Author: Beth

Library Resources for Thanksgiving day

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You may already know The Library has oodles of cookbooks covering appetizers to desserts and everything in between. But we also have some surprising resources to help you prepare for the perfect Thanksgiving Day.

The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen series “Making Perfect” is ad-free on the video streaming service Kanopy, available by using your Davenport Public Library card.

Our video streaming service Kanopy has two video series that cover cooking the big meal. First is the series “Making Perfect,” season 2. Over seven episodes, six members of the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen demonstrate recipes for turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, pie and other sides.

Among “Great Courses” available through the video streaming service Kanopy is “Cooking Basics: What Everyone Should Know” that includes an episode on Thanksgiving turkey.

Also available through Kanopy is the Great Courses series, including the class “Cooking Basics: What Everyone Should Know,” presented in partnership with The Culinary Institute of America. While only episode 15 (Cooking the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey) specifically mentions Thanksgiving, the 50-minute program shows a stuffing and cranberry sauce recipe.

Both “Making Perfect” and the Great Courses series can be accessed by logging into Kanopy with your Davenport Public Library card.

Strike the right mood by accessing a Thanksgiving playlist from The Library’s music streaming service Freegal. Start the day with kid songs to help little ones get excited. By the time it’s time to sit down for the meal, an instrumental playlist will bring the whole family together.

Finally, if you’re looking for something to do with family besides eating, stop in any of the Davenport Public Library branches before Thanksgiving and check out a puzzle or board game. Puzzles range from 100 pieces to 2,000 pieces. Make new memories by playing a family game such as Pete the Cat: The Missing Cupcakes. Then send the kids to bed and adults can stay up and play a round of Wingspan.

 

Books of interest to teachers

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At the beginning of a new school year, everyone is looking to be their best in the classroom — and that includes teachers! Here are just a few items from our Literacy and Learning Collection that can bring a fresh perspective to teachers. Summaries provided by the publishers.

Teaching reading fundamentals and strategies with social-emotional learning by Marjorie S. Schiering
This book provides six different strategies for teaching the fundamentals of reading with social-emotional learning in mind. With engaging lesson plans, there is a strategy for every learner, including the teaching of thinking with reciprocity among three phases, and recognizing feelings with distinguishing thinking from feelings, as well as their impact on teaching and learning. Memory and comprehension types are also given attention. Oral reading guidelines and silent reading directives are provided along with emphasis on differentiated instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners. Awareness of how everything in the classroom is connected to social-emotional learning helps meet the needs of all learners.

The advocate educator’s handbook : creating schools where transgender and non-binary students thrive by Vanessa Ford, M.A.T., and Rebecca Kling
So often, the resources available to adults advocating for transgender students are boring, overly focused on abstract policy, don’t include the voices of transgender people, or don’t spend enough time on tangible and practical ways to improve the lives of trans kids. This book includes practical tools that readers can start using on day one, personal stories from its co-authors, input from both trans youth and trans adults, and model policies for teachers, school administrators, and public policymakers. There are ways to engage trans youth, and youth allies to ensure adults are advocating with youth, not simply for youth.

Shift teaching forward : advancing career skills to prepare tomorrow’s workforce by Kelly Cassaro with Dana Lee
How can teachers prepare students for academic success and the ever-changing job market? What are employers looking for in applicants, and how do we coach jobseekers to be ready on day one? In Shift Teaching Forward, author Kelly Pesce Cassaro gives educators the knowledge, insight, and practical advice they need to prime students for the social, emotional, and behavioral skills they need to thrive. Modern demands task educators to not focus not only on standards alignment and technical skills, but also on the soft skills that will make students excel academically and stand out as job candidates.

The new assistive tech : make learning awesome for all! by Christopher R. Bugaj.
School districts often struggle to develop consistent practices for meeting the needs of special education students. You’ll learn how embracing student-centered approaches like project-based learning and growth mindset help support students with disabilities. You’ll get guidance on how to plan and execute education experiences using technology centered around students’ individual needs. And you’ll discover how to effectively and consistently evaluate and select technology supports based on the specific needs of an individual student, while actively including the learner in the technology consideration process.

