, and Jasper attach their flying Gyroscopic Sky Suite to the Moose Tongue Lodge and Resort, where they mingle with other child heroes found in books, and where they become embroiled in a mystery involving lederhosen-clothed quintuplets and a screaming ventriloquist.

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett; illustrated by Brett Helquist

(Children PZ7.B2128 Ch 2004)

When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.

Mystery of the Burnt Cottage: The First Adventures of the Five Find-Outers and Dog by Enid Blyton

(Children PZ7.B629 My)

“Who could have set fire to Mr Hick’s Cottage? There are plenty of suspects: the cook, Mrs Minns, young Mr Peeks and even a tramp. But it’s the clues—a grey suspicious footprint and some grey cloth—that point the kids in the right direction. The Mystery series follows the adventures of ‘The Five Find Outers’—Pip, Bets, Larry, Daisy and Fatty, as they solve the most unusual crime cases with the help of their dog Buster.” — Provided by the publisher.

The Mystery of Meerkat Hill by Alexander McCall Smith

(Children PZ7.M1255 Mym 2013)

“Precious Ramotswe has two new friends at school and they have the funniest and most resourceful pet you can imagine. But they are upset that their family’s most valuable possession, their cow, has gone missing. Precious has a plan to find the missing animal but she needs the help of another in her search. Will she succeed and what obstacles will she face on her path?” — http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

Masterpiece by Elise Broach; illustrated by Kelly Murphy

(Children PZ7.B78083 Mas 2008)

After Marvin, a beetle, makes a miniature drawing as an eleventh birthday gift for James, a human with whom he shares a house, the two new friends work together to help recover a Durer drawing stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Shakespeare’s Secret by Elise Broach

(Children PZ7.B78083 Sh 2007)

Named after a character in a Shakespeare play, misfit sixth-grader Hero becomes interested in exploring this unusual connection because of a valuable diamond supposedly hidden in her new house, an intriguing neighbor, and the unexpected attention of the most popular boy in school.

The Unknowns: A Mystery by Benedict Carey

(Children PZ7.C2122 Un 2009)

When people start vanishing from a godforsaken trailer park next to the Folsom Energy Plant, two eleven-year-olds investigate using mathematical clues that were hastily planted by their friend Mrs. Clarke before she disappeared.

The Curse of the Ancient Mask and Other Case Files by Simon Cheshire; illustrated by R.W. Alley.

(Children PZ7.C415 Cur 2009)

Saxby Smart is no ordinary ten-year-old. He’s the best detective in the world, or at least the best one who also happens to be in elementary school.

Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald

(Children PZ7.F567 Un 2014)

Her grandfather’s dying words lead thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny to a valuable, hidden painting she fears may be stolen, but it is her search for answers in her Greenwich Village neighborhood that brings a real treasure.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

(Children PZ7.F569 Ha 2014)

Eleven-year-old Harriet keeps notes on her classmates and neighbors in a secret notebook, but when some of the students read the notebook, they seek revenge.

Edgar Allen Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Madness by Edgar Allan Poe; illustrated by Gris Grimly

(PZ7.P75152 Ed 2004)

A sweet little cat drives a man to insanity and murder. The grim death known as the plague roams a masquerade ball dressed in red. A dwarf seeks his final revenge on his captors. A sister calls to her beloved twin from beyond the grave. The original tales have been ever so slightly dismembered—but, of course, Poe understood dismemberment very well. And he would shriek in ghoulish delight at Gris Grimly’s gruesomely delectable illustrations that adorn every page. So prepare yourself. And keep the lights on.

The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer

(Children PZ7.S76846 Cas 2006)

Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, must travel to London in disguise to unravel the disappearance of her missing mother.

Young Adult

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

(Children PZ7.D7656 Lo 2008)

When Ted and Kat’s cousin Salim disappears from the London Eye ferris wheel, the two siblings must work together—Ted with his brain that is “wired differently” and impatient Kat–to try to solve the mystery of what happened to Salim.

The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee

(Children PZ7.F839 Mi 2013)

Rose, nearly sixteen, is used to traveling around with her alcoholic father but connects with the people of a small, coastal Australian town, especially classmate Pearl and reclusive Edie, who teaches her to sew a magical dress for the Harvest Festival while a mystery unfolds around them.

Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Gareth Hinds

(Children PZ7.A54395 Jas 2009)

“In ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ a man exacts revenge on a disloyal friend at carnival, luring him into catacombs below the city. In ‘The Masque of the Red Death,’ a prince shielding himself from plague hosts a doomed party inside his abbey stronghold. A prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, faced with a swinging blade and swarming rats, can’t see his tormentors in ‘The Pit and the Pendulum,’ and in ‘The Tell-Tale Heart,’ a milky eye and a deafening heartbeat reveal the effects of conscience and creeping madness. Alongside these tales are visual interpretations of three poems—’The Raven,’ ‘The Bells,’ and Poe’s poignant elegy to lost love, ‘Annabel Lee.’ The seven concise graphic narratives, keyed to thematic icons, amplify and honor the timeless legacy of a master of gothic horror. In a thrilling adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s best-known works, acclaimed artist-adapter Gareth Hinds translates Poe’s dark genius into graphic-novel format.” — From publisher’s website.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

(Children PZ7.W4358 Cp 2012)

In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage, and great courage as she relates what she must to survive while keeping secret all that she can.

The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein

(Children PZ7.W4358 Pe 2017)

When fifteen-year-old Julia Beaufort-Stuart wakes up in the hospital, she knows the lazy summer break she’d imagined won’t be exactly like she anticipated. And once she returns to her grandfather’s estate, a bit banged up but alive, she begins to realize that her injury might not have been an accident. One of her family’s employees is missing, and he disappeared on the very same day she landed in the hospital. Desperate to figure out what happened, she befriends Euan McEwen, the Scottish Traveller boy who found her when she was injured, and his standoffish sister, Ellen. As Julie grows closer to this family, she experiences some of the prejudices they’ve grown used to firsthand, a stark contrast to her own upbringing, and finds herself exploring thrilling new experiences that have nothing to do with a missing-person investigation. Her memory of that day returns to her in pieces, and when a body is discovered, her new friends are caught in the crosshairs of long-held biases about Travellers. Julie must get to the bottom of the mystery in order to keep them from being framed for the crime.

