Recommended Books
All the King's Men
Authors:
Robert Penn Warren
,
Noel Polk
ISBN 13:
978-0156012959
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE The fully restored original text of the classic, ever-relevant story of a backcountry lawyer whose idealism is overcome by his lust for powerâAmerican literature's definitive political novel. All the King's Men traces the rise of fall of demagogue Willie Talos, a fiction Southern policitian who resembles the real-life Huey Long of Louisiana. Talos begins his career as an idealistic man of the people, but he soon becomes corrupted by success and the lust for power. Now Warren's masterpiece has been fully restored and reintroduced by literary scholar Noel Polk, textual editor of the works of William Faulkner. Polk presents the novel as it was originally written, revealing even greater energy, excitement, and complexity.
The House of Mirth (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
Authors:
Edith Wharton
,
Cynthia Griffin Wolff
ISBN 13:
978-0140187298
A black comedy of manners about vast wealth and a woman who can define herself only through the perceptions of others. The beautiful Lily Bart lives among the nouveaux riches of New York City â people whose millions were made in railroads, shipping, land speculation and banking. In this morally and aesthetically bankrupt world, Lily, age twenty-nine, seeks a husband who can satisfy her cravings for endless admiration and all the trappings of wealth. But her quest comes to a scandalous end when she is accused of being the mistress of a wealthy man. Exiled from her familiar world of artificial conventions, Lily finds life impossible. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn [75th Anniversary Ed] (Perennial Classics)
Author:
Betty Smith
ISBN 13:
978-0060736262
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick A special 75th anniversary edition of the beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the twentieth century. From the moment she entered the world, Francie Nolan needed to be made of stern stuff, for growing up in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn, New York demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit. Often scorned by neighbors for her familyâs erratic and eccentric behaviorâsuch as her father Johnnyâs taste for alcohol and Aunt Sissyâs habit of marrying serially without the formality of divorceâno one, least of all Francie, could say that the Nolansâ life lacked drama. By turns overwhelming, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the Nolansâ daily experiences are raw with honestly and tenderly threaded with family connectedness. Betty Smith has, in the pages of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn , captured the joys of humble Williamsburg lifeâfrom âjunk dayâ on Saturdays, when the children traded their weekly take for pennies, to the special excitement of holidays, bringing cause for celebration and revelry. Smith has created a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as deeply resonant moments of universal experience. Here is an American classic that "cuts right to the heart of life," hails the New York Times . "If you miss A Tree Grows in Brooklyn , you will deny yourself a rich experience."
Another Brooklyn: A Novel
Author:
Jacqueline Woodson
ISBN 13:
978-0062359995
A Finalist for the 2016 National Book Award New York Times Bestseller A SeattleTimes pick for Summer Reading Roundup 2017 A Bustle Fall Roundup pick for 2017 The acclaimed New York Times bestselling and National Book Awardâwinning author of Brown Girl Dreaming delivers her first adult novel in twenty years. Running into a long-ago friend sets memory from the 1970s in motion for August, transporting her to a time and a place where friendship was everythingâuntil it wasnât. For August and her girls, sharing confidences as they ambled through neighborhood streets, Brooklyn was a place where they believed that they were beautiful, talented, brilliantâa part of a future that belonged to them. But beneath the hopeful veneer, there was another Brooklyn, a dangerous place where grown men reached for innocent girls in dark hallways, where ghosts haunted the night, where mothers disappeared. A world where madness was just a sunset away and fathers found hope in religion. Like Louise Meriwetherâs Daddy Was a Number Runner and Dorothy Allisonâs Bastard Out of Carolina , Jacqueline Woodsonâs Another Brooklyn heartbreakingly illuminates the formative time when childhood gives way to adulthoodâthe promise and peril of growing upâand exquisitely renders a powerful, indelible, and fleeting friendship that united four young lives.
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Author:
Willa Cather
ISBN 13:
978-1660258468
My Ăntonia is a novel published in 1918 by American writer Willa Cather, considered one of her best works. It is the final book of her "prairie trilogy" of novels, preceded by O Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark. The novel tells the stories of an orphaned boy from Virginia, Jim Burden, and the elder daughter in a family of Bohemian immigrants, Ăntonia Shimerda, who are each brought as children to be pioneers in Nebraska towards the end of the 19th century. Both the pioneers who first break the prairie sod for farming, as well as of the harsh but fertile land itself, feature in this American novel. The first year in the very new place leaves strong impressions in both children, affecting them lifelong. This novel is considered Cather's first masterpiece. Cather was praised for bringing the American West to life and making it personally interesting. A True American Classic that Belongs on Every Bookshelf!