Bring history and civics to life : lessons & strategies to cultivate informed, empathetic citizens by Karalee Wong Nakatsuka and Laurel Aguilar-Kirchhoff.
This user-friendly guide will empower and equip teachers to take a fun, interactive approach to using technology to teach history and civics. Although all U.S. states have standards for the teaching of history, there’s a lack of consistency when it comes to teaching civics. How can educators better prepare their students to become engaged, informed and empathetic citizens? One way is by harnessing the power of digital learning to make history come alive for students, establishing a climate and culture that encourages students to be effective collaborators and lifelong learners who care about and contribute to society. With this book, two dynamic, award-winning educators draw clear connections between history, civics, community — and technology — in meaningful and actionable ways to deepen students’ understanding of democratic processes and civic engagement.

Resurgence : engaging with Indigenous narratives and cultural expressions in and beyond the classroom edited by Christine M’Lot and Katya Adamov Ferguson.
Resurgence is a powerful collection of Indigenous voices in poetic, artistic, and narrative texts to support teachers in bridging existing curricular plans with rich, living texts and expressions. Christine M’Lot and Katya Ferguson have made the decision to treat each submission as a “living text” that acts as a springboard for engagement with Indigenous voices and pedagogies that teachers can use with students of all ages (K-12). Each narrative, poem, or artistic expression provides a gift to teachers that evokes critical reflection of past and current teaching practices and inspires new quests and questions.

Ready-to-use resources for grit in the classroom : activities and mini-lessons for building passion and perseverance by Laila Y. Sanguras.
Ready-to-Use Resources for Grit in the Classroom provides tools to help teachers, students, and families understand and foster passionate, creative, and curious grit in all students. It can be difficult and time consuming to figure out how to develop grit in the classroom. This resource includes student activities and mini-lessons that can be completed in fewer than 10 minutes, with activities on topics from goal setting to re-examining failure to optimism. Interactive and engaging, this book challenges students to rethink failure, push past obstacles, and passionately pursue their interests. Featuring helpful teacher instructions, Ready-to-Use Resources for Grit in the Classroom is the perfect addition to any educator’s social-emotional learning library.

Fall Festival Romance Reads

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Fall festivals are a popular way for communities to come together and celebrate the changing of the seasons with food, music, and fun. For the heroines of these romances, the festival in their small town also leads to love! Descriptions from the publishers.

The Hollywood Jinx by Sariah Wilson

The small town of Patience needs a financial boost. Temporary librarian and aspiring film-score composer Jane Wagner’s plan? Invite movie star Nick Haddon to the town’s harvest festival and stand back for the tourist surge. No one thought he’d say yes — much less that he’d bring a documentary crew to stream his visit. Patience is the perfect stopover on Nick’s journey of self-improvement and his chance to put good karma out in the universe. Spending time with a lovely guide like Jane is a bonus. Jane is falling hard. But she can’t ignore the differences between them. He’s famous. She isn’t. He’s here for two weeks. This is her home. Where can it possibly lead? 

The Inn on Sweetbriar Lane by Jeannie Chin

June Wu’s family inn desperately needs guests, her mother’s medical debts are piling up, and the surly, if sexy, stranger next door is driving away the customers she has left! When he asks for June’s help, though, she can’t say no. After all, his new bar could be just what the upcoming Pumpkin Festival needs to bring in more tourists. Ex-soldier Clay Hawthorne is opening the bar in memory of his fallen friend. June soon becomes his biggest supporter, and while their partnership is supposed to be only temporary, for the first time Clay wants something permanent. Can two opposites really learn to meet each other in the middle? With the fierce attraction between them, will working together be playing with fire? 

