Book Nook for September 10, 2009

New this week at the Mercer County Public Library:


Non-Fiction:

· “Star Trek, Where No One Has Gone Before: A History in Pictures” by J. M. Dillard (207 pages)

Many books have been written about Star Trek's growth from a popular-yet-low-rated television series to the huge cultural phenomenon it is today and this illustrated book includes hundreds of previously unpublished, full-color photographs and informative text.

This is a book many “Trekkers” will love to get their hands on. It is also a great book for those that don't quite understand what all the fuss was about.

J.M. Dillard is also the author of many Star Trek novels.


· “A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy” by Thomas Buergenthal (228 pages)

Not many children who entered Auschwitz lived to tell the tale. A 10-year-old inmate in August 1944 at Birkenau, Buergenthal was one of the death camp's youngest prisoners. He miraculously survived, thanks, among others, to a friendly kapo who made him an errand boy. Buergenthal's authentic, moving tale reveals that his lifelong commitment to human rights sprang from the ashes of Auschwitz.

I have read many accounts of the Holocaust that include factual history, personal experiences, and fiction and “A Lucky Child” is one of these powerful books. It was difficult to read in some places, but it is a true telling of some of the horrific experiences this young man had to endure.


Children’s Fiction:

· “Little House in the Big Woods” by Laura Ingalls Wilder (238 pages)

Some children’s books are meant to be classics, and this is one of them. Most people have seen or heard of the television show “Little House on the Prairie” and this is the book that started it all. I loved this book as a child and I enjoyed reading it to my own children.

This book begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Four-year-old Laura lives with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their trusty dog, Jack. Pioneer life is sometimes hard, since the family must grow or catch all their own food, as they get ready for the cold winter. It is exciting as Laura and her folks celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do the spring planting, bring in the harvest, and make their first trip into town. Then every night they are safe and warm in their little house, with the happy sound of Pa's fiddle sending Laura and her sisters off to sleep.

There's a reason these books are so well loved 70 years after they were written. They are an entertaining look at everyday life in a different time and place.



EVENTS:

· Just a reminder – the library reconstruction project is underway, so the main parking lot for the library is now off limits. Parking is still available at the back of the library as well as on Main Street and Lexington Street. Please enter the library through the front door located on Lexington Street.
Please visit the library website for more events and new books: http://mcplib.info/