Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Monday, August 5, 2013
Book recommendations
Baby
books (1-2 years old)
Pat the
Bunny
By Dorothy Kunhardt
This classic is still one of our favorites because it's so interactive -- we love touching the bunny's fur, playing peekaboo, and more.
This classic is still one of our favorites because it's so interactive -- we love touching the bunny's fur, playing peekaboo, and more.
Goodnight Moon
By
Margaret Wise Brown
There's no denying that this bedtime routine classic deserves space on every kid's bookshelf.
There's no denying that this bedtime routine classic deserves space on every kid's bookshelf.
Go, Dog, Go!
By P.D.
Eastman
Perfect for young children's short attention spans, this book is simple, straightforward, and silly.
Perfect for young children's short attention spans, this book is simple, straightforward, and silly.
Children
books (3 - 5 years old)
All the World
By Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee
Follow a circle of family and friends through a day of enjoying the world around them and their many connections.
By Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee
Follow a circle of family and friends through a day of enjoying the world around them and their many connections.
Boo Hoo Bird
by Jeremy Tankard
by Jeremy Tankard
When Bird gets a
boo-boo, his friends all try to figure out a way to make him happy again.
Book Fiesta!: A Children’s Day/Book Day Celebration—Una
celebración de El día de los niños/El día de los libros: A Bilingual Picture
Book
By Pat Mora; illustrations by Rafael López
By Pat Mora; illustrations by Rafael López
Colorful illustrations
complement the bilingual text celebrating children and books.
Children books (6 – 8 years old)
Hardcover
The legendary Harry Houdini joins time travellers Jack and Annie
in their lastest adventure. Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House books have been inspiring readers for over
twenty years. This latest installment proves that their magic hasn't dwindled.
Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web is the
story of a little girl named Fern who loved a little pig named Wilbur—and of
Wilbur's dear friend Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful large grey spider who
lived with Wilbur in the barn.
With the help of Templeton, the rat who never did anything for
anybody unless there was something in it for him, and by a wonderfully clever
plan of her own, Charlotte saved the life of Wilbur, who by this time had grown
up to quite a pig.
How all this comes about is Mr. White's story. It is a story of
the magic of childhood on the farm. The thousands of children who loved Stuart
Little, the heroic little city mouse, will be entranced with Charlotte the
spider, Wilbur the pig, and Fern, the little girl who understood their
language.
The forty-seven black-and-white drawings by Garth Williams have
all the wonderful detail and warmhearted appeal that children love in his work.
Incomparably matched to E.B. White's marvelous story, they speak to each new
generation, softly and irresistibly.
Wilbur the pig is desolate when he discovers that he is destined
to be the farmer's Christmas dinner until his spider friend, Charlotte decides
to help him.
I'm a Frog!
Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling.
Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and
Piggie are best friends. In I'm a Frog! Piggie has some ribbiting news! Can Gerald make the leap required to
accept Piggie's new identity?
Percy is confused. When
he awoke after his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His
brain-fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and
trained him to fight. Somehow Percy managed to make it to the camp for half-bloods,
despite the fact that he had to continually kill monsters that, annoyingly,
would not stay dead. But the camp doesn't ring any bells with him. This
breathtaking second installment in the Heroes of Olympus series introduces new
demigods, revives fearsome monsters, and features other remarkable creatures.
The Third Wheel
(Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #7)
Greg Heffley is not
willing to be the odd man out.
A dance at Greg's middle school has everyone scrambling to find a
partner, and Greg is determined not to be left by the wayside. So he concocts a
desperate plan to find someone—anyone!—to go with on the big night.
But Greg's schemes go hilariously awry, and his only option is to
attend the dance with his best friend, Rowley Jefferson, and a female classmate
as a "group of friends." But the night is long, and anything can
happen along the way. Who will arrive at the dance triumphantly, and who will
end up being the third wheel?
The Carpet People
In the beginning, there was nothing but endless flatness. Then
came the Carpet . . .
