D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths

D'Aulaires' book of Norse myths / by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire ; preface by Michael Chabon. – New York : New York Review of Books, [2005], c1967.
xiii, 154 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 31 cm.
ISBN: 9781590171257
Includes index
Originally published as Norse Gods and Giants. Garden City : Doubleday, 1967.

1. Giants – Mythology. 2. Gods, Norse. 3. Mythology, Norse.

293.13

The creation of the world, Frost Giants, and Gods as recorded by the Icelandic eddas is presented by the D'Aulaires in color filled large format lithographs and clear English prose. Originally published as Norse Gods and Giants, short introductions of the Aesir Gods and the Jotun follow the creation story. These in turn are followed by the adventures of Loki and Thor, and then the final battle of Ragnarokk. A helpful index that includes a pronunciation guide is appended.

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword

Hereville : how Mirka got her sword / Barry Deutsch ; colors by Jake Richmond.-- New York : Amulet Books, c2010.
137 p. : chiefly col. ill. ; 24 cm.
ISBN: 9780810984226 (hbk.)
Author’s note: I drew Hereville on my computer using Photoshop and a Cintique tablet, which is a kind of interactive pen-on-screen tool. Jake the colorist, also used Photoshop to digitally add color to my black-and-white artwork.”

1. Jewish girls -- Comic books, strips, etc. 2. Fantasy comic books, strips, etc. 3. Jews -- Conduct of life -- Comic books, strips, etc. 4. Witches -- Comic books, strips, etc. 5. Trolls -- Comic books, strips, etc. 6. Graphic novels.

741.5973

One day on her way to school Mirka Hirschberg discovers a house that she’s never seen before in her town of Hereville and in the yard of this house is a woman pruning a tree while floating ten feet off the ground. Mirka plucks one of the enormous grapes hanging on the fence of the house, and she’s set upon by a monster. The monster turns out to be a pig, but since Hereville is town inhabited only by Orthodox Jews, Mirka has never seen one, and doesn’t know what to call it until enlightened by her more worldly step-sister. Since Mirka’s ambition in life is to be a dragon slayer, she vows that she’s not going to be defeated by a pig. But when she sets a trap for the pig, she ends up having to battle a troll!

Zita the Spacegirl: Book 1

Zita the spacegirl : Book 1 : Far from home / by Ben Hatke.-- New York : First Second, c2010.
182 p. : col. ill.; 22 cm.
ISBN: 9781596434462 (pbk.)

1. Graphic novels. 2. Human-alien encounters – Comic books, strips, etc. 3. Science fiction comic books, strips, etc.

741.5973

At the bottom of a fresh meteor crater Zita and her friend Joseph discover a strange artifact. In its center is a large red button. Zita thinks she should push it. Joseph begs her not to, so, of course, she does. A large crack appears in reality, black tentacles reach out and drag Joseph in. Then it snaps shut. Zita gathers her courage, presses the button again, and dives in after him. Like Dorothy’s trip to Oz, Zita finds herself in a land beyond belief filled with strange creatures. But it’s also a doomed world, destined to be struck by an asteroid in three days. Can Zita find Joseph, rescue him, and escape before the asteroid strikes? She can, but she’ll need a little help from her friends.

Behemoth

Behemoth / Scott Westerfeld ; read by Alan Cumming.-- [New York] : Simon and Schuster Audio, p2010.
8 sound discs (9 hr., 30 min.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
Unabridged
Compact discs
ISBN: 9781442334106

1. Alternative histories (Fiction) 2. Genetic engineering – Fiction. 3. Imaginary wars and battles – Fiction. 4. Princes – Fiction. 5. Science fiction. 6. Steampunk fiction. 7. War stories.

