MY ANTONIA

The Eager Free Public Library is participating in the Big Read, and our book discussion will take place on Tuesday, November 17th.  This year's book is My Antonia by Willa Cather.  My Antonia is a classic American novel written in the early 1900s.  This book tells the story of an immigrant woman's life in Nebraska and is told through Jim Burden's reflections on his childhood friend Antonia Shimerda.

Willa Cather is the author of numerous novels, short fiction, poetry, and collected writings.  A list of her novels is below.

Alexander's Bridge
O Pioneers!
The Song of the Lark
My Antonia
One of Ours
A Lost Lady
The Professor's House
My Mortal Enemy
Death Comes for the Archbishop
Shadows on the Rock
Lucy Gayheart
Sapphira and the Slave Girl

If you enjoyed reading My Antonia, you may like some of these similar works:

The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
Close Range by Annie Proulx
Ahab's Wife, or the Star Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund
Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
Possession by A.S. Byatt
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf

Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=0140187642/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12

THINGS FALL APART

It's time to start thinking about the December Book Club pick!  Next month we will be reading and discussing Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.  Chinua Achebe was the author of numerous novels, children's books, short stories, poetry, and essays.  Things Fall Apart was his first novel and was written in the late 1950s.  This novel tells two stories, both focusing on Okonkwo, a man of an Ibo village in Nigeria.


Chinua Achebe's Novels:
Things Fall Apart
No Longer at Ease
Arrow of God
A Man of the People
Anthills of the Savannah
Chike and the River

Achebe's Children's Books:

How the Leopard Got His Claws
The Flute
The Drum

Works similar to Things Fall Apart:
Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela
Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Inheritors by William Golding
A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu


Photograph from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=0385474547/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: SHARON CREECH

Sharon Creech was a favorite author of mine when I was growing up, and I am happy to say that she is still writing today!  And, it is always good to remember that you are never too old to read children's books.

Sharon Creech grew up in Ohio and now lives in Maine with her husband.  She has written 19 books, and she plans on writing more.  If you are interested in learning more about this author, you can visit her website: http://www.sharoncreech.com/

Enjoy one of her books today!

Picture Books:
A Fine, Fine School
Fishing in the Air
Who's That Baby?

Novels:
Absolutely Normal Chaos
The Wanderer
Walk Two Moons
Bloomability
The Boy on the Porch
The Unfinished Angel
Ruby Holler
The Castle Corona
Chasing Redbird
Replay
Pleasing the Ghost
Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
The Great Unexpected
Love That Dog
Hate That Cat
Heartbeat

Picture from http://syndetics.com/index.php?isbn=9780061892332/lc.jpg&client=arrowheadlbs&type=rn12

Picture Books About Monsters

Ms. Laura, one of the librarians here at Eager Free Public Library, LOVES monsters in pretty much any form—craft projects, movies, songs, and books! Since Halloween is coming up, we thought we’d share a list of monstrous (and not too scary) titles that are perfect for storytime and book sharing with young readers.

• Monster, Be Good! by Natalie Marshall
• The Monstore by Tara Lazar, illustrated by James Burks
• Buddy and the Bunnies in Don’t Play With Your Food by Bob Shea
• Spider Sandwiches by Claire Freedman, illustrated by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet
• Nighty Night, Little Green Monster by Ed Emberley
• Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Kelly Murphy
• Mommy’s Little Monster by Dawn McNiff, illustrated by Kate Willis-Crowley
• Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin
• Have You Seen My Monster? by Steve Light
• Love Monster by Rachel Bright

Pick up one of these titles at your library or put one on hold through RockCat today!

Spooky Reads & Views for Grown-Ups

Today's roundup is mostly of adult books and DVDs, but a simple search in RockCat (limit to Eager Free Children or Eager Free Young Adult) will find similarly spooky stuff for younger readers.

Spooky Books

• Haunted Hikes: spine-tingling tales and trails from North America's national parks by Andrea Lankford
• Haunted Lake Superior by Hugh Bishop
• Haunted Wisconsin by Michael Norman and Beth Scott
• The Haunted Northwoods by Tom Hollatz 
• The Everything Ghost Book: spooky stories of haunted houses, phantom spirits, unexplained mysteries, and more by Jason Rich
• Ghosts of Madison, Wisconsin by Sherry Strub
• Famous Wisconsin Ghosts and Ghost Hunters by Hannah Heidi Levy and Brian G. Borton
• Ghost: Investigating the other side by Katherine M. Ramsland

Ghostly Movies & Documentaries

• America's Most Haunted Inns
• The Woman in Black
• The Innkeepers
• A Haunting: Echoes from the grave
• Paranormal Activity
• 1408
• The Shining

Get in the Halloween mood with one of these titles - call us to reserve one of these books or movies, or stop in to browse for more ideas. 

Great Non-Fiction Books for Kids

There are a lot of kids who prefer to read non-fiction over fiction, but for many adults, non-fiction titles may not come to mind quickly when helping your child or student choose a book to read together or on their own. Here are some great non-fiction books for kids that we can recommend!

• The Boy in Number Four by Kara Kootstra, illustrated by Regan Thomson
• Hippos Can't Swim: and other fun facts by Laura Lyn DiSiena and Hannah Eliot, illustrated by Pete Oswald
• Now and Ben: the modern inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Baretta
• Tuesday Tucks Me In: the loyal bond between a soldier and his service dog by Fmr. Captain Luis Carlos Montalvan, with Bret Witter, photographs by Dan Dion
• 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts by R.J. Palacio

I have to put a plug in also for the Cooperative Children's Book Center's Bibliographies and Booklists, which include a wealth of non-fiction titles that are also outstanding for kids, with ideas for topics like Food, the Environment, and Science and Scientists, to name just a few!

Fun Beginning Chapter Books

This week's book list comes to us from Imagination Soup. This is a roundup of fun and relatively new beginning chapter books for kids who have graduated from easy readers and are ready to take on chapter books (but not quite ready to jump in to juvenile fiction). These books are fast-paced, with interesting characters, illustrations, and print that is a little bit bigger than your average juvenile novel to make for easier reading. Enjoy!

• Big Bad Detective Agency by Bruce Hale
• Tank and Fizz: the Case of the Slime Stampede by Liam O'Donnell, illustrated by Mike Deas
• Snoop Troop by Kirk Scroggs
• Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot by Dave Pilkey
• The Magical Animal Adoption Agency by Kallie George
• Finley Flowers by Jessica Young
• The Case of the Weird Blue Chicken: the Next Misadventure by Doreen Cronin

Remember, you can put any of these books on hold through RockCat, or you can call the library and we can place a hold for you.