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Staff Picks

We love to read, and we've got some interesting recommendations. Check Staff Picks weekly for new titles!

The week of May 5, 2008

JPod bookjacket JPod by Douglas Coupland
Ethan Jarlewski and five fellow geeks are marooned in JPod, a distant quadrant of a giant Vancouver video game corporation.
21 Proms bookjacket 21 Proms by David Levithan and Daniel Ehrenhaft
Short stories about the biggest dance in high school.

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Hungry Planet: What the World Eats bookjacket Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio
A photographic study of families from around the world reveals what people eat during the course of one week.
Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party bookjacket Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine
Ling, the daughter of two doctors, struggles to make sense of the communists' Cultural Revolution.
Brasyl bookjacket Brasyl by Ian McDonald
Past, present and future Brazil come together in a novel that is part science fiction, part history and part mystery.
Here's a Little Poem bookjacket Here's a Little Poem by Jane Yolen
A very first book of poetry.
The Last Chinese Chef bookjacket The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
While working out some personal problems, an American food writer learns the intricacies of the Chinese feast from a rising culinary star.
Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems bookjacket Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits
A 15-year-old girl named Jessie voices typical — and not so typical — teenage concerns in this unique, hilarious collection of poems.
Blankets bookjacket Blankets by Craig Thompson
Wrapped in the landscape of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Thompson's autobiographical graphic novel explores the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country, the power of young love, and the limits of faith.
Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies & Little Misses of Color bookjacket Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies & Little Misses of Color by Elizabeth Alexander and Marilyn Nelson
The story of Prudence Crandall's school for African American girls that opened in 1833.
The Brief History of the Dead bookjacket The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
Laura, the last woman on earth, is slowly running out of supplies at an Antarctic research station; meanwhile a city comprised of the recently dead only exists as long as Laura remembers them.
Dimity Dumpty bookjacket Dimity Dumpty by Bob Graham
The story of Humpty's little sister.
About Alice bookjacket About Alice by Calvin Trillin
Though it deals with devastating loss, About Alice is also a love story, chronicling a romance that began at a Manhattan party when Calvin Trillin desperately tried to impress a young woman who "seemed to glow."
One Whole and Perfect Day bookjacket One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke
As her irritating family prepares to celebrate her grandfather's 80th birthday, 16-year-old Lily yearns for just one whole perfect day together.
The Wrong Man bookjacket The Wrong Man by John Katzenbach
When Ashley Freeman is stalked by blue-collar bad-boy Michael O’Connell after a brief fling, she turns to her divorced parents and her mother’s new partner for help.
The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio bookjacket The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio by Lloyd Alexander
Three friends follow a treasure map through the deserts and cities of the infamous Golden Road.
Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog bookjacket Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences by Kitty Burns Florey
Florey examines the sentence-diagramming phenomenon, including its humble roots at Brooklyn Polytechnic, its "balloon diagram" predecessor, and what diagrams of famous writers' sentences reveal about them.
When Dinosaurs Came with Everything bookjacket When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach
Although his mother is a little worried, a young boy is delighted to discover that every shop in town is giving away real dinosaurs to their customers.
The Plain Janes bookjacket The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
Four girls named Jane form a secret art gang to offset their difficulties in high school.
Spud bookjacket Spud by John van de Ruit
Thirteen-year-old John "Spud" Milton keeps a diary of his first year at an elite, boys-only boarding school in South Africa.
The Emperor's Children bookjacket The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
Messud's comedy of manners examines the fates and fortunes of three friends striving for recognition in New York City.
The Mysterious Benedict Society bookjacket The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.
April in Paris bookjacket April in Paris by Michael Wallner
A German soldier in occupied Paris leads a double life: by day, an interrogation translator; by night, a native Parisian. Soon his two worlds collide.
Global Babies bookjacket Global Babies
Babies everywhere are beautiful, special and loved.
How to Hepburn bookjacket How to Hepburn: Lessons on Living from Kate the Great by Karen Karbo
Karbo's sassy mix of self-help and star biography reveals how Katherine Hepburn made it her business to be one of a kind. Meet the author.
The Aurora County All-Stars bookjacket The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles
Will the annual July 4th baseball game be cancelled because of the county anniversary pageant?
A Long Way Gone bookjacket A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
The Everybody Reads selection for 2008 tells the story of one boy's experience as a child soldier in Sierra Leone's civil war.
The Hunterman and the Crocodile bookjacket The Hunterman and the Crocodile by Baba Wagué Diakité
Donso, a West African hunterman, learns the importance of living in harmony with nature and the necessity of placing humans among, not above, all other living things. Meet the author.
Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast bookjacket Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast by Bill Richardson
Somewhere on a small island in beautiful B.C., a pair of quirky brothers runs a B&B especially for people like them, "the gentle and bookish and ever so slightly confused."
How to Steal a Dog bookjacket How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor
Georgina, desperate for money, persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to steal a dog and claim the reward.
Xtra Tuf bookjacket Xtra Tuf (zine) by Moe Bowstern
Moe works as a commercial fisherwoman in Alaska and describes her adventures in her zine, Xtra Tuf. This zine is full of interesting facts about the profession, but it is Moe's storytelling that draws the reader in and brings the fishing industry to life.
New Socks bookjacket New Socks by Bob Shea
A chicken is filled with excitement and self-confidence when he dons a new pair of orange socks.
Three Cups of Tea bookjacket Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
The extraordinary story of Greg Mortenson's humanitarian efforts in Pakistan. Meet the author.
The Arrival bookjacket The Arrival by Shaun Tan
In this wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his homeland and sets off for a new country, where he must build a new life for himself and his family.
Fred Stays with Me bookjacket Fred Stays with Me by Nancy Coffelt
A child describes how she lives sometimes with her mother and sometimes with her father, but her dog is her constant companion.