813.54

On August 10, 1914 two German warships the Görban and the Breslau slip into the Dardanelles steaming for Istanbul to evade the British Navy and with the hope of bringing the Ottoman Empire into the Great War on their side. In this second volume of Scott Westerfeld alternative steampunk history of the war, the Germans have been pursued and attacked not only by the British Navy, but also by the flagship of its Air Service, the Leviathan, an enormous airship genetically engineered from a whale and several other species by Darwinist scientists. Aboard are: Deryn Sharp, a fierce Scots lass disguised as a boy and her unlikely new friend Prince Alek, the heir to the Austo-Hungarian Empire. Within days both are running loose in the Ottoman capital. While Deryn leads a secret sabotage mission, Alek intrigues with local revolutionaries in this fantastic adventure tale of what might have been. Cumming skillfully switches accents from Scots to English to German adding verisimilitude while keeping up the fast pace of the action.

Manhood for Amateurs

Manhood for amateurs : the pleasures and regrets of a husband, father, and son / Michael Chabon.— New York : Harper Audio, 2009.
7 sound discs (8 hr.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
ISBN: 9780061842375
Contents: The losers’ club – William and I – The cut – D.A.R.E. – The wilderness of childhood – Hypocritical theory – The spleandors of crap – The hand on my shoulder – The story of our story – the ghost of Irene Adler – The heartbreak kid – A gift – Faking it – Art of the cake – On Canseco – I feel good about my murse – Burning women – Verging – Fever – Looking for trouble – A woman of valor – Like, cosmic – Subterranean – XO9 – Sky and telescope – Shurefire lines – Cosmodemonic – Boyland – A textbook father – The omega glory – Getting out – Radio silence – Normal time – Xmas – The amateur family – Daughter of the Commandment.
Unabridged
Read by the author

1. American essays--21st century. 2. Authors, American – Biography. 3. Chabon, Michael -- Family. 4. Chabon, Michael -- Marriage. 5. Fatherhood -- United States. 6. Fathers -- United States – Biography. 7. Husbands -- United States -- Biography. 8. Marriage -- United States. 9. Masculinity -- United States. 10. Men -- United States – Biography. 11. Sons -- United States -- Biography.

814.54

Chabon uses his personal experiences to essay into various topics of masculinity and family. Divorce, his and his parents, feelings of inadequacy, love and relationships, honesty, growing up as a child in the 1970s, the joys of being a geek, being honest with your children about drug use. As in his novels, he manages to tie many seemingly unrelated topics together to produce sparkling literate prose.

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and prejudice / by Jane Austen ; with a preface by George Saintsbury and illustrations by Hugh Thomson. – Mineola : Dover Publications, 2005.
xxvii, 476 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
ISBN: 9780486440910
“This Dover ed. is an unabridged republication of the work originally published in 1894 by George Allen.”

1. Courtship -- Fiction. 2. Domestic fiction. 3. England -- Fiction. 4. Love stories. 5. Sisters -- Fiction. 6. Social classes -- Fiction. 7. Young women -- Fiction.

823.7

When Mr. Bingley, a “young man of large fortune from the north of England,” buys a house in town, Mrs. Bennet is in a frenzy to get her husband to make a social call on their new neighbor. She wants the Bennets to get there before other families with marriageable young daughters, after all, the Bennets have five in need of being married off! So begins this witty description of leisurely paced domestic scheming that serves as the backdrop for the courtship of the clever and self-assured Elizabeth Bennet by Mr. Bingley’s friend, the proud and aristocratic Fitzwilliam Darcy. And while the reader is aware of Mr. Darcy’s infatuation early in the novel, it takes the heroine completely by surprise half-way through the book. This masterpiece of romantic comedy with its precisely portrayed characters is the template and measure for all the Regency Romances of today.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

A sick day for Amos McGee / written by Philip C. Stead ; illustrated by Erin E. Stead. -- New York : Roaring Brook, 2010.
[32] p. : ill. ; 23 x 25 cm.
ISBN: 9781596434028
"A Neal Porter book."
Caldecott Medal, 2011

1. Zoo animals – Fiction. 2. Zoo keepers – Fiction.


813.6

Amos McGee gets up early every day to catch the six o’clock bus to work at the zoo. Once at work he made his rounds to visit his good friends, and spend time playing with them. So, one day when he’s feeling sick and has to stay home, his friends take the bus out to spend time with him.

