September Recommendations for Kids

Fiction

Josephine Wants to Dance by Jackie French - Josephine dreams of wearing a pink tutu and tights, but unfortunately, she is a kangaroo, and kangaroos usually aren't ballerinas. When a prima ballerina gets injured, exuberant Josephine gets her chance to shine.

BooBoo by Olivier Dunrea - BooBoo is a small, blue gosling who loves eating. BooBoo eats everything, even a bubble which makes her burp backwards and forwards!

Attack of the Frozen Woodchucks by Dan Elish - When extra-terrestrial giant woodchucks attack, 10 year-old Jimmie enlists the help of his younger sister, best friend, and his eccentric classmate who has built a flying saucer in her home. A fun romp through outer space as Jimmie attempts to save the universe.

My Dad’s a Birdman by David Almond - Lizzie, a responsible child, attends school, does her sums, and attempts to look after her dad who wants to enter the Great Human Bird Competition. Dad's infectious enthusiasm soon recruits others, to the dismay of Aunt Doreen who is unnaturally intent on feeding dumplings to friends and relatives. Dad builds a pair of wings and eats bugs as the competition looms ever nearer, and Liz is encouraged, by her Dad, to skip school to participate. This off-beat adventure is punctuated with amusing illustrations.


Nonfiction

Vlad the Impaler: The Real Count Dracula by Enid Goldberg - Find out if the real Dracula's life is more shocking than any horror story. Vlad Dracula, an evil prince, lived deep in the mountains of Transylvania. His bloodthirsty reign was so dreadfully appalling, that the most famous vampire in literature was named after him. He betrayed nearly everyone and sacrificed anything to remain in power. Additional titles in the wicked history series: Genghis Khan, Gregory Rasputin (complete with blood splatters on the book cover) and Tomas de Torquemada.

Out Came the Sun: A Day in Nursery Rhymes by Heather Collins - Forty five beloved nursery rhymes come alive through Collins imaginative illustrations with a rhyme suitable for any time in a toddler's day.

Women Daredevils: Thrills, Chills, and Frills by Fourteen daredevils are profiled in this book. From 1880 to 1929, these women, ranging in age from fifteen to sixty-three, demonstrated amazing courage in diving, speeding, in the air, and at the circus. Fascinating facts about Sonora, who dove sixty feet on horseback into a tank of water, and Annie who went over Niagara Falls in a barrel, and Mabel the tiger trainer who even slept with one of her tigers, are some of the amazing tales.

See How they Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House by Susan Goodman - The presidential election is being talked about almost everywhere. This book provides a laugh and learn approach to a serious topic: democracy. This timely book explains the election process in the United States.

September Recommendations for Teens

Fiction

August Moon: A Murder-by-the Month Mystery by Jess Lourey - Furious after being stood up by local hottie Johnny Leeson, Mira decides to abandon Battle Lake, Minnesota, where the women are churchgoers, the men like to hunt, and the body count is above average. But when a cheerleader bites the dust, Mira loiters long enough to snoop. Mira is highly suspicious of the New Millennium Bible Camp, a disturbing place with a Stepford Wives meets Hee Haw vibe. Before ditching Battle Lake, Mira is hell-bent on confronting her own demons and catching a killer.

The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon - After 17-year-old Ben's father announces he's gay and the family splits apart, Ben does everything he can to tick him off: skip school, smoke pot, skateboard nonstop, get arrested. But he never thinks he'll end up yanked out of his city life and plunked down into a small Montana town with his dad and Edward, The Boyfriend. He soon realizes something's not quite right with Billy, the boy next door. He's hiding a secret about his family, and Ben is determined to uncover it and set things right. In an authentic, unaffected, and mordantly funny voice, Michael Harmon tells the wrenching story of an uprooted and uncomfortable teenaged guy trying to fix the lives around him–while figuring out his own.

Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks - At age seven, child prodigy Cadel Piggott is sent to a shrink for illegal computer hacking. His psychologist Thaddeus Roth is an agent of Cadel's real father, a brilliant crook who, from behind bars, manages with the help of Roth to place Cadel at the secretive Axis Institute for World Domination. By 13, Cadel is earnestly studying the high-tech spy manual "Infiltration, Misinformation, and Embezzlement," while secretly plotting to extricate himself from master manipulator, his father.

The Gypsy Morph by Terry Brooks - An epic saga of a world in flux as the mortal realm yields to a magical one; as the champions of the Word and the Void clash for the last time to decide what will be and what must cease; and as, from the remnants of a doomed age, something altogether extraordinary rises.

Identical by Ellen Hopkins - Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family—on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that's where their differences begin.


