You

You
by Charles Benoit

You wouldn't have noticed this book if you had not been putting a Young Adult sticker on it. You -- an intriguing book title with a striking cover: Y-O-U, spelled out in red pieces of broken glass. You skim the flap...a young adult "debut" with three prior adult mystery novels. So, not exactly a novice author, you think. You decide to read it. Author Charles Benoit, a former high school teacher, knows the territory in this book inside out. You can't get ahead of him. You don't want to. You can't put the book down. High school-. How has it changed? How is it the same? You've known someone like Kyle Chase, the main character. Or have you? You will have to read You to find out. -- recommended by Kay V. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Publisher's official You web site ] | [ official Charles Benoit web site ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

Dewey

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat That Touched the World
by Vickie Myron [636.8 Myr]

Remember Dewey Readmore Books? The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World? Who could forget? The dirty, nearly-frozen kitten was discovered in the drop box of the Spencer, Iowa, public library in 1988, and adopted the site as his "kingdom" for the next nineteen years. In the first book by Vicki Myron, former library director and Dewey's "Mom," the story is told of those adventuresome nineteen years, Dewey's influence on the psyche of a town suffering from an economic downslide, and his ability to help the humans who needed him most. It may be worth a second read while you wait for the next book, Dewey's Nine Lives: the legacy of the Small-Town Library Cat Who Inspired Millions, to be released on October 12. Or why not try the picture book, Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library. Psssst! There will also be a picture book released in October — just in time for Christmas — Dewey's Christmas at the Library. Enjoy! -- recommended by Kay V. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[Also available in book-on-cd, and Large Print formats.]

[ official www.deweyreadmorebooks.com web site ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

Louis Armstrong's New Orleans

Louis Armstrong's New Orleans
by The Thomas Brothers [Music 781.65 Armstrong]

The photographs and maps in this book are reason enough to check it out. But once you take a look at those, you'll want to know more. If you could start at the back of the book and read in reverse, you could trace the accomplished musician, Louis Armstrong, all the way back to his beginnings, including the influence of his birth circumstances, his grandmother's church, the rags-bottles-and-bones men, the Waif's home, the funeral parade second lining, the advertising wagons and the Mississippi riverboats. The book explains how encompassing the influence of old New Orleans was on the ultimate Armstrong jazz music. If you are an Armstrong fan, be prepared to want to check out the Armstrong CDs owned by the library system as you read about his musical development and recording history! -- recommended by Kay V. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Wikipedia article on Louis Armstrong ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

'Tis Herself

'Tis Herself

by Maureen O'Hara [791.432 Oha]

First my daughter read it, and sent it to my mother. Then my mother read it and gave it to me. 'Tis Herself is the kind of autobiography that keeps you turning the pages. Don't skip any paragraphs or you'll miss the eavesdropped story about Mickey Rooney or the fight with Lucille Ball or the time the stunt crew trussed O'Hara up so her incision would not break open in a mudslide. O'Hara's seventy years in Hollywood stretches long past its Golden Age and she gives us all an entertaining view from the inside. So relish the book, then enjoy the movies she writes about: Miracle on 34th Street, The Quiet Man or How Green was My Valley. -- recommended by Kay V. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[Also available in Large Print format.][ official Maureen O'Hara online magazine ] [ Internet Movie Database page for Maureen O'Hara ] [ Maureen O'Hara page on Wikipedia ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

Ten (or more) new reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog over the course of the entire month.

New Reviewer Profile - Kay V.

We neglected to mention in November that we've posted another new Reviewer Profile on the BookGuide site -- this time for Kay V., from the Youth Services department at Bennett Martin Public Library. You can see her profile responses at: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/profiles/kv-profile.htm
You can also view previous Reviewer Profiles -- look for the bold link after individual reviewers' names -- at : http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/srec/staffrec-indexbyname.htm

Forgotten Ellis Island

Forgotten Ellis Island: The Extraordinary Story of America's Immigrant Hospital

by Lorie Conway [j325.1 Con]

