Pocketful of Posies

Pocketful of Posies by Salley Mavor.
Youth New Book Shelves – Lower Level – J398.8 M

I have only this year discovered the wonderfulness that is the artwork of Salley Mavor. This is her latest effort, a collection of nursery rhymes illustrated with her signature felt and found object dioramas with the little dolls, here looking more involved yet than in her how-to book, Felt Wee Folk. It is stunning. I hauled this book around everywhere with me for three weeks, showing it off to people whenever I could pry it away from my toddler, and everyone I showed it to was sucked into exploring the details. There’s the look of exasperation on the Old Woman in the Shoe’s face, embroidered rain drops, little silver jingle bells growing on plants in Mistress Mary’s garden. There are branches used for roofs, shells and acorn caps, buttons and beads mixed in. I read that she spent a month on each page, and it’s easy to believe. Some rhymes have a whole page devoted to them, while others are grouped thematically, with illustrations flowing from one rhyme to the next. For example, one spread shows a street full of village shops and includes rhymes relating to them. The rhymes seemed to me a good mix of familiar and new, including things like “Simple Simon” and “Polly Put the Kettle on”, but also “I Eat my Peas with Honey”. The language is slightly modified from what I grew up with, but, unlike many modern nursery rhyme collections, the rhymes are not updated to fit modern values. This is now my favorite nursery rhyme collection, good both for cultural literacy and beautiful art.

Measure of the Earth

Measure of the Earth: The enlightenment Expedition That Reshaped Our World by Larrie D. Ferreiro
New Book Shelves - Upper Level - 526 F

In the 1730s, a group of scientists from France and Spain decided that they needed to measure the earth. Knowing its shape would help them navigate the oceans and map new places, giving them military and economic power. They went to Peru, a Spanish-owned country at the Equator, and literally measured a degree of latitude. This book, though non-fiction and based on real history and science, reads like an adventure novel. The scientists have weather, mountains, suspicious native people, and plenty of other hostilities to deal with in their quest. This is an exciting book about an important time in history, when Europeans learned more about South America and scientists made great strides in understanding our world.

Bride and Prejudice

Bride and Prejudice
DVD collection - Main Level - MUSICAL BRI

Like many people I know, I have a special place in my heart for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. During the years that my sister was studying South Asian culture, she also introduced me to the joyous synthesis of squeaky-clean romance, music, dance and colorful costume changes that are Bollywood movies. Bride and Prejudice is the initially unlikely but quite successful synthesis of these two – Pride and Prejudice set in modern-day India, with lots of globe hopping. This setting translates the concerns of the original novel quite brilliantly. In modern-day India, marriage is still much more socially important than it is in the UK or America. I confess I don’t know anything about the Indian province of Amritsar, where Jaya, Lalita and their two younger sisters live, but it’s described in the film as a beautiful backwater. It has lovely cultural artifacts like the Golden Temple, but not much in the way of modernity. Lalita loves it passionately, and defends it fiercely both to American businessman Will Darcy, in town for a wedding with his best friend, and the Indian ex-pat distant cousin. The cousin is crass and wealthy and, even though he thinks America is better in so many ways, wants a nice traditional Indian girl for his wife. Very helpfully to fans of the book, while the girls’ names are changed to traditional Indian names, the men mostly have the same names as in the book. The plot is simplified and Austen's marvelous dialogue doesn't come over at all. But there’s music and dancing in plenty, both as part of regular life and when the characters sing and dance out their feelings. This isn’t true Bollywood, as it’s done by the UK team that did Bend it Like Beckham, so hard-core fans may find it lacking. However, for people like me who need to be able to fold laundry while watching a movie, having it in English was a big help. Bride and Prejudice is a delightfully fluffy movie, good for the liberal Austen fan and as an introduction to Bollywood.

Brave New Worlds

Brave New Worlds by John Joseph Adams
Adult Science Fiction-Main Level - BRAVE

The dystopian fiction genre has fascinated readers for generations. Dystopian literature often seeks to comment on contemporary society and also serves as a warning for the future. The anthology Brave News Worlds carries on this tradition and is clearly influenced by authors such as Orwell, Huxley, and Bradbury. These previous authors wrote groundbreaking works depicting terrifying visions of the future. While many of the stories in this anthology collection borrow elements from these previous works, there is enough variety of content to keep dystopian fiction fans entertained if they are looking for different spins on the genre. One advantage an anthology collection holds is the ability to skip around to different sections of the book. If a reader is not captivated by a certain story, he or she can always choose to try their luck with an offering from a different author. Anthologies are also an excellent way of sampling an unfamiliar author’s style and I know that many of these stories have made me interested in searching out further works by several of the authors.



