I loved everything about this book, which was inspired by true events. I didn’t know about the Pack Horse Library initiative, which brought books, newspapers, and magazines to people in remote communities in Kentucky during the Great Depression.
The central character is Cussy Mary Carter, a 19-year-old librarian with a genetic condition that turned her skin blue. Blues, as they were called, often faced bigotry and were blamed for many problems in the community.
She faced fierce prejudice. That didn’t stop her. Her love of books and her determination to bring stories to people in isolated communities was stronger than her fears.
Carter believed books unite people from all walks of life and that literature leads to hope and change. President Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) created this program to help lift Americans out of the Great Depression; by 1933, unemployment had risen to 40 percent in Appalachia. Carter understood the power of reading.
These brave “book women” saddled, often at dawn, to travel through rugged mountain areas and muddy creeks to bring stories to Kentucky’s isolated communities. Her community looked forward to the stories she brought them.
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A USA TODAY BESTSELLER A LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER AN OKRA PICK The bestselling historical fiction from Kim Michele Richardson, this is a novel following Cussy Mary, a packhorse librarian and her quest to bring books to the Appalachian community she loves, perfect for readers of Lee Smith and Lisa Wingate. The perfect addition to your next book club! The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything-everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt's Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome's got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter. Cussy's not only…
Olivetti is a typewriter with a memory. I grew up writing on typewriters. I still like them, even though I use a computer.
At the center of the story is a family. The mom uses the typewriter. When she goes missing her children discover Olivetti stored her thoughts. Olivetti provides clues so the family can find her.
This book is part mystery, fantasy, and family drama. It's a middle grade book unlike any other I've read. I laughed and got teary-eyed. I cared deeply about everyone in the story, even the typewriter.
This is a middle grade book that everyone should read.
Being a typewriter is not as easy as it looks. Surrounded by books (notorious attention hogs) and recently replaced by a computer, Olivetti has been forgotten by the Brindle family - the humans he's lived with for years. The Brindles are busy: Dad and Mum work constantly, three of their children put the extra in extra-curriculars, and Ernest, their shy twelve-year-old, goes off alone to read.
When Olivetti learns Mum has mysteriously gone missing, he believes he can help find her. He breaks the only rule of his 'kind' and types back to Ernest, who must face what he and…
This is an autobiography from the late great Dr. Jane Goodall. She recently died and I decided to reread this book. It's about her encounters with chimpanzees in Tanzania. This was near the start of her career. Her observations changed how scientists and many of us look at wildlife.
Prior to her visits to this area, other scientists number the chimpanzees they studied. Dr. Goodall gave them names and showed us how close we are to these magnificent creatures.
I love animals and have so much respect for Dr. Goodall's work.
This autobiography of famed chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall tells of her early fascination with animals and their habits and customs. As Goodall becomes more skilled, she teaches herself, then the scientific community, then the world, about the full life of chimpanzees, their habits, characteristics, and personalities. Goodall also tells how her life was shaped by her study of the chimps. Her memoir reveals unabated passion for her subject, her love of animals and focuses on Goodall's scientific discoveries and their impact on our understanding of the animal kingdom.
I work as a journalist. I love researching and writing about people who do amazing things. Mary Anning is one of those people. However, I couldn't interview her. She was born in 1799. At age 12, she made a fantastic discovery. She found a 17-foot ichthyosaurus buried in the cliffs on the Jurassic Coast.
Many of the men in the scientific community didn't believe a girl from a poor family could make such a find. The head of London's Geological Society credited the man Anning sold the fossil to as the founder. Anning proved she did indeed discover the fossil. She triumphed. Today's she's known as the Mother of Paleontology.
The book covers fossil hunting, life in Lyme Regis where tourists can hunt for fossils today, and the many discoveries Anning made.
This is a middle grade book for readers of all ages.
