Author: Beth

New local author titles, July-December 2025

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Dozens of titles were added to our Local Authors collection during the second half of 2025. These are books written by authors born or living in Scott County, Iowa, or Rock Island County, Illinois. In most cases, the items were donated to the Davenport Public Library by the authors themselves. All Local Author items are available for checkout from our Fairmount branch.

Don’t forget — Zines are being added to the local author collection. Zines (pronounced “ZEEN” and short for “fanzine” or “magazine”) are small, independently produced publications. Zines are often created and photocopied by hand. Zines cover a wide range of topics, including art, politics, music, and personal experiences. If you are the creator of a zine (or zines) and are interested in donating to The Library, please drop off a copy at any Davenport Public Library branch. Please include a detailed synopsis along with the author’s contact information. Zines do not need an ISBN number or barcode.

My wicked hometown: the hidden history of Davenport, Iowa by D. Ezra Sidran, Ph. D. — A sordid history of Davenport, Iowa, as told using newspaper clippings going back to the 19th century. This book describes Davenport’s infamous Bucktown and how the archbishop of Davenport called the city, “The wickedest city in America.” Also included are photographs and reports from the Iowa DCI investigation into the collapse of 324 Main Street on May 28, 2023. When the building collapsed there were 74 open housing violations, 2 orders to vacate and a declaration from the Fire Marshall that it was a public hazard. Three people died when the building collapsed. A fourth had her leg amputated in the rubble.

I should’ve cheated by Isis. Robin Richardson swore she’d never be that woman — the one who gave her heart to a man who broke it a thousand times. But when it came to Saxon Anderson, she was addicted. Robin clung to the hope that one day he’d finally choose her. Enter Keontae Adams. Smooth, patient, and dripping with talent, Keontae gave Robin everything Saxon denied her. For the first time, Robin tasted real love — the kind that didn’t come with lies, games, and betrayal. Now Robin is caught between the man who’s owned her heart for years and the man who’s teaching her what love really means. The streets are watching and one wrong choice could cost her everything. Will Robin finally break free from the chains of her toxic past, or will Saxon’s pull drag her back into the chaos?

Escape on the Silk Road by Dan Moore — The thrilling adventure of four people who survive an airplane crash in the desolate reaches of western China. Fritz and Betta, German clothing designers, and Tegh, a Mongolian Uighur student, are expelled from China under suspicion of anti-government activities. Steve, an American forced to leave his NGO work by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is on the flight by happenstance. Thrown together by fate, the four strangers find themselves traveling the hazardous route of the ancient Silk Road as they head west, hoping to elude the Chinese officials who have declared them fugitives and find safety in Kazakhstan, more than 2,300 miles away.

Death and the dragon by David Hankins. After Lucifer played fast and loose with the Rules governing soul management–after he stole Abigail’s soul without Judgement–Grim storms into Hell to have words with the Lord of Lies. But one does not just waltz in demanding to speak with the Dragon. There are receptionists to battle, forms to complete, and minotaurs to charm. Oh, and a coup by Nigel the Demigod to stop. But what happens when Hell’s new leadership starts pulling the living into Hell before their time? When they bypass Death and threaten premature Armageddon? For Grim, there is no greater sin, and he will tear Hell apart to set thingsright, even if it costs his soul. Death is coming, and Hell will never be the same.”

To dwell in shadows by Avalon Griffin. Samael and Selene’s journey continues into the sinister depths of the Underworld, where Sam’s search for redemption becomes a battle between duty and desire. When Selene left her dull life in the human world to be with her demon mate, she was determined to thrive on her own terms. Selene was ready to build a life with Samael in the realm of Aurelia, free from the expectations of others. Yet, she soon realizes that being the fated mate of a demon comes with more than passion, as a trip to the Underworld forces her to question everything. After decades of loneliness, Samael is ready to heal from his traumatic past. With Selene at his side, he is certain that a reunion with his parents in the Underworld will bring only joy and closure.

Eerie April: a compilation of hauntings by April Crowder. Step into the world of Eerie April, where you will experience ghostly tales of the unexplained.

