Tag: Laura Ingalls Wilder

Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast August Recap

- Brittany Leave a comment

Each month, we release a new episode of Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast. In this blog post, I will give you helpful links to area resources, Library resources, and links to the books discussed in our episode!

Nostalgia Reads

We’ve talked a lot about what books we read when we were younger that have stuck with us, but we’re not done with that topic just yet! Below are the titles discussed in the episode!

Stephanie’s Picks:
Amelia’s Notebook by Marissa Moss 
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney 
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka 
Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder 
Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch 

 

Brittany’s Picks
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
There was an old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Pam Adams
Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae

Beth’s Picks
The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Cancer Support Community Iowa and NW Illinois at Gilda’s Club

Our resource spotlight shines on Gilda’s Club Quad Cities, newly known as Cancer Support Community Iowa and NW Illinois at Gilda’s Club. Since 1998, Gilda’s Club has been a pillar of hope and support for cancer patients and their families. From its beginnings at the Mansion with the Red Door on River Drive to its current locations inside the Genesis Cancer Center, Gilda’s Club Davenport, and the UnityPoint Health – Trinity Cancer Center, Gilda’s Club Moline has continually expanded its services, reaching nearly 4,500 individuals.

Value Line

Value Line is the most trusted and prestigious name in the investment field. For more than 75 years, Value Line has been synonymous with trust, reliability, objectivity, independence, accurate information, and proven performance for investors. Click on the title to learn more about this free resource!

 

Retellings!

Are you a fan of retellings? Here we have gathered a list of classic literature retellings, reimaginings, and remixes. 

Stephanie’s Favorites:
Jane Eyre retelling
   – The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
King Arthur legend retelling
   –Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Pride and Prejudice retellings
   –Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin 
   –Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
Romeo & Juliet retelling
   –A Pho Love Story by Loan Le 
Sherlock Holmes retelling
   –A Study in Scarlet Women (book 1 in the Lady Sherlock Series) by Sherry Thomas
Trojan War retelling
   –A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
The Odyssey retelling
   –Circe by Madeline Miller
The Wizard of Oz retelling
   –Wicked by Gregory Maguire 

Brittany’s Favorites:
Arsenic and Old Lace 1944 comedy with Cary Grant
   –Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
Cinderella
   –Cinder by Marissa Meyer
   –The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark
   –An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn
Little Red Riding Hood
   –Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
Dr. Moreau inspired reads
   –The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd
Alice and Wonderland
   –The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Historical Retellings
   –My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand
Jane Austen
   –Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price
   –Sense and Second Degree Murder by Tirzah Price 

Beth’s Favorites:
Remixes — Classics presented as graphic novels
   –The Alchemist – original by Paulo Coelho; graphic novel by Derek Ruiz
   –Diary of a Young Girl – original by Anne Frank; “Anne Frank’s diary : the graphic adaptation” by Ari Folman
   –The Giver by Lois Lowry ; adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell
   –The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood; art and adaptation by Renee Nault
Little House on the Prairie
   –Caroline by Sarah Miller
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
   –The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Bible – Book of Genesis
   –The Red Tent by Anita Diamant 

FRIENDS

August 17th is National Nonprofit Day! Did you know that we have a non-profit group that raises funds and manages an endowment portfolio to support The Library? The FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library is a 501(c)3 organization powered by members and volunteers that advocates, volunteers, and runs used bookstores in all three locations giving money back to the Library for programming and other services! We are so grateful for their support in enriching the lives of our community! To learn more about the FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library, click on the title of this section!

Emotional Reads

With the recent box office success of Inside Out 2 and after being inspired by another library, we showcased titles that gave us all of the feels (good and bad!).

  Brittany  Beth  Stephanie 
Joy  Anything by Emily Henry   Dozens of Doughnuts by Carrie Finison Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater 
Sadness  Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls  Burial Rites by Hannah Kent 
Anger  Normal People by Sally Rooney Maus by Art Spegelman   Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall, illustrated by Hugo Martinez 
Disgust  A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis  Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story by David Alexander Robertson 
Fear  Room by Emma Donoghue Devil in the White City by Erik Larson  American Predator by Maureen Callahan 
Envy  The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren Anything by Mindy Kaling  Soulmate Equation & The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Embarrassment  The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro Really Good Actually by Monica Heisey  Hello Stranger by Katherine Center 
Ennui  Last One Home by Debbie Macomber Blankets by Craig Thompson  The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Anxiety  Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson  Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter 
Nostalgia  A Nice Place on the North Side by George F. Will Landline by Rainbow Rowell  Throwback by Maurene Goo 

 

What Our Hosts Read In June

Beth’s Reads:
Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Stephanie’s Reads:
Lethal Licorice by (Book 2 in Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series) by Amanda Flower 
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Solomon
The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller
The Red Harvest: A Novel of the Terror Famine in Soviet Ukraine by Michael Cherkas

Brittany’s Reads:
Bear with Me Now by Katie Shepard
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis

If you would like to listen to our episode, it can be found wherever you get your podcasts. If you prefer listening on the web, it can be found here!