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo / by Alexandre Dumas ; read by John Lee.—[Ashland] : Blackstone Audio, 2008
1 WMA sound file (674649 KB) (46 hr., 56 min.)
Unabridged
Translation of: Comte de Monte-Cristo
First published in French 1844-1846
Use on Windows® computers running OverDrive Media Console.
ISBN: 9781433247958

1. Adventure stories. 2. Europe--History--1789-1900--Fiction. 3. Historical fiction. 4. Revenge – Fiction.

843.7

Edmond Dantès, falsely imprisoned for life on a political charge, escapes after fourteen years, and uncovers a treasure so fabulous that it might have come right out of the Arabian Nights. Rich and free, acting anonymously, he enriches his old friends, and then cries, "Farewell kindness, humanity, and gratitude! Farewell to all the feelings that expand the heart! I have been heaven's substitute to recompense the good—now the god of vengeance yields to me his power to punish the wicked!"

Peace Like a River

Peace like a river / by Leif Enger ; read by Edward Holland.-- Newport Beach : Books on Tape, p2001.
11 sound discs (12 hr., 31 min.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
Unabridged, library edition
Compact discs
ISBN: 0736685294

1. Bildungsromans. 2. Christian fiction. 3. Domestic fiction. 4. Faith – Fiction. 5. Fugitives from justice – Fiction. 6. Minnesota – Fiction. 7. Miracles—Fiction. 8. North Dakota – Fiction.

813.6

The night before the jury is about to render a verdict on his case Davey Land breaks out of jail and escapes. He shot two intruders who broke in and threatened his family, but when it comes out in the trial that he has provoked them, things look bad for Davey. His father Jeremiah, his asthmatic younger brother Reuben and his sister Swede, a nine-year-old author of heroic cowboy verse, take out on what they hope is his trail into the Badlands of the Dakotas.

Told by eleven-year-old Reuben, their journey and its cause and aftermath, becomes a determined struggle between faith and prayer and human selfishness, between comfort and privation, between deception and truth, and between images of hellish landscape and heavenly visions. It is also a tale abounding in miracles.

Savvy

Savvy / by Ingrid Law.—Complementary Teacher's edition. – New York : Puffin ; Boston. : Walton Media, c2010.
342, [38], 14 p. : ill. ; 19 cm.
"Includes almost 50 pages of bonus teaching materials, discussion questions, a special Q&A with Ingrid Law, notes from the 2009 Newbery Committee, and a sneak peak at Scumble, the next Savvy adventure!"

1. Fantasy fiction. 2. Kansas – Fiction. 3. Nebraska – Fiction. 4. Superheroes – Fiction.

813.6

Mibs Beaumont—Mibs is the nickname her baby sister gave her; her full first name is Mississippi—is looking forward with anxious anticipation to her thirteenth birthday. It’s only two days away and it’s the usual age when the members of her family first manifest their savvy. When her older brother Fish turned thirteen he caused a hurricane. Her “Great-aunt Jules…could step back twenty minutes in time every time she sneezed…second cousin Olive…could melt ice with a single red-hot stare,” and her brother Rocket could create an enormous amount of electricity.

But Mibs’s birthday suspense is crushed by a horrible highway accident. Suddenly, her father, a man without any savvy, is in a coma in the far away Salina Hope Hospital. When Rocket and her mother drive off to be with him Mibs and the rest of her large family are stranded with the preacher’s family, and Mibs knows that she just has to get to Salina and she will do anything to get there.

