It's Ok Not to Share: and Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids

Heather Shumaker
Local journalist Heather Shumaker is generating a lot of discussion with her new book on parenting, It's Okay Not to Share. As you might guess from the title, this book isn't your typical "I need to make the world perfect for my child or he/she won't turn out right" tome. Instead, Shumaker lays out for us her Renegade Rules, rules that are based...

Review by Jill P. »

Birds of a Feather Shop Together: Aesop's Fables for the Fashionable Set

Sandra Bark
Sixteen of Aesop's fables have been restyled for the contemporary fashionista but suitable for anyone. Bright and bold illustrations perfectly complement each fable. The original Aesop's fables are appended in case you aren't familiar with one, and there were a couple that were new to me. See how many people or situations you recognize. ...

Review by Katheryn C. »

Wonder

R J Palacio
Wonder is mostly a story about kindness. August, also known as Auggie, was born with a craniofacial abnormality. Auggie’s Mom and Dad, his big sister and their dog Daisy love him more than words can describe. Because of his many surgical procedures Auggie’s parents chose to home school. That is, until Auggie’s Mom decides it is time for him...

Review by Melanie A. »

The Secret of Chanel No. 5: the Intimate History of the World's Most Famous Perfume

Tilar J Mazzeo
Can you remember the first time you smelled Chanel No. 5? My earliest memory is around the age of 15 when my best friend’s mother gave her a bottle because she never used it. I was immediately hooked. I wore the fragrance every time I visited her, and I was over there a lot. ...

Review by Brice B. »

A Long Walk to Water: a Novel

Linda Sue Park
"What was it Uncle had said during that first terrible day in the desert? Do you see that group of bushes? You need only to walk as far as those bushes…" Bit by bit Uncle Jewiir helps eleven year old Salva cross the Akobo Desert to escape the war in Sudan and seek shelter in an Ethiopian refugee camp. ...

Review by Melanie A. »

Ruth and the Green Book

Calvin A Ramsey
This book/CD (Kit) chronicles a black family’s car trip from Chicago to Alabama to visit a beloved grandma in the early 1950's. As they travel they encounter the humiliation of being refused service based on the color of their skin. Fortunately, in Georgia a man showed them something called The Negro Motorist Green Book. ...

Review by Christopher S. »

Summer at Forsaken Lake

Michael D Beil
Nicholas, Hetty and Haley usually spend their summers in New York City, but this year they’ve been sent to their Uncle Nick’s house in Ohio. They’ve never met their uncle and dread the thought of a boring summer with nothing to do. Nothing could be further from the truth though, as they learn and explore the outside, make friends, and even solve...

Review by Linda T. »

In One Person: a Novel

John Irving
I opened this book with total excitement because I love John Irving and even though I’m a librarian and I work surrounded by books, I had no idea he had a new novel coming out until it was in my hands at the library. What a wonderful surprise! On the first page of In One Person readers meet the main character, Billy, and a librarian he has a mad...

Review by Brice B. »

The Dog Who Belonged to No One

Amy Hest
Oh, boy! Another wonderful dog story! Beautiful sepia watercolors illustrate this touching story of a dog and a “wisp of a girl” who are both searching for some one. The dog, despite being oh so cute, and well mannered, has not found a home in the town he has wandered into. The girl, working delivering bread for her parent’s bakery, has no time...

Review by Michele R. »

The Silent Witness: a True Story of the Civil War

Robin Friedman
The Silent Witness: A True Story of the Civil War is beautifully told and illustrated by Robin Friedman and Claire A. Nivola. As a child’s family plantation in Manassas, Virginia becomes a Civil War headquarters under the command of General Beauregard, readers learn about life during the Civil War through the McLean family’s historic events. ...

Review by Melanie A. »