Then We Came to the End
Author:
Joshua Ferris
ISBN 13:
978-0316016391
Winner of the Hemingway Foundation / PEN Award, this debut novel is "as funny as The Office , as sad as an abandoned stapler . . . that rare comedy that feels blisteringly urgent." (TIME) No one knows us in quite the same way as the men and women who sit beside us in department meetings and crowd the office refrigerator with their labeled yogurts. Every office is a family of sorts, and the Chicago ad agency depicted in Joshua Ferris's exuberantly acclaimed first novel is family at its best and worst, coping with a business downturn in the time-honored way: through gossip, elaborate pranks, and increasingly frequent coffee breaks. With a demon's eye for the details that make life worth noticing, Joshua Ferris tells an emotionally true and funny story about survival in life's strangest environmentâthe one we pretend is normal five days a week. One of the Best Books of the Year Boston Globe * Christian Science Monitor * New York Magazine * New York Times Book Review * St. Louis Post-Dispatch * Time magazine * Salon
Unbought and Unbossed
Author:
Shirley Chisholm
ISBN 13:
978-0063160873
In this classic workâa blend of memoir, social criticism, and political analysis that remains relevant todayâthe first Black Congresswoman to serve in American history, New Yorkâs dynamic representative Shirley Chisholm, traces her extensive political struggle and examines the problems that have long plagued the American system of government. âA tremendously impressive book.â â Washington Post âWhat [Chisholm] did was so pioneering. . . . She embraced what made her different and used it as her superpower. â âRegina King âI want to be remembered as a woman . . . who dared to be a catalyst of change.â Political pioneer Shirley Chisholmâactivist, member of the House of Representatives, and former presidential candidateâwas a woman who consistently broke barriers and inspired generations of American women, and especially women of color. Unbought and Unbossed is her story, told in her own wordsâa thoughtful and informed look at her rise from the streets of Brooklyn to the halls of Congress. Chisholm speaks out on her life in politics while illuminating the events, personalities, and issues of her time, including the schism in the Democratic party in the 1960s and â70sâall of which speak to us today. In this frank assessment, âFighting Shirleyâ recalls how she took on an entrenched system, gave a public voice to millions, and embarked on a trailblazing bid to be the first woman and first African American President of the United States. By daring to be herself, Shirley Chisholm shows how one person forever changed the status quo. Look out for the biopic Shirley , directed by John Ridley and starring Regina King, coming in March 2024. âHer motto and title of her autobiographyâ Unbought and Unbossed âillustrates her outspoken advocacy for women and minorities during her seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.â âNational Womenâs History Museum
Elephant and the Bad Baby
Authors:
Elfrida Vipont
,
Raymond Briggs
ISBN 13:
978-0140500486
The Elephant and the Bad Baby is the classic story from Elfrida Vipont and Raymond Briggs. The Elephant takes the Bad Baby for a ride and they go 'rumpeta, rumpeta, rumpeta down the road.' They help themselves to ice creams, pies, buns, crisps, biscuits, lollipops and apples, and the shopkeepers follow them down the road shouting and waving. All ends well as the Bad Baby learns to say 'Please' and his mother makes pancakes for everyone. Elfrida Vipont worked as a teacher, singer and writer. She wrote over 30 books and won the Carnegie Medal in 1950 for Lark on the Wing. Raymond Briggs has produced wonderful children's books including the classic titles The Snowman, Father Christmas and When the Wind Blows - all made into immensely successful films. Raymond lives in Sussex. Look out for these other titles by Raymond Briggs: The Snowman; The Elephant and the Bad Baby; Father Christmas; Fungus the Bogeyman; Raymond Briggs's Christmas Little Library; The Father Christmas it's a Bloomin' Terrible Joke Book; Jim and the Beanstalk; Father Christmas Goes on Holiday
The Church Mouse
Author:
Graham Oakley
ISBN 13:
978-1935279693
Tar Beach
Author:
Faith Ringgold
ISBN 13:
978-0517885444
CORETTA SCOTT KING AWARD WINNER ⢠CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK ⢠A NEW YORK TIMES BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK Acclaimed artist Faith Ringgold seamless weaves fiction, autobiography, and African American history into a magical story that resonates with the universal wish for freedom, and will be cherished for generations. Cassie Louise Lightfoot has a dream: to be free to go wherever she wants for the rest of her life. One night, up on âtar beach,â the rooftop of her familyâs Harlem apartment building, her dreams come true. The stars lift her up, and she flies over the city, claiming the buildings and the city as her own. As Cassie learns, anyone can fly. âAll you need is somewhere to go you canât get to any other way. The next thing you know, youâre flying among the stars.â