That’s the old story everyone knows and loves. But now the Carpet
is home to many different tribes and peoples, and there’s a new story in the
making. The story of Fray, sweeping a trail of destruction across the Carpet.
The story of power-hungry mouls—and of two brothers who set out on an adventure
to end all adventures when their village is flattened.
It’s a
story that will come to a terrible end—if someone doesn't do something about
it. If everyone doesn’t
do something about it . . .
First
published in 1971, this hilarious and wise novel marked the debut of the
phenomenal Sir Terry Pratchett. Years later, Sir Terry revised the work, and
this special collectable edition includes the updated text, his original color
and black-and-white illustrations, and an exclusive story—a forerunner to The Carpet People created
by the seventeen-year-old nascent writer who would become one of the world's
most beloved storytellers.
Teen books (13 – 16 years old)
The House
on Mango Street
AGE 13
Growing
up in a troubled, impoverished neighborhood, a young Latina dreams of a
happier, more peaceful life. This lyrical, eye-opening story highlights the
lack of opportunity for poor and uneducated Americans.
The
Catcher in the Rye
AGE 14
For
decades, readers have identified with Holden Caulfield as he struggles with
loss, identity, and alienation on the streets of New York. Widely considered
one of the best works in American literature, it's a must-read for all teens.
The Fault in Our Stars
AGE 15
This
tearjerker deals with death and dying and the risk of loving someone with a
terminal illness. Honest narration and attention to detail make the harrowing
events seem real -- and the young narrator's inner strength particularly
impressive.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
AGE 16
This
popular novel about a boy who's learning to move past a friend's suicide
resonates with anyone who feels like a misfit. The mature content (sex,
substance abuse) is essential, as characters experiment with ways of coping.
Adult books (> 17 years old)
The Little Prince
Moral allegory and spiritual
autobiography, The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French
language. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves
the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries
of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal
odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures.
Angels
& Demons
When world-renowned Harvard
symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze
a mysterious symbol—seared into the chest of a murdered physicist—he discovers
evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood
known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to
walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of
its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy—the Catholic Church.
Langdon’s worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the ’s holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.
Langdon’s worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the ’s holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.
The
Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)
In the ruins of a place once
known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying
districts. The Capitol is cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them
all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to
participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Unintentionally, she becomes a contender.
If Katniss is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Unintentionally, she becomes a contender.
If Katniss is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
City
of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)
When fifteen-year-old Clary
Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to
witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with
strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into
thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to
everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that
a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .
This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .
Self-improvement books
The
7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
In The 7
Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey presents a
holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and
professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey
reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service,
and human dignity -- principles that give us the security to adapt to change
and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change
creates.
Getting
Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Apply the "do it, delegate it, defer it, drop it" rule to get your in-box to empty Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations Plan projects as well as get them unstuck Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed Feel fine about what you're not doing From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done can transform the way you work, showing you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.
Who
Moved My Cheese
Written by Spencer Johnson,
coauthor of The One Minute Manager, this
enlightening and amusing story illustrates the vital importance of being able
to deal with unexpected change. Who Moved My Cheese? is often
distributed by managers to employees as a motivational tool, but the lessons it
teaches can benefit literally anyone, young or old, rich or poor, looking for
less stress and more success in every aspect of work and life.
Cooking books
The
Joy of Cooking
Since its original
publication, Joy of Cooking has been the most authoritative cookbook in
America, the one upon which millions of cooks have confidently relied for more
than sixty-five years. It's the book your grandmother and mother probably
learned to cook from, the book you gave your sister when she got married. This,
the first revision in more than twenty years, is better than ever. Here's why:
Every chapter has been rethought with an emphasis on freshness, convenience,
and health.
All the recipes have been reconceived and tested with an eye to modern taste, and the cooking knowledge imparted with each subject enriched to the point where everyone from a beginning to an experienced cook will feel completely supported.