01.27.2018

2018 Winter Olympics

In celebration of the 2018 Olympics and Paraolympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, we’ve gathered together a list of books about Korea, the Olympics, and winter sports!

South Korea

Picturebooks

The Royal Bee by Frances Park

(Children + PZ7.P21977 Ro 2000)

In the days when only wealthy Korean children are allowed to attend school, a poor boy named Song-ho learns by listening outside a schoolroom door, which eventually earns him a chance to better himself and make life easier for his widowed mother.

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

(Children Picture Book + CHOI)

After Unhei moves from Korea to the United States, her new classmates help her decide what her name should be.

Where’s Halmoni? by Julie Kim

(Children Picture Book + KIM)

Searching for their missing grandmother, two Korean children follow tracks into a fantastic world filled with beings from folklore who speak in Korean. Includes translations and information about the folkloric characters.

The Firekeeper’s Son by Linda Sue Park

(Children Picture Book + PARK)

In eighteenth-century Korea, after Sang-hee’s father injures his ankle, Sang-hee attempts to take over the task of lighting the evening fire which signals to the palace that all is well. Includes historical notes.

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.

Chapter Books

Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi

(Children PZ7.C44626 Ye 1991)

A young Korean girl survives the oppressive Japanese and Russian occupation of North Korea during the 1940s, to later escape to freedom in South Korea.

Echoes of the White Giraffe by Sook Nyul Choi

(Children PZ7.C44626 Ec 1993)

Fifteen-year-old Sookan, the heroine of Year of Impossible Goodbyes, adjusts to life in the refugee village in Pusan, a city in a southern province of Korea. The Korean War is raging, and Sookan has again been separated from her father and older brothers. She continues to hope that the civil war will end and her family will be reunited in Seoul. Her immediate concerns, though, are those of any teenage girl: friendships, studies, and most of all, a first romance.

A Gathering of Pearls by Sook Nyul Choi

(Children PZ7.C44626 Ga 1994)

Sookan struggles to balance her new life as a college freshman in the United States with expectations from her family at home in Korea.

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

(Children PZ7.P24 Si 2001)

Tree-ear, a thirteen-year-old orphan in medieval Korea, lives under a bridge in a potters’ village, and longs to learn how to throw the delicate celadon ceramics himself.

When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park

(Children PZ7.P24 Wh 2002)

With national pride and occasional fear, a brother and sister face the increasingly oppressive occupation of Korea by Japan during World War II, which threatens to suppress Korean culture entirely.

Olympics and Winter Sports

Picture Books

The Mud Flat Olympics by James Stevenson

(Children PZ7.S84748 Mu 1994)

At the Mud Flat Olympics if the animals don’t win the Deepest Hole Contest, the All-Snail High Hurdles, or the River-Cross Freestyle, they can still come to the picnic after the games and have ice cream for dessert.

Babar’s Celesteville Games by Laurent de Brunhoff

(Children Picture Book Lg BRUNH)

Babar’s children have all grown up. He and Celeste take them to the Celesteville Games. All the best animal athletes will be there to compete. Babar’s daughter Flora falls in love with a young athlete, Corriander, from the country of Mirza. They decide to marry and all of Celesteville is invited.

Hans Brinker by Bruce Coville; illustrated by Laurel Long

(Children Picture Book + COVIL)

A Dutch brother and sister work toward two goals, finding the doctor who can restore their father’s memory and winning the competition for the silver skates.

Chapter Books

Toad Rage by Morris Gleitzman

(Children PZ7.G4824 Tor 2004)

Determined to understand why humans hate cane toads and to improve relations between the species, Limpy embarks on a dangerous trek from his swamp to the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

(Children PZ7.J156 Ro 2015)

“A funny and inspiring graphic novel about friendship, girl power, and RRRR-ROLLER DERBY!” — Provided by publisher

Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed; illustrated by Barbara McClintock

(Children PZ7.O118 Twe 2012)

From the first ice, a thin skin on a bucket of water, through thickly-iced fields, streams, and gardens, a girl, her family, and friends anticipate and enjoy a winter of skating, ending with an ice show complete with costumes, refreshments, and clowns.

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

(Children PZ7.R333 Gh 2016)

“Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team—a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. Ghost has a crazy natural talent, but no formal training. If he can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons—it all starting with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems—and running away from them—until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who blew his own shot at success by using drugs, and who is determined to keep other kids from blowing their shots at life.” — Provided by publisher

12.30.2017

Seafaring

Picture Books

Tim & Lucy Go to Sea by Edward Ardizzone

(Children + PZ7.A682 Til)

Lucy is a lonely little girl who lived with an old friend, Mr. Grimes. Lucy longs for a playmate and adventure until she meets Tim. Tim encourages Mr. Grimes to buy a yacht, and they all go to sea where they do experience adventure.

Burt Dow, Deep Water Man by Robert McCloskey

(Children + PZ7.M1336 Bu)

Burt goes fishing, takes refuge from a storm in a whale’s stomach, and decorates a whole school of whales’ tails with striped band-aids.

Loud Emily by Alexis O’Neill; illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

(Children PZ7.O5523 Lo 1998)

A little girl with a big voice who lives in a nineteenth-century whaling town finds a way to be useful and happy aboard a sailing ship.

Moby Dick adapted and illustrated by Allan Drummond

(Children Picture Book DRUMM)

Retells the story of the ill-fated voyage of a whaling ship led by the fanatical Captain Ahab in search of the white whale that had crippled him.

The Further Adventures of the Little Mouse Trapped in a Book by Monique Félix

(Children Picture Book FÉLIX)

A mouse trapped inside the pages of a book chews his way out to an ocean and sails away in a paper boat.

Pirate Girl by Cornelia Funke; illustrated by Kerstin Meyer

(Children Picture Book + FUNKE)

Ferocious pirate Captain Firebeard THINKS that he and the ruthless crew of the “Horrible Haddock” rule the high seas. But Firebeard and his band meet their match when they kidnap a small but feisty girl named Molly.

Over the Ocean by Taro Gomi

(Children Picture Book GOMI)

A young girl gazes out over the horizon, and wonders what lands lie beyond the ocean, and what the people are like who live in those lands.

