Jan. 13, 2008 Library Books

The following books are now available at the Public Library:

The Lemonade Club by Patricia Polacco

Traci and her best friend Marilyn were both in Miss Wichelman's fifth grade class — a good thing, since the two were inseparable. Miss Wichelman was one of those teachers who brought out the best in her students. Her favorite saying was, “If you dream it … then you can BE it!” When Marilyn gets sick with leukemia, the girls learn the real meaning of making lemonade out of life's lemons, another one of their teacher's favorite sayings. This heartwarming picture book is based on the true story of the original “Lemonade Club,” which was made up of Polacco's daughter Traci, her best friend, and former teacher.

Doña Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart by Pat Mora, Illustrated by Raul Colón

Move over Paul Bunyan! In this original tall tale by the creative team who brought us Tomás and the Library Lady, we're introduced to a New Mexican-flavored giantess by the name of Doña Flor. Colón's unique combination of watercolor washes, etching, and colored and litho pencils, softly illustrates Mora's gentle story about this kind-hearted heroine. The villagers roof their houses with her tortillas and use her flowers for umbrellas, but her ability to speak with animals (she even speaks rattler!) is most prized. Peppered with occasional Spanish words, this story is a surefire hit for children and all those who enjoy the Southwest tradition.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

A fateful coin toss results in an accident that leaves Naomi with partial amnesia. She knows her name and her parents, but the previous four years are a mystery. Naomi tries to reconcile this lost information — which includes a tennis star boyfriend and her parents' divorce — with her new self, quietly challenging her friends' and family's notions of who she was, or is. Through Naomi, Zevin explores themes of memory and identity in this lyrical journey of self-discovery. Naomi's wry sense of humor and her romantic dilemma (the popular jock, the mysterious new kid, or the boy next door?) propel the story and offer a nice balance with the more serious introspection. Many teens will connect with Naomi's struggle to reach her own conclusions about who she was, is and will become.