Top of the Shelf | Committee Picks

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JANUARY 2012 ADULT FICTION 11/22/63 / Stephen King 11/22/63 is the date JFK was assassinated. If you had the opportunity to go back and stop it, would you? This is the premise of Stephen King's engrossing new novel. As in any time traveller scenario, one must suspend belief for a moment in order to have the protagonist, Jake Epping, leave the year 2011 and arrive in 1958. Jake can visit the past for as long as he likes-years even-but when he returns to the present it's always exactly two minutes later. Every subsequent visit is a "reset." You can change the past (and consequently the present), but as Jake learns, "the past is obdurate." It resists.

First Jake has to try to determine if Oswald did, indeed act alone. King’s writing about life in American at the end of the 50’s is very descriptive and readers can understand Jake’s affinity with this simpler time period. Jake slowly shakes off his 2000-era neurosis and enjoys his time spent in the past, but he can’t stop wondering about any “butterfly effects” he may inadvertently make with his actions.

11/22/63 was written by a more mature King and it shows. The characters are more developed and the pace is slower, just like the past.

Train Dreams / Denis Johnson Train Dreams is a compelling and haunting novella. Originally published in The Paris Review in 2002 and then in the O'Henry prize recipient anthology in 2003, the novella has been issued as a standalone hardcover this year. Train Dreams is a portrait of early 20th-century America as witnessed by Robert Grainier, a scrupulous, dignified man whose wife and infant daughter were consumed in a fire in their cabin while he was miles away working on the railroad or in the forest as a logger.

This novella can - and should - be read in one sitting, as it compellingly transports you into another place and time: logging communities in the Pacific Northwest during Prohibition and the Depression.

Accolades for Train Dreams include New York Times Notable Book for 2011 and one of NPR’s 10 Best Novels of 2011.

Turn of mind / Alice Laplante A stunning first novel, both literary and thriller, about a retired orthopaedic surgeon with dementia, Turn of Mind has already received worldwide attention. With unmatched patience and a pulsating intensity, Alice LaPlante brings us deep into a brilliant woman’s deteriorating mind, where the impossibility of recognizing reality can be both a blessing and a curse.

As the book opens, Dr. Jennifer White’s best friend, Amanda, who lived down the block, has been killed, and four fingers surgically removed from her hand. Dr. White is the prime suspect and she herself doesn’t know whether she did it. Told in White’s own voice, fractured and eloquent, a picture emerges of the surprisingly intimate, complex alliance between these life-long friends—two proud, forceful women who were at times each other’s most formidable adversaries. As the investigation into the murder deepens and White’s relationships with her live-in caretaker and two grown children intensify, a chilling question lingers: is White’s shattered memory preventing her from revealing the truth or helping her to hide it?

A startling portrait of a disintegrating mind clinging to bits of reality through anger, frustration, shame, and unspeakable loss, Turn of Mind is a remarkable debut that examines the deception and frailty of memory and how it defines our very existence.

ADULT NON FICTION Brilliant Career Coach: How to find and follow your dream career / Rowan Sophie To have a fulfilling and successful work life, this coach-in-a-book will guide you through the process of finding your ideal career. It is packed with smart advice; clever exercises; insights from world-class careers experts; and stories from people, like you, who've already taken the journey.

The First-Time Manager in Asia: Maximizing your success by blending East and West best practices / B.H. Tan These are three key benefits from this book: Setting in place Five Foundation Stones that will ensure your success as a manager now and in the future; Acquiring a Versatile Managerial Toolkit that blends the best from the East and West so that you can lead more effectively in the 21st century; and Enhancing your influence through the Power of Engagement.

Breakfast with Socrates: An Extraordinary (Philosophical) Journey Through Your Ordinary Day / Robert Rowland Smith Former Oxford Philosophy Fellow Robert Rowland Smith whisks you through an ordinary day with history's most extraordinary thinkers, explaining what they might have to say about your routine. From waking up in the morning through travelling to work, shopping, eating, going to a party, falling asleep, and dreaming, Smith connects our most mundane habits to the wider world of ideas.

AUDIOS (ADULT) The House of Silk / Anthony Horowitz A new and authorized Sherlock Holmes adventure! Anthony Horowitz, best-selling author and Holmes fan, was given access to the Sir Conan Doyle estate’s archives to create a new case for Holmes and his Baker Street Irregulars. A fine art dealer approaches Holmes with concerns about a man in a ‘flat hat’ who seems to have followed him from the US. Soon a series of crimes unfold – including murder. As Holmes and Watson investigate, they learn about the House of Silk, a mysterious entity which seems to connect the most powerful elements of both good and evil. Horowitz has created recognizable, intriguing, and polished characters in a mystery that closely follows the style of the best of Sherlock Holmes.

Entreleadership / Dave Ramsey In the latest book by the popular business author and talk show host, EntreLeadership is defined as the practical blend of entrepreneurial passion and servant-like leadership. This business guide is designed for managers, entrepreneurs as well as those aspiring to a leadership role. Ramsey gives practical advice on how to inspire and unify teams in meaningful ways – beyond the typical (and frequently tired out) pep talk. In a straightforward fashion, Ramsey also shares from his broader experiences of failures and successes. Learn how to set goals, execute, take ownership and inspire the same in colleagues and employees.

The Marriage Plot / Jeffrey Eugenides It’s the early 1980’s and Madeleine Hanna, English major is working on her senior thesis at Brown University. While she’s struggling to explain the current preference for the exotic, historical prose of the Marquis de Sade over the suburban, “daily life” writings of Cheever and Updike, her own real life are unfolding.

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The US economy is in a deep recession and job prospects are grim for college graduates. Madeleine has two very different young men vying for her attentions. The relative ‘safety’ of college life looks like it’s coming to an end. This trio enters the ‘real world’ and comes face to face with life’s big questions. This story has been acclaimed for its witty, charming and poignant storytelling.

AUDIOS [JUNIOR] Wildwood / Colin Meloy [Age 9+] Wildwood is a fantasy world (also known as the terrifying Impassable Wilderness or IW) set in a real city, Portland, Oregon. People don’t go to the IW – or maybe - they don’t return to talk about it...

Prue McKeel’s life changes the day her baby brother is kidnapped and taken deep into the IW. She and her friend, Curtis, decide they have no choice but to head into this giant, green, scary wilderness in search of her brother Mac. They find an amazing, intricate world full of animal and human inhabitants, some magical, some dangerous and some both. This classic fantasy storyline has a fresh, modern and truly Oregonian edge – it’s written by Colin Meloy, the lead singer of The Decemberists.

Inheritance (the Fourth Book of the Inheritance Cycle) / Christopher Paolini [Age 12+] At last, the astonishing conclusion to the Inheritance Cycle. In the first book in the series, Eragon, a young farm boy discovered a strange blue stone which he quickly learned was a dragon’s egg. Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, drew the attention of the evil King Galbatorix, but they managed to escape. Time has passed, filled with training and battles, victory and loss, building hope for the future. It is clear that they must now face Galbatorix and defeat him. This fourth volume has new characters, including dragons and ‘monumental secrets’, all vital to this final battle. The future of Alagaesia rests on their victory...

A Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth / Jeff Kinney [Age 8+] Greg Heffley has been in a hurry to grow up – but now that he is getting older, ‘grown up’ may not be such a good deal! He’s discovering that when you’re no longer a cute little kid, and not yet a grown-up, it’s a tricky limbo. There are new things happening – but it’s clear that they’re not all good news either… pimples, wild classmates (and brothers), a scary new dentist…

He’s also discovering that replacing a best friend like Rowley is not so easy, even if he deserves replacing!

CHILDREN Amelia Bedelia’s First Day at School / Herman Parish Amelia Bedelia is sure she will love everything about the first day of school. New friends, a new teacher, her own desk, music, books, gym, art, recess and lunch. Amelia Bedelia can't wait. What could be better than going to school? Amelia Bedelia has been making readers laugh since 1963, when the first Amelia Bedelia book was published. Now, for the first time, you can meet the young Amelia Bedelia.

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories / Dr. Seuss Seuss scholar/collector Charles D. Cohen has hunted down seven rarely seen stories by Dr. Seuss. Originally published in magazines between 1948 and 1959, they include "The Bear, the Rabbit, and the Zinniga-Zanniga" (about a rabbit who is saved from a bear with a single eyelash!); "Gustav the Goldfish" (an early, rhymed version of the beginner book A Fish Out of Water); "Tadd and Todd" (a tale passed down via photocopy to generations of twins); "Steak for Supper" (about fantastic creatures who follow a boy home in anticipation of a steak dinner); "The Bippolo Seed" (in which a scheming feline leads an innocent duck to make a bad decision); "The Strange Shirt Spot" (the inspiration for the bathtub-ring scene in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back); and "The Great Henry McBride" (about a boy whose far-flung career fantasies are only bested by those of the real Dr. Seuss himself). This is a collection of stories that no Seuss fan will want to miss!

Oliver and Amanda: Amanda Pig, First Grader / Jean Van Leeuwen For Amanda Pig, being a first grader means lots of exciting things. No more nap time. Playing on the big playground. Working at real desks. And best of all, reading!

But something is wrong. When Amanda and her friends get to the playground, the big kids take their ball. And even worse, when Amanda tries to read her book, she recognizes the letter but not the words. Is first grade going to be harder than Amanda thought? Not with help from her teacher, the principal, and her best friend Lollipop. In four friendly and cheerful chapters, Amanda and Lollipop discover how fun it is to be first graders.

Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same / Grace Lin Ling and Ting are twins. They like to stick together. They get haircuts and they make dumplings. They do magic tricks and they read books. They stick together and look alike. But they are not exactly the same.

Grace Lin’s six short chapters about Chinese-American twins, Ling and Ting, are the perfect length for beginning readers. Each story ends with an amusing punch line that will make readers laugh. The last chapter ties all the tales together, showing the fun and friendship that the girls share.

The Flint Heart / Katherine and John Paterson An ambitious Stone Age man demands a talisman that will harden his heart, allowing him to take control of his tribe. Against his better judgment, the tribe’s magic man creates the Flint Heart, but the cruelty of it causes the destruction of the tribe. Thousands of years later, the talisman remerges to corrupt a kindly farmer, an innocent fairy creature and a familial badger. Can Charles and his sister Unity, who have consulted with fairies such as the mysterious Zagabog, wisest creature in the universe, find a way to rescue humans, fairies and animals alike from the dark influence of the Flint Heart? This humorous, hearty and entertaining fairy tale is abridged from Eden Philpott’s 1920 fantasy.

FEBRUARY 2012 ADULT FICTION A Regular Guy / Mona Simpson Mona Simpson is Steve Jobs’ biological sister and many have claimed that A Regular Guy fictionalized her brother as a barely disguised character in the novel. The biography, Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson is listed again as a Top of Shelf section as members may wish to read both to make their own conclusions.

A Regular Guy is the story of Tom Owens, a Harvard dropout whose Midas-like good luck has turned Genesis, the biotech firm he launched in his parents

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basement, into a Fortune 500 company. Owens has become an unabashed philanderer and an aspirant to political office and has an illegitimate 10-year-old daughter who gradually pulls Owens closer. As Owens gradually grants Jane a larger role in his life, she pulls together a dysfunctional, ad-hoc family of her own, including Owens's longtime girlfriend, Olivia.

Most reviews state quite clearly that Owens is Jobs, but concede that Jobs is much more likable. When Steve Jobs was asked if he felt betrayed by his sister when A Regular Guy was released, he said, “It's a novel. About twenty-five per-cent of it is totally me, right down to the mannerisms, and I'm certainly not telling you which twenty-five per-cent.”

The Lake Shore Limited / Sue Miller Four people are bound together by the 9/11 death of a man in Miller's latest novel. Leslie, older sister and stand-in mother to the late Gus, clings to the notion that Gus had found true love with his girlfriend, Billy, before he was killed. But the truth is more complicated: Billy, a playwright, has written a new play that explores the agonizing hours when a family gathers, not knowing the fate of their mother and wife who was aboard a train that has been bombed. The ambivalent reaction of the woman's husband has shades of Billy and Gus's relationship, particularly the limbo she's been in since he died. Rafe, the actor playing the ambivalent husband, processes his own grief and guilt about his terminally ill wife as he steps more and more into his character. Finally, there's Sam, an old friend Leslie now hopes to set up with Billy.

Written in alternating voices, Miller always has a keen hear for dialogue and relationships issues that is apparent in every novel she has written. Miller has a beautiful way of making characters human, and ultimately she tells a great story.