Boats by Patricia Hubbell; illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy

(Children Picture Book HUBBE)

Illustrations and rhyming text celebrate different kinds of boats and what they can do.

Pigs Ahoy! By David McPhail

(Children Picture Book + MCPHA)

A young man joins an ocean cruise on which some bad-mannered pigs create disaster while on board, and when the man returns home, a great surprise awaits him.

As Time Went By by José Sanabria

(Children Picture Book SANAB)

“Once upon a time there was a ship that sailed beside the sun with very important people on board. The spirit of reinvention—and the importance we place on things—is beautifully expressed in José Sanabria’s visually evocative story. A steamship makes a journey across time from luxury and exclusivity, industry and abandonment, to stewardship and inclusion as we see the evolving functions of the ship and the changing faces of the people who cherish it most of all.”—Book jacket.

Little Tug by Steven Savage

(Children Picture Book SAVAG)

Little Tug knows what to do when the tall ship, the speedboat, and the ocean liner need him, and at such times, he is indispensable.

Middle Grade

Keeper by Kathi Appelt

(Children PZ7.A6455 Ke 2010)

On the night of the blue moon when mermaids are said to gather on a sandbar in the Gulf of Mexico, ten-year-old Keeper sets out in a small boat, with her dog BD and a seagull named Captain, determined to find her mother, a mermaid, as Keeper has always believed, who left long ago to return to the sea.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

(Children PZ7.A953 Tr 1990)

As the lone “young lady” on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious.

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

(Children PZ7.C8615 Wan 2000)

Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a forty-five foot sailboat, which, along with uncles and another cousin, is en route to visit their grandfather in England.

Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck

(Children PZ7.P33 Sec 2011)

In 1887, the social-climbing Cranstons voyage from New York to London, where they hope to find a husband for their awkward older daughter, secretly accompanied by Helena and her mouse siblings, for whom the journey is both terrifying and wondrous as they meet an array of titled humans despite their best efforts at remaining hidden.

Young Adult

Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy by L.A. Meyer

(Young Adult PZ7.M55 Bl 2002)

Reduced to begging and thievery in the streets of London, a thirteen-year-old orphan disguises herself as a boy and connives her way onto a British warship set for high sea adventure in search of pirates.

Nonfiction

The Longitude Prize by Joan Dash; illustrated by Dusan Ptericic

(Children QB107 .D28 2000)

The story of John Harrison, inventor of watches and clocks, who spent forty years working on a time-machine which could be used to accurately determine longitude at sea.

Recounts the true story of eight bottlenose dolphins and their trainers who survived the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Ship by David Macaulay

(Children Lg VM311.C27 M33 1993)

Describes wooden ships or caravels of the fifteenth century and follows archaeologists as they uncover a lost caravel in the Caribbean Sea.

Poetry

Sea Songs by Myra Cohn Livingston; illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher

(Children + PS3562.I945 S4 1986)

Poetic images of cresting waves, mermaids, sunken ships, and other aspects of the sea.

12.12.2017

Staff Book Suggestions Winter 2018

Will Evans

The Transylvanian trilogy by Miklós Bánffy; translated by Patrick Thursfield and Katalin Bánffy-Jelen; volume I: They Were Counted

(Library of Congress PZ3.B2235 Tr 2013 v.1)

Looking for a hefty epic to help pass your house-bound hours this winter? Withdraw into the world of They Were Counted, the first novel in Count Miklós Bánffy’s The Transylvanian trilogy, a sumptuous milieu of beau monde opulence and political unrest set against the twilight years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A sense of doom lingers in the reader’s mind, knowing that the chivalry and extravagance Bánffy describes will meet a cataclysmic end by the assault of WWI.

Emily Levine

Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation by Alan Burdick

(Library of Congress QB213 .B925 2017)

As the New Year fast approaches, people take the time to reflect on the transpirations of the past 365 days (8760 hours, 525600 minutes, or 3.154e+7 seconds). Alan Burdick’s Why Time Flies explores all aspects of “father time” and how it operates—on a scientific level, a social level, and even in popular culture. Well researched and flawlessly presented with just the right amount of self deprecating humor, Why Time Flies is helping me reflect on how I will spend more of my “time” in the New Year—perhaps it can help you, too!

Carolle Morini

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

(Library of Congress PZ4.S2548 Li 2017)

I found this book to be truly one of the most beautiful books I’ve read in 2017. It was a lovely and honest book to read regarding grief and loss. Saunders weaves primary resources with his text in a wonderful way.

Kaelin Rasmussen

The Makioka Sisters by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki; translated from the Japanese by Edward G. Seidensticker

(Library of Congress PZ3.T1626 Mak)

Snow seen atop Mt. Fuji from far off, and the spring-time custom of viewing cherry blossoms bring a nice escape from winter. The Japanese novelist Jun’ichirō Tanizaki spent many years writing this, one of his greatest novels, and it was first published in Japan serially between 1943 and 1948. The Seidensticker English translation came out in 1957. The story follows the decline of the once-grand Makioka family of Osaka leading up to World War II, 1936 to 1941. It focuses on the family’s attempts to find a husband for the third sister, Yukiko, who is approaching 30 and dangerously near spinsterhood. As Yukiko navigates unsuitable suitors, the youngest sister Taeko seems to invite modernity into the sedate Makioka household by contemplating a career and falling in love without her family’s approval. Hints of turmoil in the larger world filter through to color the domestic scene, but even as their traditions wane and fortunes suffer, the Makiokas continue with their lives, unaware of the approaching war.

Virginia Rundell

Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty

(Library of Congress PZ4 .M162 Mi 2017)

A long winter weekend away to Amsterdam gives Gerry and Stella, a retired couple with “not that much marriage left in us,” an opportunity to reflect on love, faith, aging, and their future together or apart. The writing is strong and the observations subtly keen in this moving novel by Booker shortlisted author Bernard MacLaverty.