The Nearness of You by Dorothy Garlock

Lily Denton dreams about the people and excitement of New York City. But ever since her mother died, her overprotective father won’t ease up on her. She spends her days working at the library and her nights hoping life doesn’t pass her by. At the Fall Festival, tourists fill the streets and the crisp autumn air sneaks in. Professional photographer Boone Tatum’s penchant for trouble is exactly what landed him in this small town in the first place. Yet the moment he meets beautiful Lily and snaps her photograph, everything changes. Lily and Boone’s dream of a life together is thrown into peril — unless Lily finds the courage to stand up for herself and a man she only just met.

Advice on maximizing outdoor play can be found in these books

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There is still time to enjoy the great outdoors before summer ends. Even when the seasons change you can still spend time with your family in nature. If you are looking for a little guidance on playing with your kids outdoors, the Literacy and Learning Collection can help. (Descriptions from the publishers)

Finding ecohappiness : fun nature activities to help your kids feel happier and calmer by Sandi Schwartz – Raise calmer, happier, healthier children with these fun, hands-on nature activities for parents and kids to enjoy together. What we all suspected intuitively for generations, science has now confirmed: spending time connecting to nature is a safe, effective tool to help improve our health and happiness. In Finding Ecohappiness, author Sandi Schwartz guides families in building regular habits of experiencing nature to reduce stress and boost mood. She explores key positive psychology tools from a nature-loving perspective. You will learn some simple, practical tips for incorporating these tools — awe and gratitude, mindfulness, creative arts, outdoor play and adventure, volunteering, food, and animals — into your daily routine to help your children thrive and live a happy, balanced life.

Young adventurers : outdoor activities in nature by Susie Rae – Outdoor activities are fun, exciting, and can be found right around the corner! Get outside and ride a bike, climb a mountain, or spot wildlife and go camping. Whether in the local park, your backyard, or amongst the trees in a nature preserve — the great outdoors is the place to be! Young Adventurers energizes children to get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors, engage with their surroundings, find new friends and gain confidence through important experiences, while learning to appreciate the wonders of nature.

Balanced and barefoot by Angela J. Hanscom –Today’s kids have adopted sedentary lifestyles filled with television, video games, and computer screens. But more and more, studies show that children need “rough and tumble” outdoor play in order to develop their sensory, motor, and executive functions. In this important book, a pediatric occupational therapist explains why unrestrained movement and outdoor play are vital for children’s cognitive development, and offers fun, engaging activities to help ensure that kids grow into healthy, balanced, and resilient adults. Available in print or as audio book on CD.

Play the Forest School Way by Peter Houghton and A Year of Forest School by Jane Worroll – The rise of the Forest School movement in recent years is part of a groundswell of concern about the wellbeing of our children, with many media scare stories about child obesity, ‘nature deficit disorder’ and lack of exposure to risk. These books bring the activities and ‘learning through nature’ ethos of Forest School to the parents of nursery and primary school-age children. Both are packed full of ideas and celebrate the Forest School philosophy of encouraging self-esteem, confidence and social skills through engagement with nature.

Explore Mars in both fiction and nonfiction

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NASA completes a year-long Mars mission called CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) on July 6, 2024. For 378 days, four ordinary people — with master’s degrees in a STEM field — have been living in Mars Dune Alpha, a 1,700-square-foot habitat built inside a warehouse at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA has not shared many details about the experiment except to say participants will experience “resource limitations, equipment failure, communication delays and other environmental stressors.”

While those participants will be getting a taste of what it may be like to live on Mars, you can explore the Red Planet in your own mind with materials from the Davenport Public Library. Here’s a small sample of what’s available. (Summaries provided by the publishers.)