Stalina / Emily Rubin After the fall of the Soviet Union, Stalina Folskaya’s homeland is little more than a bankrupt country of broken dreams. She flees St. Petersburg in search of a better life in America, leaving behind her elderly mother and the grief of the past. However, Stalina quickly realizes that her pursuit of happiness will be a hard road. A trained chemist in Russia, but disillusioned by her prospects in the US, she becomes a maid at The Liberty, a “short-stay” motel on the outskirts of Hartford. Able to envision beauty and profit even here, Stalina convinces her boss to let her transform the motel into a fantasy destination.

Business skyrockets and puts the American dream within Stalina’s sights. A smart, fearless woman like Stalina can go far…if only she can reconcile the ghosts of her past. Obsessed with avenging her family while also longing for a new life, Stalina is a remarkable immigrant’s tale about a woman whose imagination—and force of personality—will let her stop at nothing.

ADULT NON FICTION Steve Jobs / Walter Isaacson Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years, Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

Jobs cooperated with this book, asked for no control over what was written, he encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against.

His tale is instructive and cautionary, filled with lessons about innovation, character, leadership, and values.

The Cinnamon Club Seafood Cookbook / Vivek Singh Following on from the success of The Cinnamon Club Cookbook, Vivek Singh showcases his legendary way with seafood. His award-winning food has earned the Cinnamon Club restaurant in Westminster its place as one of the top destination restaurants of London and has established itself as probably the most famous Indian restaurant in the world.

Martha Stewart’s Dinner at Home / Martha Stewart For meals that are meant for sharing with friends and family but created with busy cooks in mind, Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home is a new classic that cooks of all levels will depend on.....whether you're making a Sunday supper or hosting a casual get-together

Simply Samia : Essensual Dining / Samia Ahad The art and craft of entertaining is made simple by chef, restaurateur, culinary teacher and hostess Samia Ahad. Chapters include Mediterranean Flavour Mother's Day Brunch and Dinner for Six.

AUDIOS [ADULT] The Sense of an Ending / Julian Barnes Winner of the 2011 Man Booker prize. Tony Webster is a middle-aged man whose life has always just gone along – never too much drama. Or so he thought… As the life, the career, the marriage that he’s built slips into retirement and peaceable divorce, he is confronted with specters from the past. Circumstances beyond his control force him to look at and think about the messy details of life – those he’s been able to ignore or denied. A coming of age or coming to terms novel…

The Drop / Michael Connelly Harry Bosch, a detective with the LAPD, has been given 3 years until he has to retire. This only makes him want more cases. His latest two cases will keep him challenged! In the first case, the lab results link a recent case to one from 1989 – This means the murderer was eight years old when the first crime was committed – or that there are serious problems at the crime lab. Then Harry is requested by name to investigate the suspicious death of the son of a local politician. This lands Harry in the kind of situation he hates- fraught with internal and external politics – not a good situation. He is a little older, maybe a little wiser and, true to his nature, just as determined to do the right thing – even if it rocks boats or ruffles feathers.

Mindfulness for Beginners / Jon Kabat-Zinn Mindfulness for Beginners is a definitive course on the “transformative practice of mindful meditation”. Jon Kabat-Zinn is the founder of the world renowned Stress Reduction Clinic at The University of Massachusetts. He is credited with bringing meditation into the mainstream, medical world. He has studied and developed techniques of mindful meditation to reduce stress, alleviate depression, chronic pain and more. This audio book offers technique and practice –

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guided meditation exercises to enable listeners to learn to relax both mind and body.

JUNIOR FICTION Lia’s guide to winning the lottery / Keren David Think winning the jackpot will solve all your problems? Life seems hard to 16 year old Lia. Her mum is a nag, her sister a pain and the gorgeous but mysterious Raf seems immune to her charms. When Lia wins 8 million on the lottery, though, suddenly everything is different. But will Lia's millions create more problems than they solve?

Firstly, a resentful gang of girls at school set up a 'We Hate Lia Latimer' Facebook group . . . that soon has fans in the thousands. Her friend Shazia can't have anything to do with Lia's new-found fortune, believing gambling to be immoral. The mum of her other best friend, Jack, is threatening to sue Lia for what she believes to be his share of the winnings. Raf's behaviour is getting stranger and stranger, and Lia can't help but wonder whether there's something to the school rumours that he's not . . . well, human. And when her sister Natalie goes missing, Lia begins to wonder if a millionaire lifestyle is all it's cracked up to be.

The Inventors / Alexander Gordon-Smith & Jamie Webb After accidentally turning their headmaster blue; inventors Nate and Cat win a scholarship to attend a special school hosted by the world's richest, cleverest and most charismatic inventor, Ebenezer Saint. Along with twenty three other bright young inventors they begin their stay in Saint's Solutions paradise, a compound filled with unimaginable inventions. But soon dark shadows begin to appear. Why is Saint reluctant to let them leave the compound - even to see their parents? What is he really after? Nate and Cat soon realise that if they are to come out of this experience alive, they have to out think and out invent Ebenezer Saint.

The Complete Philosophy Files / Stephen Law Is there a God, should I eat meat, where does the universe come from, could I live forever as a robot? These are the big questions readers will be wrestling with in this thoroughly enjoyable book. Dip into any chapter and you will find lively scenarios and dialogues to take you through philosophical puzzles ancient and modern, involving virtual reality, science fiction and a host of characters from this and other planets. There are fun cartoons to help illustrate the points and an index to some philosophical jargon at the end. The book does not provide all the answers but encourages the reader to think and argue the answers for themselves.

JUNIOR NON FICTION War Horse / Michael Morpurgo Joey, an English farm horse, ‘tells’ this story about the harsh realities of World War I – from many sides. As a colt, Joey is cared for by Albert, a farm boy too young to join the army. His father sells Joey into the British cavalry where the horse is part of a disastrous charge into machine guns. He is captured by German soldiers and put to work pulling carts. Eventually, he ends up in no-man’s-land and is injured. Soldiers from different sides of the war come together to save the horse. As Joey moves from place to place, and side to side, soldiers from opposing armies and perspectives talk to him – giving the listener an insight into the reasons for and experiences of the war. It also highlights the things these soldiers share – emphasizing a message about peace and humanity.

Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor / Joanna Cole The Magic School Bus is a fun and fanciful way to learn about science. When Ms. Frizzle, a super enthusiastic, slightly wacky teacher, takes her class in the bus – adventure (and education) is sure to follow. This time, the class takes a trip (that amazing bus can morph into a submarine) to the ocean floor. They learn about different plants and animals at various depths – and how the oceans and their creatures are connected to the human, plant and animal life on land. As always, there is an appealing story with extra facts tucked in for the budding scientist. This is a read along book and CD set.

A Brief History of Montmaray / Michelle Cooper The kingdom of Montmaray is an island off the coast of England. By 1936, the royal family has been reduced to just a few teen-aged girls and their odd uncle, King John. They are living on the edge of poverty and, it seems, with the real possibility of another world war. Sophie, 16, spends her days helping to keep the house and keeping a journal of their lives and her dreams. Life gets more interesting when a group of Nazi ‘historians’ lands on the island. The story starts a bit slow but will captivate listeners as it picks up quickly with romance, betrayal, espionage and more!

AUDIOS [CHILDREN/JUNIOR] War Horse / Michael Morpurgo Joey, an English farm horse, ‘tells’ this story about the harsh realities of World War I – from many sides. As a colt, Joey is cared for by Albert, a farm boy too young to join the army. His father sells Joey into the British cavalry where the horse is part of a disastrous charge into machine guns. He is captured by German soldiers and put to work pulling carts. Eventually, he ends up in no-man’s-land and is injured. Soldiers from different sides of the war come together to save the horse. As Joey moves from place to place, and side to side, soldiers from opposing armies and perspectives talk to him – giving the listener an insight into the reasons for and experiences of the war. It also highlights the things these soldiers share – emphasizing a message about peace and humanity.

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CHILDREN A ball for Daisy / Chris Rashcka (winner of the 2012 Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book for children) Any child who has ever had a beloved toy break will relate to Daisy's anguish when her favorite ball is destroyed by a bigger dog. In the tradition of his nearly wordless picture book Yo! Yes?, Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka explores in pictures the joy and sadness that having a special toy can bring. Raschka's signature swirling, impressionistic illustrations and his affectionate story will particularly appeal to young dog lovers and teachers and parents who have children dealing with the loss of something special.

We are in a book! / Mo Willems Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In We Are in a Book! Gerald and Piggie discover the joy of being read. But what will happen when the book ends? Using vocabulary perfect for beginning readers (and vetted by an early-learning specialist), Mo Willems has crafted a mind-bending story that is even more interactive than previous Elephant & Piggie adventures. Fans of the Geisel Award-winning duo won't be able to put this book down--literally!

Slugs in Love / Susan Pearson Marylou loved everything about Herbie—how his slime trail glistened in the dark, how he could stretch himself thin to squeeze inside the cellar window, how he always found the juiciest tomato. But Marylou was a shy slug. How could she get Herbie to notice her? Readers will have fun looking at the cute and eye- catching garden illustrations while reading Marylou and Herbie’s poetic love messages.

Froggy’s First Kiss / Jonathan London Everyone on the school bus is singing,“Froggy has a girlfriend! Froggy has a girlfriend!” Froggy has a crush on Frogilina. She’s the cutest frog he’s ever seen. He can’t even think straight when she’s around. When Frogilina smiles at him through the monkey bars, Froggy falls smack on his head. With Valentine’s Day just a week away, Froggy’s busy at work on an extra-special valentine. This fifth book about the irrepressible Froggy is sure to keep youngsters giggling with delight!

Cam Jansen and the Valentine Baby Mystery / David A. Adler It’s Valentine’s Day, and Cam is at school when she learns her mother is about to give birth. Cam and her best friend, Eric, rush to the hospital with his mom. There, in the waiting room, Eric’s mother discovers that her purse has mysteriously disappeared. Click, click! Cam’s photographic memory goes to work and she starts to unravel the mystery. Will Cam solve it before her Valentine sibling is born? The 25th Anniversary sticker on the cover is a reminder of the long-lasting appeal of girl detective Jennifer Jansen, better known as “The Camera”, or “Cam”. The newest story within will not disappoint!

Liesl and Po / Lauren Oliver Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone. That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable. Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

MARCH 2012 ADULT FICTION Rules of civility / Amor Towles Evoking the ghost of Fitzgerald, and set in New York City in 1938, Rules of Civility tells the story of a watershed year in the life of an uncompromising twenty-five- year- old named Katey Kontent. Armed with little more than a formidable intellect, a bracing wit, and her own brand of cool nerve, Katey embarks on a journey from a Wall Street secretarial pool through the upper echelons of New York society in search of a brighter future.

The story opens on New Year's Eve in a Greenwich Village jazz bar, where Katey and her boarding house roommate Eve happen to meet Tinker Grey, a handsome banker with royal blue eyes and a ready smile. This chance encounter and its startling consequences cast Katey off her current course, but end up providing her unexpected access to the rarefied offices of Conde Nast and a glittering new social circle. Befriended in turn by a shy, principled multimillionaire, an Upper East Side ne'er-do-well, and a single-minded widow who is ahead of her times, Katey has the chance to experience first-hand the poise secured by wealth and station, but also the aspirations, envy, disloyalty, and desires that reside just below the surface.

Lowcountry summer / Dorothea Benton Frank "Happy birthday? My pig-farmer boyfriend was in absentia, the county sheriff was the current cause of some very naughty thoughts, my drunk sister-in-law was passed out at my kitchen table, and my dead mother had sent balloons. What else could a girl want?" So says Caroline Wimbley Levine, the witty narrator of Dorothea Benton Frank’s latest lowcountry tale.

When Caroline returned to Tall Pines Plantation, she never expected to make peace with long-buried truths about herself and her family. The Queen of Tall Pines, her late mother, was a force of nature, but now she is gone, leaving Caroline and the rest of the family uncertain of who will take her place.

In the lush South Carolina countryside, old hurts, betrayals, and dark secrets will surface, and a new generation will rise along the banks of the mighty Edisto River. Wonderfully evocative, infused with humor and poignancy, and rich with the lyrical cadences of the South, Lowcountry Summer is vintage Dorothea Benton Frank, a deeply moving novel you'll want to savor and share.

Daniel / Henning Mankell Hans Bengler, a Swede with a dwindling fortune and uncertain career prospects, travels to southern Africa in the 1870’s to collect insects, particularly something rare that he can name for himself and thereby become famous. Instead, he discovers a young African boy of the San people, orphaned when his family is killed in a raid by white explorers. Bengler names the boy Daniel and takes him back to Sweden, where they begin a wandering life, with Daniel on display to curious Europeans.

Their wandering ends in disaster and the abandonment of the boy to a farm family in the hinterlands of Sweden. Daniel pines for the desert and is visited by his parent’s spirits as he searches for a chance to walk on the ocean in a return trip to the desert. Mankell offers a haunting and fascinating story of clashes of culture and race in the nineteenth century as well as a touching, sometimes cruel examination of familial and other human ties.