Mary Warnement

Birds Art Life Death: A Field Guide to the Small and Significant by Kyo Maclear

(Library of Congress NEW PR9199.4.M32 Z46 2017)

I bought this book published by 4^th Estate (there is at least one other edition) at the London Review Bookshop and loved its subject, size, illustrations—both drawn (including a map) and photographic—as well as the portion of Anne Carson’s poem on the page after the dedication. A slim Penguin Modern Poets including Anne Carson as one of three also tempted me, but I only had a carry-on and had to choose wisely. I ordered that once home and was disappointed LRB didn’t have an online shop. I felt I owed the purchase to them for their wonderful suggestions. I saw at least 20 books I hadn’t known about that caught my eye—or books in editions I hadn’t known. I typically know what I want so the bookstore that can lead me to something new is a treasure. But this is a review of Maclear’s charming meditation and not of that bookshop. It’s hard to classify it, but I’d call it a reader embracing the experience of the natural world and reconciling it with her interior, artistic life as well as her family and social life. I enjoyed her use of words and phrases infrequently seen in print. She clearly was playing with words, testing thoughts. I didn’t always agree with her generalizations or conclusions, but that’s why I read, to encounter another’s viewpoint. She evoked T.S. Eliot for me when she enjoined readers to, “die knowing something. Die knowing your knowing will be incomplete” (122). I have many notes to consider more deeply or people or facts to look up. Maclear learned about “spark birds” from Olivia Gentile’s Life List. These are birds that awaken an interest in birdwatching (113). Then, she “began to think about “spark books…that ignited love of reading” (115). I expand that to mean more than the first book that inspired one’s affinity for reading (which would be hard to pinpoint for most—who can remember) but to also describe a life of linked reading. The mark of a good book, I always say, is it leads you to other authors, other books. I bet Maclear would love to know she wrote a “spark book.”

Hannah Weisman

Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine by Sarah Lohman

(Library of Congress TX715 .L795 2016)

My recommendation for the winter is Sarah Lohman’s Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine (Simon & Schuster, 2016). It’s an easy but fascinating read that explores the rise in popularity of eight of the most common flavors used in US-American kitchens. Indulging in comfort food is always a cozy way to beat the winter blues and Lohman delivers delicious narrative alongside clever recipes.

Francis Wyman

The Last 100 Days: FDR at War and at Peace by David B. Woolner

(Library of Congress NEW CT275 .R667 W66 2017)

More than 70 years after his death, Franklin D. Roosevelt remains one the most beloved and fascinating American presidents, about whom there is no shortage of excellent biographies, specialized monographs, and articles. Among very recent additions to the bulging shelf of works on him is David Woolner’s The Last 100 Days. As the title suggests, the author, a senior fellow and resident historian of the Roosevelt Institute and Professor of History at Marist College, is concerned with FDR’s last months, from December 1944 until his death on April 12, 1945. In declining health and conscious that his life was slipping away, a gaunt and exhausted FDR exerted himself to the limits of his diminishing strength, determined to see a postwar world of peace, security, and stability. Key to his vision of international cooperation was the creation of the United Nations, and vital to the world organization’s future, in the president’s estimation, was the Soviet Union’s participation in it. “It was this goal above all others,” Woolner writes, “that FDR pursued in his last 100 days, and that determined many of the policy decisions he made during the Yalta conference and in the weeks and months that followed.” Woolner’s story is, in most respects, a familiar one, but his rich narrative and timeliness of his book, as the Trump administration appears to be following a foreign policy whose aim is to unwind the international order that FDR helped to build and reject the global leadership position he forged for the United State, makes it an important and rewarding read.

11.29.2017

Food

Picture Books

The Turnip by Jan Brett

(Children Picture Book + BRETT)

Badger Girl is delighted to find the biggest turnip she has ever seen growing in her vegetable garden, but when the time comes to harvest the giant root, she is unable to pull it up without help from family and friends.

Today is Monday by Eric Carle

(Children Picture Book Lg CARLE)

Each day of the week brings a new food, until on Sunday all the world’s children can come and eat it up.

How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman; illustrated by Allen Say

(Children Picture Book FRIED)

An American sailor courts a Japanese girl and each tries, in secret, to learn the other’s way of eating.

Bon Appétit!: The Delicious Life of Julia Child by Jessie Hartland

(Children Picture Book + HARTL)

A picture book biography of Julia Child, the famous chef –Provided by publisher.

Happy Belly, Happy Smile by Rachel Isadora

(Children Picture Book ISADO)

Sitting in the kitchen of his grandfather’s Chinese restaurant, a young boy enjoys watching the chefs and waiters prepare and serve mouth-watering dishes.

The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin

(Children Picture Book LIN)

A little girl thinks her mother’s garden is the ugliest in the neighborhood until she discovers that flowers might look and smell pretty but Chinese vegetable soup smells best of all.

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff; illustrated by Felicia Bond

(Children Picture Book NUMER)

Chaos can ensue if you give a moose a muffin and start him on a cycle of urgent requests.

The King’s Taster by Kenneth Oppel; paintings by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher

(Children Picture Book + OPPEL)

The royal chef takes Max the dog, the royal taster, on several international journeys to find a dish for the land’s pickiest king.

Minette’s Feast by Susanna Reich; illustrated by Amy Bates

(Children Picture Book REICH)

While Julia is in the kitchen learning to cook up elaborate, delicious dishes, the only feast Minette is truly interested in is that of fresh mouse. Includes biographical information about Julia Child.

The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza retold by Philemon Sturges; illustrated by Amy Walrod

(Children Picture Book + STURG)

In this version of the traditional tale, the duck, the dog, and the cat refuse to help the Little Red Hen make a pizza but do get to participate when the time comes to eat it.

Pizza Kittens by Charlotte Voake

(Children Picture Book VOAKE)

Kittens Lucy, Joe, and Bert prefer pizza to peas.

Beginning Reader

In Aunt Lucy’s Kitchen by Cynthia Rylant

(Children PZ7.R982 In 2004)

While staying with their aunt for a year, three nine-year-old cousins keep busy baking and selling cookies, putting on a poetry and singing performance, and trying to encourage a romance between their aunt and one of their former customers.

Chapter Books

Granny Torelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech

(Children PZ7.C8615 Gr 2003)

With the help of her wise old grandmother, twelve-year-old Rosie manages to work out some problems in her relationship with her best friend, Bailey, the boy next door.

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

(Children PZ7.G751577 Tan 2013)

“Destiny leads 11-year-old Cady to a peanut butter factory, a family of children searching for their own Talents, and a Talent Thief who will alter her life forever”–Provided by publisher. Includes cake recipes.

Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles by Rupert Kingfisher; illustrated by Sue Hellard

(Children PZ7.K59 Mad 2008)

Forced to work in her unpleasant uncle’s horrible restaurant, a Parisian girl finds comfort and companionship in a shop nearby that sells otherworldly foods prepared by a mysterious cook and her cat.

The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe’s Very First Case by Alexander McCall Smith; illustrated by Iain McIntosh

(Children PZ7.M1255 Gr 2012)

Before becoming the first female private investigator in Botswana, eight-year-old Precious Ramotswe tracks down a thief who has been stealing her classmates’ snacks.

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.”–Publisher’s website.

YA Books

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

(Children PZ7.H21834 Li 2016)

On an island off the south coast of Victorian England, Faith investigates the mysterious death of her father, who was involved in a scandal. She discovers a tree that bears fruit only when she whispers a lie to it — and the fruit, in turn, delivers a hidden truth. Does the tree hold the key to her father’s murder? Or will it lead the murderer to Faith herself?

Informational Books

The Adventurous Chef: Alexis Soyer by Ann Arnold

(Children + CT1018.S686 A76 2002)

A biography of a flamboyant, successful French chef and inventor of kitchen tools who opened soup kitchens during the Irish potato famine and taught the army how to feed itself during the Crimean War.

The Pooh Cookbook by Virginia H. Ellison

(Children TX767.H7 E44 1969)

Recipes for beverages, sandwiches, desserts, soups, and meat and vegetable dishes, most of which use honey.

Fanny at Chez Panisse by Alice Waters, with Bob Carrau and Patricia Curtan; illustrations by Ann Arnold

(Children + TX652.5 .W359 1992)

Seven-year-old Fanny describes her adventures with food and cooking at her mother’s restaurant in Berkeley, California. Includes forty-two recipes.

Chocolate: Riches from the Rainforest by Robert Burleigh

(Children + TX767.C5 B94 2002)

Traces the history of chocolate from a drink of the Olmec and Maya and later in Europe to its popularity around the world today.

10.31.2017

LGBTQ

Board Books

Baby’s First Words by Stella Blackburn

(Children Picture Book BLACK)

Come spend the day with a busy baby and her two dads and learn the words for all the things you see along the way. Includes seek-and-find pictures.

Daddy, Papa, and Me by Leslea Newman; illustrated by Carol Thompson

(Children Picture Book NEWMA)

The story of a toddler’s daily activities with two loving fathers.

Mommy, Mama, and Me by Lesléa Newman; illustrated by Carol Thompson

(Children Picture Book NEWMA)

A baby enjoys a number of fun activities with her two mothers.

Picture Books

Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian

(Children Picture Book AUSTR)

Two worms in love decide to get married, and with help from Cricket, Beetle, Spider, and the Bees they have everything they need and more, but which one will be the bride and which the groom?

Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman; illustrated by Laura Cornell

(Children Picture Book + NEWMA)

“Heather’s favorite number is two. She has two arms, two legs, and two pets. And she also has two mommies. When Heather goes to school for the first time, someone asks her about her daddy, but Heather doesn’t have a daddy. Then something interesting happens. When Heather and her classmates all draw pictures of their families, not one drawing is the same. It doesn’t matter who makes up a family, the teacher says, because ‘the most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love one another.'” —Provided by publisher.

A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary

(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.

This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman; illustrated by Kristyna Litten

(Children Picture Book PITMA)

“A picture book illustrating a Pride parade. The endmatter serves as a primer on LGBT history and culture and explains the references made in the story.” —Provided by publisher.

Chapter Books

Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee

(Children PZ7.D351 St 2017)

When Mattie is cast as Romeo in an eighth-grade play, she is confused to find herself increasingly attracted to Gemma, a new classmate who is playing Juliet.

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle

(Children PZ7.F314 Bet 2013)

“Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he’s wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he’d settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he’s stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby’s help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There’s an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom.” —Provided by publisher.

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.

Young Adult

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

(Children PZ7.A334 Si 2015)

“Sixteen-year-old, not-so-openly-gay Simon Spier is blackmailed into playing wingman for his classmate or else his sexual identity—and that of his pen pal—will be revealed.” —Provided by publisher.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

(Children 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.

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown

(Children PZ7.B815 Ge 2016)

“Joanna Gordon has been out and proud for years, but when her popular radio evangelist father remarries and decides to move all three of them from Atlanta to the more conservative Rome, Georgia, he asks Jo to do the impossible: to lie low for the rest of her senior year. And Jo reluctantly agrees. Although it is (mostly) much easier for Jo to fit in as a straight girl, things get complicated when she meets Mary Carlson, the oh-so-tempting sister of her new friend at school. But Jo couldn’t possibly think of breaking her promise to her dad. Even if she’s starting to fall for the girl. Even if there’s a chance Mary Carlson might be interested in her, too. Right?” —Provided by publisher.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

(Children PZ7.D2136 Mi 2012)

In the early 1990s, when gay teenager Cameron Post rebels against her conservative Montana ranch town and her family decides she needs to change her ways, she is sent to a gay conversion therapy center.

The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle

(Children PZ7.F314 Gr 2016)

“Teenaged Quinn, an aspiring screenwriter, copes with his sister’s death while his best friend forces him back out into the world to face his reality.” —Provided by publisher.

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard

(Children PZ7.G4395 Gi 2016)

“In Ontario, Pen is a sixteen-year-old girl who looks like a boy. She’s fine with it, but everyone else is uncomfortable—especially her Portuguese immigrant parents and her manipulative neighbor who doesn’t want her to find a group of real friends.” —Provided by publisher.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

(Children 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.

Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David Levithan

(Children PZ7.L5798 Ho 2015)

“Larger-than-life Tiny Cooper finally gets to tell his story, from his fabulous birth and childhood to his quest for true love and his infamous parade of ex-boyfriends, in the form of a musical he wrote.” —Provided by publisher.

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

(Children PZ7.M224 Wh 2016)

“To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel’s wrists, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel’s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they’re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.” —Provided by publisher.

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

(Children PZ7.N433835 Il 2014)

“Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways … until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah’s story to tell. The later years are Jude’s. What the twins don’t realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.” —Provided by publisher.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

(Children 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.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

(Children PZ7.S1273 Ar 2012)

“Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.” —From title page verso.

