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Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors
Every month there are new titles purchased for the Too Good to Miss collections at our libraries. If you're not familiar with TGTM (as we call it here in library-world), it's a special collection of popular books that are truly too good to miss. Some are new and popular titles, others are older titles that might not have had as much media attention as a bestseller or celebrity book club selection but are still great reads that deserve another look.
Even the smallest specks on this planet have to figure out where they belong. This story traces the journey of tiny baby barnacles as they stream through the ocean, floating away from their parents and into the vastness to discover where they will make their home. Some travel together and others travel alone, but every single baby barnacle manages to swim its way to "a place to stay, and grow, and thrive. Something every speck needs." Vivid watercolor illustrations show a vibrant, active underwater landscape, punctuated with the small, glowing dots of the baby barnacles on their journey.
Mika Moon pretends to be a witch in her social media videos and enjoys the sense of community she has with her followers. But unbeknownst to those she's met online, Mika really is a witch. And no one can know. Primrose, the woman who raised Mika is very firm on the rules for witches. And rule number one is tell and show no one. That rule has led to a peripatetic life and no long-term connections for Mika. Until now. She’s received an email: Witch Wanted.
Let’s talk pockets, shall we? Is there anything worse than “rotten pockets”? The fake ones, the tiny ones, the missing all together ones? Pockets have a long and checkered history in dresses and skirts. It was understood that trousers needed decent, sizable serviceable pockets. But dresses? Why on earth would pockets be needed in dresses. Besides, it might be possible for the wearer to squirrel pro women’s voting tracts in pockets and sow “sedition”. When dress silhouettes shifted from wide to narrow in the early 1900s, the loss of pockets was felt universally.
I did a lot of reading and rereading novels in verse in honor of National Poetry Month. Here are some of my favorites by Sharon Creech:
I was late to The Guncle party and truthfully only got it read because I needed to read this sequel. So here I am having read both in quick succession which had pros and cons as a reading experience. Before I get into those pros and cons, let me set the scene.
Prior to 2020, if you knew anything about Formula 1—or even knew what it was—you were a tiny minority of the population. You were also likely to be a gearhead, a motorsports obsessive or a European—probably all three, really. 2020, however, was a year to remember, and not just because of a global health crisis. It was the year Formula 1 went mainstream, all thanks to a series called Drive to Survive on Netflix.
Once upon a time, Elizabeth of York was a little princess who enjoyed playing with the family dogs. When she turned 18, her father gave her a puppy of her own, named Susan. Susan, a Pembroke Welsh corgi, became Elizabeth’s constant companion. She was supportive when Elizabeth joined a women’s regiment during WWII. Susan stowed away in the bridal carriage taking the princess to be married, and she comforted Elizabeth when her father died. Soon Elizabeth was crowned queen. After Susan’s death, she owned a succession of corgis and regarded them as family.
I'm behind in my movie watching so I only recently watched the adaptation of this excellent novel. And while the movie was beautifully done, it made me realize just how much the novel had impacted me.
Each profile features a fantastic poem by a different author who also has something in common with the young activist. Different types of poems (hello, curriculum!) and a succinct truth bomb about activism on each page ("In your city or state, who has the power to make things change? Write them a letter and ask for what you need.") drive home the message that all voices are powerful and unique, and that even the youngest voices can make a big difference!
