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. »

The Old Woman Who Named Things

Cynthia Rylant
The Old Woman Who Named Things by Cynthia Rylant is a gentle touching story of a kind old woman who has outlived all of her friends. To keep from being lonely she names things in her life that she knows she will never outlive. Like her house, Franklin, her bed, Roxanne and Bud, the new ceramic pig in her garden. One day a shy brown puppy appears...

Review by Melanie A. »

Grandparents Song

Sheila Hamanaka
Grandparents Song by Sheila Hamanaka is a story about our country’s ancestry, told through a child's diverse family tree. Hamanaka’s graceful tales of how the blood of many cultures flow through us are combined with her earthy, folk art inspired illustrations. This tale leaves readers with a feeling of connection to all living things. ...

Review by Melanie A. »

Remembering Che: My Life with Che Guevara

Aleida March de la Torre
Remembering Che shows the revolutionary man from an extremely intimate point of view as his wife, Aleida March, recounts their life committed to the cause first, and each other second. There has been much published about Che’s life and his politics. ...

Review by Brice B. »

Smoke Ring for My Halo

Kurt Vile
Kurt Vile’s music feels like it was hashed out over thousands of afternoons, spent in deep meditative song craftsmanship to distill its lo-fi essence. It has the effortless feel of a breezy day spent with close friends doing very little and enjoying every moment. ...

Review by Aaron O. »