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Francis Scott Key’s Star-Spangled Banner

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Francis Scott Key’s Star-Spangled Banner by Monica Kulling/Richard Walz
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Kids

Looking for a good book to help your young reader understand why we sing the Star-Spangled Banner? The story behind our national anthem is a suspenseful one worth knowing and sharing, especially as our most patriotic holiday approaches. In this Early Reader, author Monica Kulling delivers just enough detail about the relationships among England, France and the United States in the early 1800’s, inviting readers on an exciting historical adventure. I’ll even admit that it served as a simplified refresher for me! I knew that Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the Star-Spangled Banner when he witnessed a battle aboard a ship, but was a little fuzzy on the events that landed him on the ship in the first place. It’s crystal clear now, thanks to Kulling’s storytelling. I also appreciated the way Mr. Key’s strengths and weaknesses were conveyed, creating a relatable character for young readers. It’s a pleasing read that won’t disappoint!
Find it in the catalog.

Book: The Traitor’s Kiss by Erin Beaty

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Book: The Traitor’s Kiss
Author: Erin Beaty
Who’s It For: Teens and Adults

Sage Fowler knew she wasn’t marriage material. She was independent and outspoken. And as Madame Rodelle, the Matchmaker, confirmed, her looks, though pleasing, would not dazzle men. Sage didn’t want to disappoint her guardian, Uncle William Broadmoor. Yet, Sage would not be chosen as a Concordian bride. Ironically, Madame Rodelle wanted Sage as her apprentice. “Matchmaking is primarily a task of reading people, collecting information, and piecing it together.” Sage was to ferret out information from the soldiers who escorted the brides to be. Which men would best suit which Concordian brides?

Meanwhile, Captain Alexander Quinn was on a mission too. He and his men needed to safely escort the brides to Cambria, traversing the land that seemed to be infiltrated by the enemy Kimisara. Moreover, he needed to protect the prince, his cousin, Rob. And who was Lady Sage Broadmoor, the inquisitive one who seemed adept at collecting information from his soldiers? Could she help him in his cause? When Sage befriended soldier Ash Carter, promising to teach him to read, Quinn wondered, who is spying on whom?

This book kept me entranced with its blend of history, romantic suspense, and a surprise identity.

Here’s the book!

Don’t Go

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Don’t Go by Lisa Scottoline
Format Audio Book
Who’s it for: Adults

In this gripping and emotional novel that explores the boundaries between family, justice and love.  A military man discovers what he is made of on duty and at home.

Dr. Mike Scanlon is a reservist who accepts the call of duty so serve as an Army Medical Corps doctor in Afghanistan.  He is very aware of the dangers he will face and the hardships his being away will cause his wife, Chloe and their newborn daughter Emily.  But while when Mike is away, it is Chloe who dies in the Scanlon’s very own kitchen, a victim of an apparent household accident.  Devastated, Mike returns home to bury her, only to discover that the life he left behind has fallen apart.  His Medical practice is in jeopardy, he is a stranger to his own daughter, and he discovers a shocking secret that sends him into a downward spiral.  As layer upon layer of lies are revealed, Mike realizes that the most important battle of his life faces him on the home front and soon he must put it all on the line to save what matters the most.

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Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo

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Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo by Zora Neale Hurston
Format: Digital Audiobook
Who it’s for: Teens and Adults

Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo is excellent as an audiobook! Zora Neale Hurston interviewed 86-year-old Cudjo Lewis, the last living person able to tell the story of being transported from Africa to America as a slave. Cudjo was born in Africa and as a young man was captured and brought to America packed on a slave ship with more than 100 others, lived as a slave for several years, through the Civil War and then many years after as a free man in Alabama. Told in his voice using Cudjo’s unique vernacular, the audiobook helps the reader hear and understand Cudjo’s story. Barracoon is recommended for people interested in history, civil rights, and stories about the resilience of the human spirit.

Find it in the catalog or on Hoopla

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir

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Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
Format: Audiobook, Book
Who it’s for: Adults

Do you need a good laugh?  Do you sometimes feel like you are the only weird person around you?  Do you struggle with mental illness and want to read about others that do as well?  Then this book is for you.  Jenny Lawson, AKA The Bloggess – www.thebloggess.com, writes about her childhood in rural Texas, growing up with a taxidermist father, and meeting her husband Victor, having her daughter, her struggles with anxiety and depression, and a squirrel hand puppet.  It is often bizarre, hilarious and sad all at the same time.  Sometimes you wonder if this could possibly be a true account and then you see the pictures.  Yes, it did happen.  And yes, it is very weird.  And yes, you are completely fascinated and can’t stop reading about her life so now you are following her blog and Instagram so that you can see that you are not the only one that is tad bit crazy.

If you are easily grossed out or easily offended by profanity, this is not the book for you.

The audio is read by the author.  I listened to the book, but then had to go back and look at the book to see the pictures she includes.

Find it in the catalog.

Prayers for Sale

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Prayers for Sale  by Sandra Dallas
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

Prayers for Sale is one of Sandra Dallas’s most popular novels.  Eighty-six-year-old Hennie Comfort tells us the story of her last months in the mining community of Middle Swan, Colorado in 1936. She is a widow and her daughter wishes for her to move to Illinois before the snows come. Hennie forms a friendship with a young newlywed girl named Nit Spindle who has recently moved to the Rocky Mountain town.  Nit sees the sign outside of Hennie’s fence that states “Prayers for Sale.”  Hennie does not actually sell prayers but will invite a person in to hear the story of the sign.  Hennie also has a quilting group who meets at her house. She invites Nit to attend and we meet more women from the community. As the story progresses, Hennie tells Nit many stories about her life and the people in the town.  This is a story about these two women’s friendship, their relationships, plus the everyday life and drama that comes with being a mining town in 1936 in the aftermath of the Great Depression.

I had previously read another novel by Dallas and was not too impressed. I decided to try this one because it is the reason Sandra Dallas came on my radar and why her books are on my TBR (to-be-read) list.   I liked the narrator, 86-year-old Hennie Comfort, and the way she told stories. I also liked the historical aspects, the descriptions of mining and life in high-country Colorado 1936. Dallas did not bog down the novel with copious details but enough to get a very good idea of the way things worked in that era.  The other people in the town and their stories were also very interesting, not just filler.  This is a quick read that at times produced surprisingly strong emotions.  I like this book enough to try her other very popular novel, Tallgrass. I would recommended Prayers for Sale for people who like a slower paced novel with historical elements and is mainly focused on women’s relationships.

Find it in the catalog