New+Books

Check here for new books added to the library and possibly a synopsis of the books.

//Henry's freedom box//
 * New books 2011**

Booklist starred (February 1, 2007 (Vol. 103, No. 11))
Although the cover shows a young boy staring intently at the reader, this book is really about Henry Brown as an adult and a staggering decision he made to achieve freedom. Henry, born a slave, hears from his mother that leaves blowing in the wind "are torn from the trees like slave children are torn from their families."When his master grows ill, Henry hopes that he will be freed; instead, he is given to his master's son, and his life becomes worse. Eventually, Henry marries and has children; then his family is sold. With nothing left to lose, he asks a white abolitionist to pack him in a crate so he can be mailed to freedom. The journey is fraught with danger as he travels by train and then steamboat, but 27 hours later, he reaches Philadelphia. A brief author's note confirms the details of the story, but it's the dramatic artwork that brings the events emphatically to life. According to the flap copy, an antique lithograph of Brown inspired Nelson's paintings, which use crosshatched pencil lines layered with watercolors and oil paints. The technique adds a certain look of age to the art and also gives the pictures the heft they need to visualize Brown's life. Transcending technique is the humanity Nelson imbues in his characters, especially Brown and his mother--her dream of freedom deferred, his amazingly achieved.

// The trouble with May Amelia // Booklist (March 1, 2011 (Vol. 107, No. 13)) Grades 3-6. Decidedly shorter than Holm’s Newbery Honor Book Our Only May Amelia (1999), this sequel is otherwise quite consistent in its folksy language, rural-Washington setting, and plucky protagonist. Living with boisterous brothers, a distracted mother, and a father who considers her “Just Plain Stupid,” May Amelia might be forgiven for thinking that “It is my destiny to die in an outhouse.” The 13-year-old proves resilient, though, both at school and at home on her family’s farm. Helping her family through the rough year of 1900 are the dreams of coming riches, which blossom after they invest with a land speculator. When that deal sours and the whole community is affected, blame lands on May Amelia’s shoulders, since she acted as a translator between the slick shyster and her Finnish-speaking father. With plot elements pulled from the author’s own family history, the book draws to a close with an ending that, though ultimately hopeful, hints at more trouble to come. Line drawings at the start of each chapter add further appeal.

//The potato chip puzzles//

Booklist (May 1, 2009 (Vol. 105, No. 17))
Grades 4-6. This follow-up to Berlin’s outstanding The Puzzling World of Winston Breen (2007) is another sure-fire delight for hardcore puzzle guzzlers. The plot this time around, though, is a wee bit more transparent in delivering the stumpers: Winston and friends, along with an overzealous math teacher, enter into a potato-chip company’s puzzle-solving contest, the winner of which will get $50,000 for his or her school. Adding a touch of drama to the proceedings is a mysterious and possibly dangerous saboteur. The clever yet solvable puzzles are perfect to keep analytical attentions invested and to challenge readers to think sideways.

//A leprechaun's St. Patrick's Day//

Horn Book (September, 1997)
While leprechauns play pranks, such as stealing the breakfast bread and getting the Lord Mayor's carriage stuck in a ditch, an Irish family goes to Dublin to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Using pedestrian verse, the story is choppy and lacks a strong plot. The ink and pastel illustrations have a clumsy feel.