The dystopian genre is diverse enough to satisfy many types of readers and the assortment of stories in this anthology run the gamut from sci-fi to horror. Fans of 1984 will enjoy entries such as “Ten with a Flag” and Peter Skilling.” A reader who wants less of a straightforward narrative might be interested in the bizarreness of “The Pearl Diver” or “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” a story that gives us a world that is seemingly perfect in every way except for the monstrous price only one individual has to pay. Brazil fans will feel right at home in the worlds of “Dead Space for the Unexpected” and “ ‘Repent Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” which shows us a world fanatically devoted to the concept of being on time. Several of these stories were written decades ago but are still applicable to our society today. The mark of any great piece of literature is the ability to remain relevant for many generations and the stories in Brave New Worlds will certainly serve as cautionary tales for decades to come.

Chasing Lincoln's Killer

Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson
Teen Zone Nonfiction-Main Level - 973.7092 S

I tend to get bored with Non-Fiction books but I loved Chasing Lincoln's Killer!

8 hours before President Abraham and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln arrive at Ford Theater, actor John Wilkes Booth learns of their evening plans and sets in motion a plan to assassinate not only the President, but the Vice President and the Secretary of State. From that point forward, James L. Swanson follows the actions of Booth, his co-conspirators, their pursuers and the parties of Lincoln, Secretary of State Seward, and then-Vice President Johnson up until the point of Booth's capture and his accomplices' prosecution and hanging.

Swanson's telling of this story is exhilarating, emotional and action-packed while staying true to historical events (the author notes in the opening notes of the book that the events described are "[...] far too incredible to have been made up.") Chasing Lincoln's Killer based on Swanson's adult book, Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, is specifically geared toward a youth and teen audience, but I didn't feel at all like I was reading a "dumbed down" version of another book at all.

The Lincoln assassination is a much more complex and interesting story than any history teacher ever told me and I walked away from this book feeling both interested in and well educated on the subject! It was definitely an interesting and worth-while read for teens and adults looking to actually have a great time learning about an important event in American history!

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel
by Anthony Horowitz Main Level New Book - Horowitz

Never underestimate the power of pure blind luck. Anthony Horowitz himself could not have dreamed of the unexpected topicality of this book while writing it. Without giving the plot away, the events of the last two weeks have given sudden relevance to a book of fiction set in 1890. Arthur Conan Doyle could never have gotten this Holmes story published then, which leads to the device that Watson wrote it decades after the event, and then kept the story under lock and key for another century. Only now can the story be told...

Horowitz does a very good job of evoking the familiar milieu of 221B Baker Street and includes cameos from several characters from the Conan Doyle canon. He understands the dynamic of the Holmes/Watson relationship and treats Watson with respect. Serious Sherlockians will find some nits to pick, but for more casual readers this is a delightful historical read that also happens to correlate with current events through pure blind luck.

The Good Sister

The Good Sister by Drusilla Campbell
Adult Paperbacks- Main Level– CAMPBELL

Roxanne has taken care of her younger sister Simone all of her life due to an absent father and an abusive mother. Roxanne believes that she can finally have a life of her own when Simone marries a wealthy man. Roxanne was wrong though, Simone has been through multiple pregnancies desperate for the hope that she will deliver a baby boy. Between the pregnancies and suffering from postpartum depression Simone has been negligent in taking care of her 3 daughters. Even though Simone has a nanny, a maid, and her mother all on her estate to help her raise the girls she still turns to Roxanne for help. Simone believes she is doing the best she can given her circumstances and that does not change even when she is placed on trial for the attempted murder of her children. Simone and her lawyers fight hard to prove that she was insane and not in her right mind when the attempted murder happened. Roxanne tries hard throughout the sad events to stay true to herself and her husband knowing that she has done everything she could to help Simone but part of her wonders if she will ever be free of sister to live her own life. Postpartum depression is a real issue and this novel portrays what can happen to a women suffering from it and other mental conditions.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Teen Zone New Fiction - Main Level - RIGGS

Here is a creepy book for anyone who likes stories about orphans, asylums, and supernatural powers. Jacob and his father visit a remote island off Wales, once the home of Jacob's grandfather in an orphanage there. When Jacob goes to the orphanage, he finds some peculiar children, and begins to question everything he knew to be true about his grandfather's life...and his own. The book includes vintage photos collected by the author, which fit into the storyline perfectly and make it even more disturbing and eerie.