The new Joy continues the vision of American cooking that began with the first edition of Joy. It is still the book you can turn to for perfect Beef Wellington and Baked Macaroni and Cheese. It's also the book where you can now find Turkey on the Grill, Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles, and vegetarian meals.
The new Joy provides more thorough descriptions of ingredients, from the familiar to the most exotic. For instance, almost all the varieties of apples grown domestically are described-- the months they become available, how they taste, what they are best used for, and how long they keep. But for the first time Joy features a complete section on fresh and dried chili peppers: how to roast and grill them, how to store them, and how long they keep-- with illustrations of each pepper.
An all-new "RULES" section in many chapters gives essential cooking basics at a glance: washing and storing salad greens, selecting a pasta and a matching sauce, determining when a piece of fish is cooked through, stuffing a chicken, and making a perfect souffle.
New chapters reflect changing American tastes and lifestyles:
Separate new chapters on grains, beans, and pasta include recipes for grits, polenta, pilafs, risottos, vegetarian chills, bean casseroles, and make-ahead lasagnes.
New baking and dessert chapters promise to enhance Joy of Cooking's reputation as a bible for bakers. Quick and yeast bread recipes range from focaccia, pizza, and sourdoughs to muffins and coffee cakes. Separate chapters cover custards and puddings, pies and tarts, cookies, cakes, cobblers, and other American fruit desserts revived for this edition. Recipes include one-bowl cakes, gingerbread, angel and sponge cakes, meringues, pound cakes, fruitcakes, 6 different kinds of cheesecake-- there's even an illustrated wedding cake recipe, which takes you through all the stages from building a stand, making and decorating the cake, to transporting it to the reception without a hitch.
Little Dishes showcases foods from around the world: hummus, baba ghanoush, bruschetta, tacos, empanadas, and fried wontons.
AII new drawings of techniques, ingredients, and equipment, integrated throughout an elegant new design, and over 300 more pages round out the new Joy.
Among this book's other unique features: microwave instructions for preparing beans, grains, and vegetables; dozens of new recipes for people who are lactose intolerant and allergic to gluten; expanded ingredients chart now features calories, essential vitamins, and levels of fats and cholesterol. There are ideas for substitutions to lower fat in recipes and reduced-fat recipes in the baking sections.
From cover to cover, Joy's chapters have been imbued with the knowledge and passion of America's greatest cooks and cooking teachers. An invaluable combination of old and new, this edition of Joy of Cooking promises to keep you cooking for years to come.
All the recipes have been reconceived and tested with an eye to modern taste, and the cooking knowledge imparted with each subject enriched to the point where everyone from a beginning to an experienced cook will feel completely supported.
The new Joy continues the vision of American cooking that began with the first edition of Joy. It is still the book you can turn to for perfect Beef Wellington and Baked Macaroni and Cheese. It's also the book where you can now find Turkey on the Grill, Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles, and vegetarian meals.
The new Joy provides more thorough descriptions of ingredients, from the familiar to the most exotic. For instance, almost all the varieties of apples grown domestically are described-- the months they become available, how they taste, what they are best used for, and how long they keep. But for the first time Joy features a complete section on fresh and dried chili peppers: how to roast and grill them, how to store them, and how long they keep-- with illustrations of each pepper.
An all-new "RULES" section in many chapters gives essential cooking basics at a glance: washing and storing salad greens, selecting a pasta and a matching sauce, determining when a piece of fish is cooked through, stuffing a chicken, and making a perfect souffle.
New chapters reflect changing American tastes and lifestyles:
Separate new chapters on grains, beans, and pasta include recipes for grits, polenta, pilafs, risottos, vegetarian chills, bean casseroles, and make-ahead lasagnes.