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AUDIOS [ADULTS] Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking / Susan Cain For roughly the last century, the "Extrovert Ideal" has grown to be the preferred, increasingly dominant social-communications style. Susan Cain, a "self- proclaimed introvert", has looked at the other side of the equation. She has examined introversion extensively, including psychological research, brain chemistry and neuroscience, and personal stories. She's explored strengths, similarities, and differences between the major styles. She has also looked at the implications of operating in a culture that isn't oriented to introverts. She introduces the listener to a number of successful, sometimes surprising introverts. QUIET is an accessible and uplifting book, which will give insights to both introverts and extroverts.

Dead low tide / Bret Lott A woman's body - found deep in the mud, a father and son going golfing in the middle of the night, secret military forces, mysterious global networks... What could they all have in common? At first glance, it appears that the only thing is Landgrave Hall, the wealthy, historic Charleston community. There has to be some reason this area is connecting such an unlikely group of players. And that reason, of course, is dangerous to discover...

Explosive eighteen / Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, is back! NOTHING has gone as Stephanie Plum had planned on her dream vacation to Hawaii. Now, she is on her way home - alone. Even worse, she finds herself mixed up in a murder - and she's a potential target! The murdered man had shown her a photo and now the photo is missing. Stephanie is working with the FBI to re-create the person in the photo but without much success. So for now, she's got to be careful. And nothing is looking too good on the work front either. Social life, work life, 'just staying alive life' - it's all complicated...

ADULT NON FICTION White Crow / Marcus Sedgewick It's summer. Rebecca is an unwilling visitor to Winterfold - taken from the buzz of London and her friends and what she thinks is the start of a promising romance. Ferelith already lives in Winterfold - it's a place that doesn't like to let you go, and she knows it inside out - the beach, the crumbling cliff paths, the village streets, the woods, the deserted churches and ruined graveyards, year by year being swallowed by the sea. Against her better judgement, Rebecca and Ferelith become friends, and during that long, hot, claustrophobic summer they discover more about each other and about Winterfold than either of them really want to, uncovering frightening secrets that would be best left long forgotten.

Cloaked / Alex Flinn 17 year old Johnny is an average guy. He’s got a good heart and works hard for his family business, a shoe repair shop located in a posh hotel in South Beach, Florida. When Princess Victoriana, a famed party girl from a fictional country comes to town, Johnny’s ordinary life becomes infused with adventure as Victoriana begs Johnny to find and save her brother, Phillipe who is turned into a frog. Along the way, Johnny uses magical objects, meets a myriad of talking animals including a flock of swans and a fox, AND discovers his real feelings for his best friend.

The Cunning Man / Celia Rees Finn is not at all sure about the Salt House. Overlooking the dramatic sweep of Westwater Bay, it brings back all her nightmare fears of drowning, of the ghosts of the dead reaching out for her… And Westwater is dangerous. Countless seafarers have lost their lives there, ships lost, broken on the vicious Viper Rocks, lured by wreckers’ false lights, summoned by the dark enchantments of cunning men – masters of sea or tide. Or so the legends say, but all that was a long time ago. It cannot be happening now. So why does Finn feel such fear? Is it her old terror back again or something new entirely...

AUDIOS [JUNIOR] Switched #1 / Amanda Hocking Book I of the Trylle trilogy Just like a lot of teenagers, Wendy Everly has wondered if she is in the wrong family - maybe switched at birth. It turns out that she's right- sort of... Every time she meets Finn Holmes, she feels unnerved - and attracted. Wendy discovers that she is a changeling - not just the wrong family but the wrong world. Finn has come to take her home to a magical world where she can become who she's meant to be.

Dead end in Norvelt / Jack Gantos Winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction In 1962, 12 year old Jack Gantos has amazing plans for his vacation. It’s too bad that they are cut short by his parents who have grounded him for 'life' for an unfortunate incident with a Japanese sniper weapon. It looks bleak but excitement comes his way when his mother 'loans' him out to an elderly neighbor who has a very unique task -typing obituaries of some of the people who founded their unique town. Jack finds himself involved in an adventure involving everything from Eleanor Roosevelt to the Hell's Angels - and a lot in between. This novel combines great history with laugh out loud humor and unexpected characters and events. Sometimes fact is better than fiction, and sometimes fiction is inspired by history...

Geronimo Stilton #25 and #26 / Geronimo Stilton Two new fast-paced adventures: #25 The search for sunken treasure- Geronimo is with his family on the way to the Ratlapagos Islands in search of long-lost buried treasure. He's not crazy about being on a ship, and he's not sure they're alone...

#26 The mummy with no name - It's nearly Halloween and Geronimo is headed for Egypt. He's a little afraid of Halloween spooks so travelling to Egypt seemed like a good idea. He discovers that Halloween is a popular holiday with the mummies in Egypt! Halloween and mummies ... what else?!?

CHILDREN Press Here / Herve Tullet On the opening page of Press Here, the reader sees a simple yellow dot on a clean white background and the simple words that invite the reader to "Press here and turn the page." Once you do "press here" and turn the page, the journey has begun. Each page invites the reader to press, rub, shake, tilt or blow on the page. Each time, readers are rewarded with some kind of action on the subsequent page. Rubbing the yellow dot may make it change color. Shaking it moves all of the dots around. And blowing on the page just might send all of the dots flying. Smiles, chuckles and enthusiastic interaction with the book is what makes the reading of this book so unique.

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The Highway Rat / Julia Donaldson Quick! Hide all your goodies! The Highway Rat’s coming, and he’s going to steal your food… He takes clover from a rabbit, nuts from a squirrel—he even steals his own horse’s hay. Can nobody stop him? Will he find his match in the form of a cunning duck? This is a rollicking rhyme in the style of the famous Alfred Noyes poem “The Highwayman” from the authors of The Gruffalo and Zog.

Me…Jane / Patrick McDonnell Jane loves to be outside with the animals. Sitting in the branches of her favourite tree, reading Tarzan of the Apes, she imagines a life helping all the amazing creatures in the jungles of Africa.

Award-winning author McDonnell tells the inspiring story of the young girl who would grow up to be Dr. Jane Goodall — primatologist, environmentalist, humanitarian, and United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Fractions = Trouble! / Claudia Mills If Wilson Williams thought multiplication was difficult, he is finding fractions impossible. And when his parents hire a math tutor for him, he is sure he’s the only kid in the history of Hill Elementary to have one. Wilson is determined to make sure that no one finds out, not even his best friend, Josh. At least his pet hamster, Pip, is sympathetic. Pip is going to be part of Wilson’s science fair project, because any project with hamsters in it is bound to be wonderful. But Josh has the coolest project of all: at what temperature does a pickle explode? Unfortunately, it looks as if Wilson’s secret may end up exploding their friendship.

Whoopie Lee, Almost Famous / Adeline Foo With Amos struggling to keep up with studies in secondary school, he has less time to journal about life in Singapore. That’s where his sister Whoopie (infamously known as WPI) steps in. Her diary is different. She writes what she wants, when she wants, how she wants. From dabbling in playwriting to training the World’s First Human Poodle, Whoopie Lee will stop at nothing to prove that she is more talented than her brother! What did Amos call her—Whiny, Pesky and Irritating? No, never. She’s going to set the record straight.

APRIL 2012 ADULT FICTION Defending Jacob / William Landay When a young boy is found brutally murdered in the woods in a peaceful New England town, his body hastily covered with leaves, the community is shaken to its core. No one more so than Andy Barber, a well-respected assistant district attorney whose fourteen-year-old son, Jacob, went to school with the boy. Sure, Jacob is a typical moody teenager, hiding in his room all day with his headphones and lap top, but Andy loves him more than anything in this world--and would do anything to protect him.

When, in a stunning turn of events, Jacob is arrested for the crime, both Andy and his wife, Laurie, are stalwart in their defense of their son: there's no way their child could've committed this terrible act. As more shocking facts are revealed and lies uncovered, Andy is pushed to the edge and his twenty-year marriage tested. Laura, his college sweetheart and love of his life, begins to fade in front of his eyes, crumbling under the pressure of the trial, the public accusations, and the weight of her own doubts--in her son and her husband. When truths about Andy's past comes to surface, he must choose between the life he thought he'd left behind, and the father he wants to be.

Defending Jacob raises the question: how far would you go to protect your family? But it also leaves you wondering if anyone could answer that question, and whether we really know what we're capable of when push comes to shove.

The Orphan Master’s Son / Adam Johnson Orphan Master’s Son follows a young man’s journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world’s most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea.

Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother—a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang—and an influential father who runs Long Tomorrows, a work camp for orphans. There the boy is given his first taste of power, picking which orphans eat first and which will be lent out for manual labor. Recognized for his loyalty and keen instincts, Jun Do comes to the attention of superiors in the state, rises in the ranks, and starts on a road from which there will be no return.

Considering himself “a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world,” Jun Do becomes a professional kidnapper who must navigate the shifting rules, arbitrary violence, and baffling demands of his Korean overlords in order to stay alive. Driven to the absolute limit of what any human being could endure, he boldly takes on the treacherous role of rival to Kim Jong Il in an attempt to save the woman he loves, Sun Moon, a legendary actress “so pure, she didn’t know what starving people looked like.”

Part breathless thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love, The Orphan Master’s Son is also a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love.

Claire de Lune / Jetta Carleton Arriving nearly 50 years after her bestselling debut, The Moonflower Vine, Carleton’s second novel is a witty and romantic portrait of a young Midwestern woman coming to grips with adulthood and the responsibilities that come with it.

The time: 1941, at the cusp of America's entry into World War II. The place: southwest Missouri, on the edge of the Ozark Mountains. Young Barbara Allen Liles, known as Allen, has just secured a position as a teacher at a small college. While dreaming of eventually seeing the world, moving to New York, and becoming a writer, Allen spends each day teaching the stories she loves with her students. Since she's much closer in age with her students than her colleagues, Allen is a little out of place between what she's supposed to be as a figure of authority, and a young woman who wants a little adventure. The close friendship which forms between her and two students becomes a small scandal, one that places the job she's come to love in jeopardy.

After Carleton’s death, her family looked for the manuscript she had been working on but assumed it was lost in a tornado. However, the manuscript was bequeathed to an old friend and has since fallen into the hands of Harper Perennial. And thus we have Clair de Lune.

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ADULT NON FICTION Where Underpants Come From: From Cotton Fields to Checkout Counters --Travels Through the New China and Into the New Global Economy / Joe Bennett When Joe Bennett bought a five-pack of 'Made in China' underpants in his local New Zealand Warehouse for $8.59, he wondered who on earth could be making any money, let alone profit, from the exchange. How many processes and middlemen are involved? Where and how are the pants made? And who decides on the absorbent qualities of the gusset? 'Where Underpants Come From' helps explain the intricacies of global commerce as Joe embarks on an odyssey to the new factory of the world, China, to trace his pants back to their source. Along the way he discovers the extraordinarily balanced and intricate web of contacts and exchanges that makes global trade possible -- and rapidly elevating China to the status of world economic superpower. He also grapples with chopsticks, challenges his own prejudices and marvels at the contrasts in one of the world's oldest, but fastest changing, societies.

Joe also travels to Thailand to discover the source of the rubber that goes into the waistband of his underwear. The book is not an academic tome about global trade, but more of a travelogue. Since Joe is rather naive about Asia, the readers in Singapore will find his observations to be quite endearing.

The Price of Admission: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges--and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates / Daniel Golden Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter Daniel Golden argues that America is rapidly becoming an aristocracy in which America’s richest families receive special access to elite higher education. Based on two years of investigative reporting and hundreds of interviews with students, parents, school administrators, and admissions personnel, The Price of Admission exposes the corrupt admissions practices that favor the wealthy, the powerful, and the famous.

Morton's Steak Bible The expert on steak, Morton’s shares its wealth of information on how to cook your steak to perfection in enticing recipes. Complete your meal at home with recipes for delicious appetizers and classic steakhouse sides, such as Five-Onion Soup, Maine Lobster and Avocado Salad, and Blue-Cheese French Fries. Tempting desserts round out this bold collection of delectable recipes.

Conversations with Power: What Great Presidents and Prime Ministers Can Teach Us about Leadership / Brian Michael Till

Brian Till has journeyed around the world talking to leaders of all sorts of government about how they got to the top, what they did there, what worked, what did not. His book gives valuable insights into the secrets of power - and how the powerful see the world today.