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

(Children PZ7.S594 Hi 2017)

Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But when Theo dies in a drowning accident, the future he’s been imagining for himself is gone. To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. As Griffin loses himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart.

Informational

Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager; illustrated by Zoë More O’Ferrall

(Children HQ73 .P73 2017)

World history has been made by countless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals — and you’ve never heard of many of them. Queer author and activist Sarah Prager delves deep into the lives of 23 people who fought, created, and loved on their own terms. From high-profile figures like Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt to the trailblazing gender-ambiguous Queen of Sweden and a bisexual blues singer who didn’t make it into your history books, these true stories uncover a rich queer heritage that encompasses every culture, in every era.

09.28.2017

Natural Disasters

Recent natural disasters, and those most impacted by them, have been at the front of our minds. Knowing that many families have been discussing these tragedies together, we offer the following list of books.

Picture Books

Out of the Woods: A True Story of an Unforgettable Event by Rebecca Bond

(Children Children Picture Book + BOND)

“Inspired by the author’s grandfather’s experiences living in a lodge in the woods, a story of how people and animals survive a forest fire in a small Canadian town.” — Provided by publisher.

Tsunami by Kimiko Kajikawa; illustrated by Ed Young

(Children Picture Book + KAJIK)

A wealthy man in a Japanese village, who everyone calls Ojiisan, which means grandfather, sets fire to his rice fields to warn the innocent people of an approaching tsunami.

Mama by Jeanette Winter

(Children Picture Book WINTE)

A true story in which a baby hippo loses his mama during the tsunami, but finds a new home and a new mama.

Chapter Books

A City Tossed and Broken by Judy Blundell

(Children PZ7.B627146 Cit 2013)

It is 1906, and when her family is cheated out of their tavern, fourteen-year-old Minnie Bonner is forced to become a maid to the Sump family, who are moving to San Francisco—three weeks before the great earthquake.

Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury

(Children PZ7.S15225 Ni 2007)

In 1975, eleven Boy Scouts, their leaders, and some new friends camping at Halape, Hawaii, find their survival skills put to the test when a massive earthquake strikes, followed by a tsunami.

Young Adult

Exodus by Julie Bertagna

(Children PZ7.B4627 Exo 2008)

In the year 2100, as the island of Wing is about to be covered by water, fifteen-year-old Mara discovers the existence of New World sky cities that are safe from the storms and rising waters, and convinces her people to travel to one of these cities in order to save themselves.

Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block

(Children PZ7.B61945 Lo 2013)

After a devastating earthquake destroys the West Coast, causing seventeen-year-old Penelope to lose her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother, she navigates a dark world, holding hope and love in her hands and refusing to be defeated.

In Darkness by Nick Lake

(Children PZ7.L185 In 2012)

In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, fifteen-year-old Shorty, a poor gang member from the slums of Site Soleil, is trapped in the rubble of a ruined hospital, and as he grows weaker he has visions and memories of his life of violence, his lost twin sister, and of Toussaint L’Ouverture, who liberated Haiti from French rule in the 1804.

Nation by Terry Pratchett

(Children PZ7.P8865 Nat 2008)

After a devastating tsunami destroys all that they have ever known, Mau, an island boy, and Daphne, an aristocratic English girl, together with a small band of refugees, set about rebuilding their community and all the things that are important in their lives.

Beneath a Meth Moon: An Elegy by Jacqueline Woodson

(Children PZ7.W868 Ben 2012)

“A young girl uses crystal meth to escape the pain of losing her mother and grandmother in Hurricane Katrina, and then struggles to get over her addiction.” —Provided by publisher.

Informational Books

Eight Dolphins of Katrina: A True Tale of Survival by Janet Wyman Coleman

(Children QL737.C432 C563 2013)

Recounts the true story of eight bottlenose dolphins and their trainers who survived the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr.Paula Kahumbu; photographs by Peter Greste

(Children QL737.U57 H38 2006)

“A one-year-old hippo calf christened Owen was found alone and dehydrated by wildlife rangers near the Indian Ocean at Malindi, Kenya, in the days after the Asian Tsunami. He was placed in an enclosure at a wildlife sanctuary in Mombasa where he befriended a male tortoise. The tortoise is named Mzee, which is Swahili for ‘old man’. Mzee ‘adopted’ Owen and they are still rarely seen apart. Their unusual bonding has surprised and delighted zoologists in Kenya and become worldwide news.” —Provided by publisher.

How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming by Lynne Cherry and Gary Braasch

(Children QC981.8.C5 C475 2008)

“When the weather changes daily, how do we really know that Earth’s climate is changing? Here is the science behind the headlines – evidence from flowers, butterflies, birds, frogs, trees, glaciers and much more, gathered by scientists from all over the world, sometimes with assistance from young citizen-scientists. And here is what young people, and their families and teachers, can do to learn about climate change and take action. Climate change is a critical and timely topic of deep concern, here told in an age-appropriate manner, with clarity and hope.” —Provided by publisher.

An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming by Al Gore

(Children QC981.8.G56 G675 2007)

Young readers’ version of the documentary film’s companion adult volume.

Storms by Seymour Simon

(Children + QC941.3 .S55 1989)

Describes the atmospheric conditions which create thunderstorms, hailstorms, lightning, tornadoes, and hurricanes and how violent weather affects the environment and people.

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown

(Children + HV636 2005.N4 B75 2015)

“On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina’s monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage—and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality. Don Brown’s kinetic art and as-it-happens narrative capture both the tragedy and triumph of one of the worst natural disasters in American history.” —Provided by publisher.

09.12.2017

Staff Book Suggestions Autumn 2017

Dani Crickman

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui

(Library of Congress NEW E184.V53 B85 2017

Thi Bui’s graphic memoir offers an intimate perspective on how war and immigration shaped one Vietnamese American family. With the birth of her own child, Bui grapples with questions about family history and the legacies that are passed down from one generation to the next. She looks to the past for answers, drawing on the oral histories she has gathered from her parents. Their stories, informed by colonialism and conflict, illuminate the events that caused them to flee Vietnam with their young children for the US. Bui is a capable visual storyteller, and her use of heavy ink lines and sepia tones works just right. The Best We Could Do is a pertinent read that delves into the deeply personal cost of war and its intergenerational impact.