Silence chases miracles … the extraordinary true story of defying limits, rewriting futures, and finding healing in unexpected places by Dara and Mitch Dietrich. the extraordinary true story of Dara and Mitch, two individuals who defied diagnoses, defied expectations, and found healing not only in medicine and determination but in each other.

Read about Italy during the Winter Olympics

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The Olympic Winter Games take place in Milano Cortina, Italy, from February 6-22, 2026, with the Paralympic Winter Games taking place March 4-15, 2026. What a great excuse to read books that take place in Italy! As you watch the Games, you may spot the setting of your current read. Below you will find a list of books that take place in Italy, all owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions are provided by the publishers.

The Dogs of Venice by Steven Rowley. After months of planning a romantic holiday getaway in Venice, Paul is blindsided when his five-year marriage suddenly unravels. Fueled by heartbreak, Paul endeavors to take the trip alone. Soon after arriving in Italy, he notices a small, scruffy, self-assured dog trotting alongside a canal with the confidence he so desperately wants for himself. When their paths cross again, Paul feels compelled to learn how his new four-legged friend thrives on his own. Amid the food, sights, and welcoming people of Venice, Paul’s journey culminates in a magical encounter that leads him to feel real connection — to a dog, to a foreign city and, most importantly, to himself.

Murder in Chianti by Camilla Trinchieri. Set in the heart of Tuscan wine country, this mystery introduces Nico Doyle, a former NYPD homicide detective who’s just looking for space to grieve when he finds himself pulled into a local murder investigation. Mourning the loss of his wife, Rita, former NYPD homicide detective Nico Doyle moves to her hometown of Gravigna in the wine-soaked region of Chianti. Half-Italian and half-Irish, Nico finds himself able to get by in the region with the help of Rita’s relatives, but he still feels alone and out of place. Early one morning, he hears a gunshot near his cabin and walks out to discover a dead body in the woods, flashily dressed in gold tennis shoes. Salvatore Perillo, the local maresciallo, enlists Nico’s help with the murder case. It turns out more than one person in this idyllic corner of Italy knew the victim, and with a very small pool of suspects, including his own in-laws, Nico must dig up Gravigna’s every last painful secret to get to the truth.

May the Wolf Die by Elizabeth Heider. Nikki Serafino is enjoying the sunset from her boat in her beloved port city of Naples, Italy, when she discovers the body of a man in the warm waters of the bay. An investigator working as the liaison between local police and American troops, Nikki is certainly no stranger to violence and organized crime, but this case grows complicated when the victim turns out to be a U.S. Navy captain stationed at the nearby military base-and the autopsy reveals foul play. As she delves into the case, another body is found and Nikki must face connections linking the murders to her own complicated history as a daughter of Naples.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack. All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series — is that too much to ask? Clearly, because when an attempt is made on the real Connor’s life — the handsome but infuriating con man she got mixed up with ten years ago and now can’t get out of her life — Eleanor’s enlisted to help solve the case. Contending with literary rivals, rabid fans, a stalker — and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly — theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who’s really trying to get away with murder?

Code Word Romance by Carlie Walker. Max happens to look exactly like Sofia Kristiansen, the youngest female prime minister in Europe. Sofia is powerful, beautiful, and unfortunately, someone is trying really hard to assassinate her. Her security service wants to outsmart the bad guys by employing a body double during the prime minister’s annual Italian holiday. Physically speaking, Max is an outrageously convincing doppelgänger; surely no one will spot the difference. No one can know about Max’s new job — no one except Sofia and a few intelligence officers, including Flynn, the handler assigned to Max’s case. Flynn, who’ll instruct her how to act like a prime minister in public. Flynn, who has an unexpected history with Max — from another sun-drenched summer years and years ago. Now he’s instructed to stay in Max’s suite to protect her as old passions and assassins collide.

There are four books in the “Meet me in Italy” series by Jennifer Probst, but each stands alone.

Our Italian Summer features three generations of Ferrari women who need to heal the broken pieces of their lives…and one trip of a lifetime through Italy.

The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti is about a secret romance that sends three estranged sisters to the Amalfi Coast to follow clues about their mother’s past and challenges them to a whole new future.