This nonfiction selection tells the story of the state-of-the-art hospital built on man-made Ellis Island to accommodate thousands of immigrants who were found not to be physically/mentally well enough to enter the United States. Some patients viewed the hospital, in use for only three decades, as a place of rescue while others viewed it as a "place of tears." It housed a "mental defect" wing as well as a separate contagious diseases facility. The reader becomes acutely reminded of the giant steps in medical knowledge from that era to this one. A corps of doctors, nurses, and interpreters worked at the site where 7-8,000 immigrants were seen on a busy day. One of the service interpreters spoke Yiddish, Italian, and Spanish, and was noted for his kindness of bringing a chocolate bar to patients from the city where he was attending law school. Fiorello LaGuardia would eventually become Mayor of New York City and suffered over the deportation decisions (marked by a large chalked "X" inside a circle on the right shoulder) made regarding mental health. With the window of a year in 1999, the author was given exclusive rights to document the remains of the hospital before restoration efforts began (despite such obstacles as poison ivy, asbestos and lead paint). Because of Conway's work, the reader is able to relive some of the authentic history of this one-of-a-kind facility through fascinating photos and anecdotes. (Even the survivors of the Titanic were required to disembark at Ellis Island!) -- recommended by Kay V. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Wikipedia entry on the Documentary filmed by Lorie Conway ] [ official Publisher's Page for Lorie Conway ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

Ten (or more) new reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog over the course of the entire month.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer

If you find yourself craving the inspiration of true friendship, synchronicity, and a heaping helping of the indomitable human spirit, pick up this new release. This novel unfolds as letters written between characters and gently reveals the depths of the devastating effects of the German occupation of Guernsey, one of the channel islands between England and France. Not just another war story, the pages of this volume bob the reader about much like the waves of the water surround this unforgettable island and its charming inhabitants who turn to literature in a time of dire need. -- recommended by Kay V. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Publisher's Mary Ann Shaffer web page ]

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Ten new reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog over the course of the entire month.

Staff Recommendation - Out of Order

Out of Order

by Betty Hicks

One of the 2008-2009 Golden Sower Nominees is Out of Order, by Betty Hicks. Told from the very different viewpoints of four stepsiblings, this quick but memorable read begins at the low point of the new mixed-family dynamics and works through deliberately dead tomato plants, a Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament, cicada snacks, Hemingway and soccer balls for Iraq to an imperfect but satisfactory ending. Ages nine to fifteen, the main characters Lily, Parker, V, and Eric share equally in the telling of this tale about how birth order gets Out of Order when two families blend. Other titles by Betty Hicks include I Smell Like Ham, Get Real, Animal House and Iz, and Busted!, all owned by Lincoln City Libraries (click author link to see the full list)! -- recommended by Kay V. - Bennett Martin Public Library/Youth Services

[ official Golden Sower Award web site ]

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Ten new reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog over the course of the entire month.

Staff Recommendation - Good Brother, Bad Brother

Good Brother, Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth
by James Cross Giblin [jB B6439]

Truth is stranger than fiction in this very complete work by Giblin. The author goes well beyond the cursory history book summary of the Wilkes family and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, exposing nine people in the plot against him. Many of the sources he uses are handwritten correspondences between the major players in this true drama. Much of the text is brought to life with photographs, paintings, and playbills. Giblin orchestrates his writing in such a way as to give a clear picture of the chronology of events. The reader gets to know Junius Brutus Booth and his sons well enough that they must be viewed as the real people they were, rather than textbook villains. The power of his story was such that I was fascinated to locate Edwin Booth's voice on the internet, as recorded onto Thomas Edison's new invention, the phonograph. A wonderful resource for grades 6 and up. -- recommended by Kay V. - Bennett Martin Public Library - Youth Services

[ official Good Brother, Bad Brother web site ] [ Publisher's page for James Cross Giblin ]

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Ten new reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog over the course of the entire month.

Staff Recommendation - On the Wings of Heroes

On the Wings of Heroes

by Richard Peck

Richard Peck's thirtieth young adult novel is a tribute to his real life hero, his dad, who was a World War I veteran. His description of life before the war makes the reader long for that time of family and community, quality and commitment. Peck's main character, Davy Bowman, has a dad and an older brother who are at once heroic and endearing. The dad has a bad shoulder as a result of his military service in WWI and his brother is training as a pilot for the next war. World War II changes everything for Davy. His life is filled with scrap drives, air raid drills, odd neighbors, and growing up early. Peck's usual humor shines through. This would be a great classroom read to help students understand daily life in small town America during World War II. -- recommended by Kay V. - Bennett Martin Public Library/Youth Services

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Ten new reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog over the course of the entire month.