AUDIOS [ADULT] I’ve got your number / Sophie Kinsella Poppy Wyatt has been living a dream. She’s engaged to the ideal man. She proudly wears the heirloom engagement ring his family has handed down for generations. She’s planning an amazing wedding. All of this comes to a screeching halt when her ring goes missing, and in her panic, she loses her cell phone as well! She finds another cell phone in the hotel waste bin and decides to use it temporarily. It seems like a great plan – except to the phone’s owner, Sam Roxton, who wants his phone back! As the listener might guess, Poppy and Sam seem to stay in contact and ‘surprising’ things happen…

How we decide / Jonah Lehrer For centuries, philosophers have debated about how we make decisions. The conclusion is generally one of two ways: rational - fact based; or emotional – intuition based. Jonah Lehrer shares the latest research in neuroscience to show that our best decision making is actually a ‘finely tuned balance’ of the two approaches. Furthermore, different types of decisions require different balances. Lehrer explores different types of decisions and decision makers using real life examples. How We Decide identifies tools to use in different situations drawing from these real life decision-makers, and research. Can you learn to make better decisions?

The end of illness / David Agus Dr. David Agus, a top oncologist, has been looking at the big (medical) questions of life – “Can we live robustly until our last breath? Do we have to suffer from debilitating conditions and sickness? Is it possible to add more vibrant years to our lives?” He’s taken a slightly different angle most of his professional life - as a result, he’s come to challenge a number of commonly held beliefs about health, and becoming and staying healthy. He encourages the listener to think about the body’s interconnectedness, its systems – and not just one part or another. The audio book also contains practical suggestions for maintaining and improving health. It is a thought-provoking call to be our own best health advocates.

JUNIOR FICTION Struck / Rhonda Stapleton Felicity Walker believes in true love. That’s why she applies for a gig at the matchmaking company Cupid’s Hollow. But when Felicity gets the job, she learns that she isn’t just a matchmaker … she’s a cupid! (There’s more than one of them, you know.) Armed with a hot pink, tricked-out PDA infused with the latest in cupid magic (love arrows shot through e-mail), Felicity works to meet her quota of successful matches. But with a school full of potential couples, so much can go oh so wrong and But the path to love is not always a straight shot....

The Replacement / Brenna Yovanoff Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry he comes from a world of tunnels, black murky water, living dead girls all of which is rules by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. All Mackie wants to do is live among us, practicing on his bass guitar and spending time with Tate, the girl he has a crush on. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Virals / Celia Rees Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage "sci-philes" who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever. As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their newfound physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.

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JUNIOR NON FICTION Sports illustrated Kids – All Access This sports book is brilliant for anyone interested in American sports – it offers an up-close, behind-the-scenes look at the coolest things and places in sports. The endpapers are a full-size photo of the Red Wings locker room and Rams locker room; there are clear acetate pages that lift to show behind a baseball scoreboard and what protective gear is worn by football players; and you can compare your hand to Shaq's actual-size hand. One of the most amazing parts is a time-lapse photo series of the Staples Center being changed from hockey rink to basketball court -- in FOUR HOURS. Even for a non-sports-fan, this is fascinating stuff

13 Buildings children should know This unique book brings together thirteen architectural wonders that have intrigued children for years- pyramids built by men with pulleys, a tower that leans, an opera house shaped like a sailboat, a museum built like a spiral, and the most recent example, a "bird's nest" stadium where the 2008 summer Olympics were held. Through activities such as games, quizzes, drawings and other activities, it teaches them the history behind each of the buildings, and presents fascinating facts about the design, historical use, and construction techniques.

William Shakespeare and the Globe / Aliki Tells the story of the well-known playwright, William Shakespeare, and of the famous Globe Theatre in which many of his works were performed. Lively cartoon illustrations blend with more finished framed portraits, maps, playhouse designs, and scenes from London life to cover a broad range of Elizabethan theater history in addition to Shakespeare's life.

AUDIOS [JUNIOR] Mysterious Benedict Society / Trenton Lee Stewart “Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” This is the advertisement answered by dozens of children from around the world. After a series of clever and challenging tests, four children find themselves the members of what they dub The Mysterious Benedict Society. These four learn to use their skills and talents to work together, solving clues to foil the plot of an evil mastermind. Listen and see if you’re up to the challenge…

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny – Detectives extraordinaire / Polly Horvath Meet Mr. and Mrs. Bunny. They’re environmentally friendly (they drive a Smart car), stylish (they wear fedoras) – and they’re detectives! In this audio book, they are on the case to solve a horrible kidnapping. Their client, Madeleine, came home from school to discover that her parents had been kidnapped by ‘disreputable foxes’. This chapter-book adventure is full of quirky characters, and lots of laughs!

Beauty queens / Libby Bray It sounds like the perfect situation – a national beauty contest in a beach setting. All well and good until the plane crashes on a desert island and the survivors must learn to cope with the circumstances. As it stands, they are prepared for talent contests, evening gowns and mascara emergencies. They find themselves dealing with very little food, snakes and the possibility of (handsome?) pirates! This is a funny book which makes the listener laugh – and think about beauty differently.

CHILDREN Max’s Chocolate Chicken / Rosemary Wells It’s springtime, and Max can hardly wait to gobble up the chocolate chicken that appeared in the birdbath. But Max’s big sister Ruby says they have to have a contest—whoever finds the most painted eggs will get the chicken as a prize. Max finds lots of ants and acorns, but doesn’t find any eggs. How will he ever get that chocolate chicken?

Cloudette / Tim Lichtenheld Meet Cloudette. She’s a very small cloud who looks high and low for a way to do something big. When a thunderstorm blows Cloudette far from her neighbourhood, she discovers what a little cloud can do that makes a big difference. On her journey, she discovers new friends, new adventures and discovers what it means to make an impact no matter your size. Young children will find much to relate to in Cloudette as they follow her on her pursuit for greatness!

Richard Scarry’s Best Busy Year Ever / Richard Scarry A classic Richard Scarry Busytown picture book is back in print! Scarry captures all the hustle and bustle of Busytown through a series of delightful, brightly illustrated stories. Flossie, Big Hilda, Mother Cat, Squeaky Mouse and a cast of Scarry's popular characters are off to pick spring flowers, watch fireworks at the Pig family picnic, help the mail carrier deliver letters and celebrate holidays, family and friends. It's the best busy year ever!

Drawing From Memory / Allen Say This is Caldecott-Medalist Allen Say’s own story of his path to becoming the renowned artist he is today. Shunned by his father, who didn’t understand his son’s artistic leanings, Allen was embraced by Noro Shinpei, Japan’s leading cartoonist and the man he came to love as his “spiritual father”. Part memoir, part graphic novel, part narrative history, Drawing From Memory presents a complex look at the real-life relationship between a mentor and his student. It is a book that will inspire the artist in all of us.

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key / Jack Gantos This Joey Pigza can't sit still. He can't pay attention, he can't follow the rules, and he can't help it—especially when his meds aren't working. Joey's had problems ever since he was born, problems just like his dad and grandma has. And whether he's wreaking havoc on a class trip or swallowing his house key, Joey's problems are getting worse. In fact, his behavior is so off the wall that his teachers are threatening to send him to the special-ed center downtown. Joey knows he's really a good kid, but no matter how hard he tries to do the right thing, something always seems to go wrong. For young readers touched by ADD—and for their teachers and parents—Joey gives us the key to his world.

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MAY 2012 ADULT FICTION The Lifeboat / Charlotte Rogan It is the summer of 1914 and Europe is on the brink of war, but Grace Winter's future finally seems secure as she and her new husband set sail for New York, where she hopes to win over a disapproving and status-conscious mother-in-law. When a mysterious explosion sinks their ship, Grace is thrust into a lifeboat by a quick-witted crew member, who climbs in after her even though the boat is already filled beyond capacity.

As the weather deteriorates and the passengers are forced to choose sides in a brewing power struggle, Grace realizes that her survival could depend on whether she backs the ruthless but experienced John Hardie or the enigmatic but increasingly forceful Ursula Grant. Over the course of three perilous weeks, the lifeboat passengers plot, scheme, gossip and console one another while questioning their deepest assumptions about goodness, humanity and God.

Grace is finally rescued, only to be put on trial for her life. Unsure what to make of their client, Grace's attorneys suggest she write her story down. The result is a page-turning tale of moral dilemmas, and also a haunting portrait of a woman as unforgettable and complicated as the events she describes.

The Expats / Chris Pavone Kate Moore is a working mother, struggling to make ends meet, to raise children, to keep a spark in her marriage, and to maintain an increasingly unbearable life-defining secret. So when her husband is offered a lucrative job in Luxembourg, she jumps at the chance to leave behind her double-life, to start anew.

She begins to reinvent herself as an expat, finding her way in a language she doesn’t speak, doing the housewifely things she’s never before done—play-dates and coffee mornings, daily cooking and unending laundry. Meanwhile, her husband works incessantly, doing a job Kate has never understood, for a banking client she’s not allowed to know. He’s becoming distant and evasive; she’s getting lonely and bored.

Then another American couple arrives. Kate soon becomes suspicious that these people are not who they claim to be, and terrified that her own past is catching up to her. So Kate begins to dig, to peel back the layers of deception that surround her. She discovers fake offices and shell corporations and a hidden gun; a mysterious farmhouse and numbered accounts with bewildering sums of money; a complex web of intrigue where no one is who they claim to be, and the most profound deceptions lurk beneath the most normal-looking of relationships; and a mind-boggling long-play con threatens her family, her marriage, and her life.

ADULT NON FICTION Totto-Chan : the little girl at the window / Tetsuko Kuroyanagi The recollection of TV personality Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, one of Japans’ most popular, and of her growing up and schooling in her hometown of a Tokyo suburb during the Second World War.

As a hugely curious child Ms. Kuroyanagi did not fit into the regimented schooling style of her time. But her insightful mother found just the right school for her inquisitive child in an unusual school housed in old railroad cars for classrooms. It was run by an extraordinary man, its founder and headmaster, Sosaku Kobayashi, who was a firm believer in freedom of expression and activity. An educator far ahead of his time, he had the children follow their curiosity and gave them the freedom to follow their hearts in the way they approached their studies. The book makes a heart-warming read and has a lot to reveal about children, the way they learn and are taught; and the alternative way of broadening minds and let spirits fly.

MWF seeking BFF / Rachel Bertsche Rachel Bertsche moves to Chicago to finally turn a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend into a shared life. But shortly after getting married, Bertsche realizes that her new life is missing her best friends whom she left behind in New York and San Francisco and Boston and Washington, D.C. And no matter how much you love your husband, a woman needs a best friend to relate to in order to be fully content in life.

In her new hometown, she has no best friend she can call at the last minute for girl talk or a reality-TV marathon over a bottle of wine. Bertsche develops a plan to find such a friend in the coming year: She'll go on fifty-two friend-dates, one per week for the coming year and hopes to meet some new Best Friend Forever. In her thought-provoking, humorous memoir, Bertsche relates the stories of her targeting girl-dates and spending time with potential new best friends, their evaluations whom she seeks out anywhere from fitness classes to friend rental websites. Interesting is how she relates this search with the latest social research into adult relationship making. She examines how difficult--and hilariously awkward--it is to make new friends as an adult.

Iron Lady : the Thatcher years / Stephen Blake and Andrew John Published to coincide with the UK release of the film The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep, this book reveals the private woman behind the leader once dubbed the 'Iron Lady'. It offers an interesting insight into the mind of one of the most successful and influential politicians of our time.

The book takes a thorough, yet light-hearted look at the life and times of Britain's longest-serving twentieth-century prime minister. Margret Thatcher was the first woman to become leader of a European country and the first British premier to win a re-election for three consecutive terms.

Reflecting on her life and character, from her upbringing as the daughter of a Lincolnshire grocer, to the years as one of the most powerful and controversial European leaders, it reflects on her work and enduring values still influencing today's politics. Her current iconographic status as an international statesman and thinker is legendary, as were her alliances with world leaders such as Reagan and Gorbachev which had far reaching consequences. This book is offering a rare insight into the life and career of this legendary woman.

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AUDIOS [ADULT] The blessing of a skinned knee / Wendy Mogel In this very accessible parenting book, Dr. Mogel, addresses the challenges of parenting younger children. The book is full of everyday parenting problems and honest, practical comments and solutions. Dr. Mogel, a parent, and a parenting expert and clinical psychologist, combines her education and experience with the perspective of Jewish wisdom, the Torah and the Talmud. A key premise is that each child is both ordinary and unique. This audio book is easy to listen to, thought provoking and sure to offer insights to every parent.

