When we started this library journey, I thought that since we lived way out in the woods, no one would want to drive out here very often. I assumed that I was going to need to drive the books into town and do meet-ups with patrons. That still may happen, but so far, every time I propose it to my patrons, I am met with shock. “No! I want my kids to have a real library experience!” After hearing this half a dozen times, I knew that people were coming here for the kind of experience that I had at Spies Public Library. And, I knew that we would need library cards.
Author: Sara Masarik
Curators of things Good, True, and Beautiful
Landmark: Daniel Boone
What a way to open a book! John Mason Brown assumes that we know something of Daniel Boone. Because, honestly, what American in 1952 didn’t know something about Daniel Boone? Today, it is probably a different story, but that doesn’t make the opening any less exciting. Presuming that we have a sense that Daniel Boone is a frontiersman and a hunter (the cover alone suggests that), Brown makes us think that this first scene is that of a great hunting expedition. And, it was. But not the kind we are thinking of. Instead, he is telling us about young Boone (not yet 21, we are told) traveling with the British regulars and General Braddock to take Fort Duquesne from the French in the French and Indian or Seven Years War.
The Stray Dog, Caldecott Honor 2002
I understand that the Caldecott Medal is not awarded to the author for the text, but rather to the artist for the illustration. So, if the art is compelling, then the story is secondary in consideration. Illustrator Marc Simont is a thrice-honored Caldecott artist. In this offering, however, I am unimpressed. Some scenes are very winning, like the opening spread. Most, however, are just not that interesting. The people are cartoonish and most of the pictures are only adequate.
What is another way to organize and shelve picture books?
I gave most of my picture books away over the years. I kept the best ones for the future, but as my children aged out of them, I shared the rest with friends to make room for my growing collection of chapter and middle grade books. Because of that, when I set up my library, I decided to organize my picture books really differently than most of the other librarians I was following. And, so far, it’s been working really, really well for us.
Landmark: Magna Charta
Written with powerful and romantic prose, James Daugherty invites us into the exciting drama of the Magna Charta. He opens with a prologue titled “The Magic Island” that reads like the introduction to epic poetry and then gives us a most handy family tree to help us follow along through the twists and turns of wars, power struggles, and political intrigue. Then, he breaks the story into four parts: “The Twelfth Century,” “The Angevins,” “King John,” and “The Magna Charta.” Then a most fascinating final forty pages titled “The Children of the Magna Charta.” This last section is not only deeply interesting but it is also essential to understanding the Magna Charta itself and the ramifications of that revolutionary act.
The Door Before
In every book of Wilson’s middle-grade novels that I have read, the most true magic comes not from witches, wizards, dream walkers, or faeries. It comes from the powerful love of family. The characters in these stories are never fighting for themselves or the unknowable big wide world. They are always fighting for their own. In the most noble and heroic ways they are fighting for their siblings, for the parents, for their children, for cousins, and for those they have adopted into their families.
Mara’s Stories
This small book has 121 pages of stories that were told in and about the concentration camps. Stories that capture the heart and imagination of the listener. Stories that show a kind of resistance to darkness, a fierce clinging to all that makes us human, and a celebration of life. Gary D. Schmidt did extensive research on primary sources from folklorists, Jewish religious scholars, and Holocaust survivors. Some of the stories are happy and some are sad. Some are historical or biblical and some are about the moment right then. But each captures the essence of the people in that time and that place. And each reminds us of how to live – even when we are in the darkest night of our soul.
Alexander the Great
This most fascinating story leaps off the page like an exciting novel. John Gunther’s writing is refined and like that of a master storyteller. He tells us just enough of Alexander’s life to make us impressed and curious. And, he tells it in such a way that we are eager to know more.
Frankenstein
This is not a story about a monster. Or at least not the kind of monster I was anticipating. There is no brainless creature terrorizing the countryside. The “Monster” was a created being with human thought and reasoning, emotion, and the capacity for ethics. But, the real monster in this novel is Dr. Frankenstein himself who created this being and then cruelly abandoned him. It is a riveting tale of the human condition.
The Story of D-Day: June 6, 1944
Starting in Chapter 12, we get powerful accounts of men who were bound and determined to do the right thing, no matter how terrifying, or useless. These men were the best of us. I thank them for their courage under fire. I want their stories to live in the minds and hearts of my children.
The Sinking of the Bismarck
Nothing went right. Until, through a combination of sheer determination and uncanny good luck, the Allies were able to sink the most important ship in the German navy. Failure to win this battle would probably have cost us the war. And one devastating error after another almost guaranteed the victory to the Germans. Only God knows how this came out right in the end. But, by His grace, it did.
So Tall Within
I discovered that this book was available on Audible. Because my ears work better than my eyes, I began this journey with the audiobook. It was incredible! I listened twice. The narrator is absolute perfection, and when I reached for the picture book, her voice remained in my head and helped me to read this story as it should be. This allowed me to really pause and linger over the illustration by David Minter. Listening to my memory of the narrator, I was able to really see the pictures and know that they were very good.
Urchin and the Raven War
“He wriggled his arm to see the bracelet, true and clear on his wrist. Somewhere stored in his heart, were all the bright days he had ever known, all the love ever shown to him, all the joy he had ever felt. It was all there, still inside him. And he knew that somewhere in and beyond the beating of his own heart was the Heart that broke with love for Mistmantle, and was beating still, and always would.”
The Hiding Place
To the reader who does not think they can read one more Holocaust book, I understand. I resisted this one for years. Now I understand. I wish that I had read this at the same time that I had read In My Hands and others – it would have given me a healthier helping of hope. Most of this book is not about the concentration camps. Most of this story is about real people and their real lives before, during, and after the war.
The Remains of the Day
I recommend this novel to the mama who is looking for something subtle and contemplative. Something that works her mind but does not overwork it. I would love to return to this one and with a few friends and be able to discuss it.