Get ready for a road trip!
Jimmy and his grandpa, both Lakota Native Americans, travel together one summer through what is now South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana to walk in the footsteps of their famous ancestor, Tasunke Witko, who is better known to us as Crazy Horse.
The pair drive, hike, and camp to explore the full life of a boy who grows into a leader as the grandpa teaches Jimmy about the man behind the legend.
Walk along with them through Crazy Horse’s boyhood home, the hunting plains, Army forts, and battle sites as they uncover this story of life, love, war, hope, and heartbreak.
Joseph Marshall III, historian and storyteller, has written several nonfiction books for adults and now offers this children’s book to engage young readers in the rich history of indigenous people. Note: This book includes details of battles and forceful displacement.
Understanding Sam and Asperger Syndrome
Understanding Sam and Asperger Syndrome by Clarabelle van Niekerk & Liezl Venter, MA CCC-SLP
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Children ages 5-7
When kids start school they will be encountering all sorts of different people and new situations. Books like this one are great conversation starters for you and your child to talk through how you may best respect and appreciate a new friend who happens to be on the autism spectrum.
In this story, you’ll meet Sam who loves to put puzzles together and to play the cello but who also doesn’t like the feel of his new coat and sometimes can’t stop crying when he’s frustrated. After Sam and his dog leave home one night to walk to the fair alone, his family and teachers discover that Sam has Asperger Syndrome. Once everyone understands what is going on they are able to start making things better for everybody.
At the end of the book there are 10 Helpful Tips from the author, who is a certified specialist in autism spectrum disorders, that offer practical advice in simple to understand language.
The Hate U Give
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Format: Book, eBook, Audiobook, eAudiobook. Movie version available DVD or Blu-Ray
Who it’s for: Adults, Teens
Sixteen year old Starr is living a double life. One Starr lives in a black, lower income neighborhood and feels like she doesn’t quite fit in. The other Starr attends a private, mostly white school and feels like she can never quite be herself.
One night, Starr is riding in a car with her childhood friend Kahlil when they get stopped by police. After a short but tense exchange, Kahlil is fatally shot leaving Starr as the only witness.
A whirlwind of events send Starr’s two worlds crashing into each other so she is left with no choice but to find her voice and decide who her one true self is and what she stands for.
The audiobook was amazing and the movie was a very good adaptation of the book although they did have to condense some characters. I read the book first and it helped to better understand some parts of the story that I might have missed otherwise.
Still Standing
Still Standing by Larry Hogan and Ellis Henican
Format: Book, eBook, eAudiobook
Who it’s for: Adults
What do you know about Governor Larry Hogan? You may have heard during his six years in office about crises like the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, managing the COVID-19 pandemic, and his personal battle with cancer. You may have read news stories about bipartisan agreements on economic and justice department reforms during his tenure. Now you can go behind those headlines and get the inside story in Larry Hogan’s recently released autobiography.
In an era of political divide, Larry Hogan offers a refreshing approach to practical problem solving that focuses on listening, being respectful, and working on the problem at hand for the benefit of the people rather than promoting a political party or agenda. We need more voices like this on the political landscape today.
Born a Crime
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Format: Book and Audio Book on CD
Who it’s for: Adults, Teens (Young Readers version also available)
What is it like for your very existence to be against the law? Although it might sound like a plot from a dystopian novel, this is the real life story of Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central. Trevor Noah’s crime at birth was that he had a black mother and white father at a time when the laws of South Africa made this a severely punishable offense.
Noah gives a frank, sometimes serious, sometimes funny account of growing up as a mixed race child in a racially stratified and oppressive society. We see through this collection of short stories all the particular challenges he had to face but we can also relate to those things that we all have in common growing up. Noah also takes the opportunity to explain the history of Apartheid laws and the underlying causes of racial unrest but does so in an engaging way that flows along with his entertaining stories.
The first story ends with his mom throwing him out of a moving bus when he was nine years old. Don’t worry, it was really just to save his life and he obviously lived to tell about it! Check out this great collection of stories from a South African childhood.
This autobiography is now also available in a Young Readers adaptation which is essentially the same book but eliminates the occasional profanity found in the adult version. You can also choose the audio book format (available on CD) where you will be treated to Trevor Noah reading the stories to you himself!
Find it in the catalog
The Rent Collector
The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults & Teens
How do you find hope when your life is in the dump? I’m talking literally about the people who lived in shacks at a municipal dump in Cambodia and spent their days picking recyclables out of the trash to get enough money for food. This real life story was told in a 2009 documentary called River of Victory.
The director’s father, Camron Wright, was so moved by the struggle of these people that he wrote this book, which is a fictional story woven around many of the characters and facts from the documentary. The author added in the gift of literacy to one character and examined how literature has transformative power for us no matter what our background is or what our life circumstances are.
The Rent Collector is a truly wonderful story that, like other great literature, will make you think about who your heroes are.
Find it in the Catalog