Behind the beautiful forevers / Katherine Boo Behind the Beautiful Forevers represents three years of in depth reporting on the human effects of rapid growth and globalization as seen in one small ‘town’ near Mumbai. Annawadi is an informal settlement near the Mumbai airport – and as Mumbai grows, this community watches and anticipates its own opportunities. The audio book follows the stories of several people as they dream, identify plans and aim at a better future. The author uses the intersection of these personal stories with the realities of a competitive global economy to show the harsh truths, the courage and the beauty of the people of Annawadi. It’s a memorable look at these lives, told with humor and insight.

JUNIOR FICTION The hollow / Jessica Verday When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special. Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all these, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend.

It’s kind of a funny story / Ned Vizzini Craig is 15 and lives with his family in an upper-middle class Manhattan neighbourhood in New York City. He attends a prestigious school having studied hard to win admission. However, he becomes overwhelmed by the school's intense academic pressure. His stress eventually manifests itself in an eating disorder, depression, use of marijuana, affected sleep habits, and suicidal thoughts and he eventually he is admitted to a nearby psychiatric hospital. He meets many other patients, some friendly, others reclusive or delusional, and is supported and encouraged by his family and school principal which allow him to confront the sources of his anxiety.

So B. It / Sarah Weeks Heidi lives an unconventional lifestyle in Reno with her mentally disabled mother and their doting neighbour, Bernadette. There are a lot of things Heidi does not know about her mother and her life before she had Heidi. A mysterious word in her mother's vocabulary leads Heidi on a cross-country journey in search of the secrets of her past.

AUDIOS [JUNIOR] The fault in our Stars / John Green Hazel is a teen-aged girl with terminal cancer when she meets Augustus at a cancer support group. They fall in love even as they face their own mortalities. In a story full of charm and humor, this novel explores some of the big questions that go to the heart of the human experience – ‘does my life have meaning? Will my death have meaning? Is it okay to feel some happiness in the midst of all this loss?’

Marsupial Sue / John Lithgow Sue didn’t like being a kangaroo. Bouncing and hopping made her ache – her head, her side, and her tummy! John Lithgow, actor, comedian and children’s author, tells the story as Sue tries on different Australian personas – platypus and koala. With humor and music, Sue learns that she can be happy just being who she is!

The Magic School Bus lost in the Solar System / Joanna Cole Ms. Frizzle has planned a class trip to the planetarium but when they arrive, the planetarium is closed! Never one to be slowed down by such things, Ms. Frizzle decides to take the class on a space field trip – and manages to launch the Magic School Bus into space! They visit a number of planets in our solar system and the students share their new knowledge in short, simple reports. With a lot of humor, and a little imagination, this is a great introduction to the planets.

The Magician, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #2 / Michael Scott In the second instalment in the series, readers can pick up the Nicholas Flamel story right where it left off in The Alchemyst. Sophie and Josh, teenage twins who discover they have amazing powers, learn that these powers come with a price. They need to learn how to use them. The twins join forces with a host of other immortals, both human and otherwise… There is a new villain, Niccolo Machiavelli, and familiar villains such as Dr. John Dee returns in search of the pages of the Book of Abraham. This is an action packed, character packed fantasy instalment.

CHILDREN

Forsythia and Me: A Book About Two Amazing Friends / Vincent X. Kirsch Chester has always been amazed by his best friend, Forsythia. She can do the most incredible things, like tame ferocious animals at the zoo and play the piano while standing on her head. But one day when Forsythia gets sick, Chester discovers all the amazing things he can do. Vincent X. Kirsch’s charming story and whimsical illustrations will warm the heart of any reader who has ever admired a friend.

I Want My Hat Back / Jon Klassen The bear’s hat is gone, and he wants it back. Patiently and politely, he asks the animals he comes across, one by one, whether they have seen it. Each animal says no, some more elaborately than others. But just as the bear begins to despond, a deer comes by and asks a simple question that sparks the bear’s memory and renews his search with a vengeance. Told completely in dialogue, this delicious take on the classic repetitive tale plays out in sly illustrations laced with visual humor and winks at the reader with a wry irreverence that will have kids of all ages thrilled to be in on the joke.

Naamah and the Ark of Night / Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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Naamah is the wife of Noah, and her name means “great singer.” For forty days and forty nights, as the ark tosses on storm-wracked seas, Naamah sings. She sings to the animals, two by two. She sings to her husband, her sons, and their wives. She sings, and they all sleep, finally at peace. Rhythmic, lyrical text paired with fascinating collage artwork make for a cozy, tender lullaby.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever (Book 6) / Jeff Kinney Are you a Wimpy Kid fan? If you are, then best-selling author Jeff Kinney’s 6th installment is sure to tickle your funny bone. Greg Heffley is in big trouble. School property has been damaged, and Greg is the prime suspect. But the crazy thing is, he’s innocent. Or at least sort of. The authorities are closing in, but when a surprise blizzard hits, the Heffley family is trapped indoors. Greg knows that when the snow melts he’s going to have to face the music, but could any punishment be worse than being stuck inside with your family for the holidays?

Clementine and the Family Meeting #5/ Sara Pennypacker Already worried because her science project rat has disappeared, 8-year-old Clementine is dismayed to learn that her perfect four-person family is about to become five. Things are changing too fast. Clementine’s concerns about her mother’s pregnancy are presented with understanding and sympathy, as is her lively distractible nature at school. The first-person narrative introduces a new side of Clementine—she wants to build things, like her dad does—and a new friendship issue arises with Margaret’s sudden interest in make-up. Pennypacker continues to find new areas to explore in this popular middle-grade series about families, friendship and sibling rivalry. Marla Frazee’s line drawings provide the perfect complement to the writing.

TODDLERS Sandra Keith Boynton The Library has around 20 board books written and illustrated by Sandra Boynton. Born in Orange City, N.J. in 1953, Boynton got her professional life started during her college years by writing greeting cards. She has designed at least 4,000 greeting cards, including the well-known birthday card, “Hippo Birdie Two Ewes,” with 10 million copies sold.

Along with designing many other things like bed sheets, boxer shorts, calendars, puppets, wallpaper, and popcorn tins, she has written many children’s books. She has also written lyrics for more than sixty songs.

Here are some of the board books you can find at the Library:

Belly Button Book Featuring a beachful of bare-bellied hippos—including one tiny baby who can only say “Bee Bo”—the Belly Button Book is the latest quirky addition to the phenomenally successful Boynton on Board series. Every page captivates with Sandra Boynton’s inimitable illustrations and joyful rhyming text: Soon after dark, upon the beach, we sing a hippo song, and if you’re feeling in the mood, we hope you’ll sing along: “Belly Belly Button, you’re oh so fine. Ooo, Belly Button, I’m so happy you’re mine.” Shiny and sturdy, and featuring a great (navel-shaped, naturally) die-cut cover that offers a provocative glimpse of the merriment inside, the Belly Button Book provides enduring, giggly, read-aloud fun.

What’s wrong, little Pookie? Here's another winner from one of our favorite children's book authors... It's about the trouble that occurs when strong emotions -- unhappiness or anger or boredom or helplessness -- collide with a little person's inability to explain what they are feeling, or why. A toddler named Little Pookie is in a big funk, and his/her caregiver asks a bunch of questions to find out why. The adult's question appear in bold, dark typeface; Pookie replies in little red letters. Are you tired? No. Are you hungry? No. Did you lose something? No. Finally, the adult realizes that an actual answer probably isn't possible, and starts to ask silly, nonsense questions that help Little Pookie laugh a little and get unstuck. This call-and-response structure makes this a really fun book for parents and kids to read together... This is a lovely little book and a great tool to help build emotional intelligence... Highly recommended!

The going to bed book For a little one who is reluctant to go to bed, sometimes a silly book is just the ticket. And when it comes to silly books, Sandra Boynton is the undisputed queen. In The Going to Bed Book, an ark full of animals watches the sun go down and then prepares for bed. They take a bath ("in one big tub"), find pajamas, brush their teeth, do exercises up on deck (imagine an elephant jumping rope, a moose lifting weights, and a pig doing handstands), and finally say good night. “The moon is high. The sea is deep. They rock and rock and rock to sleep.

JUNE 2012 ADULT FICTION A slender thread / Katharine Davis Close-knit ties between two sisters are explored in this deeply-stirring family drama inspired by Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), a neurological disease that gradually destroys communication abilities. New York gallery employee and frustrated artist Margot Winkler always looks for guidance to her older sister, Lacey, a talented New Hampshire weaver. But now when her sister is diagnosed with PPA, they're forced to swap roles. Lacey's husband, Alex, wants Lacey to break the news to their college-bound twins, Wink and Toni, despite Lacey's reluctance, and asks Margot to convince her.

Oliver, Margot's live-in boyfriend, grows increasingly unhappy with Margot focusing on Lacey instead of their relationship. As they hurtle toward an ultimately enlightening crisis, Davis interweaves her characters' perspectives with amazing dexterity. A cut above the usual family tear-jerker, Davis delivers an insightful exploration of how a terminal illness can affect not only the one diagnosed, but also the people who love them.

The shoemaker’s wife / Adriana Trigiani Adriana Trigiani's "The Shoemaker's Wife" is an epic tale of immigration, love, and finding your life. The novel spans three decades, from the 1910s to the end of World War II. At the center of the story are Ciro and Enza, two young immigrants from the same small town in the Italian Alps. Both must immigrate to New York under duress, after their initial spark in Italy. After a chance encounter in New York, the two must decide if their future lies together or apart.

From the stately mansions of Carnegie Hill, to the cobblestone streets of Little Italy, over the perilous cliffs of northern Italy, to the white-capped lakes of northern Minnesota, these star-crossed lovers meet and separate, until, finally, the power of their love changes both of their lives forever.

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The beginner’s goodbye / Anne Tyler Aaron is a thirty-something book publisher. Disabled after a childhood illness, he grew up resisting the well-meaning, overprotective urges of his strong-willed mother and sister. Then, he meets Dorothy, a doctor, who has no interest in coddling him. They fall in love and establish a warm, workable marriage - until, one day, the unthinkable happens. A tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed.

Aaron struggles to absorb this crushing loss, sometimes regaining a measure of equanimity, sometimes brought to his knees with the sheer force of his grief and despair. As Aaron struggles to cope and to adjust to his new life, he suddenly begins to see his dead wife Dorothy appearing. There is no pattern to her visits, making Aaron long to have her with him all the more. During these times, the two talk and discuss their life together. All the while, Aaron wonders what others see, and what they must think. Ultimately, The Beginner’s Goodbye is a story about love, loss, forgiveness and acceptance.

CHILDREN Jam and Honey / Melita Morales A little girl is on her way to gather berries, berries to make jam when she gets home. A little bee is on its way to gather nectar, nectar to make honey for her honeycomb. Their meeting in the same berry patch shines a gentle light on a common childhood fear from two points of view. This picture book provides a sweet way to convey even to the youngest child the importance of understanding and respecting all creatures.

Mr Duck means business / Tammi Sauer What Mr. Duck wants most in the world is a little bit of peace and quiet, but the other animals on the farm simply don’t understand. But as Mr. Duck discovers, sometimes peace and quiet can be just a little bit lonely. And making friends might mean making a little noise. Award-winning author Tammi Sauer presents a simple, short text that emphasizes the importance of friendship in a fun and effective way, with a sweet—but not too sweet—ending that will have children clamoring for repeated readings.

Won Ton: a cat tale told in Haiku / Lee Wardlaw From the front cover on, this nameless shelter cat with wide eyes, a sinewy body and a blue-gray coat, steals the show… The charm of the book is that we see everything anew, from the cat’s perspective. Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, this adoption story, told entirely in haiku, is unforgettable. A must-read for poetry lovers and cat lovers alike!

Lucky for good / Susan Patron Eleven-year old Lucky adores Miles—a cookie fiend, genius, and the closest she’s got to a little brother. But when Miles’s mother returns to Hard Pan, Lucky finds herself with a tricky, challenging moral dilemma and no idea what to do about it. She also gets into big-time trouble for starting a fight with an older boy, discovers a relative (and much-needed ally) called Stick, and says the hardest good-bye of her life. Meanwhile, Hard Pan residents join together into an unlikely but determined army, declaring war against the County Health Department, which wants to close Brigitte’s Hard Pan CafÉ. This final book in the Lucky trilogy continues to explore the vast rocky landscape of the human heart. As always, Lucky is brave and foolish, impulsive and tender, vulnerable and determined—for good.

Wildwood / Colin Meloy On every map of Portland, Oregon, there is a big splotch of green on the edge of the city labeled “I.W.” This stands for “Impassable Wilderness.” No one’s ever gone in—or at least returned to tell of it. And this is where the crows take her brother. So begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend Curtis deep into the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval, a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what begins as a rescue mission becomes something much bigger as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness—a wilderness the locals call Wildwood. Wildwood is a spellbinding tale full of wonder, danger and magic that juxtaposes the thrill of a secret world and modern city life.