Reading with the Stars

Reading with the Stars: A Celebration of Books and Libraries by Leonard Kniffel
Adult Non-Fiction Shelves - Upper Level - 027 K

This is a fun little book in which celebrities share their love of libraries and books. Each essay is just a few pages long, but some are quite powerful. For example, Pulitzer Prize-winner David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross) calls the Chicago Public Library his "alma mater" because he would skip school to read there. The essays by Ken Burns, who spent a remarkable afternoon with NYPL's Vartan Gregorian, and Ralph Nader ("I really don't need another cause, but reading about the state of libraries made me blush with shame." p.114) are especially poignant. The book includes lists of titles written by and/or recommended by the celebrities. Anyone who loves reading and libraries will appreciate this little gem.

My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady
DVD Collection - Main Level - MUSICALS MY

“Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” to have glorious musicals made for movie theaters again? While it seems this genre of film isn’t as popular as it used to be, fans of musical theater and motion pictures are lucky to have the classics restored and put on DVD to enjoy again and again. One such gem is My Fairy Lady with Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins and Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle.

My Fair Lady tells the story of poverty stricken flower girl Eliza Doolittle and her ascension into ladyhood. Professor Higgins, a phoeneticist, is the wealthy gentleman that takes her in and tries to teach her how to speak proper English. Of course hilarious events ensue as Miss Doolittle believes she can already speak proper English, and Mr. Higgins keeps having Eliza repeat simple words and phrases such as “The Rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.” The recitation of this phrase begins a special turning point for Eliza because she finally pronounces her “a’s” correctly. Soon Eliza, Professor Higgins, and Colonel Pickering are dancing around the parlor room to “The Rain in Spain” which is just one of the many beloved songs in the musical.

Based upon the theater musical, the movie does not disappoint. Miss Hepburn is magical as Eliza Doolittle. She speaks with her beautiful eyes and is completely believable and delightful in her character. In addition, Mr. Harrison captures the aloof yet caring professor perfectly. Mr. Harrison originated the role on Broadway. The other actors and characters along with the gorgeous music (written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe) are added icing to this delightful classic. If you are looking for a wonderful musical with comedy and heart then My Fair Lady is your ticket. It is a classic that will be around forever. In fact, there are talks of a My Fair Lady motion picture remake starring Colin Firth (winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Actor) as Henry Higgins. For now though, we can enjoy the beloved classic that won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Picture!

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.

The Silver Bowl

The Silver Bowl by Diane Stanley.
Youth New Book Shelves – Lower Level – STANLEY

Molly was only seven when her rough father decided she was too much trouble to take care of anymore. He got her a job as a scullery maid at the castle. During their brief farewell, Molly’s room-bound mother gave her the lovely silver necklace her father had given her and told her to wear it, but keep it hidden. It’s a small link to the family heritage of seeing visions that Molly has just found out that she and her mother share. It takes some quick learning to fit in at the castle, but knowing she has nowhere else to go, Molly is motivated. She makes friends with another lowly castle employee, Tobias, the donkey boy. After a few years as a scullery maid, she is taken by Thomas, the silver master, to help with the silver polishing. There she is given the job of polishing the great silver bowl, used by the royal family for washing hands before meals. It’s filled with intricate designs, and every time Molly polishes it, it grows warm in her hands and draws her into visions. Through these she learns that the bowl is filled with curses aimed at the royal family, which the visions want her to break. As she pieces together what a person of her lowly position might be able to do about this, the plot heats up until the life of the prince and the fate of the entire kingdom are resting in her hands. This is a lovely below-the-stairs medieval fantasy, with class playing an important part. Even when Molly and Prince Alaric are put in a position where they have to talk to each other, there’s great consciousness that this is not the normal order of things. Earlier on, her efforts to stop things going wrong in the first place are seriously hampered by her position as a young serving girl, as well as her unorthodox methods of knowing things. Though this is definitely a fantasy, Molly’s visions aren’t something that anybody else in her world could be expected to believe. There’s some second-hand gore here, so while most of this is suitable for middle grade students, those highly sensitive or on the lower end of the age range might want to avoid it. The writing holds up beautifully for readers of the intended age and up.