Turtle In Paradise

Turtle in paradise / Jennifer L. Holm ; read by Becca Battoe.— New York : Listening Library, 2010.
3 sound discs (3 hr., 48 min.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
Unabridged
Compact discs
ISBN: 9780307738301

1. Cousins – Fiction. 2. Depressions -- 1929 – Fiction. 3. Families – Fiction. 4. Key West (Fla.) -- History -- 20th century – Fiction. 5. Treasure troves--Florida--Florida Keys—Fiction.

813.54

Turtle got her nickname from her mother because she doesn’t cry or get upset about by bad news, and in 1935 the world is full of bad news. Turtle’s mother has a new job in New Jersey as a housekeeper, but her employer won’t let her daughter live in with her. She thinks children are noisy and she can’t abide noise. So Turtle and her cat Smokey have been sent to live with her aunt and uncle and her three cousins, Beans, Kermit, and Buddy in Key West, Florida. All three cousins are boys and they own a dog named Termite, a cross between a German Shepherd and dachshund. It’s not love at first sight. The boys don’t want to make room for a girl and Termite doesn’t want to make room for a cat.

Beans, who, like Turtle, is eleven, is the boss of The Diaper Gang. It’s a babysitting service for infants. Beans tells Turtle it’s strictly, “No girls allowed.” This doesn’t bother Turtle. She has no desire to change diapers. The Diaper Gang is a thriving business because they not only change diapers, but they work for candy, not money. And they have an important trade secret: a never-fail cure for diaper rash. Tagging along with the Diaper Gang and their wagon full of tightly swaddled and dry charges, gives Turtle a chance to meet the neighbors. Everyone in Key West is known by a nickname: Slow Poke, Too Bad, Killie, Papa, Nana Philly, Pork Chop. Hardly anyone goes by their real name, but they all seem to know all about Turtle the day after she arrives. It’s a lot different from New Jersey.

The Glass Castle: A Memoir

The glass castle : a memoir / Jeannette Walls. -- New York : Scribner, 2006.
288 p. ; 21 cm.
ISBN: 9780743247542 (pbk.)

1. Children of alcoholics -- United States -- Biography. 2. Homeless persons -- Family relationships -- New York (State) -- New York. 3. Poor -- West Virginia -- Welch -- Biography. 4. Problem families -- United States -- Case studies. 5. Problem families -- West Virginia -- Welch -- Case studies. 6. Walls, Jeannette.

362.82092

The first thing Jeannette Walls remembers from her childhood was being on fire. The three-year old was standing on a chair boiling hot dogs when her dress caught on fire At the hospital the nurses wanted to know what a three-year-old was doing cooking hot dogs. “’Mom says I’m mature for my age,’ I told them, ‘and she lets me cook for myself a lot.’ Two nurses looked at each other, and one of them wrote something down on a clipboard. I asked what was wrong. Nothing, they said, nothing.”

Pulling up stakes and doing the skedaddle in the early hours of the morning was a regular part of her family’s nomadic existence going from small desert town in Arizona, Nevada and California, until her father’s inability and her mother’s unwillingness to keep a job landed them in Phoenix living off the inheritance of Jeannette’s maternal grandmother, and when that ran out to the home of her paternal grandmother in Welch, West Virginia. From there one by one, her older sister, Jeannette, her younger brother, and youngest sister set out for New York to find work, education and their own lives.

The Hunger Games

The hunger games / Suzanne Collins. -- New York : Scholastic Press, c2008.
374 p. ; 22 cm.
ISBN: 9780439023481 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. Contests – Fiction. 2. Interpersonal relations – Fiction. 3. Reality television programs -- Fiction. 4. Science fiction. 5. Survival -- Fiction. 6. Women gladiators – Fiction.

813.6

Throughout Panem the most-watched television show of the year is the “Hunger Games.” That’s because everyone in the Capitol and its twelve subservient districts is required to watch as twenty-four tributes, twelve boys and twelve girls, a pair from each district, aged twelve to eighteen, chosen by lottery, fight to the death. This gruesome reality show is punishment for an uprising seventy-four years ago when thirteen districts battled the Capitol. Now there are only twelve districts and the survivors are forced to participate in the annual reaping.