A destination wedding in Italy’s Lake Como brings three best friends back together to face the secrets of the past in A Wedding in Lake Como.

And in the newest edition to the series, To Sicily with Love, a lonely woman meets the big Italian family she never knew about during a life-changing summer.

Local Authors section is adding zines to the collection!

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The Library is adding Zines to the Local Authors collection. If you are the creator of a zine (or zines) and are interested in donating to The Library, please drop off a copy at any Davenport Public Library branch. Please include a detailed synopsis along with the author’s contact information. Zines do not need an ISBN number or barcode.

Davenport Public Library considers a local author a person native to or currently residing in Rock Island or Scott counties. All Zine materials will be shelved in the Local Author area at the Fairmount branch of the Davenport Public Library.

Zines (pronounced “ZEEN” and short for “fanzine” or “magazine”) are small, independently produced publications. Zines are often created and photocopied by hand. Zines cover a wide range of topics, including art, politics, music, and personal experiences. They are often created as a way for marginalized groups to share their perspectives, and as a way for people to express themselves and connect with others who have similar interests.

If you have any questions, please email the Local Authors librarian Beth Paul at bpaul@davenportlibrary.com.

Scandinavian Self-Help Books

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Have you heard the term “hygge” and wondered what it meant? And how to pronounce it? (It means “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being” and it pronounced: ho͞oɡə.) Do you think Swedish death cleaning might improve your life? Are the Danish happiest and the Finnish the most relaxed? Don’t be left behind the ongoing trend of Scandinavian self-help that focuses on warmth, health and happiness, even during the coldest and darkest winters experienced in northern Europe.

Here are some of the most popular nonfiction books that come from Scandinavian region that focus on health and personal growth. All are owned by the Davenport Public Library as of the publication of this blog post. Descriptions provided by the publishers.

The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living by Meik Wiking was a best-selling sensation that kicked off the Scandinavian self-help trend when it came to America in 2017. From picking the right lighting to organizing a Hygge get-together to dressing hygge, Wiking shows you how to experience more joy and contentment the Danish way.

More recently in 2022, Wiking released My Hygge Home: How to Make Home Your Happy Place. Inspired by Danish design and traditions, this book, features tips based on research from The Happiness Institute in Copenhagen, and shows how to turn a home into a cozy sanctuary regardless of available space or budget.

Winter Swimming: The Nordic way Towards a Healthier and Happier Life by Susanna Søberg, Whether in lake, lido, river or sea, we know the benefits of swimming outdoors and in nature – environmentally friendly and accessible, it can influence our happiness, our energy and our inner tranquility, and give us that winter glow. Danish scientist Dr Susanna Søberg leads us step by step into the icy water and explains the “cold-shock response”, the massive endorphin rush as our body reacts and adapts to very cold temperatures through the winter season. Not only do our circulation, heart, lungs and skin respond positively, but our immune system, metabolism and mental health too. 

The Cliff Notes to living well, the Scandinavian way. Diet and lifestyle guides are all the rage, but they tend to be too prescriptive and difficult to follow. And most self-help books are too long.  Cue The Nordic Guide to Living 10 Years Longer by Bertil Marklund. With this pragmatic little book that channels the healthy lifestyle of Scandinavia, 10 easy tips will add 10 healthy years to your life.

In The Nordic Theory of Everything, Anu Partanen compares and contrasts life in the United States with life in the Nordic region, focusing on four key relationships — parents and children; men and women; employees and employers; and government and citizens. She debunks criticism that Nordic countries are socialist “nanny states,” revealing instead that it is we Americans who are far more enmeshed in unhealthy dependencies than we realize. As Partanen explains, the Nordic approach allows citizens to enjoy more individual freedom and independence than the American way. Partanen wants to open Americans’ eyes to how much better things can be — to provide the opportunity to live a healthy, safe, economically secure, upwardly mobile life for everyone.

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson. In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning “death” and städning meaning “cleaning.” Margareta instructs readers to embrace minimalism and suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you’d ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children’s art projects). Digging into her late husband’s tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta introduces an element of fun to a potentially daunting task. 

