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Heart in the right place
By Carolyn Jourdan. 2007
When her seventy-two-year-old mother had a heart attack, U.S. Senate counsel Jourdan took leave to man the receptionist's desk in…
her father's rural Tennessee doctor's office. She describes those days that turned into a year, and the lessons in humanity she learned during that time. Some strong language. 2007Dog years: a memoir
By Mark Doty. 2007
Award-winning poet recalls experiences with his beloved retrievers, Arden and Beau. Describes how they helped him through his grief after…
his partner's death, and how, in turn, he cared for them as they aged. Reflects on the lessons learned about life, loss, and unconditional love. Some strong language. 2007Stand tall, Abe Lincoln (Turning Point Bks.)
By Judith St. George. 2008
Portrays the childhood of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), who was born in a log cabin in Kentucky. Describes Abe's chores, irregular…
schooling, and pet pig. Relates his mother's death and his father's remarriage to Sally, a widow with three children, who encouraged Abe to read and study. For grades 2-4. 2008Joan: the mysterious life of the heretic who became a saint
By Donald Spoto. 2007
Theologian presents an account of the life of Joan of Arc (c. 1412-1431), accused heretic and canonized saint. Quoting from…
translated trial records, the author examines Joan's actions, words, and faith in the context of fifteenth-century France. Posits Joan's relevance as a "prophetic witness" for the twenty-first century. 2007Little heathens: hard times and high spirits on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression
By Mildred Armstrong Kalish. 2007
Retired English professor's memoir of her childhood in 1930s rural Iowa, a time Kalish describes as "quite a romp." Recalls…
years of deprivation and hard work mitigated by simple rewards. Discusses daily life and the influence of religion and literature, and describes family members whose lessons shaped her upbringing. 2007Morris and Buddy: the story of the first seeing eye dog
By Becky Hall. 2007
Account of twenty-year-old Morris Frank, who, blinded in a boxing accident, traveled from Tennessee to Switzerland in 1928 to become…
the first American owner of a seeing-eye dog, whom he named Buddy. Discusses training processes and Morris's mission to bring canine guides to the United States. For grades 3-6. 2007Mirage: Napoleon's scientists and the unveiling of Egypt
By Nina Burleigh. 2007
Chronicles Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and the scientific research conducted there on his behalf. Highlights one of the earliest large-scale…
interactions between Western civilians and Islam in the modern era. 2007Sportscaster's second collection of sports bloopers and odd facts. Features baseball, basketball, football, soccer, golf, tennis, and the Olympics. Recalls…
Venus Williams's penalty point for a broken strand of hair beads on the court. Explains why a football is not round. For grades 4-7. 2007Freedom (A Kernel Book Ser.)
By Marc Maurer. 2006
Eight individuals share their experiences with blindness. In the title memoir, Maurer reflects that "blindness must be confronted in unconventional…
ways if progress in surmounting its disadvantages is to be made." In "Mom, What Does Blind Mean?" Pauletta Feldman answers her nonsighted son's questions. 2006How Starbucks saved my life: a son of privilege learns to live like everyone else
By Michael Gill. 2007
White sixtysomething Gill describes his despair over being let go from his high-powered New York advertising job. He explains how…
gratitude for an unexpected employment offer he received at a Starbucks led him to job satisfaction as a barista and coffee master alongside younger black coworkers. Some strong language. 2007Ten green bottles: the true story of one family's journey from war-torn Austria to the ghettos of Shanghai
By Vivian Jeanette Kaplan, St. Martin`s Press. 2004
Memoir of a family's 1939 escape from the Nazis and ten-year struggle to survive in China. Daughter Nini describes marrying…
her Polish friend Poldi, enduring the Japanese occupation and communist takeover, and emigrating to Canada with her own daughter, the author. Compares life to fragile green bottles. Some violence. 2002Barack Obama: the politics of hope (Shapers of America)
By William Davis. 2008
Biography of Illinois senator Obama (born 1961), the son of a Kenyan father and a white Kansan mother. Discusses Obama's…
upbringing in Hawaii and Indonesia. Recounts his education, community work, and political career through the start of his presidential campaign in 2007. For junior and senior high readers. 2008The skin between us: a memoir of race, beauty, and belonging
By Kym Ragusa. 2006
Documentary filmmaker reminisces about her childhood in Harlem, during which she was raised alternately by her Sicilian and African American…
grandmothers. Describes growing up biracially and biculturally in the 1960s and 1970s and her black family's conflicted view of their race. Some strong language. 2006Ladies of liberty: the women who shaped our nation
By Cokie Roberts. 2008
News analyst Roberts portrays influential American women who lived between the 1797 inauguration of John Adams and that of his…
son John Quincy in 1825. Highlights accomplishments of first ladies, reformers, educators, writers, and explorers, including Abigail Adams and Sacagawea. Companion to Founding Mothers (RC 58361, BR 15555). Bestseller. 2008Journalist explores the fifteen-hundred-year history of chess from antiquity and the Middle Ages to modern Western culture. Discusses influence on…
military strategy, mathematics, and the arts. Provides move-by-move analyses of six famous matches including the 1851 contest between Anderssen and Kieseritzky that is dubbed the "immortal game." Explains rules. 2006David Crockett: hero of the common man (American heroes series #5)
By Bill Groneman. 2005
Alamo historian examines the myth and legend of David Crockett (1786-1836) to portray the real frontiersman from Tennessee. Discusses his…
character, reputation, and career in the U.S. Congress. Scrutinizes personal accounts and diaries for evidence of Crockett's heroism during the Mexican assault on the Alamo. 2005Roots: the saga of an American family
By Alex Haley. 1974
Seven generations of the author's family, from 1767, when Kunta Kinte is captured in the Gambia, West Africa, and transported…
to Virginia as a slave. Chronicles Haley's ancestors' resettlement in Tennessee following the Civil War, reconstructs his birth in 1921, and describes his genealogical research. Some violence. Pulitzer Prize. 1974Dewey: the small-town library cat who touched the world
By Vicki Myron. 2008
Spencer, Iowa, public library director Vicki Myron describes finding a kitten in the book drop in 1988. Named Dewey Readmore…
Books by library staff, the feline became an increasingly famous mascot over the next nineteen years. Myron also discusses her divorce, single parenthood, breast cancer scare, and love of librarianship. Bestseller. 2008And nobody got hurt!: the world's weirdest, wackiest true sports stories
By Len Berman. 2005
Sportscaster's collection of bloopers from and odd facts about baseball, football, basketball, hockey, golf, and tennis. Features players' records, coaches'…
unusual tactics, and fantastic finishes. Recalls the Iowa high school basketball game in which the winning basket was made when the ball bounced off a player's head. Uncontracted braille. 2005The tenth muse: my life in food
By Judith Jones. 2007
Memoir of longtime food editor at Knopf. Jones reminisces about her childhood in New York City and in Vermont and…
her post-World War II cooking adventures in Paris. Describes her work with chefs Julia Child and James Beard and her efforts to introduce Americans to international cuisine. Includes recipes. 2007