Author Spotlight: Maeve Binchy

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and celebrations of Irish culture this past weekend, we are highlighting one of Ireland's most popular and beloved modern writers: Maeve Binchy.

Maeve Binchy was born on May 28 1939 in the Dalkey suburb of Dublin, Ireland. She died in 2012. Throughout her life she wrote novels, plays, short stories, and newspaper columns. She is known for her well developed characters and descriptions of small town life in Ireland. Her writing is full of humorous touches and beautiful moments that will bring tears to your eyes. When reading her books you feel like you are there with her characters as they move through life's ups and downs.

For more information about Maeve Binchy, visit her website at http://maevebinchy.com/ or read her Maeve Binchy: The Biography by Piers Dudegon.

Many of Maeve Binchy's books are also available as eBooks or eAudio. Download the Libby app or browse on OverDrive to get started downloading to your device. Here is a list of her short stories and novels available at our library.


Short Stories Collections
Full House
London Transports
This Year Will Be Different and Other Stories
The Return Journey
A Few of the Girls


Novels
Light a Penny Candle
The Lilac Bus
Echoes
Firefly Summer
The Silver Wedding
Circle of Friends
The Copper Beech
The Glass Lake
Evening Class
Tara Road
Scarlet Feather
Quentins
Nights of Rain and Stars
Whitethorn Woods
Heart and Soul
Minding Frankie
A Week in Winter
Chestnut Street
Sister Caravaggio

STEAMpunks: Rainforest Book List

At today's STEAMpunks we are learning all about rainforests! This program for kids in grades K-5 centers on science, technology, engineering, art, and math topics (plus fun!).

For our rainforest STEAMpunks, we'll be visiting the amazing Evansville Community School District's Nature Center. Kids will explore lots of hands on activities to learn about this amazing environment! Here are some of the books we'll be sharing at today's STEAMpunks.

Lifesize Rainforest by Anita Ganeri & Stuart Jackson-Carter
A huge book filled with wonderful photographs featuring rainforest animals at their actual size.

Once Upon a Jungle by Laura Knowles and James Boast
An eye appealing book for young children.

The Umbrella by Jan Brett
A tropical story told in Jan Brett's classic style.

The Rainforest Grew All Around by Susan K. Mitchell
A rainforest theme version of this classic, cumulative song.

Disappearing Acts: A Search and Find Book of Endangered Animals by Isabella Bunnell
This gorgeously illustrated I spy style book features endangered animals from many parts of the world, including the rainforest.

How Monkeys Make Chocolate: Foods and Medicines from the Rainforests by Adrian Forsyth
This non-fiction book share information about the diversity of life in the Amazon rainforest.

The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
A beautiful story with a message about conservation and environmentalism.

A Hungry Lion or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Okay, so this book doesn't really feature the rainforest. There is an assortment of animals, some that live in the rainforest, but we shared this book for its humorously take on the food chain.

Author Spotlight: Atinuke

Last month our Book Buddies group, a book club for kids in grades K-2, read Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke. We loved introducing Anna, a lively young girl growing up in "Africa, Amazing Africa!" as each book begins. 

Atinuke is the author of the Anna Hibiscus books and a traditional storyteller. She was born in Nigeria and later moved to the United Kingdom to attend boarding school when she was 10 years old. On her website she says about the Anna Hibiscus books: "I had been meaning to write those stories for years - ever since the homesickness of my boarding school days when I discovered how little children in the UK knew about Africa and even more so as a story teller when it was clear from children's questions how little they still knew about the Africa that I am from." You can find out more about her life and her storytelling on her website.

Anna Hibiscus Picture Books

Anna Hibiscus' Song

Anna is so happy she doesn't know what to do with herself! She asks her family members what they do when they are happy. Anna dances like her uncle Tunde, sits quietly like her mother, and finally finds her own way to enjoy her happiness through song.

Double Trouble for Anna Hibiscus

Anna's life changes completely when her mother gives birth to twin boys. This story shares Anna's struggles adjusting to becoming a big sister and tells the story of how her twin baby brothers got their names Double and Trouble.

Splash, Anna Hibiscus!

Anna heads to the beach with her family looking for fun.

Anna Hibiscus Chapter Books

Each book share several stories about Anna and her life in Africa, Amazing Africa! Anna lives with her mother who is from Canada, her father who is from Africa, her grandmother, grandfather, uncles, aunts, cousins, and twin baby brothers named Double and Trouble. These books are illustrated by Lauren Tobia.