Not to be left out, Finland contributes The Finnish Way and Pantsdrunk to the Scandinavian self-help reading list.

In The Finnish Way: Finding Courage, Wellness, and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu Journalist Katja Pantzar shares a practical guided tour of the simple and nature-inspired ways that Finns stay happy and healthy — including the powerful concept of sisu, or everyday courage. Pantzar moves to the remote Nordic country of Finland. What she discovered there transformed her body, mind and spirit. In this engaging and practical guide, she shows readers how to embrace the “keep it simple and sensible” daily practices that make Finns one of the happiest populations in the world, year after year. 

 

Pantsdrunk: The Finnish Path to Relaxation by Miska Rantanen. Danes have hygge. Swedes have lagom. But the Finns have the best — “kalsariokanni” or pantsdrunk — drinking at home, alone, in your underwear.

Books to help you navigate the education of an autistic student

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The Literacy and Learning Collection is a collection that focuses on resources for parents and educators in special circumstances and populations. Following are some books that look at education through the lens of meeting the needs of a student with autism. Summaries are from the publisher and all items are available in the Literacy and Learning Collection through the Davenport Public Library as of the publication of this post.

Bright minds, creative paths: visual learning strategies for neurodivergent homeschoolers by Sarah Evans — A resource for parents and educators seeking to create a tailored educational experience for children with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurodivergent profiles.

Autism & education: the way I see it : what parents and teachers need to know by Dr. Temple Grandin — Here is a concise handbook that illustrates what Temple has found to work in the field of education. Topics include: The importance of early intervention, teaching for different types of thinking, developing talent, motivating students, keeping high expectations, and much more! In these helpful pages, Dr. Grandin offers do’s and don’ts, practical strategies, and try-it-now tips, all based on her insider perspective and extensive research. Interestingly, she argues that education for kids on the autism spectrum must focus on their overlooked strengths to foster their unique contributions to the world

Gifted and distractible: understanding, supporting, and advocating for your twice exceptional child by Julie F. Skolnick — Does your child exhibit giftedness and behavioral issues like meltdowns, power struggles, and difficulty relating to their peers? Are they out-of-the-box thinkers requiring different teaching and learning methods? It’s a widely held misconception that intellectual ability and social and emotional success go hand in hand. In fact, “twice exceptional” kids — those who are gifted and have simultaneous learning differences like ADHD, high-functioning autism, or dyslexia — are often misunderstood by parents, teachers, and themselves. This much-needed and empowering guide reveals the unique challenges these remarkable kids face, and offers strength-based, hands-on strategies for understanding, supporting, and advocating for twice exceptional kids. 

Raising twice-exceptional children: a handbook for parents of neurodivergent gifted kids by Emily Kircher-Morris — Just because a child is gifted doesn’t mean they don’t have other types of neurodivergence, like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and more. Conversely, even children with one of these diagnoses can be cognitively gifted. Raising Twice-Exceptional Children provides you with a roadmap to understand the complex makeup of your “gifted-plus,” or twice-exceptional, child or teen. The book helps you understand your child’s diagnosis, meet their social-emotional needs, build self-regulation skills and goal setting, and teach self-advocacy. It also shows you effective ways to collaborate with teachers and school staff, and it offers advice on finding strength-based strategies that support development at home. For too long, these kids have fallen through the cracks. This book provides key information on how to best support neurodivergent children by leveraging their strengths while supporting their struggles.

This is just a small sample of the education and parenting resources available in the Literacy and Learning Collection. There are also items on the topics of homeschooling, outdoor education and life skills. Check out our LibGuide or stop by any of our locations to have a look in person.

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant

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The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant has been on my to-read list for one reason only — I love the cover! Attraction to a cover is a good enough reason to give a book a try, but once I got into this historical fiction story, I’m glad I finally moved it to the front of the line.

The Boston Girl is the Brown Bag Book Club pick for the Wednesday, November 26 discussion at 1pm at Eastern. Join us and share your thoughts on the book. Here are some highlights from my reading of the book:

It’s 1985 and 85-year-old Addie is telling her story to her granddaughter. Settle in.

