Connie recommends "The Lightkeeper's Daughter"

I really enjoyed the audio version of this book - available digitally via the CMPL Overdrive app.  For those of you with newer automobiles that do not have CD players in them, or for those who like to listen in general to audio books, CMPL offers many great (and free!) digital options.  Call us for more details!  

The narration in this audio book was excellent!  Although it is fiction, the book was inspired by those who served on the Great Lakes, tending lighthouses during the early 1900's.  The story is complex and moving and will keep you paying close attention throughout the book.

From goodreads.com:

"Though her mind is still sharp, Elizabeth's eyes have failed. No longer able to linger over her beloved books or gaze at the paintings that move her spirit, she fills the void with music and memories of her family—a past that suddenly becomes all too present when her late father's journals are found amid the ruins of an old shipwreck.

With the help of Morgan, a delinquent teenager performing community service, Elizabeth goes through the diaries, a journey through time that brings the two women closer together. Entry by entry, these unlikely friends are drawn deep into a world far removed from their own—to Porphyry Island on Lake Superior, where Elizabeth’s father manned the lighthouse seventy years before.

As the words on these musty pages come alive, Elizabeth and Morgan begin to realize that their fates are connected to the isolated island in ways they never dreamed. While the discovery of Morgan's connection sheds light onto her own family mysteries, the faded pages of the journals hold more questions than answers for Elizabeth, and threaten the very core of who she is."

Lisa recommends "Stomp"

I love books that encourage movement and action as they make reading a fun experience for kids.  Stomp by Ian Aurora is a new book that fits this category.  The listeners are encouraged to stomp and move throughout the book, whether you are stomping and wiggling your fingers or stomping and touching your nose.  For early child educators, this title is a great title for a crossing the midline activity.

Pair this title with From Head to Toe by Eric Carle and Clap Your Hands by Lorinda Cauley and you will have an entire room moving and grooving through story time.

Meghan recommends "Dora and the Lost City of Gold"

If you’ve been on the fence about watching Dora and the Lost City of Gold, I’m here to say “Go for it!’

This recent movie is a live-action reboot of the animated series Dora the Explorer, which ran on Nickelodeon from 2000 – 2009. In it, Dora lives in the jungle with her parents, who are explorers (and professors) searching for Parapata, a lost Incan city of gold. But when her parents get a lead on its location, they go off to find it while Dora is sent to stay with her Tia and Tio (and cousin Diego) in ‘the city’. First, Dora has some trouble assimilating in high school. Next, she stops hearing from her parents on her satellite phone. Then, she’s kidnapped by villains who are hoping she’ll lead them to her parents and Parapata. Unfortunately, Diego and two of her classmates are also kidnapped!

We watched this as a family and my 5-year old enjoyed the action and fart jokes. My 14-year old thought the representation of high school was spot-on, and got all the inside jokes about Dora, including Boots, songs about her backpack and little asides for the camera. I even enjoyed the self-aware humor and light-hearted fun.

Delicioso!

Kara recommends "Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos"

Ever since reading Relish, one of Knisley’s earlier graphic novels, I fell in love with her style.  As the mother of two young children, I found her most recent memoir to be a relatable account of conception, pregnancy and childbirth.  Additionally, it includes interesting information on the history of obstetric medicine, facts and myths about pregnancy, and honestly details the struggles many women face when trying to conceive. 

I would recommend this book for adults. 

Alicia recommends "When my name was Keoko"

Before and during World War II, Korea was under Japanese occupation.  The Japanese government oppressed the Korean culture by eliminating the language, the alphabet and the names of the Korean population.  The story is told in the two voices of the siblings, Tae-yul and Sun-hee.  The author, Linda Sue Park, wraps into the fictionalized story tales from her own family’s history. This is a gripping story of a historical time period that brings lessons to the modern world.

Meghan Recommends "How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse"

In its marketing of the new book “How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse,” the publisher described it as “Princess Leia meets the Princess Bride. ” Well, you had me at Princess Leia, and “Rory Thorne” turned out to be as delightful as described. The narration is an omniscient history style, very tongue-in-cheek, lending a light romp feel to the story. It’s something of a fantasy & science fiction mashup, with princesses, fairies, and magic (described scientifically as “arithmancy”) set on faraway planets and floating space stations.

Rory Thorne is a princess herself, and at the beginning of the book, baby Rory is given gifts by fairies at her naming ceremony (a revival of the ancient homeworld tradition.) These gifts include the usual princess stuff – kindness, grace, skill in playing the harp – but from the 13^th fairy she receives the unusual gift of knowing when someone is lying to her. It is not always convenient skill, but very useful. As Rory grows up and is groomed to become queen one day, he is assisted by two good advisors, the politically savvy scholar and historian, the Vizier of Thorne her practical and physically tough body-maid Grytt.

When she is 16, Princess Rory is betrothed to a foreign prince and sent to live on his space station, as part of a peace treaty to end a war that began when her father was assassinated. The ability to read someone’s intention as they lie to your face is particularly helpful in this hostile environment, and she uncovers a plot that threatens her life, her prince, and her kingdom! To save them,  Rory will have to prove herself both physically tough and politically savvy all on her own.

Recommended for teens and adults.

Ellen recommends "From Scratch: a memoir of love, Sicily and finding home" by Tembi Locke

Join us on Monday, November 18 to discuss From Scratch: a memoir of love, Sicily and finding home by Tembi Locke.  We meet at the Main Library at 6:30.

The author meets the love of her life while in Italy.  They marry & settle in LA, creating a rift with his traditional Sicilian family.  After a cancer diagnosis and the arrival of a daughter, their love is truly tested.  From Scratch is a beautifully interwoven story of love, death, grief, family and food.  Bonus - at the end are a collection of the author’s favorite recipes!  Tembi Locke may be a familiar face, as she’s been in numerous TV shows and movies over the last 25 years.  From Scratch is also a Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine book club pick.  This is available in print, large print, ebook and eaudio.