'immigration'

2/28/2022

Our March Book Club pick is The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (also in e-book and e-audiobook). Check it out and then join us Tuesday, March 29 at 6 pm to discuss. More information...

Freedom by Sebastian Junger

Throughout history, humans have been driven by the quest for two cherished ideals: community and freedom. The two don't coexist easily. We value individuality and self-reliance, yet are utterly dependent on community for our most basic needs. In this intricately crafted and thought-provoking book, Sebastian Junger examines the tension that lies at the heart of what it means to be human.

323.44 JUNGER

The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

Cornejo Villavicencio powerfully reveals the hidden corners of our nation of immigrants. She brings to light remarkable stories of hope and resilience, and through them we come to understand what it truly means to be American.

305.9069 CORNEJO VILLAVICENCIO

After the Fall by Ben Rhodes

Being American in the World We've Made // Equal parts memoir and reporting, this is an ambitious and essential work of discovery. Throughout, Rhodes reflects on how the 2008 financial crisis completed a collapse of public confidence in America, globalization, and democracy itself, opening a door to the wave of strongman leaders who have transformed our world--men like Viktor Orban in Hungary, Vladimir Putin in Russia, and Xi Jinping in China. He wrestles with how peoples' yearning for identity and belonging has been weaponized by nationalists. And he learns from a diverse set of characters--from Obama to rebels to rising politicians--how we can choose a more hopeful story going forward.

909.83 RHODES

Drawing the Vote by Tommy Jenkins and Kati Lacker

An Illustrated Guide to Voting in America // Coinciding with the 2020 US presidential election, this book is an original graphic novel that looks at the history of voting rights in the United States, and how it has affected the way we vote today.

324.6 JENKINS

If you need help accessing any of these titles or using front door pickup, email or call us and we will be happy to assist you!

View Book Notes PDF archive

In a perfect world, children would never be exposed to difficulties and hardships. They would never have to grow up too soon or feel unsafe. They could simply be kids. Unfortunately, life doesn’t discriminate. When these struggles arise, it can be difficult to find a way to answer questions or work through their feelings in an age appropriate way. 

Books can be a great tool to help children (and adults!) find the words for their feelings and cope. Whether it is for more common obstacles like bullying and divorce or other sensitive issues like, poverty, domestic violence, immigrating to a new country, or death of a loved one, books can help provide advice and comfort. Picture books are also a great way to encourage empathy for others in children that may be living these situations. 

These books are best read together with plenty of time afterwards for questions. With books that deal with sensitive subjects, it is always good practice for a grownup to read the book beforehand, and determine if there is a struggle that you or your child is facing, there is a book to help.

Home Life

• The Big Bad Wolf In My House by Valérie Fontaine
  Topic: Domestic violence // Easy FONTAINE
• It’s a No-Money Day by Kate Milner
  Topic: Food banks, poverty // Easy MILNER
• Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept by Jayneen Sanders and Craig Smith
  Topic: Child sexual abuse // Easy 362.76 SANDERS

Divorce

• Dinosaurs Divorce by Laurie Krasny Brown
  E 306.89 BRO
• Divorce is the Worst by Anastasia Higginbotham
  Easy 306.89 HIGGINBOTHAM

Death / Loss

• Death is Stupid by Anastasia Higginbotham
  Easy 155.937 HIGGINBOTHAM
• Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs by Tomie dePaola
  Easy DEPAOLA
• Bear Island by Matthew Cordell
  Topic: Pet loss // Easy CORDELL 
• Arno and His Horse by Jane Godwin and Felicita Sala
  Topic: Toy loss // Easy GODWIN

Bullying

• Confessions of a Former Bully by Trudy Ludwig and Beth Adams
  Topic: How to start being a better friend // Easy LUDWIG
• The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad, S.K. Ali, and Hatem Aly
  Topic: Hijab, Islam, school // Easy MUHAMMAD
• You, Me, and Empathy by Jayneen Sanders and Sofia Cardoso
  Topic: Teaching empathy // Easy SANDERS

Immigration

• The Color Collector by Nicholas Solis and Renia Metallinou
  Topic: Homesickness, friendship // Easy SOLIS
• My name is Sangoel by Karen Lynn Williams, Khadra Mohammed, and Catherine Stock
  Topic: Refugee, names // Easy WILLIAMS
• Home is in Between by Mitali Perkins and Lavanya Naidu
  Topic: Traditions, culture // Easy PERKINS

People with Disabilities

• What Happened to You? by James Catchpole and Karen George
  on order
• It’s Okay to Ask! by Nancy Carlson
  Easy CARLSON

Adoption

• Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
  Easy CURTIS 
• We Belong Together by Todd Parr
  Easy PARR
• Goyangi Means Cat by Christine McDonnell, Lou Fancher, and Steve Johnson
  Topic: English as a second language // Easy MCDONNELL

9/27/2021

Virtual Storytime and Virtual Baby Bounce with Miss Andrea are back! Tune in each week for a new story on our website or YouTube page. Watch Now

Made in China by Anna Qu

A Memoir of Love and Labor // Traveling from Wenzhou to Xi'an to New York, Made in China is a fierce memoir unafraid to ask thorny questions about trauma and survival in immigrant families, the meaning of work, and the costs of immigration.

973.04951 QU

The Kaepernick Effect by Dave Zirin

Taking a Knee, Changing the World // A veteran sportswriter interviews high school athletes, college athletes, pro athletes and others involved in the nationwide movement to "take a knee" in response to police brutality.

796.09 ZIRIN

The Sum of Us by Jean Hanff Korelitz

What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together // Heather McGhee's specialty is the American economy--and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the 2008 financial crisis to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common root problem: racism. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crisis that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out? McGhee embarks on a deeply personal journey across the country from Maine to Mississippi to California, tallying what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm--the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others.

305.8 MCGHEE

The Heroine with 1,001 Faces by Maria Tartar

For decades, Joseph Campbell had defined our cultural aspirations in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, emphasizing the value of seeking glory and earning immortality. His work became the playbook for Hollywood, with its many male-centric quest narratives. Challenging the models in Campbell's canonical work, Maria Tatar explores how heroines, rarely wielding a sword and deprived of a pen, have flown beneath the radar even as they have been bent on social missions. Using the domestic arts and storytelling skills, they have displayed audacity, curiosity, and care as they struggled to survive and change the reigning culture. Animating figures from Ovid's Philomela, her tongue severed yet still weaving a tale about sexual assault, to Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander, a high-tech wizard seeking justice for victims of a serial killer, The Heroine with 1,001 Faces creates a luminous arc that takes us from ancient times to the present.

398.082 TATAR

If you need help accessing any of these titles or using front door pickup, email or call us and we will be happy to assist you!

View Book Notes PDF archive