Patch Picks: Best Reads

When's the last time you were engrossed in a can't-put-it-down novel or the last time you curled up with your child while reading a bedtime book?  

Yesterday, the National Education Association celebrated the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss by asking everyone in the country to pick up a book. 

Fell short? Well, Minnetonka Patch is making it easy for you to celebrate the event-- even if a couple days late.  You find the quiet time and the perfect place, and we'll give you our Patch Picks.  This week, staff made a list of their favorite books for kids and adults.

Enjoy, and happy reading!

Mary Steinbicker, Youth Services Librarian
Mary is an avid runner and cross country skier.  She is also a delightful storyteller who is much loved by kids and teens of all ages in the library.

• Roadwork by Sally Sutton; Easy Board Book – Preschool
• There are many big machines and busy people involved in building a road, and this picture book, with its rambunctious rhymes and noisy fun, follows them every step of the way, from clearing a pathway to rolling the tar to sweeping up at the end.
• This book has such vivid words and rhymes, that you can almost smell the tar!
• Pig Wig
  by Yukiko Kido; Easy Nonfiction Book - Grades K - 2 
• Humorous illustrations and die-cut pages introduce words of the same family, such as pig, wig and jig, and then combine them in often-improbable phrases, including pig in a wig.  For storytime we use this book, singing to the tune "Skip to My Lou" (i.e "Pig Wig, these words rhyme. Pig Wig, these words rhyme.....Won't you rhyme with me!) 
• This is a great way to present phonological awareness while learning a new song.

• Welcome to the Great Mysterious
  by Lorna Landvik (local actress & comedian); Adult Fiction
• Broadway star Geneva Jordan takes a break from her career and returns to Minnesota to “babysit” with her 13-year-old nephew who has Down’s Syndrome.  It was uplifting to see a washed-up opera star return home and be restored by fam (as in family), instead of fame.

Anne Kerr, Library Public Service Assistant:
Anne is also an author.  She has written a delightful book about her days as a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines in the 50’s and 60’s:
Fujiyama Trays and Oshibori Towels: Recalling a Time When Passenger Flight was an Adventure and the Boeing Stratocruiser Ruled the Skies

•  Wicked River: the Mississippi When it Last Ran Wild
  by Lee Sandlin; Adult Nonfiction
• This is a story of the early days on the Mississippi, when our country was young.  There were no north to south roads on which to travel in the middle of the country, so all this travel was done on the Mississippi.   I found it fascinating and fun to read.                

• The Tiger: a True Story of Vengeance and Survival
  by John Vaillant; Adult Non-fiction
• In addition to almost unbelievable information about tigers, this story takes place in far-eastern Russia, a place I knew little about and learned much.  

Mary Anderson, Senior Librarian
Mary is the proud grandmother of lively two-year-old twins and loves to write limericks and skits.

•  Northern Light
  by Jennifer Donnelly; Teen Fiction
• In 1906, sixteen-year-old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a writer against the wishes of her father and fiancé, takes a job at a summer inn where she discovers the truth about the death of a guest.  Based on a true story. 
• I found Mattie’s spunk and determination inspiring, and I enjoyed the interwoven mystery. 

•  Half Broke Horses: a True Life Novel 
  by Jeannette Walls; Adult Fiction
• A novel based on the life of Lily Casey Smith (the author's grandmother) who at age six helps her father break horses.  At age fifteen she leaves home to teach school in a frontier town, and later, as a wife and mother, she runs a vast ranch in Arizona.  She survives tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy.  Yet despite a life of hardscrabble drudgery, she still remains a woman of indomitable spirit. 
• Written as if Lily is telling her own story, this novel paints a picture of a very unconventional woman whom I came to love and admire.

Guthema Roba, Associate Librarian
Guthema loves being the father of a 28-month-old daughter through whom he sees himself growing every day.  He is also a published poet.

•  Home of the Brave
  by Katherine Applegate; Children’s Fiction – Grades 5 - 7
• Kek, a refugee from Africa, is bewildered by a different lifestyle in Minneapolis and in his fifth grade classroom until one day he finds comfort in the company of a cow and her owner. 
• As an emigre from Ethiopia, I thought I was reading my own story in this book.

•  Push: a Novel
  by Sapphire; Adult Fiction
• This is about a teenage girl, Precious, who is black, obese and unloved, but finally finds inspiration from a woman who teaches her how to learn and grow. 
• I liked reading this book because it shows how love and hope can transform everything.

 Jeanne Stevens, Adult Services Librarian
Jeanne has bicycled Ireland and France and is planning to bike Italy in April.

• Sheep in a Shop
  by Nancy Shaw; Easy Children’s Picture Book (Ages 4-6)
• Sheep, hunting for a birthday present, make havoc of the shop, only to discover they haven't the money to pay for things.
• Shaw and Apple have collaborated on seven “Sheep …” books, which are silly, rhyming stories with delightful illustrations, and are perfect for reading aloud. 

•  A Thousand Splendid Suns
  by Khaled Hosseini; Adult Fiction
• This New York Times bestseller by the author of The Kite Runner, chronicles thirty years of Afghan history, while telling the unforgettable story of two Afghan women.
• It is a moving tale of family, friendship, faith and the power of love.  It also provides a better understanding of this country and its people.