A Different Pond by Bao Phi; illustrated by Thi Bui
(Children Picture Book + PHI)

As a children’s and young adult librarian, I really can’t recommend a book from the general collection without suggesting a related book for young people. Fortunately, it’s easy in this case: Thi Bui also illustrated the recent picturebook A Different Pond, written by Vietnamese American poet Bao Phi. One morning in 1982, a father takes his young son fishing. This seemingly simple interaction brims with the complexity of its context: the pair goes out very early before the father has to leave for his second job; they fish not for fun but to save on food expenses; as they talk by the water, their conversation treads lightly on the subject of the war that forced them from their former home seven years prior. Told through the perspective of a child character, A Different Pond echoes aspects of Vietnamese immigrant experience portrayed in The Best We Could Do in a way that’s accessible for a young audience. And most important for a picturebook: Bui’s detailed illustrations are captivating, conveying a distinct sense of time and place and capturing the quiet poignancy of Phi’s prose.

Nicole Critchley

Polaroid: The Magic Material by Florian Kaps

(Library of Congress TR269 .K37 2016)

This is a timely read as Polaroid (the company) is back to making instant film! Written by one of the founders of The Impossible Project, which kept instant film alive after Polaroid stopped making it in 2008. The book talks about how instant film and the Polaroid influenced visual culture and what led to the start of the The Impossible Project.

Andria Lauria

The Southern Reach Trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance) by Jeff VanderMeer

(Library of Congress PZ4.V237)

According to VanderMeer’s Amazon page, he is “called ‘the weird Thoreau.’” Intrigued? Stephen King calls the trilogy “…creepy and fascinating.” Interested yet? The first book, Annihilation, has been made into a movie, set to be released early next year. What are you waiting for—go check these out already! As a fan of both sci-fi and horror novels, I could not escape this trilogy. I was at once perplexed, intrigued, thrilled, and uncomfortable. The pacing and descriptions of the landscape, with all of its horrors, had me clenching my jaw with both dread and excitement. What the hell is going on?! I had vivid dreams filled with nightmarish plants and fantastical animals while reading the trilogy and for weeks afterwards. A horrific adventure!

Carolle Morini

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

(Library of Congress PZ3.C2858 Op)

Review from Goodreads: Published in 1913. Sharp physical realities and the mythic sweep of the transformation of the American frontier—and the transformation of the people who settled it. Cather’s heroine is Alexandra Bergson, who arrives on the wind-blasted prairie of Hanover, Nebraska as a girl and grows up to make it a prosperous farm. But this archetypal success story is darkened by loss, and Alexandra’s devotion to the land may come at the cost of love itself.

Kaelin Rasmussen

Journey to the Abyss: The Diaries of Count Harry Kessler, 1880–1918 / edited, translated, and with an introduction by Laird M. Easton.

(Library of Congress CT1098.K47 A3 2011)

A faithful diarist since childhood, Count Harry Kessler (1868–1937) provides a fascinating perspective on the intellectual life of Europe, before and after World War I. Kessler was wealthy and aristocratic, with the highest of connections (Wilhelm I was a family friend), and he knew absolutely everyone in European court and artistic life. This edition covers his education and youth, and takes him through the years of the war. It’s a fascinating read. He was also founder and driving creative force of the Cranach Presse in Weimar, which printed exquisite books in limited editions—and several of these can be found in the Athenaeum’s collections.

It by Stephen King
(Library of Congress PZ4.K5227 It)

An excellent choice for horror fans as it approaches Halloween, I revisited this childhood favorite in preparation for the new movie adaptation. The story is about a group of kids who don’t fit in, the “Losers Club,” who come together one summer to take on a monster that takes the shape of a clown and preys on the children of their hometown, the fictitious Derry, Maine. I think one of the most interesting things about this admittedly escapist book is King’s portrayal of the impact of human evil, cruelty, and apathy, alongside the more flamboyant supernatural menace (the creepy evil clown). Perhaps most frightening for me are some very graphic descriptions of New England winter weather!

Mary Warnement

Forgotten Land: Journeys Among the Ghosts of East Prussia by Max Egremont

(Library of Congress DK4600.P775 E47 2011)

Or the land about to be forgotten. Egremont interviewed a selection of survivors of the post-WWII diaspora and their descendants as well as a few Russians, Poles, and Lithuanians who now live in former East Prussia, and he wrote about their experiences with a sensitivity to the perspectives of each group. These memoirs combined with his own research and travels make for an intelligent read. Those interviewed seem chosen somewhat at random. Obviously, survival, a willingness to talk, or the fact that one published one’s memoirs were factors. I am not certain Kathe Kollwitz’s experiences really tell the story, because I connect her with Berlin: she was born there but she left in her teens to study art in Berlin and Munich and lived most of her life in Berlin. However, I enjoyed reading his sections about her. East Prussia, and Koenigsberg especially, were always on the edge of Germany, and now—its lands divided and distributed to Russia, Poland, and Lithuania—it lies on the edge of memory. Egremont ends with the words of Klaus Lunau, who may be the last human living who knew the old Prussia. Klaus enjoys, even in his 80s, swimming in the Baltic and advises: “You need to learn,” he says, “when to let yourself be carried along rather than struggle against the relentless grey water: also when precisely to kick free, when to strike out or to make for home.” Or be swept over by the wave of History.

Salt to the Sea by Ruth Sepetys
(Young Adult (Children’s Room) PZ7.S47957 Sa 2016)

Do not let the nearly 400-page length of this book put you off. Four voices narrate this young adult novel set during the flight of refugees—Lithuanians, Poles, and aristocratic Junkers and ordinary Germans living there—from East Prussia in 1945. Rather than distract, the multiple voices let the story build. Also, the book’s design appeals to me because it includes a two-page spread at front and back: maps of the region in 1945 and in present day. I like to pair fiction and non-fiction reading on topics that interest me, and like Egremont, Sepetys conducted similar interviews and research, which she outlines in supplemental afterwords: “author’s note,” “research and sources,” and “acknowledgments.” I liked her appeal to her readers: “What determines how we remember history and which elements are preserved and penetrate the collective consciousness? If historical novels stir your interest, pursue the facts, history, memoirs, and personal testimonies available. These are the shoulders that historical fiction sits upon. When the survivors are gone, we must not let the truth disappear with them.”