Diane Stanley is a prolific and diverse author whose work includes picture books, fairy tale retellings, biographies, and novels for youth. Some other books of hers that I have enjoyed include:


The Giant and the Beanstalk
Petrosinella: a Neapolitan Rapunzel

Cinnamon Baby

Cinnamon Baby by Nicola Winstanley. Illustrated by Janice Nadeau
Youth New Book Shelves – Lower Level - WIN

Miriam is a baker. She sings and bakes every morning in her bakery, all different kinds of delicious bread, always finishing with her favorite cinnamon bread. One day, Sebastian rides by on his bicycle. Lured in by the smell and Miriam’s sweet voice, he buys bread from her every day for a year. Then, they marry and have a baby. Though it’s not noted in the text, Sebastian is dark-skinned and Miriam pale; their baby comes out the color of cinnamon. After a few blissful days, the baby starts crying. Nothing either Miriam or Sebastian can do soothes it. Finally, Miriam wakes the exhausted Sebastian early in the morning to bring the baby with her to the bakery. When the sweet smell of cinnamon and the sound of its mother’s voice fill the air, the baby is finally soothed. The thin and swirly watercolor lines of the art add a vintage Paris kind of feel, as well as expanding on the story told in the text. The sweet story and beautiful art combine to make this a book to be savored.

Turning the Tide: How a small band of allied sailors defeated the u-boats and won the Battle of the Atlantic

Turning the Tide: How a small band of allied sailors defeated the u-boats and won the Battle of the Atlantic
by Ed Offley Adult Nonfiction – Upper Level 940.545 O

The Battle of the Atlantic often receives short shrift in histories of WWII. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, it lasted the entire duration of the European war, from 1939 to 1945. Secondly and more importantly, few people who weren't fighting actually saw it. There were no Edward R. Murrows or William L. Shirers broadcasting live from the scene of u-boat attacks. There was no Bill Mauldins drawing cartoons of weary sailors fighting both seasickness and the enemy. Only the sailors along with a few aviators killing or being killed in the middle of a vast ocean.

In Turning the Tide Ed Offley makes a convincing case that this oft-ignored front was in fact the most important in the European Theater. Losing this battle would have forced Britain into starvation and surrender, and without a threat keeping Nazi troops in the west, Russia may have lost or made a deal with Hitler. In any case the results of the war would have been very different.

Rather than cover the entire Battle of the Atlantic, Offley focuses on a few convoys in the spring of 1943 where the allies finally managed to take the iniative and put the u-boats on the defensive for the duration of the war. Offley writes clearly and well; while the names of boats and sailors can get confusing, the main narrative is a real page-turner.

Crab Cab

Crab Cab by Yukiko Kido
Youth New Book Shelves – Lower Level - FLI

Discerning parents and children might notice that the better you can read, the more books there are at your level. It’s not that librarians don’t look, but there are just not as many books published for very beginning readers. Those that out there, alas, are often boring, at least to my beginning reader. This book, part of the Flip-a-Word series, tries and I think succeeds in filling in that gap. Each book focuses on about three “sound families”, or words that use similar sounds. In this book, it was groups of short rhyming words, ending with “ot” and “ab”. Each section begins with a few words, one to a page – “hot”, “snot”, “pot”, “tot”. The pages are die-cut to make it more obvious that most of the word stays the same from page to page, and Kido makes us of die cuts in the illustrations, too, for a bit of extra fun. Then the words are combined to make silly, mostly two-word phrases – “snot pot” and “crab cab”. The illustrations are appealing bright, rounded cartoon-style illustrations. Easy words for new readers, no plot to keep up with, still fun.

Other books in this series include:
Pig Wig
Wet Pet
Quack Shack
Snow Bow

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
Adult Nonfiction - Upper Level - 364.1523 S



People who like history and true crime books will definitely enjoy The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. This non-fiction book by Kate Summerscale is about the murder of a young boy at an English estate in 1860 and the detective, Mr. Whicher, sent from Scotland Yard to investigate. Mr. Whicher immediately believes it was someone in the family who killed the boy. However, people cannot fathom this and therefore refuse to believe it. Everyone, from regular townspeople to newspaper editors all over the country, have their own opinions about why Mr. Whicher is wrong and who the actual killer is. Summerscale does an excellent job of re-creating the case, including presenting details about all the family members of the victim. She also provides a lot of interesting information about the emergence of the new field of detective work during this time period. For example, she writes about how authors such as Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins incorporated detectives into their books. Overall, this is an entertaining, well-written, and thoroughly researched book about a historical crime and a country’s fascination with all aspects of it.