The Boston Girl really starts in 1915, when, at the age of 15, Addie Baum is brought into the fold of the Saturday Club in the Boston North End neighborhood’s Salem Street Settlement House. Clearly intelligent and eager to learn, the group’s chaperone Miss Chevalier introduces Addie to the institution’s book clubs and evening lectures. Addie is even asked to join the Saturday Club for a week’s summer vacation at Rockport Lodge on Cape Ann, a retreat for lower- and working-class girls to experience the seaside. While there, friendships are cemented and Addie experiences her first taste of romance.

Addie’s home life is tumultuous in comparison. Her parents are immigrants from Russia who work in factories and take in mending to make ends meet. Addie lives in a one room apartment with her parents and older sister Celia. Her other sister, Betty, is not spoken of since she had the audacity to move out of the family home unmarried. To an Americanized family, a woman in her 20s working in a department store and living at a boarding house isn’t something to be ashamed of, but for the Baum parents she is seen as selfish.

But family dynamics continuously change as Celia gets married and Addie starts working for her kindly brother-in-law Levine. Levine also makes sure Betty is included in family celebrations and holidays, bringing new ideas to the family that help them continue to assimilate to American culture.

Through difficult family circumstances, Addie finds relief, comfort and support in her friends. They encourage her to continue in school, help her find jobs and find dates.

Historical moments are seen through the eyes of this average young adult. The 1918 flu pandemic strikes the family; she dates a shell-shocked soldier from World War I and Addie later has a brush with Betty Friedan.

Chapters are short, sometimes filled with family drama and heartache. Other chapters filled with hope and the power of female friendship. The novel is conversational. After all, it is the story a grandmother is telling her granddaughter. A glimpse at life in the 1910s and 1920s Boston, seen through the eyes of one young woman. Her life isn’t extraordinary, but it is interesting and Addie is a character worth spending with. The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant will remind readers that even an ordinary life is a life worth telling.

The Boston Girl is available as part of the Davenport Library’s Book Club collection, in regular print, large print, as a Book on CD in Rivershare, and as an eAudiobook on the Libby app through Bridges.

Resources for adoptive parents

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November is National Adoption Awareness Month, a time to celebrate families created through adoption. There is even a National Adoption Day that takes place on the Saturday before Thanksgiving to finalize adoptions from foster care into permanent families. This year that day is November 22.

The Literacy & Learning Collection contains materials that are not easily confined in either the adult, young adult, or juvenile collections. You can find guidance here on many topics including the unique challenges that come with parenting an adopted child. Adoptee-centered stories are changing the narrative around how adoption is talked about by all sides of the adoption community — birth parents, adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and of course, adoptees themselves. Here are some newer books in our Literacy & Learning Collection or interfiled with the pictures books, available at the Davenport Public Library, as of the publication of this post. Descriptions from the publishers.

“You should be grateful”: Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption by Angela Tucker. Tucker is grateful for many aspects of her life, but being a Black woman adopted into a white family involved layers of rejection, loss, and complexity that cannot be summed up easily. She now serves as a mentor to other transracially adopted children and, in this book, draws from her experiences with mentees to invite a profound exploration of a complicated system. Tucker offers practical tools for nurturing identity, unlearning white saviorism, and addressing the mistakes many adoptive parents don’t even know they’re making. She flips the script on ‘traditional’ adoption books written by adoptive parents or professionals to center the experience of adoptees themselves. These perspectives challenge the fairy-tale narrative of adoption, giving way to a fuller story that explores the impacts of racism, classism, family, love, and belonging.

The Adoptee’s Journey: From Loss and Trauma to Healing and Empowerment by Cameron Lee Small. Adoption is often framed by happy narratives, but the reality is that many adoptees struggle with unaddressed trauma and issues of identity and belonging. Adoptees often spend the majority of their youth without the language to explore the grief related to adoption or the permission to legitimize their conflicting emotions. Adoptee and counselor Cameron Lee Small names the realities of the adoptee’s journey, narrating his own and other adoptees’ stories in all their complexity. He unpacks the history of how adoption has worked and names how the church influenced adoption practices with unintended negative impacts on adoptees’ faith. Small’s own tumultuous search for and reunion with his mother in Korea inspired him to help other adoptees navigate what it means to carry multiple stories.

