I continue to miss as many books I want to share as I remember to get pictures of, but here goes—some notable check-outs right now!
This continues to be one of our favorite library books—it has appeared numerous times in one form or another over the years on this blog : ) I don't know why we don't just buy it. I read one of Jenny Offill's books for grownups and didn't like it 1/8 as much as this one. I mean, I get it's apples to oranges, but still. I will never not be able to think of Gracie when I read it.
This is another title we've checked out so many times it makes absolutely no sense that we don't own it. It's the wonderful story of a bakery that changes hands after the longtime owner dies; her successor doesn't have any easy time of it at first, but resolves the conflict in a most touching and satisfactory way.
This one was interesting, though not without controversy: it's the retelling of a woman (she was actually older than she is portrayed in the story, which is kind of an odd choice to me) who climbed up a tree in protest of logging old-growth forests in California. In the environmentalist vs. loggers worldview, this fits neatly because there isn't a huge amount of gray area presented.
This is an odd book. I grabbed it for two reasons: the illustration and concept are spare and striking, and the "New York Review Children's Collection" label. It's an old book, published in 1964; the story is simple and right to the point—the elephant likes to smash cars. There is a plot twist that made Gracie and Bridget a little uncomfortable (the "revenge" part of the "gleeful destruction, revenge, and conciliation" description on the back) and definitely would be an interesting conversation starter with kids about what's OK and not OK to do. Maybe. I was almost entirely unfamiliar with the rest of this New York Review Children's Collection listed in the back, though almost all the D'Aulaire books were listed except the Greek mythology one that was so influential in my early years. Huh.
Another old favorite from libraries past. I think it was old library favorites week last week : ) How could we resist those ghost illustrations during Halloween week, though? Exactly. We could not.
I grabbed this one because we are Joe Berger fans (Bridget Fidget!) but only after reading it did I realize that the author is clearly related to Mark Zuckerberg (his sister). This is short, sweet, and apt. Kind of like children's literature poetry—not a lot of words, but very meaningful in the end. It will stay a library book, but it's nice to know it's there.
In this school year of half day Wednesdays I'm going to buy this one to help support our made-up Art-Friday-on-Wednesday "curriculum." Fun, well-organized project ideas.
I haven't started this one yet but it's next on my list! It's about a chapter of Civil Rights history that I am unfamiliar with: the closure of all public schools for five years in Prince Edward County, VA to protest integration—and the ensuing legacy.
We still are solely using our branch library here but I recently visited the Corrales Community Library and intend to get a library card there for my collection soon. It is one of the finest, loveliest libraries I have ever been to—which is saying something since I consider my base library to be the one named the 2008 Library of the Year by the American Library Association!
What's a good recommendation from your library bag lately?