JULY 2012 ADULT FICTION Gold / Chris Cleave In time for the 2012 Olympics, "Gold" is about two female bicyclists who compete fiercely during the 2004 (Athens), 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) Olympic seasons. As they train for each of these contests the athletes, Kate and Zoe, pedal their way through endless hours of a grueling practice together. But that’s not the kind of mileage “Gold” is really about.

Its real concern: How far can a story of rivalry on wheels go? Kate and Zoe may share a level of athletic prowess, but they are polar opposites in every other way. Kate looks like a mum. Zoe looks like a model. Kate is devoted to her little daughter, Sophie. Zoe wouldn’t hit the brakes on her high-speed bike if Sophie were planted right in front of it, or so it seems. Which of them is the real winner?

The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln / Stephen L. Carter Stephen L. Carter’s thrilling new novel takes as its starting point an alternate history: President Abraham Lincoln survives the assassination attempt at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. Two years later he is charged with overstepping his constitutional authority, both during and after the Civil War, and faces an impeachment trial . . .

Twenty-one-year-old Abigail Canner is a young black woman with a degree from Oberlin, a letter of employment from the law firm that has undertaken Lincoln’s defense, and the iron-strong conviction, learned from her late mother, that “whatever limitations society might place on ordinary negroes, they would never apply to her.” And so Abigail embarks on a life that defies the norms of every stratum of Washington society: working side by side with a white clerk, meeting the great and powerful of the nation, including the president himself. But when Lincoln’s lead counsel is found brutally murdered on the eve of the trial, Abigail is plunged into a treacherous web of intrigue and conspiracy reaching the highest levels of the divided government.

Here is a vividly imagined work of historical fiction that captures the emotional tenor of post–Civil War America, a brilliantly realized courtroom drama that explores the always contentious question of the nature of presidential authority, and a galvanizing story of political suspense.

CHILDREN Stop Snoring, Bernard! By Zachariah O'Hora Bernard loves curling up to go to sleep. But there is one little problem. Bernard snores…LOUDLY! So loudly that he keeps all the otters awake during naptime. So

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loudly that Grumpy Giles tells Bernard to move his snoring somewhere else! Sad and lonely, Bernard tries sleeping in new places far away from the other otters: in a lake, in puddles, in a fountain. But no matter where he tries to nap, somebody complains. All Bernard wants to hear are the words “Good night!” This is OHora’s debut picture book featuring unique acrylic-on-paper pictures. His animals—drawn with wide black outlines in a palette of red, teal, brown, black and ochre—are charmingly depicted.

Harry & Hopper by Margaret Wild Harry and his dog Hopper have done everything together, ever since Hopper was a jumpy little puppy. But one day the unthinkable happens. When Harry comes home from school, Hopper isn't there to greet him. Hopper will never be there again, but Harry is not ready to let him go. This comforting story tenderly demonstrates the shock of grief and the sustaining power of love.

Salted Fish by Yeo Wei Wei Lynn is visiting Singapore’s National Art Gallery for the first time with her favorite toy Cotton Bunny. Both of them notice a funny smell in one of the rooms, and it seems to be coming from one of the paintings! What will they find when they look more closely? Readers will join Lynn and Cotton Bunny as they embark on an unforgettable journey! Salted Fish is the first title of the Dreaming Art Series, which celebrates the enduring legacy of Asian artists through the creation of new art in picture books. For each title, a writer and an artist/illustrator work together to produce a story featuring an iconic work of art. Salted Fish is inspired by Cheong Soo Pieng’s painting “Drying Salted Fish” executed in 1978.

Anna Hibiscus (Book 1) by Atinuke Anna Hibiscus lives in “Africa—amazing Africa” in a city of “lagoons and bridges…skyscrapers and shanty towns.” Her mother is from Canada, her father from Africa, and she has twin brothers, Double and Trouble, who live together in a great big house with her grandparents and her large extended family. She is never lonely because there is always someone to play with, share stories with, and have fun with. In this first book of this easy chapter book series, Anna Hibiscus discovers that it’s not so easy to have a family vacation with just your small family. She meets her Aunt Comfort who lives on the other side of the ocean, though she frets that Aunt Comfort will have forgotten how to be African. Anna Hibiscus also learns about hard work and dreams of seeing snow for the first time.

Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic (Book 1) by Emily Jenkins

This is the first book in the highly acclaimed Toys Trilogy by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Caldecott Medal Winner Paul O. Zelinsky. It showcases the unforgettable adventures—and misadventures—of three extraordinary friends: Lumphy (a stuffed buffalo), StingRay (a stuffed stingray), and Plastic (well, Plastic isn't quite sure what she is). They all belong to the Little Girl who lives on the high bed with the fluffy pillows. They soon discover that outside of the Little Girl's room things can be confusing. Together is best for these three best friends. Together they look things up in the dictionary, explore the basement, and argue about the meaning of life. And together they face dogs, school, television commercials, the vastness of the sea, and the terrifying bigness of the washing machine.

AUGUST 2012 ADULT FICTION Gone Girl / Gillian Flynn On the day of their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick's wife Amy disappears. There are signs of struggle in the house and Nick quickly becomes the prime suspect. It doesn't help that Nick hasn't been completely honest with the police and, as Amy's case drags out for weeks, more and more vilifying evidence appears against him. Nick, however, maintains his innocence.

Told from alternating points of view between Nick and Amy, Gillian Flynn creates an untrustworthy world that changes chapter-to-chapter. Calling Gone Girl a psychological thriller is an understatement. As revelation after revelation unfolds, it becomes clear that the truth does not exist in the middle of Nick and Amy's points of view; in fact, the truth is far more dark, more twisted, and more creepy than you can imagine. Gone Girl is masterfully plotted from start to finish and the suspense doesn't waver for one page. It's one of those books you will feel the need to discuss immediately after finishing because the ending doesn't just come; it punches you in the gut.

The Chaperone / Laura Moriarty The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922 and the summer that would change them both.

Only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star and an icon of her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study with the prestigious Denishawn School of Dancing in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone, who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle, a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip, has no idea what she’s in for. Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous black bob with blunt bangs, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will transform their lives forever.

For Cora, the city holds the promise of discovery that might answer the question at the core of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in this strange and bustling place she embarks on a mission of her own. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, she is liberated in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of Cora’s relationship with Louise, her eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.

Drawing on the rich history of the 1920s,’30s, and beyond--from the orphan trains to Prohibition, flappers, and the onset of the Great Depression to the burgeoning movement for equal rights and new opportunities for women--Laura Moriarty’s The Chaperone illustrates how rapidly everything, from fashion and hemlines to values and attitudes, was changing at this time and what a vast difference it all made for Louise Brooks, Cora Carlisle, and others like them.

JUNIOR FICTION The truth about forever / Sarah Dessen  Sixteen-year-old Macy Queen is looking forward to a long, boring summer. Her boyfriend is going away. She's stuck with a dull-as-dishwater job at the library. And she'll spend all of her free time studying for the SATs or grieving silently with her mother over her father's recent unexpected death. But everything changes

TOP OF THE SHELF | COMMITTEE PICKS when she meets the chaotic Wish Catering crew. Before long, Macy joins the Wish team and ends up looking at life in a whole new way, and really starts living it.

Star Wars – The Desperate Mission / Jude Watson The Empire has risen. The Jedi Order has been destroyed. As far as the Emperor is concerned, the Jedi are all but extinct. But on the remote planet of Tatooine one Jedi Master remains: Obi-Wan Kenobi. Devastated by the loss of his fellow Jedi—and the betrayal of his former apprentice Anakin Skywalker -- Obi-Wan has been left with one last task: To watch over and protect a young child named Luke.

Pandemonium #2 / Lauren Oliver Lena’s love, Alex, has been killed and it’s up to Lena to figure out how to make a life for herself as an Invalid in the Wilds. She meets a group of Invalids who take her in and soon she belongs with them, to the point where she begins to feel like she has a family again. But life in the Wilds is never rosy, and soon Lena joins the resistance –for what she believes in.

JUNIOR NON FICTION Who was King Tut / Roberta Edwards Ever since Howard Carter uncovered King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, the young pharaoh has become a symbol of the wealth and mystery of ancient Egypt. This book is complete with 100 black-and white illustrations and explains the life and times of this ancient Egyptian ruler, covering the story of the tomb’s discovery, as well as myths and so-called mummy curses.

Steve Jobs: The man who thought different / Karen Blumenthal Critically acclaimed author Karen Blumenthal takes us to the core of this complicated and legendary man while simultaneously exploring the evolution of computers. Framed by Jobs' inspirational Stanford commencement speech and illustrated throughout with black and white photos as well as interesting facts on the man and the technology, this is the story of the man who changed our world.

World War II / Peter Chisp From the children in bombed-out cities who were evacuated to the countryside, to the civilians working in munitions factories, and the soldiers fighting on land, sea, and air, this book provides an incredible overview of this momentous time in our history. Learn how the war led to advances in technology, medicine, and weaponry, along with special features including life inside a U-boat and spy techniques. A dynamic design and full-color illustrations throughout help readers imagine what it was like for the brave men & women.

CHILDREN Z Is for Moose / Kelly Bingham This is not your typical alphabet book. Zebra is organizing the alphabet show, making sure everything is perfect and just in the right order. But his friend, Moose, is a bit overenthusiastic and just can't seem to wait his turn. Even before the book starts, Moose is peaking around the curtains on the endpapers, eagerly awaiting his cue. Much to Zebra's dismay, Moose shows up early... “Moose does not start with D. You are on the wrong page,” Zebra exclaims. Moose’s antics escalate from there until Zebra has had enough, and uses “M is for Mouse," cutting Moose out of the picture. Enraged, Moose crashes through the rest of the alphabet, determined to ruin everything—until Zebra finally finds a place for him.

No Dogs Allowed! / Anne Davis Feline friends, Bud and Gabby, are back! But this time—and much to Bud’s dismay—there’s a dog in the picture. The dog’s name is Cookie, and although fun- loving Gabby enjoys Cookie’s company, grouchy Bud does not. In fact, Bud gets so fed up with Cookie that he kicks her out of the house. “No dogs allowed!” he declares. But when a big black rain cloud approaches and Gabby looks worried, will Bud have a change of heart? Greeting card artist Anne Davis offers sly humor and bold, expressive art in a story that is pitch-purrfect in every way.

999 Tadpoles / Ken Kimura Mother and Father Frog are overwhelmed when their 999 offspring grow up and overcrowd their pond. “We’ll have to move,” says Mother, after realizing the pond is too small. But moving a family of 999 young frogs is fraught with danger! Hungry snakes are crawling through the grass. Hungry hawks are flying through the sky. A young frog makes a mighty tasty morsel. Never underestimate the quick wits of 999 young frogs!

The Hero of Little Street / Gregory Rogers Narrowly escaping from a gang of bullies, a boy slips into a grand old gallery--the perfect hiding place, full of mystery and treasures. Suddenly, a painting comes to life and the boy finds himself on an adventure led by a mischievous dog that has leapt from the canvas. The two slip into a Jan Vermeer painting and are transported to Little Street, Delft in seventeenth-century Holland, where the boy has to use every ounce of his ingenuity to rescue his new friend from an untimely fate. In this third book of the “Boy, Bear” series, The Hero of Little Street is packed with thrilling escapades from start to finish. Gregory Rogers's cast of much-loved characters come together once again in this triumph of visual storytelling.

Ivy and Bean: No News Is Good News / Annie Barrows The 8th book in the New York Times bestselling Ivy & Bean series is now available in paperback! Ivy and Bean need some money. Ten dollars, to be exact. Never mind what for. Okay, it's for low-fat Belldeloon cheese in a special just-for-one serving size. Don't ask why. But how are Ivy and Bean going to make ten dollars? Hey, maybe they should write a newspaper about Pancake Court and sell it! Great idea! And easy, too. All they have to do is nose around the neighbourhood. Wow—it's interesting what comes out when snoops start digging. It's even more interesting when the neighbours read about it in the newspaper.

SEPTEMBER 2012 ADULT FICTION The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry / Rachel Joyce Harold Fry, six months retired from his job as sales representative for a local brewery, gets a letter from Queenie, a woman he'd worked with twenty years before but hasn't seen since. She tells him that she's dying of cancer. The news upsets him because years earlier, Queenie had done him a great favor and he'd never had the chance to thank her. He sits down to write a letter to her but finds it hard to say anything without seeming . . . "limp,' is the word that comes to his mind. When he finished the letter, he leaves the house to mail it but when he gets to the postbox, he walks on to the next one, and then the next, and the next, and soon he's at the opposite edge of town.

