Eliza's Freedom Road

Eliza's Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary by Jerdine Nolen
Youth New Book Shelves - Lower Level - NOLEN

This story follows Eliza on her trek toward freedom on the underground railroad. It takes place in 1854 in Alexandria, Virginia. Eliza's mother was sold away, leaving her with only a story quilt to remember her by. Eliza has the gift of storytelling, learned from her mother, and she shares them with the other slaves throughout the book. She also has the gift of being able to read and write, taught by the mistress of the house she serves. When her mistress gets very sick, Eliza becomes afraid that she, too, will be traded away by the master of the house. Harriet Tubman shows her another possibility: freedom. This is a very touching story of Eliza's journey north. She meets up with other escaped slaves, and they look out for each other as a new family. This is a well-researched book, full of history and folktales. It is an important book for most age groups, starting with children around 3rd or 4th grade. Adults will appreciate it too.

Elizabeth Zimmermann’s The Knitter’s Almanac

Elizabeth Zimmermann’s The Knitter’s Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Crafts Collection – Upper Level – 746.43 Z

I am writing this just in case there is a knitter who hasn’t heard of Elizabeth Zimmermann. Elizabeth Zimmermann’s books take homey, personality-filled writing applied to quite revolutionary ideas about making knitting just challenging enough but as easy as possible. Of course you can design your own sweater. Of course you’ll enjoy making a shawl, and you’ll naturally come up with some embellishments to make it pretty and less boring to knit along the way… that kind of thing. The Knitter’s Almanac features her thoughts and activities for each month of the year, with a selection of projects. Each is talked through in detail in the main body of the chapter, and followed with “pithy” short directions at the end of the chapter. There are some famous patterns in this book, including the Pi shawl and February’s baby sweater. The library has just purchased the new commemorative edition, which features a lovely introduction by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka the Yarn Harlot) and an adult-sized version of the famous baby sweater, February Lady. Never mind that at my current rate of knitting it would take me twelve years rather than twelve months to get through all the projects here – this is a book that every self-respecting knitter should read.

Knife of Never Letting Go

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Teen Zone Fiction - Main Level - NESS

Prentisstown was invaded by the Spackles, an alien race that spread a germ causing "Noise" among the men of the town. Suddenly, all the men could hear each other's thoughts. The women, it was said, all died from the spread of the germ.

Todd Hewitt finds himself forced out of Prentisstown, on the run from evil Prentisstown men. While on the run through the swamp, he meets Viola. Her family has died in their spaceship: a scouting expedition for their people who had hoped to settle on New World (the planet on which Prentisstown is located). Todd and Viola team up and flee together, meeting people and various settlements along the way - and learning more and more about the dreaded Prentisstown's real history. They are headed to Haven, the most technologically advanced settlement on New World, hoping to find a cure for the Noise and a way to contact Viola's people.

This is an action-packed, unique story of coming of age, friendship, adventure, and loyalty. It is recommended for older teens and adults interested in dystopia and science fiction.

Cleaning Nabokov’s House

Cleaning Nabokov’s House by Leslie Daniels.
Adult New Books – Main Level - Daniels

Barb has left her controlling husband. Now she’s stranded in upstate New York in a town where everyone knows and loves her experson and could care less about her. She’s lost custody of her children. She’s jobless and homeless and holding on to sanity with a very tenuous grip. This could be the beginning of a serious work of Women’s Fiction, the kind that Oprah would want to talk about and which would require boxes of tissues. Instead, Barb’s journey to pulling her life together and getting her children back is hilarious. It’s still women’s fiction, just not the depressing kind. Barb’s first step towards getting her footing back is selling her reliable car (keeping the unreliable one) to make a down payment on a small house which turns out to have belonged to Nabokov. In this house, wedged behind a drawer, she finds a manuscript which might or might not have been written by Nabokov. Her efforts to get this published start pushing her back towards sanity, making her friends in the process. She also comes up with a scheme to make enough money to win her children back, a scheme that I totally did not see coming and which gives the book both its silliest and most serious moments, a scheme to make more of the women of the small town where she now lives happy. It’s sexy without being explicit, and Barb’s feelings run true even as the plot runs towards the unbelievable comedic. It made for excellent distraction reading during a somewhat stressful time for me, but I’m hoping that you, dear reader, can enjoy it under more pleasant circumstances.

Bink and Gollie

Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee
Youth Early Chapter Books - Lower Level - Bink & Gollie

This is a very short, but cute and easy chapter book. There is not much text on each page, and the real stars of the book are often the illustrations and humorous plots.

Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee stars Bink (the short blonde girl) and Gollie (the taller brunette) as they share their daily adventures together which are told in three short stories. They are incredibly different best friends. Bink is more of a dreamer, and Gollie is more of a realist. However, they always seem to bond over pancakes and roller skates.

I expect there to be more books about Bink and Gollie in the future. They seem to be good choices for children who are just learning to enjoy chapter books. Since some of the humor and words are sophisticated, I would recommend this to a child who is young, but is more mature. Still even those who don't grasp all the humor or words will probably really enjoy reading about two unique best friends in a beautifully illustrated book. In fact, this book is the winner of the 2011 Geisel Award which is an honor given to the most notable early chapter book of the year.