Sixteen-year old Katniss Everdeen would rather be hunting with her friend Gale than participating in this grim lottery. Naturally, she hopes her name won’t be drawn, but when the name of her twelve-year old sister is announced, Katniss jumps in to volunteer. Soon she and her fellow tribute are on their way to the Capitol, where an alcoholic coach and team of make-up artists and trainers will transform the Appalachian coal miner’s daughter and baker’s son into lethal gladiators and glamorous stars.

The Quantum Rose

The Quantum Rose / by Catherine Asaro ; read by Anna Fields.—[Ashland] : Blackstone Audio, 2004.
WMA audio file (192605 KB) (13 hr., 23 min.)
Unabridged
(Saga of the Skolian Empire; Book 6)
ISBN: 9780786133680

1. Science Fiction 2. Skolian Empire (Imaginary place) -- Fiction.

813.54

While having a relaxing swim Kamoj Quanta Argali, the governor of Argali, and her bodyguard are surprised by a group of riders led by Havyrl Lionstar, who appear on the other bank of the river. Embarrassed by the intrusion, Kamoj quickly gets out of the water and dresses, but by the time she joins her bodyguard, the riders have left. Lionstar, who has recently arrived from another world, is notorious for being both rich and rude. As if this breach of privacy wasn’t humiliating enough, on the way back from the river Kamoj runs into another group of riders led by another notoriously rich and difficult man, Jax Ironbridge, the ruler of the neighboring province and her betrothed. It is not a happy meeting. And soon Kamoj finds herself caught in a political and emotional bind by the desires of the two stubborn and powerful men.

We Are the Ship: the Story of Negro League Baseball

We are the ship : the story of Negro League baseball / words and paintings by Kadir Nelson ; foreword by Hank Aaron.-- New York : Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, c2008.
88 p. : col. ill. ; 29 cm.
ISBN: 9780786808328

1. African American baseball players. 2. Baseball -- United States – History. 3. Negro leagues – History.

Using the voice of an unnamed player Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its end in 1960. In his oil paintings he gives every player’s portrait a bearing, as if the viewer is looking up at an exquisitely colored monumental statue of the man.

Calamity Jack

Calamity Jack / Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, and [illustrated by] Nathan Hale. -- New York : Bloomsbury, 2010.
144 p. : chiefly col. ill. ; 29 cm.
Sequel to: Rapunzel's Revenge
ISBN: 9781599903736 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Fantasy comic books. 2. Giants -- Comic books, strips, etc. 3. Graphic novels. 4. Jack and the beanstalk--Comic books, strips, etc. 5. Jack tales--Comic books, strips, etc.

741.5973

As he and his new friend Rapunzel head back east to his old hometown of Shyport, Jack thinks back on his past. He’s always been a schemer; he likes to think of himself as a “criminal mastermind with an unfortunate amount of bad luck.” He remembers the pranks and heists he and Prudence the pixie used to pull, including the last one which caused him to flee Shyport, and, worries that Rapunzel might not want to stick around once she discovers his criminal past.

Squirrel's World

Squirrel's world / Lisa Moser ; illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev.— Cambridge : Candlewick Press, 2008, c2007.
44 p. : col. ill. ; 23 cm.
Audience: Ages 5 - 7.
(Candlewick sparks)
ISBN: 9780763640880

1. Animals – Fiction. 2. Forest animals – Fiction. 3. Helping behavior – Fiction. 4. Humorous stories. 5. Squirrels – Fiction.

813.6

Squirrel likes to go, go, go. He likes to help his friends, but he doesn’t slow down to listen to what they say to him. Sometimes he helps and sometime he tries to help and the result is not at all helpful.

