Who Was and Who Is Series

Back to school after the holidays can be tough. Do you have a research assignment looming in your future? Do you need biography that is fun to read and informative?

We have just what you need. We recently acquired the  Who is... and Who was... Series.

From  Bob Dylan to Albert Einstein and many famous people and historical figures inbetween we have a new collection of biographies in our Children's Department. These biographies are in a special place to  make it easier for you to find them.
If you go to the end of the Biographies these books will be shelved together. The call number is jB Series WHO then the last name of the person the book is about.
Let us know what you think about our new series.

Books in Brief: In a Glass Grimmly

In A Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Adam Gidwitz has done it again! As with his debut novel A Tale Dark and Grimm , the author stitches together classic folk and fairy tales into a journey of self-discovery for two very brave children.

(And when I say fairy tales, I'm not talking about magic wands and fluffy ballgowns. I'm talking about old-school, blood-and-guts, rolling people down hills in nail-spiked barrels. Just so we're clear.)

Though published after A Tale Dark and Grimm and told in a similar style, In a Glass Grimmly is not meant to be a sequel. We follow two entirely different characters - cousins Jack and Jill - on an entirely different set of adventures. (And yes, there is a hill and a head injury.) However, fans of the first novel will find a few threads to connect the two. The ravens are back, as is the narrator, who tries to warn us of the particularly scary bits before they happen. (And apologizing when he forgets.)

Suspenseful, dark, peppered with humor, and ultimately wise, this is a great choice for middle school students who don't mind a little gore in their happily ever after.

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Books in Brief: Revenge of the Whale

Revenge Of The Whale: The True Story Of The Whaleship Essex, Adapted For Young People From In The Heart Of The Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I could not put this down, even though I had to, because I needed to eat meals and work. (Though I felt bad about the eating, since the sailors of the Essex spent much of the book starving.)

Adapted from the author's own award-winning tale for adults, this is the riveting story of a 19th century whaling crew attacked and shipwrecked by a large sperm whale in the middle of the Pacific Ocean - and how at least some of them lived to tell the tale.

Recommended for ages 10 and older. Not for the faint of heart.

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Books in Brief: Breaking Stalin's Nose

Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A quick read about a young boy's reversal of fortune over the course of only two days in Stalinist Russia.

When the book begins, Sasha is a happy 10-year-old, devoted to his father and to the Communist regime. When his father is arrested, everything changes, and slowly Sasha begins to question the system he used to believe in so completely.

Author Eugene Yelchin paints a deceptively simple and very effective picture of a police state whose citizens - even its children - are encouraged to inform on each other or lie to implicate the innocent. And even though the book doesn't have what I'd call a happy ending, we leave Sasha with at least one person who is kind.

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