Staff Picks for August

Success in school As the dog days of summer slowly fade away and the start of school looms on the horizon, why not help your children approach the new academic year with practical advice for sure-fire success? In That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week, educational consultant Ana Homayoun focuses on "disorganized and distracted" boys, who score well on standardized tests but don't make good grates. The author outlines her special organizational system that will give preteen and teenage boys the foundation they need to get back on track. From cutting back on technological distractions to getting a good night's sleep, Homayoun's tips will help slackers climb to the top of the class.

At our staff meetings we take a few minutes to talk about the books we are reading. This is a list of recent favorites. STAFF PICKS for August

Daemon By Suarez, Daniel 2009-01 - Dutton Books 9780525951117 Check Our Catalog An INDIE NEXT Selection This high-tech thriller for the wireless age explores the unthinkable consequences of a computer program running without human control--a daemon--designed to dismantle society and bring about a new world order. …More

Old Jules: Portrait of a Pioneer By Sandoz, Mari 1997-03 - MJF Books 9781567311754 Check Our Catalog …More

The Case of the Missing Marquess By Springer, Nancy 2006-01 - Recorded Books 9781419389856 Check Our Catalog A new series featuring Sherlock Holmes' much-younger sister Enola begins. When her mother disappears, Enola is determined to find her and sets out to the heart of London. There Enola becomes involved in the kidnapping of a young marquess. …More

The Fatal Bullet: The Assassination of President Garfield By Geary, Rick 2003-01 - Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing 9781561632282 Check Our Catalog Geary explores the first assassination of one of our presidents in the hands of an obsessive-compulsive stalker, a deluded loser who thought his action would bring him national glory. Once again, beyond a mere presentation of facts, the author surreptitiously peels for us a bit of our national psyche. …More

Virginia Lee Burton: A Life in Art By Elleman, Barbara 2002-10 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) 9780618003426 Check Our Catalog A well-known children's literature expert introduces the exuberant life, art, and books of Virginia Lee Burton (creator of a steam shovel and a man called Mike Mulligan, a charming little house, and a snowplow named Katy), complemented by family photographs, full-color illustrations, and other images of her inspiring work. …More

A Nest for Celeste: A Story about Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home By Cole, Henry Illustrator Cole, Henry 2010-03 - Katherine Tegen Books 9780061704109 Check Our Catalog A beautifully illustrated novel about a mouse, her friendship with Audubon's apprentice, and her search for home. Beneath the crackled and faded painting of a horse, underneath the worn and dusty floorboards of the dining room, lives Celeste, a mouse who spends her days weaving baskets, until one day she is thrust into the world above. Here Celeste encounters danger--and love--unlike any she's ever imagined. She dodges a hungry cat and witnesses the brutality of hunting for the first time. She makes friends with a singing thrush named Cornelius, a talkative osprey named Lafayette, and Joseph, Audubon's young apprentice. All the while, Celeste is looking for a new home. Is her home in the toe of a worn boot? Nestled in Joseph's pocket? Or in the dollhouse in the attic, complete with mouse-size furniture perfect for Celeste? In the end, Celeste discovers that home is really the place deep inside her heart, where friendships live. …More

The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children By McGowan, Keith Illustrator Tanaka, Yoko 2009-09 - Henry Holt & Company 9780805086683 Check Our Catalog When Sol and Connie Blink move to Schoneberg, they are welcomed by an odd older woman and her friendly dog. In a spine-tingling adventure, Sol and Connie discover that solving mysteries can be a dangerous game--even for skilled junior sleuths. Illustrations. …More

Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel By Butzer, C. M. Illustrator Butzer, C. M. 2009-01 - Bowen Press HR 9780061561764 Check Our Catalog Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is familiar to all Americans. But never has his most famous speech--his 271 indelible words--been presented in such a visual and accessible format. Graphic artist and Civil War aficionado C. M. Butzer deftly uses a detailed, comic-book style to depict the Battle of Gettysburg; the national movement to create a memorial there; and the quiet day in 1863 when Lincoln delivered his galvanizing speech. Butzer uses only primary sources for the text, drawing from first-person letters and diaries, speeches, and Lincoln's own writing to unpack this series of historical events. The address itself is played out over eighteen pages, with every phrase given a visual interpretation that will resonate with young readers. …More

Sizzling Sixteen By Evanovich, Janet 2010-06 - St. Martin's Press 9780312383305 Check Our Catalog This 16th Stephanie Plum adventure will wear the blockbuster crown for grand scale fun, it's a surefire bet. Someone wants to kill Vinnie, but who? The list is long, and it's up to Stephanie to whittle it down to one. …More

I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy By Smith, Angie 2010-05 - B&H Publishing Group 9780805464283 Check Our Catalog "I Will Carry You" is a powerful story of ultimate loss--a parent's loss of a child--interwoven with the biblical story of Lazarus, helping those walking through the difficult seasons of life to mourn and still have hope. …More

The Pillars of the Earth By Follett, Ken 2007-10 - New American Library 9780451222138 Check Our Catalog This historical epic is set in 12th-century England and tells the story of Philip, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known, and those who become intimately involved in the herculean effort. …More

He Shall Thunder in the Sky By Peters, Elizabeth 2000-06 - William Morrow & Company 9780380976591 Check Our Catalog The clouds of World War I hang heavy over Cairo as Amelia Peabody and her family return to Egypt for another season of archeological excavation. When an exquisite sculpture is found where it ought not to be, it confirms Amelia's most unsettling suspicion about the reemergence of her villainous arch-nemesis, Sethos, the Master Criminal. …More

The Hand That First Held Mine By O'Farrell, Maggie 2010-04 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) 9780547330792 Check Our Catalog A stunning portrait of motherhood and the artist's life in all their terror and glory, O'Farrell's newest novel is a gorgeous inquiry into the ways in which even the most accidental legacies often connect people. …More

Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older By Eddison, Sydney Illustrator Proctor, Kimberly Day 2010-04 - Timber Press (OR) 9781604690651 Check Our Catalog Gentle, personable, and practical, "Gardening for a Lifetime" helps transform gardening from a list of daunting chores into the rewarding, joy-filled activity it is meant to be. …More

Pearl of China By Min, Anchee 2010-03 - Bloomsbury Publishing PLC 9781596916975 Check Our Catalog From the bestselling author of "Red Azalea" and "Empress Orchid" comes the powerful story of the friendship of a lifetime, based on the life of Pearl S. Buck. …More