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And that's how Harold sets out on a six hundred mile journey, from Kingsbridge to Berwick upon Tweed, utterly unprepared for the trip and dressed in everyday clothes, not hiking gear. On his way, he meets all sorts of people and has all sorts of adventures, more small than large. As he walks, the memories pile in: memories of a mother who abandoned him and a harsh, unforgiving father; the happy early years with his wife, Maureen; their hopes for their son David.

Harold gradually understands that by walking, he is atoning for the mistakes he had made. Meanwhile his wife is simultaneously changing at home: "She had given herself a challenge: every day without him, she would attempt one new thing." This book chronicles the changes these two characters undergo during Harold's pilgrimage which brings them closer.

The Dog Stars / Peter Heller Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting misanthrope. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and to pretend that things are the way they used to be.

But when a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life—something like his old life—exists beyond the airport. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return—not enough fuel to get him home—following the trail of the static-broken voice on the radio. But what he encounters and what he must face—in the people he meets, and in himself—is both better and worse than anything he could have hoped for.

In “The Dog Stars,’’ Peter Heller serves up an insightful account of physical, mental, and spiritual survival unfolded in dramatic and often lyrical prose, a difficult tale in which unexpected hope persistently flickers amid darkness.

The Light Between the Oceans / M L Stedman After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

CHILDREN Anton Can do Magic / Ole Könnecke Anton wants to do some magic. He wants to make something disappear... First Anton tries to make a tree vanish, but it’s too big. He manages to make a bird disappear, and even his friend Luke. But where did Luke go? Anton Can Do Magic is a perfectly simple and hilarious picture book about believing in yourself.

The Obstinate Pen / Frank W. Dormer Children, ages 4-8, will love this humorous picture book about a pen that won't behave. As each person tries to write a sentence, the pen writes a funny message of its own, causing varying reactions in the story’s characters. The obstinate pen continues to frustrate its writers—Uncle Flood, Police Officer Wonkle and Mrs. Norkhan Pigeon-Smythe--until it finds a comfortable home in the hands of a young boy named Horace.

My Rhinoceros / Jon Agee If you should ever get a rhinoceros for a pet, you're in for a surprise. It won't chase a ball. Or a stick. Or a Frisbie. In fact, according to the experts, a rhinoceros does only two things: pop balloons and poke holes in kites. But don't be discouraged. As you'll discover in Jon Agee's hilarious picture book, rhinoceroses can do more—so much more—than that!

Penny and Her Song / Kevin Henkes In this book, Henkes introduces us to a new character—a character just as interesting and unique as Owen or Lily—a character who loves to sing. Penny arrives home from school wanting to sing her song for her family. After both mom and dad interrupt her performance to remind her that the babies are sleeping and she needs to be quiet, Penny sings to herself in the mirror and to her collection of glass animals. But she discovers that singing to herself is not very satisfying. Finally, after dinner she sings her song, and her parents make a real show of it, wearing costumes and singing with her again and again. This is a fun story of self- confidence and finding joy in the simple things. Henkes’ signature crisp and bright watercolor-and-ink illustrations depict actions and emotions perfectly!

Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider James is a very picky eater. His dad has to get creative—very creative—in order to get James to eat foods he thinks he doesn’t like. He presents James with a series of outlandish scenarios packed with fanciful and gross kid-friendly details—like pre-chewed gum as an alternative to broccoli and lumpy oatmeal that grows so big it eats the dog—in an effort to get James to eat. But it is eventually James himself who discovers that some foods are not so bad, after all, if you’re willing to give them a try. This irreverently hilarious early reader, illustrated in full color, explores a universal point of contention between parent and child in a playful, satisfying way.

OCTOBER 2012 ADULT FICTION The garden of evening mists / Tan Twan Eng This story begins on the last day of Teoh Yun Ling's career as a Supreme Court justice in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur in the mid 1980s. Yun Ling has had, by every measure, a remarkable and successful life despite extreme hardship and loss. She was born to privilege, as a member of a wealthy Straits Chinese family, but at the age of 17 she and her older sister Yun Hong were captured by Japanese soldiers and taken to a prison camp hidden within the jungle of the Malayan Peninsula. The prisoners were brutally tortured there, and only one survived at the end of the war: Yun Ling.

Setting this unusual, aesthetically intriguing, and often exciting novel in Malaya/Malaysia, author Tan Twan Eng provides insights into the Japanese Occupation of Malaya from 1941 - 1945, while recreating the horrors visited upon the local population. At the same time, he also illustrates the formal aesthetic principles

TOP OF THE SHELF | COMMITTEE PICKS which underlie Japanese gardens, ukiyo-e (woodblock) prints, and the long tradition of Japanese tattooing. Amazing as it may sound, Tan succeeds in producing an elegant blend of these seemingly incompatible subjects and themes while also appealing to the reader with characters who face personal tragedies and strive, somehow, to endure.

Shortlisted for this year's Man Booker prize, Tan’s writing is beautiful and evocative, and the meditations on memory show how the past influences the way we shift into the evening mists.

The orchardist / Amanda Coplin At the turn of the twentieth century, in a rural stretch of the Pacific Northwest, a reclusive orchardist, William Talmadge, tends to apples and apricots as if they were loved ones. A gentle man, he's found solace in the sweetness of the fruit he grows and the quiet, beating heart of the land he cultivates. One day, two teenage girls appear and steal his fruit from the market; they later return to the outskirts of his orchard to see the man who gave them no chase. Feral, scared, and very pregnant, the girls take up on Talmadge's land and indulge in his deep reservoir of compassion. Just as the girls begin to trust him, men arrive in the orchard with guns, and the shattering tragedy that follows will set Talmadge on an irrevocable course not only to save and protect but also to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past.

In the shadow of the banyan / Vaddey Ratner In the Shadow of the Banyan is a fictionalized work that parallels author Vaddey Ratner's personal history: a (minor) royal family of privilege and education is driven out of Phnom Penh during the Khmer Rouge revolution. Told from the perspective of seven-year-old Raami, the novel follows her family through years of toil and labor in the countryside of Cambodia, through monsoons, sickness, and famine. In the Shadow of the Banyan is filled with myth and poetry, both of which play a large role in Raami's family. The storytelling is lyrical and rich and will transport the reader to the jungles, riverbanks and rice paddies of Cambodia. Ratner does an amazing job of illustrating both the horror of the genocide and the power of hope.

JUNIOR FICTION Traitor’s revenge / Andrew Hammond In York and London, strange shapes are taking form, emerging from the shadows. And who is the man who lies in a pitch-black room, listening to a voice that seems to speak from the darkness itself? Jud Lester knows that something evil is afoot. He also knows that it can't be investigated by any normal brand of counter-intelligence...This is a case for CRYPT: a team of elite teenage agents who use their extra sensory perception and arsenal of high-tech gadgets to investigate crimes that the police can't solve.

Defiance : a graphic novel / Carla Jablonski & Leland Purvis When Nazis invade, what can kids do to fight them? Defiance is the second volume in a trilogy about children in France fighting on a secret front of World War II. The Tessier siblings, Paul, Marie, and Sophie, keep their noses clean and their faces blank as the French military police tighten their grip on their small country town. But all three are secretly doing their part for the Resistance: the men and women working hard to undermine the Germans and win back France’s freedom . . . even if it ends up costing them their lives.

We can be Heroes / Catherine Bruton “My dad was killed in the 9/11 attacks in New York. But the stuff in this book isn't about that. It's about the summer my mum went away. The summer that me and Jed and Priti tried to catch a suicide bomber and prevent an honour killing. There's stuff about how we built a tree house and joined the bomb squad; how I found my dad and Jed lost his; and how we both lost our mums then found them again.”

JUNIOR NON FICTION Through my eyes / Ruby Bridges On November 14, 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges, surrounded by federal marshals, became the first African-American student to attend the all-white William Frantz Public School in New Orleans,Louisiana. Ruby tells her story in this autobiography, which also serves as a historical document. Throughout the book, readers will find quotes from newspaper accounts of the time and from Ruby’s family members and teachers, as well as sidebars that illustrate how Ruby pops up in both John Steinbeck’s book Travels with Charley and a Norman Rockwell painting. Towering giants and other tall megastructures / Ian Graham The tallest, the biggest, the longest and the deepest - all these amazing megastructures are revealed in this title in detail...with some incredible facts and stats to absorb! This is a brand-new series for older readers. With amazing centre gatefold, it is packed with up-to-date details and fascinating facts and stats. It features fantastic photos of the world's greatest megastructures. Cracklin’ chemistry / Steve Parker

What happens when a fire burns? Steve Parker has a great way of explaining the basics of chemistry in a fun way that will help anybody who reads this book learn more about topics such as metals and nonmetals, states of matter, chemical changes, temperature and heat, acids and bases and more. Watch out for the fun cartoon characters and easy experiments that show how things really work!

CHILDREN Diary of a Wombat / Jackie French A wombat is an Australian animal that looks a little like a bear, but smaller. Its favourite pastimes are digging holes, eating and sleeping. Through simple sentences and hilarious yet realistic acrylic illustrations, readers are treated to a week of observations made by a young female wombat who becomes chummy with a human family.

Mrs. Harkness and the Panda / Alicia Potter In 1934, Ruth Harkness had never seen a panda bear. Not many people in the world had. But soon the young Mrs. Harkness would inherit an expedition from her explorer husband: the hunt for a panda. So she went to China, where she found a guide, built traps, gathered supplies, and had explorers' clothes made— unheard of for a woman in those days. Then she set out up the Yangtze River and into the wilderness. What she discovered would awe America: an adorable baby panda she named Su Lin, which means "a little bit of something very cute."

With breathtaking illustrations from Caldecott Honor artist Melissa Sweet, this little-known true story shares the tale of an adventurous woman who was bold and brave—and the unforgettable journey that helped shape American attitudes toward wildlife.

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The four little pigs / Kimara Nye Tom visits his Granny, who is not a normal Granny. Tom's Granny is a pleasant looking witch who wears pink and likes to read him bedtime stories. Tom thinks her choice of “The Three Little Pigs” is boring until she starts to read... Then the fun begins. Transported into being the fourth little piggy, Tom goes through the story predicting what is going to happen next, putting a proper twist in the tale for the big bad wolf, who still huffs and puffs, but doesn't quite get his traditional outcome. The beautiful pictures paired with simple dialogue make this a really fun read.

Good Knight, Sleep Tight / David Melling The lovable knight from The Kiss That Missed is back – this time with another quest from the royal king. He has to find a soft and fluffy filling for the royal pillow and stop the baby princess from crying. If she can’t sleep, nobody in the kingdom gets to sleep! With the help of his loyal steed, the knight begins his wacky adventure in and out of the wild wood, meeting bears, wolves, a dizzy owl and a flock of birds to help him collect enough feathers for the princess’ pillow.

The Ogre of Oglefort / Eva Ibbotson For excitement-hungry orphan Ivo, a mission to save Princess Mirella from the dreaded Ogre of Oglefort is a dream come true. Together with a hag, a wizard, and a troll, Ivo sets out, ready for adventure. But when they get to the ogre's castle, the rescuers are in for a surprise: the princess doesn't need saving, but the depressed ogre does! It's a warmhearted, hilarious romp in the tradition of Roald Dahl, with enough creepy magic, ghosts, and laughs to make even the saddest ogre smile.

NOVEMBER 2012 ADULT FICTION The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared / Jonas Jonasson After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant).

The story alternates between present day and Allan remembering his past. Allen has had an extremely eventful life, and like Forrest Gump has managed to rub shoulders with the great movers and shakers of the 20st century like Mao, Stalin, Franco and Truman. Allen has a sardonic wit and is cool under fire. This latest adventure is only the last one in a series that this amazing character laughs and feints his way through.

The Colonel / Mahmoud Dowlatabadi Ten years in the writing, this fearless novel—so powerful it’s banned in Iran—tells the stirring story of a tortured people forced to live under successive oppressive regimes.

It begins on a pitch black, rainy night, when there’s a knock on the Colonel’s door. Two policemen have come to summon him to collect the tortured body of his youngest daughter. The Islamic Revolution is devouring its own children. Set over the course of a single night, the novel follows the Colonel as he pays a bribe to recover his daughter’s body and then races to bury her before sunrise.

As we watch him struggle with the death of his innocent child, we find him wracked with guilt and anger over the condition of his country, particularly as represented by his own children: a son who fell during the 1979 revolution; another driven to madness after being tortured during the Shah’s regime; a third who went off to martyr himself fighting for the ayatollahs in their war against Iraq; one murdered daughter, and another who survives by being married to a cruel opportunist.

An incredibly powerful novel about nation, history and family, The Colonel is a startling illumination of the consequences of years of oppression and political upheaval in Iran.