Adoption Memoirs: Inside Stories by Marianne Novy. Adoption Memoirs tells inside stories of adoption that popular media miss. Marianne Novy shows how adoption memoirs and films recount not only happy moments, but also the lasting pain of relinquishing a child, the racism and trauma that adoptees experienced, and the unexpected complexities of child-rearing adoptive parents encountered. Novy considers 45 memoirs, mostly from the twenty-first century, by birthmothers, adoptees, and adoptive parents, about same-race and transracial adoption. These adoptees, she recounts, wanted to learn about their ancestry and appreciated adoptive parents who helped. Adoption Memoirs will enlighten readers who lack experience with adoption and help those looking for a shared experience to also understand adoption from a different standpoint

Eyes that Weave the World’s Wonders by Joanna Ho. From New York Times bestselling Joanna Ho, of Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, and award-winning educator Liz Kleinrock comes a powerful companion picture book about adoption and family. A young girl who is a transracial adoptee learns to love her Asian eyes and finds familial connection and meaning through them, even though they look different from her parents’. Her family bond is deep and their connection is filled with love. She wonders about her birth mom and comes to appreciate both her birth culture and her adopted family’s culture, for even though they may seem very different, they are both a part of her, and that is what makes her beautiful. She learns to appreciate the differences in her family and celebrate them.

I Have Two Families: A Children’s Book About Adoption by Kendra Smith. I Have Two Families is for children aged 5 to 9 who have been through adoption or who are going to be adopted. Written with love by a licensed marriage and family therapist who has both professional and personal experience with adoption, I Have Two Families offers kids a relatable look at open adoption. Parents and caregivers can use the book to help start conversations about what it means to be adopted and how to process all the big questions and feelings that kids may have about their own adoption.

 

New Books for Educators

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Even teachers and support staff in the education field need a boost as the school year kicks into full swing. The following titles are written for educators to help them have a positive experience in the classroom that translates into a good experience for students. These items have been recently added to our Literacy and Learning Collection. Descriptions from the publishers.

The Accessible Music Classroom for All by Brian Wagner-Yeung – This book provides teachers with the tools to give every student the appropriate support needed in music classrooms, especially in diverse settings, by presenting evidence-based strategies and examples of accessible music-making in action. While the book focuses on students with disabilities, readers will find that the strategies can benefit all.

Real Talk for New Teachers: Tools for Building a Sustainable Career by Katy Farber. Real Talk for New Teachers helps beginning teachers develop their vision and orient their practice toward a personally fulfilling, healthy, and sustainable career. Having a sustainable career goes beyond buzzwords like self-care. This book provides meaningful ideas for balancing the demands of the profession and getting the most out of it. Topics include managing health, time, and emotions; building community with students and families; collaborating with colleagues; creating an engaging curriculum; and leading a busy classroom. Whether you read this book alone or with a mentor, you’ll come away with clear ways to cultivate strong learning communities and practices that support both personal and collective efficacy in this vital profession.

Love to Learn: The Transformative Power of Care and Connection in Early Education by Isabelle C. Hau – The most important aspect of early childhood in general and education in particular is the quality and care of the relationships a child forms. Love to Learn shows how to build and develop these relationships — and unlock every child’s true potential. Early relationships are the key to healthy brain development, resilience, and lifelong flourishing. This book offers a vision for a future where learning is relational, and love is a literacy. It is a provocative paradigm shift, from child-centered education to relationship-centered learning.

 

The School Mental Health Response Handbook: Practical Strategies for Educators and Support Staff by Ali D’Amario. Make a difference in children and young people’s lives at school with targeted mental health support exactly when you need it. The essential companion for addressing the mental health challenges faced by children today. Covering topics such as developmental trauma, anxiety, and self-harm.