Anna Hibiscus

Hooray for Anna Hibiscus!

Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus!

Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus!

Welcome Home, Anna Hibiscus!

Go Well, Anna Hibiscus!

Love from Anna Hibiscus

You're Amazing, Anna Hibiscus!

The No. 1 Car Spotter Series

Atinuke wrote this series for and with her sons. The books feature Oluwalase Babatunde Benson, a young boy living in Africa who is the number 1 car spotter in his village. He loves car spotting and solving problems in his village. These books are illustrated by Warwich Johnson Cadwell.

The No. 1 Car Spotter

The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird

The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Car Thieves

The No. 1 Car Spotter Goes to School

The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Broken Road

The No. 1 Car Spotter Fights the Factory

Other Books by Atinuke

Baby Goes to Market

A beautiful picture book about a young baby and his mother visiting a busting marketplace in Nigeria. 

WINTER OLYMPICS

The Winter Olympics have come to a close.  This year's events were held in PyeongChang, South Korea and featured athletes from 93 countries.  These athletes competed in events such as bobsled, cross country skiing, curling, figure skating, hockey, luge, snowboarding, speed skating, and skeleton. 

The United States finished with 23 medals: 9 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze.  A couple highlights of the gold medals include the first American woman to win gold in cross country skiing, a gold for the men's curling team, and a gold for the women's hockey team.

The next Olympic games will be held in Tokyo in the summer of 2020 followed by the winter games in Beijing in 2020. 






If you are interested in learning more about the Winter Olympics, winter sports, or winter athletes, then give some of these books a try.


The Boys of Winter by Wayne R. Coffey
Orr: My Story by Bobby Orr
How Hockey Works by Keltie Thomas
Alpine Skiing by Ronald W. Kipp
Total Skiing by Chris Fellows
Great Moments in Olympic Snowboarding by Brian Howell
Figure Skating by Claire Throp
The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2014 Edition by David Wallechinsky
Curling by Claire Throp

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PRESIDENTS' DAY

Presidents' Day is an American holiday that is celebrated each year on the third Monday in February.  It originally began to recognize George Washington and was celebrated on his actual birthday.  In the 1970s, the holiday was moved to the third Monday as a part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.  Some places still have individual holidays to celebrate different figures, but Presidents' Day is often viewed as a day to celebrate all of the United States presidents.

For more information on this holiday, visit http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/presidents-day

Want to learn more about your favorite president or want to learn more about the presidents?  Here are some books on our past presidents to get you started.

Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick
The Quartet by Joseph J. Ellis
The Washingtons by Flora Fraser
Friends Divided by Gordon Wood
The Lost Founding Father by William Cooper Jr.
Lincoln and the Abolitionists by Fred Kaplan
Diaries I, 1779-1821 by John Quincy Adams
Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents by Cormac O'Brien
Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade
The Great Divide by Thomas J. Fleming
James Madison by Lynne Cheney
Jefferson and Hamilton by John Ferling
The Three Lives of James Madison by Noah Feldman
Cradles of Power by Harold Gullan
Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans by Brian Kilmeade
Martin Van Buren by John Niven
Grant by Ron Chernow
William Henry Harrison by Gail Collins
Zachary Taylor by John S.D. Eisenhower

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VALENTINE'S DAY

It's Valentine's Day this week!

Valentine's Day is a holiday that celebrates love and romance.  And, whether you love or hate this holiday, it's hard to avoid it.  To help you get ready to celebrate Valentine's Day, we have put together a list of love stories.  Pick one up today!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Come Sundown by Nora Roberts
Overseas by Beatriz Williams
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Venetia by Georgette Heyer
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
First Star I See Tonight by Susan Elizabeth Philips

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SISI: EMPRESS ON HER OWN

This month our book club will be reading Sisi: Empress On Her Own by Allison Pataki.  This story takes place during the mid-nineteenth century, and it follows Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary, wife of Franz Joseph. 

Once you have finished reading Sisi, try reading one of Allison Pataki's other books.  She is the author of four novels.

1.  Where the Light Falls

2.  Sisi: Empress On Her Own

3.  Accidental Empress

4.  The Traitor's Wife

Looking for work similar to Sisi?  Give one of these books a try.

The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson

Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund

The Chess Machine by Robert Lohr

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

The Last Tudor by Philippa Gregory

The Spy by Paulo Coelho

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen by Alison Weir

The Vatican Princess by C.W. Gortner

Medici's Daughter by Sophie Perinot

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