Non-fiction book: The new world on Mars : what we can create on the red planet by Robert Zurbrin

SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic are building fleets of space vehicles to make interplanetary travel as affordable as Old-World passage to America. We will settle on Mars, and with our knowledge of the planet, analyzed in depth by Dr. Zubrin, we will utilize the resources and tackle the challenges that await us. What will we build? Populous Martian city-states producing air, water, food, power, and more. Zubrin’s Martian economy will pay for necessary imports and generate income from varied enterprises, such as real estate sales–homes that are airtight and protect against cosmic space radiation, with fish-farm aquariums positioned overhead, letting in sunlight and blocking cosmic rays while providing fascinating views. Zubrin even predicts the Red Planet customs, social relations, and government — of the people, by the people, for the people, with inalienable individual rights — that will overcome traditional forms of oppression to draw Earth immigrants. After all, Mars needs talent.

Documentary on DVD: Space : the longest goodbye

In the next decade, NASA will send astronauts to Mars for the first time. Separated from Earth, and unable to communicate with the ground in real-time, crew members will experience extreme isolation that could gravely affect their three-year journey. This Sundance-premiering documentary follows a savvy NASA psychologist tasked with protecting daring space explorers. Ido Mizrahy’s documentary “Space : the longest goodbye,” explores issues facing plans for a manned mission to Mars. The challenge is to not only figure out how to physically prepare astronauts for 3+ years in space, but also psychologically.

Fiction book: Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis

Amber Kivinen is moving to Mars. Or at least, she will be if she wins a chance to join MarsNow. She and 23 reality TV contestants from around the world — including attractive Israeli soldier Adam, endearing fellow Canadian Pichu, and an assortment of science nerds and wannabe influencers — are competing for two seats on the first human-led mission to Mars, sponsored by billionaire Geoff Task. Meanwhile Kevin, Amber’s boyfriend of 14 years, was content going nowhere until Amber left him — and their hydroponic weed business — behind. Since the technology to come home doesn’t exist yet, would Amber really leave everything behind to be a billionaire’s Martian guinea pig? Sure, the rainforest is burning, Geoff Task has bought New Zealand, and Kevin might be a little depressed, but isn’t there some hope left for life on Earth?

Science fiction book: The strange by Nathan Ballingrud

New Galveston, Mars: Fourteen-year-old Anabelle Crisp sets off through the wastelands of the Strange to find Silas Mundt’s gang who have stolen her mother’s voice, destroyed her father, and left her solely with a need for vengeance. Since Anabelle’s mother left for Earth to care for her own ailing mother, her days in New Galveston have been spent at school and her nights at her laconic father’s diner with Watson, the family Kitchen Engine and dishwasher as her only companion. When the Silence came, and communication and shipments from Earth to its colonies on Mars stopped, life seemed stuck in foreboding stasis until the night Silas Mundt and his gang attacked. Ballingrud’s novel is haunting in its evocation of Anabelle’s quest for revenge amidst a spent and angry world accompanied by a domestic Engine, a drunken space pilot, and the toughest woman on Mars.

Books about being a dad from our Literacy and Learning Collection

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The Literacy and Learning Collection is full of items that include learning to be the best parent you can be. Here are some books that focus specifically on the experience of being a dad. (Descriptions from the publishers.)

Dad skills : how to be an awesome father & impress all the other parents by Chris Peterson – This handy, amusing book is perfect for the busy guy who has his eye on the “Father of the Year” award. Organized by the child’s stage and age range, each chapter covers essential insights and techniques to keeping kids happy, safe, healthy and stopping them from torturing their parents. Following the style of its tongue-in-cheek predecessor Manskills, Dadskills wraps valid, incredibly useful information inside humorous writing. Chapters cover all stages of the journey: Baby Wrangling, Dealing with Toddlers, The Single-Digit Challenge, Managing Tweens, Taming Teenagers, and Prepping for the Empty Nest.

Geek dad : awesomely geeky projects and activities for dads and kids to share and The geek dad book for aspiring mad scientists by Ken Denmead – These books offer projects for all ages to suit any timeframe or budget. These books will help scientists-in-the-making discover how our world works with creative project ideas. Supergeek and father of two, Ken Denmead created the ultimate, idea-packed guide guaranteed to help dads and kids alike enjoy the magic of playtime together and tap into the infinite possibility of their imagination.