Up Your Teaching Game: Creating Story-Based Games to Engage K-12 Students by Janna Jackson Kellinger. Up Your Teaching Game offers K-12 teachers an intuitive and refreshingly fun pathway for creating immersive, story-based games that encourage students to experience the curriculum through play. Regardless of their technical abilities, design acumen, grade level, or domain, today’s teachers have fresh opportunities to create and implement their own content-based games based on the same techniques that video game designers use to create commercial video games. In five actionable steps, this book prepares educators to design curricular games that teach instead of test, that are derived from content rather than divergent from it, and that motivate students to take ownership over their learning. Programs that most teachers are familiar with, such as PowerPoint and GoogleSlides, and technologies that may be new to them, such as Twine and Scratch, are addressed alongside the use of their own classrooms and schools as game spaces.

Local authors added so far in 2025

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Dozens of titles were added to our Local Authors collection during the first half of 2025. These are books written by authors born or living in Scott County, Iowa, or Rock Island County, Illinois. In most cases, the items were donated to the Davenport Public Library by the authors themselves. All Local Author items are available for checkout from our Fairmount branch.

Kids

My Dog Sam, Recipe for a Little Monster, Willow the Minnow, and Boy Meets Squirrels by Marva Lewis

The Adventures of Kids United: The Glass Bridge by Rene Gellerman

Empowering Eloise by Kevin Turner

 

 

Daddy Dinosaur Gets Deployed by Amari Harris

Fiction and genre fiction

In the Toe of a Shoe: Secrets Revealed by David E. Coe

Aphrodite Rising by Kathy Criswell

The captain’s game and other tales of the strange and supernatural and The black tea box and more tales of the strange and supernatural by Benjamin Headlee

 

Poetry

Plain clothes hamburglar by Sean Moeller

 

 

 

 

 

Nonfiction

Yet will I trust him: A Sedonia Roland memoir by Kassaundra Hester

Bessie’s prayer : “I am Walter, Bessie’s Son”: That made all the difference! by Walter D. Braud

That’s all there is to it! A collection of easy, delicious meals by Carman Wilken

If you are a Quad Cities-based author, whether traditionally published or self-published, please consider donating a copy of your book to our Local Authors collection so that it can be checked out and enjoyed by our patrons. Email Beth Paul at bpaul@davenportlibrary.com for details about making the donation.

Better Living Through Birding by Chrisitan Cooper

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In Better Living Through Birding, Christian Cooper uses his platform from the infamous “Central Park birdwatching incident” to shift focus on the joys of living life outside of stereotypes. 

In May 2020, Christian Cooper recorded a confrontation between himself and a white woman in New York’s Central Park where he asked her to leash her dog and she made a false police report saying he threatened her. The video went viral, partly because it happened around the same time George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. “The Incident” became part of a larger conversation about institutional racism. Details are covered in one chapter of this memoir. Cooper acknowledges a handful of times that “The Incident” is probably the reason you are reading the book, but Cooper uses the notoriety of “The Incident” to invite you into a much larger and more fulfilling part of his life: birdwatching.

It was no accident that Cooper was in Central Park that day. This wasn’t a “I need to get out of the house” Covid walk. This day was one among a string a days that Cooper had spent enjoying peak bird migration through the area. Cooper is a dedicated birdwatcher who has traveled the world for his hobby but calls New York home. He has built a community of friends with others who can identify sparrows, warblers, and finches by their song.

There are some other things you should know about Cooper. He has been a nerd since childhood, with Star Trek and Marvel comics being two of his obsessions. He attended Harvard and in the book describes how he came out to his dormmates and then became a gay activist. Protesting and being arrested are part of his activist journey. His relationship with his parents, especially his father, is complicated. He worked for Marvel and wrote the first lesbian character.

Through it all, even in his childhood, has been birding. He wants the readers of his book to be just as excited about being outdoors as he is. In spaces where he has been an outsider, he invites you to be part of the community, to find joy in spotting a bird under the cover of foliage or being able to identify it by its call.

While I listened to this audiobook, and there were a few bird calls between chapters that were a nice touch, I don’t think the audiobook experience is a must. As of the publication of this blog post, Better Living Through Birding by Chrisitan Cooper is available in regular print, large print and eAudiobook on Bridges through the Libby app.

And if Christian Cooper’s memoir inspires you to take up birding, remember the Davenport Public Library has many resources to get you started, including field guides and birding backpacks with all the tools you need.