by 
By Lynette Noni
Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer. When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals. Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom. But no one has ever survived.
By Ellen Javernick
If you drop just one soda can out the window, it’s no big deal…right? But what if everybody did that? What if everybody broke the rules…and spoke during story time, didn’t wash up, or splashed too much at the pool? Then the world would be a mess. But what if everybody obeyed the rules so that the world would become a better place? Using humorous illustrations rendered in mixed media, these questions are answered in a child-friendly way and show the consequences of thoughtless behavior.
By Elise Gravel
¿Sabías que solo los humanos podemos tener piojos? ¿O que estos insectos se alimentan de sangre 5 veces al día? Quizá conozcas el mito de que prefieren el pelo limpio… ¡no es verdad! Entérate de cómo son, qué comen, cómo viven y entenderás por qué cuando veas uno tienes que… ¡echar a correr!
Did you know that only humans can get head lice? Or that these insects feed on blood 5 times a day? Perhaps you’ve heard that they prefer clean hair…? It’s a myth! Find out about their habitat (your head!), anatomy (slightly see-through) and habits and why if you see one, you should run a mile!
Black History in its Own Words
By Ronald Wimberly
A look at Black History framed by those who made it.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH IN ITS OWN WORDS presents quotes of dozens of black luminaries with portraits & illustrations by Ronald Wimberly. Featuring the memorable words and depictions of Angela Davis, Jean-Michael Basquiat, Kanye West, Zadie Smith, Ice Cube, Dave Chappelle, James Baldwin, Spike Lee and more.
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is in town with her husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Laszlo is a famed rebel, and with Germans on his tail, Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out of the country.
The Gilded Page: The Secret Lives of Medieval Manuscripts
By Mary Wellesley
The Gilded Page is the story of the written word in the pre-Gutenberg age. Ranging from the earliest intact book in Europe, to the only known literary manuscript to be written in Shakespeare’s hand, scholar Mary Wellesley reveals the secret lives of these literary and artistic treasures. Traipsing through the remarkable history, she recounts fires (the only surviving Beowulf manuscript is singed at its edges, losing a bit of its matter every decade) and threats (“this is Elisabeth Danes’s book / he that steals it shall be hanged by the neck,” reads the marginalia in one treasured text). Some manuscripts were designed to reinforce power-like the psalter commissioned by Henry VIII, with a bold illustration of David fighting Goliath, the king’s likeness as David’s and his archnemesis Pope Paul III’s face drawn on Goliath. Some survive and remain celebrated because of an author’s political connections-we have so much of Chaucer’s writings, and thus study and revere them, because he was a government official first, a poet second. And although work identified with men was more likely to survive through time, some of the most beguiling and beautiful texts were created by women. Many have been lost, like Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love. Yet others are relatively recent discoveries, like the manuscript of illiterate Margery Kempe, found in a country house closet by a family searching for ping pong balls, the book’s cover nibbled on by mice. But all these objects have their secrets, and their creation and survival tell us much about power and art, knowledge and beauty. Today we associate illuminated manuscripts with wealthy elites, but they were made by ordinary people: the grinders and binders, the scribes and rubricators. We remember the patrons and the authors, but these objects have been much altered-text embroidered by upstart scribes, mistakes made in copying poems, whole chapters lost to time-and our literary inheritance is one of collective authorship. Rich, dazzling, and passionately told, Untitled is a tribute to some of the most exquisite objects ever made by human hands
Practice Random Acts of Kindness
By Various Editors
All over the nation and beyond, people are realizing the power of kindness. With one act, you can change someone’s day—and make the world a better place. It doesn’t take much to offer kind words or deeds to someone, but it can change the whole course of their day. When we participate in random acts of kindness, we join the movement of building a better future. This book by the editors of the Random Acts of Kindness series, with a foreword by Rabbi Harold Kushner, presents readers with a motivational guide to living out kindness each day of our lives.
From the wake of Hurricane Katrina to the tragedy of the tsunami to troops in Iraq performing acts of daily compassion, this book highlights the ways in which people are working towards creating a more benevolent world. It demonstrates the weight that a single act of compassion can have and how powerful our actions can be when we all join together. In addition to inspiring true stories, this “course in compassion” includes meditations, affirmations, and suggestions for how you can go out and make a difference. Filled with practical wisdom and motivational quotes, this book is your go-to guide for turning the kindness spark into a flame.
Willows Public Library 
Leave a Reply