Nonfiction

Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—and How It Can Renew America by Thomas Friedman - In vivid, entertaining chapters, Friedman makes it clear that going green will be the biggest innovation project in American history; it will be hard and it will change everything from what you put into your car to what you see on your electric bill. But the payoff for America will be more than just cleaner air. It will inspire Americans to something we haven't seen in a long time—nation-building in America—by summoning the intelligence, creativity, boldness, and concern for the common good that are our nation's greatest natural resources. Fearless, incisive, forward-looking, and rich in surprising common sense about the challenge—and the promise—of the future.

Kiss My Math by Danica McKellar - Last year, actress and math genius Danica McKellar made waves nationwide, challenging the "math nerd" stereotype—and giving girls the tools to ace tests and homework in her unique just-us-girls style. Kiss My Math takes on pre-Algebra, and will help math-phobic teenagers everywhere finally "get" negative numbers, variables, absolute values, exponents, and more.

The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream by John Zogby - At the center of this optimistic future is a group he labels the "First Globals," consisting of the current 18- to 29-year-olds across the United States. This group, he finds, is "the most outward-looking and accepting generation in American history." Yes, many of them are self-absorbed and materialistic. But, Zogby says, the majority of First Globals are "far more likely than their elders to accept gays and lesbians. For all practical purposes, they're the first color-blind Americans and the first to bring a consistently global perspective to everything from foreign policy to environmental issues to the coffee they buy, the music they listen to and the clothes they wear." ~excerpt of a review by Steve Weinberg, The Washington Post.

What Really Sank the Titanic: New Forensic Discoveries by J. H. McCarty - Grippingly written, illustrated with fascinating period photographs and modern scientific evidence, McCarty presents little-known Titanic facts and lore, colorful portraits of the ship's designers, builders, and crew, eyewitness accounts, and a dramatic timeline of the ship's last hours. In an age when forensics can catch killers, this book does what no other book has before: fingers the culprit in one of the greatest tragedies ever.

The World in Six Songs by Daniel Levitin - Blending cutting-edge scientific findings with his own sometimes hilarious experiences as a musician and music-industry professional, Levitinas sweeping study also incorporates wisdom gleaned from interviews with icons ranging from Sting and Paul Simon to Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, and David Byrne, along with classical musicians and conductors, historians, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists. The result is a brilliant revelation of the prehistoric yet elegant systems at play when we sing and dance at a wedding, cheer at a concert, or tune out quietly with an iPod.

September Recommendations for Adults

Fiction

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld - Sittenfeld's third novel accepts the challenge of showing how a nice mid-Western girl and registered Democrat came to marry into a powerful Republican family. The fine storytelling falters in the end, unable to sustain the suspension of disbelief, but well worth considering for a group read.

An Expert in Murder: A Josephine Tey Mystery by Nicola Upson - Fans of Golden Age of murder mysteries will enjoy Tey's debut as the detective/playwright who investigates the murder of a young woman while overseeing the final week for her hit play Richard of Bordeaux. Set in 1934 London when the play was performed, the realistic details of the actors lives is drawn from Upson's interviews with the actual cast.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer - A Guernsey farmer finds Juliet Ashton's name in a book and thus begins a correspondence. The literary society began during the German occupation as a way to divert the Germans from clandestine feasts of prohibited foods. Through letters exchanged with the island's inhabitants, Ashton learns of the islanders' resistance, sabotage, and acts of heroism.

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin - A serial killer is loose in 12th century Cambridge. In desperation, King Henry II summons a Master of the Art of Death and gets a Mistress instead. With accurate historical details, medieval forensics, engaging characters and horrific murders, it’s irresistible.

The Shack by William P. Young - Mack's youngest daughter, Missy, is abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, Mack receives a note—apparently from God—inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment, he goes and walks back into his darkest nightmare. Find why this book is intriguing readers around the world.


Nonfiction

Black Wave: A Family’s Adventure at Sea and the Disaster that Saved Them by John Silverwood - To escape the humdrum of life in Southern California, a man, his wife, and four young children decide to set sail across the high seas and embark on the adventure of a lifetime—one that will change them forever.

How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman - Pharmaceutical companies, managed care, and medical training all contribute to how physicians automatically think. Groopman shows how patients can interact with doctors to avoid misdiagnoses.

The Life of the Skies by Jonathan Rosen - A mixture of memoir, nature writing, history, and philosophy, The Life of the Skies is an illuminating look at the complex relationship humans have with their flying counterparts—and a history of America viewed on the wing.

The 12 Best Foods Cookbook: Over 200 Recipes Featuring the World’s Healthiest Foods by Dana Jacobi - From an award-winning food writer and chef comes a breakthrough cookbook that identifies 12 micronutrient-rich foods that can help protect against major disease and, with over 250 recipes, shows how to turn them into mouthwatering dishes.

When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin - This harrowing memoir recounts a journalist's return to visit his elderly parents in Zimbabwe during the upheaval of Mugabe's dictatorship, where he uncovers family secrets about their loyalty to the area.