Hilary's Picks

Story Boat (Hardcover)

By Kyo Maclear, Rashin Kheiriyeh (Illustrator)

$17.99

ISBN: 9780735263598

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Tundra Books - February 4th, 2020

An immensely lovely picture book about how we create a feeling of home when home doesn't necessarily physically exist. A family is leaving (fleeing?) and their sense of "here" is always changing. So instead of a place, "here" becomes a familiar tea cup, the steady comfort of the stars, a song that everyone can sing. There have been a number of books about the refugee experience, but this is the best I've seen - one that captures the idea that while there is lots of waiting and sometimes hardship, there is also kinship and strength. It uses simple concepts that children can relate to when thinking about how we create a sense of home and belonging. And how our personal stories are created as we move through life and that there can be hope even in difficult situations. - Hilary 

The Dutch House: A Novel (Paperback)

By Ann Patchett

$17.00

ISBN: 9780062963680

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Harper Perennial - January 5th, 2021

I’ve been an Ann Patchett fan since college. I regularly recommend her writing, enjoying both her non-fiction and her novels over the years, but this is definitely her best work yet. I love this fairytale-like novel of two siblings Danny and Maeve, told through the eyes of the younger brother Danny, and spanning from their childhood to middle age. It is the story of how our personal history is created partially by imagining the inner lives of those within our family orbit. Ultimately, it is the characters’ confrontation and grappling with their childhood perceptions of familial roles and situations that propel the novel. A thoughtful meditation on the shifting sands of personal histories and how the stories we tell ourselves, often clouded by misconceptions, can be radically altered with a little empathy. 

The Old Truck (Hardcover)

By Jerome Pumphrey, Jarrett Pumphrey

$17.95

ISBN: 9781324005193

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Norton Young Readers - January 7th, 2020

Authors and Illustrators Jerome and Jarret Pumphrey were inspired by the strong, resourceful women in their family tree, including their mom, grandmothers, and even their great-grandmother (who bought her own farm with money earned picking cotton). They imagine a little girl growing up on a farm along side an old truck, which gets neglected with time, but eventually gets fixed up when the girl becomes a new farmer herself. As a truck-loving toddler, my daughter especially loves seeing a little girl in the truck, as so many truck books feature boys as the protagonist. Simple text exploring ideas of imagination and determination combined with beautiful images in a gentle color palate (made with over 250 custom-made stamps) make this picture books a standout.  - Hilary 

Hooray for Birds! (Board book)

By Lucy Cousins, Lucy Cousins (Illustrator)

$8.99

ISBN: 9781536201567

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Candlewick - September 4th, 2018

This book is so simple yet so perfect. A friend (who happens to be a picture book author and illustrator) said to me recently when he recommended the book, “Lucy Cousins is a toddler whisperer.” I agree!! Cousins, known primarily for her Maisy books, requests our reader/listener to pretend like a bird “just for one day” going through different kinds of bird sounds and motions that a toddler can’t resist imitating. It’s got a great simple rhythm that keeps it moving paired with spunky illustrations of all kinds of birds. Great for the earliest of book lovers. - Hilary 

Bear Came Along (Hardcover)

By Richard T. Morris, LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

$17.99

ISBN: 9780316464475

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - June 4th, 2019

This 2019 Caldecott honor book is a winner. The story of a bear, and a group of forest  friends that come along on a river ride, is playful with colorful, lively illustrations. The cadence of the text guides you along the river run with all the different animals and their particular personalities, all while gently conveying the importance of teamwork. Coronoavirus note: For Grandparents, or others, looking to read a book to kids over video this would be a good pick! 

Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions (An Auntie Poldi Adventure #1) (Paperback)

By Mario Giordano, John Brownjohn (Translated by)

$14.99

ISBN: 9781328588784

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Mariner Books - February 5th, 2019

Meet Auntie Poldi, a sassy 60-something widow who retires to Sicily to live out her days imbibing on vino, savoring good food, and admiring a view of the sea. That is until the handsome handyman who is helping her renovate her villa goes missing and is found murdered. Poldi immerges as Sicily’s new amateur sleuth – but her snooping into the lives of the townsfolk proves irksome to the sexy police inspector in charge of the investigation. Giordano, a writer of both books and screenplays, has a knack for cinematic writing with snappy dialogue and page-turning plot twists. For fans of international mysteries set amid beautiful landscapes and filled with quirky, lovable characters. 

Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel (Paperback)

By Jesmyn Ward

$17.00

ISBN: 9781501126079

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Scribner - May 8th, 2018

My favorite book of 2017. Ward is master storyteller and so graceful in showing us the depths of grief, the pain of emotional suffering, the grip of sadness. We see generation after generation of a family endure loss. Smell the blood of those gone and see it spill from those still here. Witness not just with eyes, but with heart, the hardship of those that came before and those that come after. But the novel is equally adept at showing us love, not matter how subtle. We see how love can be carried, not matter how small, and can become a tiny gem that allow the characters to bear what life brings. Even with the heavy weight of sorrow running through the novel, the book is somehow lightened through Ward’s generously beautiful prose. She shows us what it is to live, to love, to die. What an extraordinary book. One I will take with me the rest of my life. 

Too Loud a Solitude (Paperback)

By Bohumil Hrabal

$12.99

ISBN: 9780156904582

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Mariner Books - April 27th, 1992

For thirty-five years, Hanta has been compacting wastepaper and books, and it's his love story. Set in Prague under Communist rule, Hanta sees thousands of books destroyed under his watch. But he "saves" as many as he can and collects them in his home. He may be simple, and at times just plain foolish, but he loves his books as ardently as any intellectual. My favorite book of all time, I reread this book over and over again, and its beautiful, rambling sentences become my own kind of devotional. I absolutely love this book for its silly, misguided narrator and his compulsive love for the written word.

Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste (Paperback)

By Luke Barr

$16.00

ISBN: 9780307718358

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Clarkson Potter - November 4th, 2014

A quiet green notebook with "Provence, 1970" scribbled on the cover was found by M.F.K. Fisher's nephew buried in a storage unit afer her death. From the notebook, letters, and her diaries, he pieces together the story of one winter spent in Provence cooking, musin, and collaborating with Paul and Julia Child, James Beard, Richard Olney, and a number of mid-century chefs. You'll delight in the peculiarities of the personalities, the elaborate menus, and the remembrances of a life well liked.

Pachinko (National Book Award Finalist) (Paperback)

By Min Jin Lee

$16.99

ISBN: 9781455563920

Availability: On Our Shelves Now

Published: Grand Central Publishing - November 14th, 2017

I devoured this book as a sleep-deprived mother, precariously turning pages while holding a sleeping newborn child. Despite my better judgement, I couldn't put it down to get must needed rest. It is the best book I've read on the immigrant experience. The most nuanced and complex historical novel. One of the truest portraits of the trials of motherhood. And the most epic family story I've encountered. Definitely a top 10 novel of all time in my reading life.