2010-2011 Texas Bluebonnet Nominee

Binky the Space Cat

Binky the space cat / by Ashley Spires.-- Toronto : Kids Can Press, c2009.
64 p. : col. ill. ; 23 cm.
Audience: Ages 7 to 10.
(Binky Adventure)
ISBN: 9781554533091 (hardcover)

1. Cats -- Comic books, strips, etc. 2. Graphic novels. 3. Space flight -- Comic books, strips, etc.

741.5971

Unlike your average cat, Binky has a purpose; he is a space cat. Binky is also an indoor cat. He is not been allowed in the space outside his home. But even as a kitten he realized that his home was being invaded by aliens! His humans, both the big and small one would exclaim, “Ew, bugs!” Binky did his research in books and online and discovered that aliens and bugs,
“--can fly
--steal your food
--lay eggs
Binky came to three conclusions:
1. Obviously bugs and aliens are the same thing.
2. Too bad humans aren’t smart enough to figure this out.
3. That must be why they need a cat around.”

Determined to protect his humans, Binky sends away for his Space Cat kit and trains very hard to deal with the alien menace.

Half Broke Horses

Half broke horses : a true-life novel / Jeannette Walls.-- New York: Simon & Schuster Audioworks, 2009.
8 sound discs (ca. 9 hr.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
Unabridged
Read by the author
Compact discs
ISBN: 9780743597227

1. Arizona -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction. 2. Ranch life--Arizona--Fiction. 3. Ranch life--Texas--Fiction. 4. Smith, Lily Casey, 1901-1968 – Fiction. 5. Texas -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction.

813.6

Jeannette Walls takes on the voice of her maternal grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, and tells the story of her life from Lily’s point of view. Lily died when Jeannette was eight. In reconstructing her grandmother’s biography used her mother’s reminisces and local histories, which presented her with several versions of events, so she made some artistic choices and presents Lily’s story as a first person “true-life novel.”

Born on a horse-breeding ranch in West Texas and raising her own children on a large cattle ranch in Arizona, Lily was very familiar with riding and training horses. She was also became a fearless horse racer, air pilot, taxi driver and teacher. Refusing the traditional role of ranch life she begs for a formal education and gets a partial one at the Sisters of Loretto Academy in Santa Fe, until half way through her first year when her father wrote the Mother Superior that he didn’t have the money to continue her education. When she arrives back at the ranch she discovers he’s spent it on some pure-bred dogs, dogs, which are ironically shot by a neighbor for bothering his cattle. This reinforces her already strong tendency of determined and persevering self-reliance.

Library wars 1 Love and War

Library wars 1 love & war / story and art by Kiiro Yumi ; original concept by Hiro Arikawa.—San Francisco : VIZ Media, 2010.
[166] p. : ill. ; 19 cm.
(Library wars; Volume 1)
Shojo Beat edition
English translation and adaptation Kinami Watabe
ISBN: 9781421534886

1. Censorship -- Japan -- Comic books, strips, etc. 2. Graphic novels -- Japan. 3. Libraries -- Japan -- Comic books, strips, etc. 4. Science fiction comic books, strips, etc.

741.5952


For years Iku Kasahara has dreamed about joining the Library Forces. But now that she’s been accepted, the young soldier thinks that drill instructor Sergeant Dojo is making her training unnecessarily hard. Her friends tell her that’s because he has high hopes for her, but Iku isn’t so sure. After finishing a strenuous run weighed down with a rifle, she finished twelfth out of fifty trainees and first among the women, he snapped at her and made her do push-ups because she collapsing after she crossed the finish line.

Thirty years ago the Central Government passed the Media Betterment Act and the Media Betterment Committee began raiding bookstores and libraries. In response the Provincial Governments created the Library Forces to fight the censorship and protect their libraries. In this near future Manga the struggle for freedom of the press and the rights of readers to read what they want is no longer fought by lawyers and librarians using court cases; it’s fought with fists and automatic weapons. It gives a new dimension to the Unshelved® T-shirt that reads Intellectual Freedom Fighter.