Dad’s maybe book by Tim O’Brien – In 2003, as an older father, O’Brien resolved to give his young sons what he wished his own father had given to him: a few scraps of paper signed “Love, Dad.” Maybe a word of advice. Maybe a sentence or two about some long-ago Christmas Eve. Maybe some scattered glimpses of their aging father, a man they might never really know. In this book, O’Brien moves from soccer games to warfare to risqué lullabies, from alcoholism to magic shows to history lessons to bittersweet bedtime stories, but always returning to a father’s soul-saving love for his sons.

Measuring up : a memoir of fathers and sons by Dan Robson – A tender memoir of fathers and sons, love and loss, and learning to fill boots a size too big. Dan Robson’s father was a builder, whose high-school education was enough not only to provide for his family, but to build a successful business. When he dies, nothing in his son’s world feels steady anymore. Dan never learned the blue-collar skills he admired, because his father wanted him to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. Tender and unflinching, Measuring Up is a story of love, mourning, and learning what it means to be a man.

The world’s best dad after divorce : a guide to co-parenting for divorced dads by Paul Mandelstein – Packed with advice from family counseling experts, anecdotes from divorced parent groups, interviews with fathers, mothers, and children, and the author’s own first-hand experiences, The world’s best dad during and after divorce is a realistic, yet compassionate approach to parenting during and after divorce. The user-friendly format combines bulleted lists with practical suggestions, exercises, and even sample dialogues that make even the most difficult conversations with children and former spouses more manageable. Most importantly, this guidebook empowers men to be the best fathers they can be: fathers who are present and accountable, loving and leading, competent and caring.

Prepare for the spelling bee!

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The Scripps National Spelling Bee takes place from May 28-30, 2024, near Washington, D.C. Our region’s representative at the competition this year is Partha Katreddy, of Bettendorf, a seventh-grader at Pleasant Valley Junior High School. Details about watching the spelling bee broadcast can be found at https://spellingbee.com/watch.

Brush up on your own spelling skills and the history of spelling bees with these items from Davenport Public Library’s collection.

Beeline : what spelling bees reveal about generation Z’s new path to success by Shalini Shankar (2019) – Generation Z — youth born after 1997 — seems to be made up of anxious overachievers, hounded by Tiger Moms and constantly tracked on social media. One would think that competitors in the National Spelling Bee would be the worst off. Shankar argues that, far from being simply overstressed and overscheduled, Gen Z spelling bee competitors are learning crucial twenty-first-century skills from their high-powered lives, displaying a sophisticated understanding of self-promotion, self-direction, and social mobility. She examines the outsize impact of immigrant parents and explains why Gen Z kids are on a path to success. — adapted from jacket

A Champion’s Guide to Success in Spelling Bees : fundamentals of spelling bee competition and preparation by Ned G. Andrews (2011) – Comprehensive yet concise, A Champion’s Guide to Success in Spelling Bees is essential for any spelling bee contestant, whether serious or casual, as well as for study assistants such as parents, teachers, and tutors. By following this guidebook’s tactics and strategies, you will use every available resource – including but not limited to your time on stage, your existing knowledge, other study materials, and the effort that you will invest throughout your preparation – as effectively and efficiently as possible. — provided by the publisher

Painless Spelling by Mary Elizabeth Podhaizer (2011) – Analyzes sound and letter patterns, diphthongs, silent letters, homophones and homographs, compound and abbreviated words, contractions, prefixes, suffixes, and base words to teach spelling skills. — provided by the publisher

Spellbound (2002) – The documentary Spellbound chronicles the 1999 spelling bee season. Eight teens and pre-teens, along with their teachers and parents, are followed through daily practice, regionals and finally the televised spelling bee. This is the documentary that made me fall in love with documentaries. While it’s an oldie, it’s a goody! It is available for streaming through Kanopy or on DVD in RiverShare.