New baking and dessert chapters promise to enhance Joy of Cooking's reputation as a bible for bakers. Quick and yeast bread recipes range from focaccia, pizza, and sourdoughs to muffins and coffee cakes. Separate chapters cover custards and puddings, pies and tarts, cookies, cakes, cobblers, and other American fruit desserts revived for this edition. Recipes include one-bowl cakes, gingerbread, angel and sponge cakes, meringues, pound cakes, fruitcakes, 6 different kinds of cheesecake-- there's even an illustrated wedding cake recipe, which takes you through all the stages from building a stand, making and decorating the cake, to transporting it to the reception without a hitch.
Little Dishes showcases foods from around the world: hummus, baba ghanoush, bruschetta, tacos, empanadas, and fried wontons.
AII new drawings of techniques, ingredients, and equipment, integrated throughout an elegant new design, and over 300 more pages round out the new Joy.
Among this book's other unique features: microwave instructions for preparing beans, grains, and vegetables; dozens of new recipes for people who are lactose intolerant and allergic to gluten; expanded ingredients chart now features calories, essential vitamins, and levels of fats and cholesterol. There are ideas for substitutions to lower fat in recipes and reduced-fat recipes in the baking sections.
From cover to cover, Joy's chapters have been imbued with the knowledge and passion of America's greatest cooks and cooking teachers. An invaluable combination of old and new, this edition of Joy of Cooking promises to keep you cooking for years to come.
Better
Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
Dozens of new recipes offer ethnic flavors, fresh ingredients, or vegetarian appeal.
Many recipes feature make-ahead directions or quick-to-the-table meals.
New chapter provides recipes for crockery cookers.
Efficient, easy-to-read format, with recipes categorized into 21 chapters, each thoroughly indexed for easy reference.
Expanded chapter on cooking basics includes advice on food safety, menu planning, table setting, and make-ahead cooking, plus a thorough glossary on ingredients and techniques.
Appliance-friendly recipes help cooks save time and creatively use new kitchen tools.
Nutrition information with each recipe, plus diabetic exchanges.
Contemporary food photography attracts browsers and helps cooks discover new recipes to make.
Icons identify low-fat, no-fat, fast, and best-loved recipes.
Every recipe tested and perfected by the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen.
Revised and updated cooking charts, ingredient photos, emergency substitutions, and equivalents.
Respected, reliable kitchen reference with hundreds of cooking terms, tips, and techniques.
How
to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food
For all the wonderful
cookbooks that abound, I don't know of many from which I would really want to
cook every night. Sometimes I'm in the mood to duplicate a complex dish created
by a famous restaurant chef; other times I'm interested in searching out
uncommon ingredients to experiment with an authentic ethnic dish. But like most
people, most nights, I don't have all the time or energy in the world, and what
I want is something simple, wholesome, and tasty. This is exactly what Mark
Bittman brings us with How to Cook Everything a reliable, relaxed, realistic,
utterly comprehensive collection of 1,500 recipes and techniques that reflect
what home cooking can and should be today: "good everyday cooking, one of
the few simple, routine joys of everyday life."
- Kate Murphy Zeman
- Kate Murphy Zeman
Sport books
The
Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy
There is only one writer on the planet who possesses enough basketball
knowledge and passion to write the definitive book on the NBA.* Bill Simmons,
the from-the-womb hoops addict known to millions as ESPN.com’s Sports Guy, is
that writer. And The Book of Basketball is that book.
The
Perfect Play (Play by Play #1)
Football pro Mick Riley is an all-star, both on the field and in the
bedroom. But a sexy, determinedly single mom just might be the one to throw him
off his game...
For years Mick has been taking full advantage of the life available to a pro athlete: fame, fortune, and a different girl in every city. But when he meets and beds confident, beautiful event planner Tara Lincoln, he wants much more than the typical one-night stand. Too bad Tara's not interested in getting to know football's most notorious playboy any better.
As the single mother of a teenage son, the last thing Tara needs is the jet-set lifestyle of Mick Riley; even though their steamy and passionate one-night stand was unforgettable. Tara's life is complicated enough without being thrust into the spotlight as Mick's latest girl du jour. Tara played the game of love once and lost big, and she doesn't intend to put herself out there again, especially with a heartbreaker like Mick.
