Our new title offerings for May are an eclectic bunch, touching on wolves, teenage chefs, Harper Lee, and the strange art and science of decision-making. Read on for our suggestions, available in May at a neighborhood library near you!
Young Children (Up to 2nd Grade)
The people in Daniel’s neighborhood always say, “Have a good day!” But what exactly is a good day? Daniel is determined to find out, and as he strolls through his neighborhood, he finds a wonderful world full of answers as varied as his neighbors. For Emma, a good day means a strong wind for kite flying. For the bus driver, a good day means pleases and thank-yous. A good day is bees for the gardener, birthdays for the baker, and wagging tails for the mail carrier. And, for Daniel’s grandma, a good day is a hug from Daniel! And when Daniel puts all these good days together, they make a lovely poem full of his neighbors’ favorite things. This is a companion to Daniel Finds a Poem, a 2017 Pennsylvania One Book.
Older Children (3rd Grade to 6th Grade)
A young wolf cub, separated from his pack, journeys 1000 miles across the Pacific Northwest, dealing with forest fires, hunters, highways, and hunger before finding a new home. Based on the true story of a wolf called OR-7. Includes facts about wolves and their habitats.
Teen Fiction
From the New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award longlist title The Poet X, comes a dazzling novel in prose about a girl with talent, pride, and a drive to feed the soul that keeps her fire burning bright. Ever since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago's life has been about making the tough decisions—doing what has to be done for her daughter and her abuela. The one place she can let all that go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness. Even though she dreams of working as a chef after she graduates, Emoni knows that it's not worth her time to pursue the impossible. Yet despite the rules she thinks she has to play by, once Emoni starts cooking, her only choice is to let her talent break free.
Adult Fiction
Master of razor-edged literary humor Binnie Kirshenbaum returns with her first novel in a decade, a devastating, laugh-out-loud funny story of a writer's slide into depression and institutionalization. It's New Year's Eve, the holiday of forced fellowship, mandatory fun, and paper hats. While dining out with her husband and their friends, Kirshenbaum's protagonist—an acerbic, mordantly witty, and clinically depressed writer—fully unravels. Her breakdown lands her in the psych ward of a prestigious New York hospital, where she refuses all modes of recommended treatment. Instead, she passes the time chronicling the lives of her fellow "lunatics" and writing a novel about what brought her there. Her story is a hilarious and harrowing deep dive into the disordered mind of a woman who sees the world all too clearly. Propelled by stand-up comic timing and rife with pinpoint insights, Kirshenbaum examines what it means to be unloved and loved, to succeed and fail, to be at once impervious and raw. Rabbits for Food shows how art can lead us out of—or into—the depths of disconsolate loneliness and piercing grief. A bravura literary performance from one of our most witty and indispensable writers.
Adult Nonfiction
Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members for insurance money in the 1970s. With the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative shot him dead at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell's murderer was acquitted—thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the Reverend. Sitting in the audience during the vigilante's trial was Harper Lee, who had traveled from New York City to her native Alabama with the idea of writing her own version of In Cold Blood, the true-crime classic she had helped her friend Truman Capote research seventeen years earlier. Lee spent a year in town reporting, and many more years working on her own version of the case. Casey Cep brings this story to life, and at the same time she offers a deeply moving portrait of one of the country's most beloved writers and her struggle with fame, success, and the mystery of artistic creativity.
Sutherland is one of the most influential advertising professionals in the world today. He is also one of the most fascinating, eccentric, and witty people in the business. His unconventional and relentlessly curious approach has led him to discover that the most compelling secrets to human decision-making can be found in surprising places: What can honey bees teach us about creating a sustainable business? How could budget airlines show us how to market a healthcare system? Why is it better to be vaguely right than precisely wrong? Sutherland's journey through the strange world of decision making is filled with astonishing lessons for all aspects of life and business.
Adult DVD and Blu-ray
Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) is a successful sports agent who’s constantly left on the outside by her fellow sports agents because she is a woman in a male-dominated profession. When Ali is passed up for a well-deserved promotion, she questions what else she needs to do to succeed in a man’s world since she is better qualified than practically anyone in her field. Ali acquires an unexpected edge when she develops the ability to hear men's thoughts! With her newfound power, Ali looks to outsmart her colleagues as she races to sign the next basketball superstar, but the lengths she has to go will put her relationship with her best friends and a potential new love interest (Aldis Hodge) to the test.
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