7 books about motherhood from our Literacy and Learning Collection

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The Literacy and Learning Collection features a wide range of topics to help you navigate family life with infants through teens and beyond. Here are seven books that focus specifically on the experience of being a mom. (Descriptions from the publishers.)

The 30-minute money plan for moms : how to maximize your family budget in minimal time by Catey Hill – Catey Hill has created smart, simple strategies to help you maximize your money in minimal time. Drawing on extensive research on the actual cost of raising a child at each age, she’ll show you how to save in every area of your life, from lowering your grocery bill (without coupons!), to saving on education and childcare, to dealing with high-interest credit card debt, and more. And she’ll show you how to do all that in less than half an hour.

Being happy, raising happy : the empowered mom’s guide to helping her spirited child bloom by Maureen Lake – Being a mom is a lot of work. Being a mom of a spirited child can be exceptionally challenging. Moms who want to change their stress and anxiety levels and make a difference in the lives of their children and family need to take steps towards wellness. Being happy, raising happy is for loving and caring moms who somehow forgot about their own needs, desires, and the impact they want to make in the world and want to start their journey towards revitalizing the mind, body, and spirit.

The Better Mom : growing in grace between perfection and the mess by Ruth Schwenk – Mothering is messy. Our joy and hope in raising children doesn’t change the reality that being a mom can be frustrating, stressful, and tiring. But just as God is using us to shape our children, God is using our children and motherhood to shape us. In The Better Mom, author Ruth Schwenk, herself a mother of four children, says there is more to being a mom than the extremes of striving for perfection or simply embracing the mess. We don’t need to settle for surviving our kids’ childhood. We can grow through it.

Brave new mom : a survival guide for mindfully navigating postpartum motherhood by Jessie Everts – Brave New Mom brings a mindfulness-based approach to new parenthood that encourages self-exploration, self-compassion, self-care, and connection. It incorporates findings from research on postpartum mental health, practices for feeling your best after having a baby, and a warm and compassionate voice for new mothers everywhere. This book gives new moms permission to see, feel, and celebrate their amazing abilities and to gather the support they need.

Help, I’m failing as a mom : the survival guide to raising a child with a mood disorder by Tanya Trevett – Written for parents who want to learn how to live with their child’s mood disorder in a healthier way, author Tanya Trevett shares what she has learned in her fifteen-year journey. Among lessons learned: The secret to letting go of guilt so they can be a better (and happier) parent; Understanding the complexities of mood disorders and why it takes a village; Methods and activities for hope and healing; Rediscovering the joy, pride, and the unconditional love moms have for their children.

The Little Book of Support for New Moms – Doula Beccy Hands and midwife Alexis Stickland know what a challenge it can be to balance self-care with motherhood. In The Little Book of Support for New Moms, they bring together decades of experience to share invaluable tips and tricks to boost confidence and calm frazzled nerves-plus answers to all those questions new moms may be too embarrassed to ask. Tackle the fourth trimester with easy recipes to nourish your postpartum body and five-minute fixes to restore your sense of humor.

Mom Babble : the messy truth about motherhood by Mary Katherine Backstrom – In Mom Babble, Mary Katherine (MK) Backstrom offers up hope, humor, and spiritual inspiration to families in the trenches of parenthood. With laughter, crying, and eye-rolls MK’s, oh so, real essays about raising littles will delight all the not perfect, not always holy, not completely normal, messy, honest and wonderful moms that read them. MK’s conversational approach connects with readers like dear friends cozied up on a coffee date.

 

Cozy Mysteries set in a Library

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What’s cozier than a cozy mystery that takes place in a library? A cozy mystery falls in the mystery / crime genre. Some of the traits of a cozy mystery are the violence taking place off-page, a cast of quirky supporting characters, and an amateur sleuth. In our case today, we are looking at cozy mysteries where the crime-solver’s day job is working as a librarian!