Hannah Weisman

Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada

(Library of Congress NEW PZ4.T235 Me 2016)

Yoko Tawada’s novel, translated into English from German, explores migration, exile, and identity through three generations of polar bears in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Tawada blurs the lines of reality in her story as the bears display human emotions and undertake human tasks, but also have bear traits. Vignettes throughout the book hang together to shed light on the impact of migration and exile across generations.

The book is wacky, and someone else needs to read it so I can have a discussion about it.

08.30.2017

School

Picture Books

David Goes to School by David Shannon

(Children + PZ7.S52865 Dav 1999)

David’s activities in school include chewing gum, talking out of turn, and engaging in a food fight, causing his teacher to say over and over, “No, David!”

I Am Absolutely Too Small for School by Lauren Child

(Children Picture Book + CHILD)

When Lola is worried about starting school, her older brother Charlie reassures her.

Back to School for Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos; illustrated by Nicole Rubel

(Children Picture Book GANTO)

Afraid of being left alone, Rotten Ralph, the nasty red cat, follows Sarah to school and tries to prevent her from making new friends.

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

(Children Picture Book + HENKE)

A mouse named Wemberly, who worries about everything, finds that she has a whole list of things to worry about when she faces the first day of nursery school.

Flight School by Lita Judge

(Children Picture Book + JUDGE)

Little Penguin, who has the “soul of an eagle,” enrolls in flight school.

School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex; illustrated by Christian Robinson

(Children Picture Book + REX)

“It’s the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone’s just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself.” —Provided by publisher.

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate; illustrated by Ashley Wolff

(Children Picture Book + SLATE)

Introduces the letters of the alphabet as Miss Bindergarten and her students get ready for kindergarten.

Ming Goes to School by Deirdre Sullivan; illustrated by Maja Löfdahl

(Children Picture Book + SULLI)

Ming goes to preschool, where she bravely plays all kinds of games with new friends and old, but she is still not quite ready for the big red slide.

Emily’s First 100 Days of School by Rosemary Wells

(Children Picture Book Lg WELLS)

Starting with number one for the first day of school, Emily learns the numbers to one hundred in many different ways.

Yoko Learns to Read by Rosemary Wells

(Children Picture Book WELLS)

Despite the doubts of some classmates and her native-born Japanese mother’s inability to read English, Yoko finds the key to reading and catches up with the other students in putting new leaves on the classroom’s book tree.

Middle Grade

Booked by Kwame Alexander

(Children PZ7.A3771 Bo 2016)

“In this middle grade novel-in-verse by the Newbery Medal-winning and Coretta Scott King Honor Award-winning author of The Crossover, soccer, family, love, and friendship, take center stage as twelve-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams.” —Provided by publisher.

Frindle by Andrew Clements

(Children PZ7.C59118 Fr 1996)

When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher’s love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

(Children PZ7.C34874 Sc 2013)

Best friends Sophie (princess wannabe) and Agatha (witchy loner) are headed (via kidnapping) to the School for Good and Evil, but their assumed destinies are reversed.

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.

Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream by Jenny Han

(Children PZ7.H185 Cl 2014)

Korean American fourth-grader Clara Lee longs to be Little Miss Apple Pie, and when her luck seems suddenly to change for the better, she overcomes her fear of public speaking and enters the competition.

Amina’s Voice by Hena Kahn

(Children PZ7.K496 Am 2017)

“A Pakistani-American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her family’s vibrant culture while simultaneously blending in at school after tragedy strikes her community.” —Provided by publisher.

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

(Children PZ7.S80857 Go 2015)

Bridge is an accident survivor who’s wondering why she’s still alive. Emily has new curves and an almost-boyfriend who wants a certain kind of picture. Tabitha sees through everybody’s games—or so she tells the world. The three girls are best friends with one rule: No fighting. Can it get them through seventh grade?… This year everything is different for Sherm Russo as he gets to know Bridge Barsamian. What does it mean to fall for a girl—as a friend?… On Valentine’s Day, an unnamed high school girl struggles with a betrayal. How long can she hide in plain sight?

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

(Children PZ7.S80857 Wh 2009)

As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, “The $20,000 Pyramid,” a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

Young Adult

New Boy by Julian Houston

(Children 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.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

(Children PZ7.L79757 Dis 2008)

Sophomore Frankie starts dating senior Matthew Livingston, but when he refuses to talk about the all-male secret society that he and his friends belong to, Frankie infiltrates the society in order to enliven their mediocre pranks.

Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung

(Children PZ7.P98 Lu 2016)

“Lucy is a bit of a pushover, but she’s ambitious and smart, and she has just received the opportunity of a lifetime: a scholarship to a prestigious school, and a ticket out of her broken-down suburb. Though she’s worried she will stick out like badly cut bangs among the razor-straight students, she is soon welcomed into the Cabinet, the supremely popular trio who wield influence over classmates and teachers alike. Linh is blunt, strong-willed, and fearless—everything Lucy once loved about herself. She is also Lucy’s last solid link to her life before private school, but she is growing tired of being eclipsed by the glamour of the Cabinet. As Lucy floats further away from the world she once knew, her connection to Linh—and to her old life—threatens to snap. Sharp and honest, Alice Pung’s novel examines what it means to grow into the person you want to be without leaving yourself behind.” — Provided by publisher

Informational

Tinker vs. Des Moines: Student Protest by Leah Farish

(Children KF228.T56 F37 1997)

Considers the landmark case that dealt with the rights of students to wear arm bands to protest U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students by Suzanne Jurmain

(Children LA2317.C73 J87 2005)

Narrative nonfiction, supplemented by black-and-white photographs and engravings, about Prudence Crandall’s school for African American girls opened in 1833.

Poetry

Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies & Little Misses of Color by Elizabeth Alexander & Marilyn Nelson; pictures by Floyd Cooper

(Children PS3551.L3494 M57 2007)

The story of Prudence Crandall’s school for African American girls, told in verse.

Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson

(Children PS3573.O64524 L63 2003)

In a series of poems, eleven-year-old Lonnie writes about his life, after the death of his parents, separated from his younger sister, living in a foster home, and finding his poetic voice at school.