We love hearing from our listeners, please feel free to comment on this blog post, on our socials, or email us at checked.in@davenportlibrary.com.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Resources

- Beth Leave a comment

While I am no fan of ice and bitter cold temperatures, early February is my favorite time of year, reading-wise. Author Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7, 1867, and died February 10, 1957. I call this “Laura Week” and use the time to read new publications about her or re-read the classic “Little House” series. The world of Laura Ingalls Wilder continues to endure re-examinations 60+ years after her death.

This year I will be reading A Prairie Girl’s Faith by Stephen W. Hines. This book is described as “An extended, in-depth discussion of the Christian faith of one of America’s most beloved pioneer women, Laura Ingalls Wilder.” I recall several scenes in the “Little House” books about Laura attending church services with her family. In On the Banks of Plum Creek, Pa sacrifices money saved for new work boots to contribute toward the church bell. I’m excited to learn how the “real” Laura’s faith shaped her life.

Other recent non-fiction books have taken closer looks at various aspects of Wilder’s life. Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. It puts Wilder and her family in the greater context of the American history they were living. Libertarians on the Prairie by Christine Woodside examines the political influences Wilder and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane weaved into the books.

In fiction, Caroline : Little House, revisited by Sarah Miller has been a recent hit for adult readers. This historical fiction novel tells the story of the family’s homesteading attempt in Kansas Indian Territory from Ma’s perspective. You may be familiar with the story from the third book in the children’s series “Little House on the Prairie.”

Many Midwesterners have fond memories of reading the “Little House” series or watching the 1970s Little House on the Prairie TV show, even in reruns. It brings back a comfy nostalgia of simpler times, self-reliance and family togetherness. Those themes seemed particularly significant during a year of quarantining and social distancing. I heard of people turning to Wilder’s The Long Winter to see how her family made it through the 1880-1881 South Dakota winter filled with the blizzards, boredom and monotony — and they didn’t even have wi-fi! It might be worth a revisit for you.

Looking at the “Little House” book series through a modern lens, we see it is not without problems in how it treats Indigenous people and people of color. The American Library Association responded to a re-examination of her work by changing the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award to the Children’s Literature Legacy Award in 2018. Before and after the name change, the award aimed to honor an author or illustrator whose books have made a significant and lasting contribution to children’s literature. If you are interested in an academic approach to Laura Ingalls Wilder, I suggest exploring the Davenport Public Library’s Online Reference & Research Resources. The Educator’s Reference database, for example, has several article’s discussing the ALA decision to change the name of the award. A search for “Laura Ingalls Wilder” generates an article with alternatives to the “Little House” series, such as Betsy-Tacy by Maud Lovelace and the Birchbark House series by Louise Erdrich. There are dozens of other full-text articles about Laura Ingalls Wilder, her work and her writing.

 

 

 

The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure

- Lynn Leave a comment

The beginning of the audiobook version of this book is fun – especially if you are also a Little House fan. You’ll have many “I felt like that too!” moments, as the author describes her love of what she calls “Laura World.”

Wendy McClure, the author of The Wilder Life  is on the extreme end of the Little House research continuum, however. After a while, I found myself withdrawing – wishing I hadn’t heard that bit of myth debunking. I was quite happy believing that most things in the books were based on emotional, if not factual, truth.

Of special interest are the details about how the tv series overtook the books in popularity and the legal battles over the “Little House” brand, or LHOP, as the author calls it.

The end is satisfying and thought-provoking. McClure ties in what she learned about how Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder told their stories with  how she came to terms with memories of her mother.

A Little House Christmas

- Ann 1 Comment

Amber’s recommendation for holiday cheer celebrates our unique American history and appeals to our can-do spirit against all odds, just like the pioneers.
littlehouseI love everything about the Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books, but I especially love holidays in the Ingall’s household. These collections of Christmas stories, A Little House Christmas and A Little House Christmas Vol. 2, bring together all my favorite Little House moments: Maple Syrup candy hardening in the snow, Laura and Mary secretly making a button string for Carrie, the beautiful fur cape and muff from the present tree that Laura wished so hard for, and many others. This is Christmas at its purest and best.