Category: Books 2016

To celebrate the holidays, library staff created a holiday tree out of books.  The picture on the left shows the book tree. The book tree was created using around 75 large print books.  Books were placed in a circle with their spines facing out to create a base.  Smaller and smaller circles of books were added to create the tree shape.   The tree is about 4 feet tall with a yellow book on top to serve as the star.

Here are some books in audio, braille and large print to get you ready for the holidays.

The Cat Who Came for Christmas by Cleveland Amory – DB26048, LT631, BR7225

As head of The Fund For Animals, the author is forever saving and housing homeless dogs, cats, and birds in his New York City apartment. But he never allows himself to keep one as a pet because of his heavy travel schedule. Everything changes one fateful Christmas Eve, however, when Amory rescues and brings home an injured, terrified cat, and finds that he can’t part with it. This is the story of their first year together, as the lives of man and cat intertwine.

 

A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories that Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit by Mike Huckabee – DB69899

Talk-show host Mike Huckabee — a former presidential candidate, Arkansas governor, and pastor — shares experiences that taught him the true meaning of Christmas, emphasizing God, family, love, and hope instead of shopping and presents.

 

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris – DB68134, BR15182

Six short Christmas tales by humorist, playwright, and National Public Radio commentator. Sedaris relives his stint as a department store elf in “SantaLand Diaries.” In “Seasons Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!,” a housewife facing homicide charges updates loved ones in her annual holiday newsletter.

 

Christmas in Plains: Memories by Jimmy Carter – DB53307, BR13767

Carter, who served as the thirty-ninth president of the United States, reminisces about family Christmases over the years, beginning with his childhood on a Georgia farm, through his years in the U.S. Navy, the Georgia governor’s mansion, the White House, and then back to Plains.

 

Keeping Christmas: An Edwardian-Age Memoir –  BRN1184

A homey, amusing recollection of Christmas in the German neighborhood of Baltimore’s Union Square. Included are stories of decorating an oversize tree with candles, indulging in elaborate, mouthwatering feasts, and exchanging gifts.

 

Hanukkah in America: a History by Dianne Ashton – DB81412

Professor of religion examines regional variants of the ancient Jewish tradition. In New Orleans, Hanukkah means decorating a door with a menorah made of hominy grits; latkes in Texas are seasoned with cilantro and cayenne pepper; children in Cincinnati sing Hanukkah songs and eat oranges and ice cream.

An Irish Country Christmas by Alice Taylor – DB48633

Taylor recalls the work and the celebration of a Christmas that “glowed like a warm fire in the middle of a long, cold winter,” when she was nine years old. She describes preparing the Christmas goose, cleaning the chimney, gathering the holly and ivy, and having a parcel arrive on Christmas Eve.

 

Complete Kwanzaa: Celebrating our Cultural Harvest by Dorothy W. Riley – DB42533

An anthology of essays, folktales, poems, personal profiles, and recipes on the African American festival of Kwanzaa. The selections serve to illuminate the seven principles of the event and to guide in its celebration.

The Thirteenth Gift: A True Story of a Christmas Miracle by Joanne H. Smith – DB80286

Journalist describes receiving mysterious gifts on the twelve days leading up to her first Christmas alone following the death of her husband. Details her efforts, with the help of her three children, to identify the sender of the gifts, and the impact the gifts had on them.

 

Light Another Candle:  the Story and Meaning of Hanukkah by Miriam Chaikin – BRN18835

The story of Hanukkah told against a background of highpoints in Jewish history that help explain its significance.

 

Kwanzaa: an African-American Celebration of Culture and Cooking by Eric V. Copage – DB34528

Kwanzaa is a week-long (December 26-January 1) African-American celebration of the ‘first-fruits’. The author has compiled a sourcebook for the observance. Included are selections from historical works, folklore, and biographies that illustrate the ‘Nguzo Saba’ (seven principles of Kwanzaa), interspersed with a host of recipes from the African diaspora.