December 2022 Shelf Talk
ADULT The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and The Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester
This non-fiction work follows the story of William Smith, the orphaned son of a blacksmith, who was “obsessed with creating the world’s first geological map.” He became known as the father of modern geology. The world’s coal and oil industries, gold mining, highway systems and railroad routes were all “derived entirely from the creation of Smith’s first map.”
Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions by Grandin Temple
This eye-opening work by Temple, draws on cutting- edge scientific research to take readers inside the mind of the visual thinker. Discussing the type of visual thinkers and how they tend to be under utilized in schools and the workplace. Rather than wasting their gifts, Grandin proposes “new approaches to educating, parenting, employing and collaborating” with visual thinkers.
The Night Ship by Jess Kid
Based on a true story, this historical fiction novel follows a newly orphaned girl from the ship the Batavia and a lonely boy looking for a home with his grandfather, living parallel narratives (three hundred years apart) on an island off Western Australia. Kid’s trademark mysterious, twisted, and thrilling novel is beautifully written. This story “weaves a true work of magic about friendship, sacrifice, brutality and forgiveness.
The Flight: A Novel by Lynn Steger Strong
This domestic fiction novel takes place over the course of three days and three siblings get together for their first Christmas since their vibrant mother’s passing. In this powerful novel, Strong takes readers attention to the “structural and systemic failings that are haunting Americans, but also to the ways in which family, friends, and strangers can support each other through the gaps.”
YOUNG ADULT Talk Santa to Me by Linda Urban
Francie was born in a stable. Granted, it was the deluxe model with the light-up star on the roof, one of the many Christmas items for sale at her family's Hollydale Holiday Shop. Francie's always loved working in the shop, but lately Aunt Carole has been changing everything with her ideas for tooslick, Hollywood-inspired Santas and horrible holidaythemed employee uniforms. Aunt Carole's vision will ruin all the charm and nostalgia Francie loves about her family's business...unless she does something about it.
The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park
Chloe Kwon can't stand Peter Li. It's always been that way. Their families don't get along either: their parents operate rival restaurants in the Riverwood Mall food court —Korean food for the Kwons and Chinese food for the Lis. Now it's the holiday season, and Chloe's the photographer at the mall's Santa's Village, and Peter works at the virtual reality North Pole experience right across the atrium. But it turns out the mall is about to be sold to a developer and demolished for condos. Their parents don't know what to do, and soon Chloe and Peter realize that the two of them need to join efforts to try to save the mall. Just when it seems like they can put aside their differences and work closely (very closely) together, they discover that the Kwon and Li feud goes far deeper than either of them realize...
Ride With Me by Lucy Keating
As a driver for her local rideshare app, Charlie Owens loves what the open road gives her: freedom, extra cash for an epic road trip, and a path to getting out of her sleepy town of Chester Falls, Massachusetts. She's seen her fair share of mysterious passengers and explosive break-ups in the backseat of her car, but Charlie lives a no-strings-attached lifestyle and never gets involved. But when a routine post-party pick-up ends with Charlie crashing into Andre, her school's notorious party boy, she's forced to make a deal to drive him anywhere he needs to go, anytime, until his car can be repaired. Suddenly Charlie and Andre are stuck together, and they couldn't be more different. But Andre's charm wins over Charlie's passengers, and she soon finds herself at risk of breaking her most sacred rule: don't fall in love.
The Dream Runners by Shveta Thakrar
Seven years ago, Tanvi was spirited away to the subterranean realm of Nagalok, where she joined the ranks of the dream runners: human children freed of all memory and emotion, who collect mortal dreams for the entertainment of the serpentine, immortal naga court. But when one of Tanvi's dream harvests goes awry, she begins to remember her life on earth. Panicked and confused, she turns to the one mortal in Nagalok who might be able to help: Venkat, the dreamsmith responsible for collecting the dream runners' wares and shaping them into the kingdom's most tantalizing commodity. And as they search for answers, a terrifying truth begins to take shape.
CHILDREN The Run-Aways by Ulf Stark, illustrated by Kitty Crowther, translated by Julia Marshall
A touching, realistic, gently humorous story of how a sensitive boy copes with his treasured grandfather’s decline. 'Grandpa is in the hospital and hating it. He swears at the nurses and makes trouble for everyone. Dad finds it too stressful to visit, but Gottfried Junior visits Grandpa as often as he's allowed, and when he's not allowed, he goes anyway. Grandpa thinks only of the place he was happiest--the island where he lived with Grandma before she died. He wants to go back one last time, but they won't let him out of the hospital.' Gottfried Junior and Grandpa take things into their own hands. If running away is the only way to get to the island, then they'll be runaways.
Hanukkah Bear by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
Despite her advanced age of 97 and her poor eyesight and hearing, Bubba Brayna “still makes the best potato latkes in the village.” When Old Bear is awakened from his winter sleep by the savory aroma of frying latkes and comes to her door, Bubba Brayna invites him in for a fresh batch, mistaking the bear’s rotund girth and bushy face for her heavy-set bearded rabbi. A story of mistaken identity with rib tickling humor along with Hanukkah traditions mixed in this young children’s story you will want to share year after year.
A Cricket in Times Square by George Selden, illustrated by Garth Williams
Selden’s Silver Newbery Honor Book is storytelling at its best as he blends the marvelous with the commonplace realities of life. A common, yet musical, cricket living in a Times Square subway station with his friends, a mouse and a cat, share humor and heart in this 1960 classic. A family read aloud perfect for the season.
Bridges: Engineering Masterpieces by Dan Zettwoch, illustrated by Dan Zettwoch
Join a group of engineers who take you around the world, explaining the engineering feats of bridges. “Bridges” is part of a new graphic novel series, “Science Comics” that mixes science with the appeal of the graphic book world.