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True Stories

Railway Jack

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Railway Jack: the True Story of an Amazing Baboon by KT Johnston, illustrated by Cesar Samaneigo
Format: Book
Who It’s For:  Kids

Railway Jack is the true story of South African Railway employee Jim Wide and the baboon who became first his service animal, then his best friend.

Long, long ago Jim Wide worked as a railway inspector for South African Railroad, but after he lost his legs in an accident, he couldn’t do that job anymore. Jim got a new job as a railroad signalman, the person pulling the levers that switch trains to the right tracks for their journeys. He made a cart to sit on which helped him get to work and inspect the switches, and with his new wooden legs he could stand and walk a bit. But Jim struggled to do some tasks by himself, both at home and at the station. He needed help, but what could he do?  He bought a baboon of course, a very intelligent baboon named Jack! Jack learned fast and worked hard, quickly mastering water-pumping, taking out trash and sweeping floors. He pushed Jim’s cart to the station morning and evening, jumping on the back for a ride down the hill!  Amazingly, Jack even began to recognize train signals and learned which lever to pull to switch the trains. However, one day a passenger was horrified to see a “monkey” pulling levers at the station and reported them to the railroad. The railway sent a man to investigate, who tested Jack carefully. Would he pass? Would Jim and Jack get to keep their jobs or be fired? Find out when you read Railway Jack: The True Story of an Amazing Baboon.

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Born a Crime

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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!
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What the Eyes Don’t See A Story of Crisis, Resistance and Hope in an American City

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What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance and Hope in an American City
By Mona Hanna-Attisha
Who it’s for:  Adults

In 2014, the water source for residents living in the city of Flint, Michigan was switched from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the Flint River, which was considered less costly.  Residents were immediately concerned that the water smelled and tasted bad, and looked dirty, but public officials continued to say that the water was fine.  In August of 2015, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician and professor at Hurley Medical Center in Flint was informed by a friend that the residents’ concerns were well founded.  Not only was the water dirty, it also contained very high levels of lead.  Concerned about her young Flint patients, Dr.  Mona (as she likes to be called) immediately sought out test data which would reveal whether high levels of lead were actually present in the blood tests of these children.

In What the Eyes Don’t See, Dr. Mona gives her own account of the crisis.  Armed with data that confirmed high levels of lead were present in the blood of Flint children, Dr. Mona stopped at nothing to get local government to switch the water source and save Flint’s children from the devastating, life-long effects of lead poisoning.  She shares stories of her heritage, her belief in activism, her work at Hurley Medical Center, and the small team of supporters who helped her initiate this change.       Find it in our catalog.

What the Eyes Don’t See has been chosen as the 2019 One Maryland One Book.  Take some time to read this gripping story as it is shared through discussion and programming throughout the state of Maryland this fall.  Register to join us at the Leonardtown Library for the Director’s Book Club on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 12:15 p.m..  St. Mary’s County Library Director, Michael Blackwell, will host a book discussion of this book.

Fighting with My Family

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Fighting with My Family
Format: DVD
Rating: PG-13

If you love to watch WWE, you are going to love this movie! “Fighting with My Family” revolves around Paige growing up in a tight-knit wrestling family. Paige and her brother Zak are given one ultimate shot to try out for WWE. Paige is the only one who earns a spot in the WWE training program. This movie is based on the true story of determination that leads Paige down the path that makes her a star.  This movie also stars Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and cameos many other WWE stars. You don’t have to be familiar with WWE wrestling to be able to understand this movie. Anyone who has fought hard for something will definitely relate to “Fighting with My Family” .

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The Amazing Collection of Joey Cornell

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The Amazing Collection of Joey Cornell by Candace Fleming
Format: Book
Who’s It For: Kids

Is your little a collector of things?  Do you love colors, shapes, textures? Then The Amazing Collection of Joey Cornell is your book, and Joseph Cornell will be your inspiration! Before he was an artist and a filmmaker, Joseph Cornell was first a collector. From a young age he added any object to his collection that intrigued him-and everything intrigued him! His parents brought little bits and trinkets home to him as well, and as his collection grew he would give shows of his “Relic Museum” in the barn to his family. When he grew up, he began using his collection of found objects to make amazing collages and shadowboxes. Joseph never trained as an artist, but his work eventually made its way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York! A fascinating story of an unusual boy and his unusual art, with biographical information and a short bibliography at the very end.

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The Library Book

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 New Material
The Library Book  by Susan Orlean
Publication Date: October 16, 2018
Format: eBook, Book, Audiobook
Who it’s for: Teens, Adults

“Filled with heart, passion, and unforgettable characters, The Library Book is classic Susan Orlean, and an homage to a beloved institution that remains a vital part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country and culture. The Library Book reopens the unsolved mystery of the 1986 fire at Los Angeles Public Library’s Central Library—the most catastrophic library fire in American history—and delivers a dazzling love letter to libraries as an institution. Weaving her life-long love of books and reading with the fascinating history of libraries and the sometimes-eccentric characters who run them, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean presents a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling story as only she can. Along the way, she reveals how these buildings provide much more than just books — and that they are needed now more than ever.” – Publisher’s blurb

I was using NetGalley for the first time and needed a book to familiarize myself with how NetGalley works. (NetGalley is a site where book reviewers and other professional readers can read books before they are published, in e-galley or digital galley form. Members register for free and can request review copies or be invited to review by the publisher.) Since I got this copy from NetGalley, I have a lil introduction from the publisher about the book and author, which is neat because it gave me needed info. I did not remember what the book was about, only that the title was on my TBR list. I also did not know the author but her name sounded familiar.

My initial reaction to this book after reading 3 chapters or so was “Ooo, fire! Ooo, books!” Orlean’s writing feels like fiction not dry facts. I really enjoyed her writing. The Library Book starts with the author’s love of libraries as a child, which switched to her love of buying (instead of borrowing) books when she became an adult. Orelan then rediscovers her love of libraries when she has her own child. (This part made me nostalgic.) She then describes the LA Central Public Library, the collections, the art, the people, and the building. All of it sounded very cool and now I want to visit it. I think book lovers will really enjoy this book for sooo many reasons.

After those beginning chapters, she describes the fire. On one the hand my heart hurts at the damage done by the fire and water. On the other hand, the fire is so very cool, so very large, and so extraordinary. I also loved the description of how the city of LA came together to help the library: “They formed a human chain, passing the books hand over hand from one person to the next, through the smoky building and out the door. It was as if, in this urgent moment, the people of Los Angeles formed a living library. They created, for that short time, a system to protect and pass along shared knowledge, to save what we know for each other, which is what libraries do every day.”

Another aspect of the book I found delightful are the book titles with their library info at the beginning of each chapter. You can guess what the chapter will be about from the book listed.  I appreciated how Orlean goes back and forth with the time in each chapter. One chapter she is following librarians of the LA public library around in present day, the next chapter she is interviewing folks about the fire or describing the fire, and the next chapter she is giving us anecdotal library history. I found the history of library fires fascinating even though it made me sad. She also tells stories about notable folks that were involved with the library. The past directors of the LA public library were some characters!

The question of whether or not Harry Peake started the fire, was there on the day of the fire, or was just lying for attention and was completely innocent is not answered. Read the book and tell me your conclusion. Personally, I think Harry was there and started the fire accidentally.

Request your copy here!