42nd Street Library Mysteries by Cornelius Lehane – Con Lehane’s 42nd Street Library Mysteries feature librarian and reluctant sleuth Raymond Ambler, curator of the (fictional) crime fiction collection at New York City’s landmark 42nd Street Library. Raymond is a doggedly curious fellow who uncovers murderous secrets hidden behind the majestic marble building.
First title of series: Murder at the 42nd Street Library. Total number in series: 5

Cat in the Stacks by Miranda James – Charlie Harris is a widowed librarian who knows how to search for clues. Diesel is a Maine coon cat who likes to go on walks. Together this duo is known for cracking the case when a murder occurs in the college town of Athena, Mississippi.
First title of series: Murder Past Due. Total number in series: 16

First Edition Library Mysteries by Marty Wingate – The First Edition Library Mysteries are set in the lovely spa town of Bath, England. Here we find Hayley Burke, curator of an impressive collection of books from the Golden Age of Mystery—Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and all the rest. Too bad Hayley has never read a detective story in her life.
First title of series: The Bodies in the Library. Total number in series: 3

The Haunted Library Mysteries by Allison Brook – Ghosts, books, and cats, oh my! This is a ‘spirited’ cozy mystery series about a sleuthing Connecticut librarian, her paranormal sidekick, and the library’s resident cat. Carrie Singleton works as the head of programs and events at the haunted local library, complete with its own librarian ghost.
First title of series: Death Overdue. Total number in series: 8

Lakeside Library Mysteries by Holly Danvers – Rain Wilmot runs an informal library out of her family’s waterfront log cabin in Lofty Pines, Wisconsin. Between snowed in winters and busy touristy summers, there is never a dull moment in the Northwoods, especially as the locals keep turning up murdered!
First title of series: Murder at the Lakeside Library. Total number in series: 3

Lighthouse Library Mystery by Eva Gates – Determined to rewrite her life, Lucy leaves her job pouring over the rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library. It’s a dream come true when she arrives in the Outer Banks and lands a librarian job at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, but theft and murder could derail her happy ending.
First title of series: By Book or By Crook. Total number in series: 11

Librarians in Historical Fiction

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Celebrate National Library Week 2024 (April 7-13) by reading some of our favorite historical fiction novels about librarians and the libraries they serve.

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel – As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. Sixty-five years later, a book is discovered that appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from, or what the code means. Only Eva, now working as a semi-retired librarian, holds the answer, but will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?

Available in regular print, large print, and audio book on CD.

The Blackout Book Club by Amy Lynn Green – In 1942, an impulsive promise to her brother before he goes off to the European front puts Avis Montgomery in the unlikely position of head librarian in small-town Maine. Though she has never been much of a reader, when wartime needs threaten to close the library, she invents a book club to keep its doors open. The women she convinces to attend the first meeting couldn’t be more different — a wealthy spinster determined to aid the war effort, an exhausted mother looking for a fresh start, and a determined young war worker. The women face personal challenges and band together in the face of danger. But when their growing friendships are tested by secrets of the past and present, they must decide whether depending on each other is worth the cost.

Available in regular print and large print.

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe – Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.

Available in regular print and large print.

The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson – London, 1944: Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While war ravages the city above her, Clara has risked everything she holds dear to turn the Bethnal Green tube station into the country’s only underground library. Down here, a secret community thrives with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café, and a theater–offering shelter, solace, and escape from the bombs that fall upon their city. Along with her glamorous best friend and assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women’s determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive.

Available in regular print.

The War Librarian by Addison Armstrong – Two women. One secret. A truth worth fighting for.
1918. Timid and shy Emmaline Balakin lives more in books than her own life. That is, until an envelope crosses her desk at the Dead Letter Office bearing a name from her past, and Emmaline decides to finally embark on an adventure of her own–as a volunteer librarian on the frontlines in France. Then a romance blooms as she secretly participates in a book club for censored books.
1976. Kathleen Carre is eager to prove to herself and to her nana that she deserves her acceptance into the first coed class at the United States Naval Academy. But not everyone wants female midshipmen at the Academy, and after tragedy strikes close to home, Kathleen becomes a target.

Available in regular print and large print.