But when Mick sets his mind to win, nothing will stop him. And he has the perfect play in mind.
For years Mick has been taking full advantage of the life available to a pro athlete: fame, fortune, and a different girl in every city. But when he meets and beds confident, beautiful event planner Tara Lincoln, he wants much more than the typical one-night stand. Too bad Tara's not interested in getting to know football's most notorious playboy any better.
As the single mother of a teenage son, the last thing Tara needs is the jet-set lifestyle of Mick Riley; even though their steamy and passionate one-night stand was unforgettable. Tara's life is complicated enough without being thrust into the spotlight as Mick's latest girl du jour. Tara played the game of love once and lost big, and she doesn't intend to put herself out there again, especially with a heartbreaker like Mick.
But when Mick sets his mind to win, nothing will stop him. And he has the perfect play in mind.
Summer
of '49
With
incredible skill, passion, and insight, Pulitzer Prize–winningauthor David
Halberstam returns us to a glorious time when the dreams of a now almost
forgotten America rested on the crack of a bat.
The year was 1949, and a war-weary nation turned from the
battlefields to the ball fields in search of new heroes. It was a summer that
marked the beginning of a sports rivalry unequaled in the annals of athletic
competition. The awesome New York Yankees and the indomitable Boston Red Sox
were fighting for supremacy of baseball's American League, and an aging Joe
DiMaggio and a brash, headstrong hitting phenomenon named Ted Williams led
their respective teams in a classic pennant duel of almost mythic
proportions—one that would be decided in an explosive head-to-head
confrontation on the last day of the season.
Spiritual books
The
Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity
Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.
In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!
The Problem of Pain
The Problem of
Pain answers the universal question, "Why would
an all-loving, all-knowing God allow people to experience pain and
suffering?" Master Christian apologist C.S. Lewis asserts that pain is a
problem because our finite, human minds selfishly believe that pain-free lives
would prove that God loves us. In truth, by asking for this, we want God to
love us less, not more than he does. "Love, in its own nature, demands the
perfecting of the beloved; that the mere 'kindness' which tolerates anything
except suffering in its object is, in that respect at the opposite pole from
Love." In addressing "Divine Omnipotence," "Human
Wickedness," "Human Pain," and "Heaven," Lewis
succeeds in lifting the reader from his frame of reference by artfully
capitulating these topics into a conversational tone, which makes his
assertions easy to swallow and even easier to digest. Lewis is straightforward
in aim as well as honest about his impediments, saying, "I am not arguing
that pain is not painful. Pain hurts. I am only trying to show that the old
Christian doctrine that being made perfect through suffering is not incredible.
To prove it palatable is beyond my design." The mind is expanded, God is
magnified, and the reader is reminded that he is not the center of the universe
as Lewis carefully rolls through the dissertation that suffering is God's will
in preparing the believer for heaven and for the full weight of glory that
awaits him there. While many of us naively wish that God had designed a
"less glorious and less arduous destiny" for his children, the
fortune lies in Lewis's inclination to set us straight with his charming wit
and pious mind. -- Jill Heatherly
Have
a Little Faith: a True Story
"A masterpiece." --Publishers Weekly
"In the beginning there was a question. Will you do my eulogy?'
As is often the case with faith, I thought I was being asked a favor.
In truth, I was being given one..."
"An absolute wonder tender, transporting, and deeply moving."--Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent
"The nonfiction equivalent to Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist." --Sydney Morning Herald
"A faith journey that could become a classic." --Jim Wallis, author of The Great Awakening
"Albom helps show the true definition of Church.' It is not the building, it is the people and their faith." --Bishop T.D. Jakes, Chief Pastor, The Potter's House
"Everybody should read it." --Hoda Kotb in People, Best Book of 2009
Ten percent of the profits from this book will go to charity, including A Hole In The Roof Foundation, which helps refurbish places of worship that aid the homeless. To contribute, visit www.aholeintheroof.org
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