The Highway Rat [Paperback] [Jul 07, 2016] Julia Donaldson (author), Axel Scheffler (illustrator)
Authors:
Julia Donaldson
,
Axel Scheffler
ISBN 13:
978-1407170732
The Complete 8-Book Ramona Collection: Beezus and Ramona, Ramona and Her Father, Ramona and Her Mother, Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Ramona Forever, Ramona ... World: 8 Beloved Beverly Cleary Classics
Authors:
Beverly Cleary
,
Jacqueline Rogers
ISBN 13:
978-0061960901
Whether a long-time fan of Beverly Cleary or a newcomer to her award-winning books for children, this eight-book box set of the complete Ramona Quimby series will be a perfect addition to any bookshelf. Kids everywhere feel connected to Ramona's unique way of looking at the world as she tries to adjust to new teachers, encounters bullies at school, and puts up with her bossy older sister. The scrapes she gets herself intoâlike wearing pajamas to school or accidentally making egg yolk shampooâare funny and heartwarming, and sometimes embarrassing. No matter what, Ramona's lively, curious spirit shines through. Titles included in set : Beezus and Ramona ; Ramona the Pest ; Ramona the Brave ; Ramona and Her Father ; Ramona and Her Mother ; Ramona Quimby, Age 8 ; Ramona Forever ; Ramona's World
When You Reach Me: (Newbery Medal Winner) (Yearling Newbery)
Author:
Rebecca Stead
ISBN 13:
978-0375850868
"Like A Wrinkle in Time (Miranda's favorite book), When You Reach Me far surpasses the usual whodunit or sci-fi adventure to become an incandescent exploration of 'life, death, and the beauty of it all.'" â The Washington Post This Newbery Medal winner that has been called "smart and mesmerizing," ( The New York Times ) and "superb" ( The Wall Street Journal ) will appeal to readers of all types, especially those who are looking for a thought-provoking mystery with a mind-blowing twist. Shortly after a fall-out with her best friend, sixth grader Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes, and she doesnât know what to do. The notes tell her that she must write a letterâa true story, and that she canât share her mission with anyone. It would be easy to ignore the strange messages, except that whoever is leaving them has an uncanny ability to predict the future. If that is the case, then Miranda has a big problemâbecause the notes tell her that someone is going to die, and she might be too late to stop it. Winner of the Boston GlobeâHorn Book Award for Fiction A New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book Five Starred Reviews A Junior Library Guild Selection "Absorbing." â People "Readers ... are likely to find themselves chewing over the details of this superb and intricate tale long afterward." â The Wall Street Journal "Lovely and almost impossibly clever." â The Philadelphia Inquirer "It's easy to imagine readers studying Miranda's story as many times as she's read L'Engle's, and spending hours pondering the provocative questions it raises." â Publishers Weekly , Starred review
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963
Author:
Christopher Paul Curtis
ISBN 13:
978-0440414124
During one of the most important times in the civil rights movement, one unforgettable family goes on a road trip in this Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree, from author Christopher Paul Curtis, recipient of the Coretta Scott KingâVirginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. When the Watson familyâten-year-old Kenny, Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byronâsets out on a trip south to visit Grandma in Birmingham, Alabama, they donât realize that theyâre heading toward one of the darkest moments in Americaâs history. The Watsonsâ journey reminds us that even in the hardest times, laughter and family can help us get through anything. "A modern classic." âNPR âMarvelous . . . both comic and deeply moving .â â The New York Times "One of the best novels EVER." âJacqueline Woodson, Newbery Honor and National Book Awardâwinning author of Brown Girl Dreaming Bonus Content ⢠New foreword and afterword from the author ⢠Map of the Watsonsâ journey ⢠Original manuscript pages and letter from the Newbery committee ⢠Personal essays celebrating the bookâs legacy by award-winning authors: Elizabeth Acevedo, Chris Crutcher, Kate DiCamillo, Varian Johnson, David Barclay Moore, Jason Reynolds, Jerry Spinelli, Vince Vawter, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Jacqueline Woodson