Catherine’s Picks
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
This book chronicles the Kingsolver family’s experiment in local eating — for one year, they decide to eat only food that they have bought locally or grown themselves. The witty and wonderful Kingsolver, with help from her biologist husband and college student daughter, narrates their endeavor. This book will change the way you think about what you’re eating for dinner. Thought provoking, funny, and warm.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
A master of historical fiction, Gregory tells the story of Mary Boleyn and her relationship and rivalry with her infamous sister Anne Boleyn. The backdrop is the glorious and at times excessive Tudor England, and Gregory easily turns famous historical figures into real, relatable characters. A great, fast-paced story full of intrigue, details, and history.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
The Omnivore’s Dilemma is on my must-read list. In this absorbing book, Pollan followrs our food chain through three different paths: Industrial, Organic (both Big and Small Farm), and Hunter/Gatherer, and prepares a meal representative of each. Pollan is never pedantic; instead he digs deep into each food chain and raises his own questions about everything he encounters and the feelings they evoke within him. From buying his own steer, to temporarily becoming a “reluctant vegetarian,” to hunting his own wild pig, Pollan goes everywhere we can’t or might not want to go ourselves in his pursuit of finding out where our food comes from.
Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
Bryson, an author well-known for his hilarious and well-researched travel memoirs, turns his hand here to a biography of the infamous Shakespeare. Unlike many biographies of the playwright, Bryson himself offers no conjecture and presents no elaborate theories about what Shakespeare might have been up to during the years history can’t account for him; instead, he presents a straightforward narrative of all of the facts that we know for sure about William Shakespeare. Well-written, witty, and thorough, this is a great read for any fan of Shakespeare or Bryson.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
This marvelously written novel is probably my favorite book. It is the story of a Baptist missionary who takes his family to the inner Congo in the 1950s, just before a civil war erupts in the country. It is told from the varying points of view of his four daughters, with the beginning and end narrated by his wife. Kingsolver’s writing is beautifully rhythmic and compelling, and she gives a believably different and poignant voice to each of her narrators. A very powerful, persuasive book.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Genesis’ Jacob, father of 12 sons and founder of the tribe of Israel, also had a daughter named Dinah. This book is her story, a beautifully imagined novel in which Dinah rejects the tiny Biblical aside that is her legacy, and retells her story, and the story of the way of life for the ancient women of the Bible — the life of the red tent.
MIDDLE READER/YOUNG ADULT PICKS
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
This book tells the story of Sam Gribley, a young boy who runs away to his family’s ancestral farmland in the Catskill Mountains. It’s now overgrown by forest, and with only a few things like a penknife and flint, he learns how to survive in the Catskills and makes a life for himself, complete with a tree home and a peregrine falcon, for a year. A wonderful adventure story!!
If you liked this book, try:
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
Love horses? Then this book is for you! The Phantom is one of the wild horses on Assateague Island in Maryland, who was escaped round-up day for 2 years in a row. Paul and Maureen Beebe are entranced by her and when she is finally caught, they see she has had a colt! Now they have to raise the money for two horses, but it seems like this little one is something special…
If you liked this book, try:
Black Beauty by Anna Sewall
King of the Wind (and other books) by Marguerite Henry
Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
Mysteries always seem to find 18-year-old Nancy Drew. When Nancy gets involved in a mystery involved a lost will, she has to race against time to put the clues together and see that fortune doesn’t get into the wrong hands. Suspenseful and thrilling!
If you liked this book, try:
The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon (series)
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner (series)
The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
At the Seder this year, Hannah is bored of yet another family gathering and the same old rituals. But when she opens the door to look for Elijah, she is transported back to Poland at the beginning of World War II. Only she knows what it about to happen, but can she do anything to stop it? Riveting and powerful, an amazing book.
If you liked this book, try:
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse
Nate the Great by Marjorie Sharmat
Nate the Great eats pancakes for breakfast every single day. He also seems to run into mysteries every single day! Now a cat named Super Hex is missing – can Nate find him and bring him home?
If you liked this book, try:
Cam Jansen by David A. Adler (series)
The A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy (series)
The Giver by Lois Lowry
In Jonas’ world, there is no pain and no fear. There are also no choices; when children turn 12, the Elders assign roles for them in the Community. But instead of normal job like Director of Recreation, Jonas is chosen to be the Receiver-in-Training. As he begins his new job, he learns truths about his world he never dreamed existed.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
After he sees an ad in a fishing magazine, all Billy wants are a pair of ‘coon hunting dogs. He works hard for 2 years to save enough money, and when Old Dan and Little Ann finally arrive and he walks 30 miles just to pick them up, it’s already apparent that the three of them are bound for great friendship and thrilling adventures. A wonderful story of determination, adventure, love, and coming-of-age.
If you liked this book, try:
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura and her family live in a small wood cabin in the middle of the big Wisconsin woods in the 1800s. Little House is a story about the Ingalls family’s adventures in the woods; Pa’s run-in with a bear, AND a mountain lion, sugaring time and making maple sugar candies, going into town, and hay-making. Laura’s a wonderful heroine who can’t always keep out of trouble, just like all of us.
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E.L. Konigsburg
This wonderfully imaginative book is about a brother and sister who “run to” the Metropolitan Museum of Art — evading security guards, sleeping in ancient queens’ beds, bathing in the fountains, and ending up in the middle of an art mystery!
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
It’s a snow day! Follow Peter around as he explores and plays in the snow!
The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
Ping is a yellow duck who lives on the Yangtze River. One day, he is late coming home and is caught by a little boy! What will happen to Ping?
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Harold is the owner of a very special purple crayon. With his purple crayon, he goes on adventures in a balloon, has a picnic with a moose and a porcupine, and goes sailing! What else can Harold do?
PICTURE BOOKS
Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
Strega Nona means “Grandma Witch” in Italian. Strega Nona certainly has a magic touch, but she’s getting older and needs a helper. When Big Anthony comes along, will he help, or cause a big mess?
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
What happens if a little mouse shows up one day, and you decide to give him a cookie? All sorts of crazy things, apparently!
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Sal and his mother are going blueberry picking today. So are Little Bear and his mother! What happens when they decide to go picking on the very same Blueberry Hill?
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Ferdinand is a bull in the Spanish countryside. All the other bulls want to grow up and be big strong bulls for the bull fights, but all Ferdinand wants to do is sit under the cork tree and smell flowers!
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Do you have 15 cents, a nail, and the shell of a great-great-great grandfather snail? Then come meet the Once-ler, who will tell you the story of the Lorax and his Truffala Trees. A wonderful story with a wonderful message, especially now.
