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Finding Langston

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Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Format: Book
Who it’s for:  Kids

In 1946, Langston and his Dad move to Chicago from rural Alabama.  His mother recently passed away and he is feeling a little lost in this big city.   The city is so noisy and everyone calls him “Country boy” because he has an accent and wears overalls.  He hasn’t made any friends and is experiencing bullying from a few kids in his class.  In order to avoid the bullies, one day he goes a different way home from school and discovers the George Cleveland Hall Branch Library.

The library becomes his home away from home.  He never imagined such a wonderful place and they allow colored folks!  The first book he finds is by Langston Hughes and he wonders if he was named after him?  He finds he has a lot in common with Mr. Hughes and soon discovers more poetry and writings by other Negro writers.

Langston’s journey to discovering himself is beautifully written by Ms. Cline-Ransome.  This is truly a lovely book.  It’s a love story for libraries and writers.  And, it’s a story about the Great Migration when many blacks from the South migrated to the North after World War II.

Find it in the catalog

Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World

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Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World by Vashti Harrison
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Kids

Little Dreamers is a collection of true stories about the women creators, inventors, scientists, artists, and thinkers who changed the world with their ideas. From computer programmer Ada Lovelace to activist Wangari Maathai, this book tells the inspirational tales of those women whom perhaps were previously left out of history’s spotlight. The contributions of these women had profound influence in their respective cultures and ultimately helped to shape our world as we know it today.

The recognition given to each of these women’s accomplishments is presented by Vashti Harrison in a format that is both informative and succinct which would appeal well to the younger, targeted age group. However, I do believe that this could be an enjoyable book for readers of all ages. Harrison’s stories paired with her charming illustrations create a visually appealing timeline; one can flip through the book noting the distinct changes to the illustrations for each woman. While each woman is artistically rendered to represent her unique self, there is a standard stylistic format the author uses for her illustrations which implies that these women are of a strong and singular power. I found this book important because it reminds young audiences us that even the visionary, trail-blazing women of history were all once little dreamers, who dared to dream big.

Find it in our catalog.

Backyard Bears: Conservation, Habitat Changes, & the Rise of Urban Wildlife

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The cover of the book "Backyard Bears"Backyard Bears: Conservation, Habitat Changes, & the Rise of Urban Wildlife by Amy E. Cherrix (Scientists in the Field series)
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Kids

When you picture a scientist, do you think of somebody in a white coat working in a laboratory? The Scientists in the Field books show a whole different side of science- people who dive deep underwater, hike through jungles, climb volcanoes, crawl through caves, and (in this latest volume) track bears in their habitats. Backyard Bears is the story of a group of wildlife scientists learning about bears that live not in the wilderness, but in the city of Asheville, North Carolina. How did there get to be bears in a big city? What do they eat, where do they live, and how do they take care of their cubs? Are city bears dangerous to people and pets? Or are people more dangerous to bears? How many bears can live in Asheville, and still have enough to eat and places  to live? Follow wildlife scientists as they track bears, climb trees, and use technology to find the answers.

Find Backyard Bears in the catalog
Find other Scientists in the Field books

Dump Truck’s Colors & Cement Mixer’s ABC

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Coming Soon! Dump Truck’s Colors & Cement Mixer’s ABC  by Sherri Rinker & Ethan Long
October 2, 2018
Format: Board Book
Who’s it For: Babies & Toddlers

Dump Truck and Cement Mixer from the beloved bedtime book Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site are back, this time in a pair of board books for the littlest truck-lovers! Dump truck loves to haul and dump heavy, colorful loads all day, under the blue sky in the morning and the white moon at night, discovering every color of the rainbow along the way. Meanwhile, Cement Mixer is happiest when he’s spinning up a fresh load of cement and pouring it out on the job site, learning A-Z construction vocabulary as he works.
Find it in the catalog: Dump Truck’s Colors, Cement Mixer’s ABC, All the Goodnight Construction Site books

Whale in a Fishbowl

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Whale in a Fishbowl by Troy Howell & Richard Jones Illustrator
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Children & To All Who Are Waiting… Unknowingly to be Free!

Wednesday is a Whale who lives in a gigantic fishbowl in the middle of the city. She always watches the people hurrying, pedaling, wheeling and worrying around her. Wednesday can’t see anything but the busy city until she jumps up, then catches a glimpse of blue. Blue made heart soar and she loved leaping up to see it. The people around her thought she was doing tricks. But, Wednesday just wanted one more glimpse. When she wasn’t leaping, she stayed at the bottom. One day a little girl tapped on the glass,”Hey.” They gazed at each other. Her eyes were blue too. “My name is Piper. You don’t belong in there.” As Piper was leaving she called, “You belong in the sea!”
The sea. What is the sea? Thought Wednesday.
Because whales don’t belong in fishbowls do they?
Find it in the catalog.

Rescue & Jessica A Life-Changing Friendship

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Rescue & Jessica: A Life Changing Friendship by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes
Format: Easy Picture Book
Who It’s For: Children

Rescue is a pup who grew up on a special farm where dogs are trained to help people who cannot see. His trainer said he would be better suited as a service dog. Could he be a good service dog and what would his new partner be like? Then he meets Jessica, a girl whose life turned out differently than she thought. Jessica needs Rescue by her side to help her accomplish everyday things. Her legs were badly hurt and she had to have part of her left leg removed to become healthy again. She is an amputee now, said her Doctor and she would need a prosthetic leg or use a wheelchair.
On the farm, Rescue was learning how to be a service dog who could open doors, fetch things and be a helper.
Jessica was learning new ways to do things. It was hard and she was discouraged until a visitor came and brought their service dog. Jessica saw how a smart dog like that could help her and filled out an application to get a dog that day.
Rescue and Jessica got the news that they would be partners. Rescue and Jessica finally met. Rescue showed her all the things he could do to help her. “You’re amazing!” Jessica told Rescue. They learned how to take care of each other.
This story is based on a real life friendship between Jessica Kensky and a black Labrador retriever named Rescue. Jessica was injured during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. She eventually became a double amputee. Rescue and Jessica learned how to do all the things they needed to do together.
Find it in the catalog.