Yield / Bryan Johnson Yield is the first in the Armageddia Science Fiction trilogy, by first time author Bryan Johnson. Imagine a future when China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran team up to destroy Washington DC, New York City, Los Angeles, and Seattle with nuclear weapons, and then begin an invasion?

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye everything changes for the American people. Devin is the main character, separated from his family due to a trip, and is saved miraculously as his plane crashes and he pulls others out of the wreckage. These people unite and try to battle their own fear and suffering to help one another. As they gaze upon the city of Seattle burning before them, they wonder if they even have a home to return to. Unfortunately they will encounter much tribulations and heartaches along the way, some will live, and some will die.

When people panic, they can become animals who throw civility out the window, along with anyone else in their way. The scarier part is how panic creates more panic and hatred begets more hatred. Spreading like a disease, "Yield" shows how people succumb to the darker side inside themselves when they are full of fear or anger.

JUNIOR FICTION The butterfly Tattoo / Phillip Pullman Chris falls in love with Jenny the moment he sets eyes on her at an Oxford ball. She's beautiful but secretive and he can't help but want to be with her. But fate is cruel and, as their relationship blossoms, tragedy and violence wait in the wings. Chris's boss has a shady past that won't stay hidden. And his ruthless enemies will use two innocent teenagers to exact their revenge on him.

The Pickle King / Rebecca Promitzer Recipe Ingredients: A small town called Elbow; rain; five loony kids; one bad dog; a jar of Herman's Red Devil Chilli. Bring ingredients together, add a real-life dead body and a missing eyeball, and have yourself one crazy, red-hot adventure. A gang of unlikely friends are thrown together one wet summer in the small town of Elbow, famous for only two things: chilly pickle and rain. Already bored, they hope something different will turn up, but what none of them expect is a real-life dead body with a missing eyeball! Soon the mystery of who killed Herman, owner of the giant pickle factory becomes a crazy summer adventure.

Dead Connection / Charlie Price

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Murray Keifer is a special kid. Although, not many people at his school think so. The only people who he seems to really get along with are just as lonely as he is. In fact, they're dead. Every day he visits his friends in the Forrest Grove Cemetery. But lately, he’s been hearing a new voice. It sounds distressed. Where is it coming from? Could it be linked to the disappearance of popular cheerleader Nikki Parker? And can he trust Pearl, daughter of the cemetery caretaker with his special secret?

JUNIOR NON FICTION Roald Dahl's Completely Revolting Recipes / Roald Dahl 'Nose-Bags On!' 'Grub's UP!' A gloriumptious collection of favourite Roald Dahl recipes is here! 50 recipes in a delicious new format - from Green Pea Soup and wondercrump Wormy Spaghetti, to scrumdiddlyumptious Scrambled Dregs and bellypopping Butterscotch. No Roald Dahl fan will want to be without this delumptious book.

What Makes Me Me? / Robert Winston “Have you ever wondered why you hate Brussels sprouts so much, why your face is different from everybody else’s, or why you sometimes sound exactly like your parents? Your body, brain, and the way you think, act and behave are all related – and they all contribute to making you different from everybody else. Join Robert Winston for an award-winning journey exploring our minds and bodies and discover the astonishing reasons why every single one of us is different

Oh, yuck! The Encyclopaedia of Everything Nasty / Joy Masoff Do you love stuff that's gross? If so, this is the book for you. ""Oh, Yuck " explains why vomit smells; where dandruff comes from; what pus is all about; and why maggots adore rotting meant. Other features include gross recipes, putrid projects, 10 foods that make you airborne, and more.

CHILDREN Silly Goose’s Big Story / Keiko Kasza Goose's friends love the stories he makes up when they're playing. Except one thing – Goose is always the hero. And when they ask to take turns leading the fun, Goose doesn't agree. While they argue about it, no one notices the hungry wolf sneaking up on them until he shouts, "Hello, Lunch!" This real-life danger shows Goose how silly he's been and that his friends make terrific heroes! Young children will find that the animals' expressions are as easy to read as their actions in Kasza's bright and colorful ink-and-watercolor illustrations. A perfect picture book for reading aloud!

Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic / Monica Carnesi On a cold winter day, a curious dog wandered onto a frozen river, and before he knew it he was traveling fast on a sheet of ice. Many people tried to help, but the dog could not be reached. Finally, after two nights and seventy-five miles, the little dog was saved by a ship out in the Baltic Sea. The gallant rescue of the little dog nicknamed Baltic made international news. Mônica Carnesi's simple text and charming watercolor illustrations convey all the drama of Baltic's journey. His story, with its happy ending, will warm readers' hearts. An author's note and map are included.

Sacagawea / Lisa Erdich As an 11-year-old, Sacagawea was captured by an enemy tribe and taken far from her Shoshone people. At about 15, she was given in marriage to a much older French Canadian fur trapper with whom she had a baby boy. When her son was just two months old, she set off with the explorers Lewis and Clark. Sacagawea climbed over waterfalls and trudged through Rocky Mountain snow, travelling thousands of miles with a baby on her back. She found food when meat was scarce. She acted as a translator when the explorers needed Shoshone horses to cross the mountains. And she guided the men through wilderness when only she knew the way. A time line, a map and a brief bibliography follow this story of this brave young woman who joined Lewis and Clarke on their expedition through the vast wilderness of the West.

Tales for very Picky Eaters / Josh Schneider James is a very picky eater. His dad has to get creative—very creative—in order to get James to eat foods he thinks he doesn’t like. He presents James with a series of outlandish scenarios packed with fanciful and gross kid-friendly details—like pre-chewed gum as an alternative to broccoli and lumpy oatmeal that grows so big it eats the dog—in an effort to get James to eat. But it is eventually James himself who discovers that some foods are not so bad, after all, if you’re willing to give them a try.

The Dunderheads Behind Bars / Paul Fleischman School is out for the summer, and the Dunderheads are finally rid of the awful Miss Breakbone. Or so they thought! Teen star Ashley Throbb-Hart is shooting a movie nearby, and who should show up as an extra but their formidable former teacher! She's not the only Breakbone on the scene, either; after a string of burglaries strikes town, Miss Breakbone steers her barrel-chested brother, Police Chief Breakbone, toward those meddling, good-for-nothing Dunderheads. And when Spider ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time, the blowhard chief has all the evidence he needs to lock him up. Can Einstein, Wheels, Nails, Spitball, Google- Eyes, Clips, Junkyard, Pencil, and Hollywood combine their talents to catch the real criminal before they join their friend behind bars? Newbery Medalist Paul Fleischman and illustrator David Roberts reunite for a delightfully triumphant sequel to The Dunderheads.

The Get Rich Club / Dan Gutman This is a light, fast-paced story about five kids who make a pact to earn a million dollars by the end of the summer. Led by a clever and daring 11-year-old, Gina Tumolo—the “CEO” of the Get Rich Club—they come up with a fantastic scheme that involves a photograph of a UFO. Before the hoax is revealed, the quintet will have their photos in newspapers across the country, bringing masses of “UFO nuts” to town. Read the book to discover Gutman’s unexpected final twist to this pleasingly over-the-top tale.

DECEMBER 2012

ADULT FICTION Mr Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore / Robin Sloan A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life—mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone—and serendipity and sheer curiosity landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead “checking out” impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The

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store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he’s embarked on a complex analysis of the customers’ behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what’s going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.

With irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan has crafted a literary adventure story for the twenty-first century with a unique and feisty sensibility that’s rare to the world of literary fiction. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave, a modern-day cabinet of wonders ready to give a jolt of energy to every curious reader, no matter the time of day.

The Heart Broke in / James Meek From James Meek comes a rich and intricate novel about everything that matters to us now: children, celebrity, secrets and shame, the quest for youth, loyalty and betrayal, falls from grace, acts of terror, and the wonderful, terrible inescapability of family.

Ritchie Shepherd, an aging pop star and a producer of a reality show for teen talent, is starting to trip over his own lies. Maybe filming a documentary about his father, Captain Shepherd, a British soldier executed by Northern Irish guerrillas, will redeem him.

His sister, Bec, is getting closer and closer to a vaccine for malaria. When she’s not in Tanzania harvesting field samples, she’s peering through a microscope at her own blood to chart the risky treatment she’s testing on herself. She’s as addicted to honesty as Ritchie is to trickery. Val Oatman is the editor of a powerful tabloid newspaper. The self-appointed conscience of the nation, scourge of hypocrites and cheats, he believes he will marry beautiful Bec.

Alex Comrie, a gene therapist (and formerly the drummer in Ritchie’s band), is battling his mortally ill uncle, a brilliant and domineering scientist, over whether Alex might actually have discovered a cure for aging. Alex, too, believes he will marry Bec.

Colum O’Donabháin has just been released from prison, having served a twenty-five-year sentence for putting a gun to Captain Shepherd’s head when he refused to give up an informer. He now writes poetry.

Their stories meet and tangle in this bighearted epic that is also shrewd, starkly funny, and utterly of the moment. The Heart Broke In is fiction with the reverberating resonance of truth.

The Sandcastle Girls / Chris Bohjalian When Elizabeth Endicott arrives in Aleppo, Syria she has a diploma from Mount Holyoke, a crash course in nursing, and only the most basic grasp of the Armenian language. The year is 1915 and she has volunteered on behalf of the Boston-based Friends of Armenia to help deliver food and medical aid to refugees of the Armenian genocide. There Elizabeth becomes friendly with Armen, a young Armenian engineer who has already lost his wife and infant daughter. When Armen leaves Aleppo and travels south into Egypt to join the British army, he begins to write Elizabeth letters, and comes to realize that he has fallen in love with the wealthy, young American woman who is so different from the wife he lost.

Fast forward to the present day, where we meet Laura Petrosian, a novelist living in suburban New York. Although her grandparents' ornate Pelham home was affectionately nicknamed "The Ottoman Annex," Laura has never really given her Armenian heritage much thought. But when an old friend calls, claiming to have seen a newspaper photo of Laura's grandmother promoting an exhibit at a Boston museum, Laura embarks on a journey back through her family's history that reveals love, loss - and a wrenching secret that has been buried for generations.

AUDIOS [ADULT] Bring Up the Bodies / Hilary Mantel The 2nd award winning book by Hilary Mantel delves into the heart of Tudor history with the downfall of Anne Boleyn. Henry has become disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son and her sharp intelligence and audacious will alienate his old friends and the noble families of England. Though he fought to get her to marry him, Henry turns against Anne and she becomes ensnared in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour stands waiting her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. Listen as Anne and her powerful family’s dramatic saga unfolds as Cromwell allies with his natural enemies, the papist aristocracy. What price will he pay for Anne's head? Bring Up the Bodies is the winner of the 2012 Man Booker Prize, one of Publishers Weekly's Top 10 Best Books of 2012, and one of The Washington Post's 10 Best Books of 2012.

The Casual Vacancy / J.K. Rowling The English small town of Pagford is, seemingly, an idyllic town with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but behind the pretty façade, Pagford is not what it first seems. An empty seat on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for a big war in the town. The characters are richly drawn with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations, all of which makes readers want to keep listening to the audiobook. Some dark comic moments are intertwined in J.K. Rowling’s first adult novel, a story which is thought-provoking and constantly surprising.

Killing Lincoln / Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard A riveting historical narrative of the heart-stopping events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, one of the most dramatic stories in American history is recounted on audio. Listen to the story of how one gunshot changed the country forever. In the midst of the patriotic celebrations in Washington D.C., John Wilkes Booth—charismatic ladies' man and impenitent racist—murders Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre. A furious manhunt ensues and Booth immediately becomes the country's most wanted fugitive. The thrilling chase features some of history's most remarkable figures, vivid detail, and page-turning action. Killing Lincoln is history that reads like a thriller.

JUNIOR FICTION The Thirteen Treasures / Michelle Harrison No one else can see the evil fairies that rouse Tanya from her sleep, torturing her at the slightest mention of their existence, but they are as real to the 13-year- old as anything she's ever known. She cannot rid herself of them, nor can she ignore them. But it is her insistence on responding to them that has her banished to her grandmother's secluded countryside manor. There is much to explore and even more to fear in the woods surrounding the estate. But, the forest isn't the only source of dark secrets, and Tanya soon finds herself entangled in a mystery that could trap her in the fairy realm forever.

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Chime / Franny Billingsley Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment. Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He's as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she's extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn't know.

Long Reach / Peter Cocks When he is seventeen Eddie Savage learns two things: the first is that his brother Steve has been working undercover. The second is that his brother is dead. Eddie is suspicious about the circumstances of Steve's death and decides to follow in his footsteps, taking on a job to infiltrate the Kelly family and try to find out more about Tommy Kelly, the boss. He does this through Tommy's beautiful daughter, Sophie - but is he falling for her? And is he getting in too deep?