Monday, December 5th, 2022

December is here and Winter is coming!

The start of December brought with it a new winter challenge. From December 1st through February 28th patrons can complete 6 badges for a prize drawing. 

Tuesday, November 8th, 2022

November has arrived! It’s officially the season of giving. 

The theme for this month is Family. We have a new display out in the New Section featuring cookbooks for all your upcoming holiday parties. If you venture over to the Young Adult Section you will find a display of books with fall colors. 

The Book Challenge theme is Family so here are some recommendations to help you hit your November goal! 

Sal used to know his place with his adoptive gay father, their loving Mexican American family, and his best friend, Samantha. But it’s senior year, and suddenly Sal is throwing punches, questioning everything, and realizing he no longer knows himself. If Sal’s not who he thought he was, who is he? This humor-infused, warmly humane look at universal questions of belonging is a triumph.

Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed. But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?

The death of Judd Foxman’s father marks the first time that the entire Foxman clan has congregated in years. There is, however, one conspicuous absence: Judd’s wife, Jen, whose affair with his radio- shock-jock boss has recently become painfully public. Simultaneously mourning the demise of his father and his marriage, Judd joins his dysfunctional family as they reluctantly sit shiva and spend seven days and nights under the same roof. The week quickly spins out of control as longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed and old passions are reawakened. Then Jen delivers the clincher: she’s pregnant…

Being the middle child has its ups and downs. But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs. And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can’t hurt anyone but him.

Happy Reading!

Friday, September 2nd, 2022

Fall is approaching! Not fast enough if you ask me….
With the new season comes a new challenge!!
Fall in to Reading (clever I know!) This challenge will last till Thanksgiving and you will read 5 books of your choosing. The category’s or badges in Beanstack are; a Banned Book, Magic, Science Fiction, has Red Cover, and a Cozy book. These can all be read any order, but the last week of September is Banned Book week. Here are some suggestions from each category.

Banned Books
Banned Book week is September 25th through October 3rd. These books are commonly challenged in schools and libraries. Here are some challenged books so celebrate Banned Books week!

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Animal Farm. A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned—a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.

Magic Books
This could be fantasy books, books that just have magic in them, or books that are just “magical.”

The Starless Sea. Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood.

The Books of Magic. For over three-hundred years a curse has kept the Owens family from love—but all of that is about to change. The novel begins in a library, the best place for a story to be conjured, when beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the deathwatch beetle and knows she has only seven days to live. Jet is not the only one in danger—the curse is already at work.

Science Fiction
You could get pretty creative with this one. Alien, ghosts, outer space, robots, super powers, whatever strikes your fancy!

2002 A Space Odyssey. This allegory about humanity’s exploration of the universe—and the universe’s reaction to humanity—is a hallmark achievement in storytelling that follows the crew of the spacecraft Discovery as they embark on a mission to Saturn. Their vessel is controlled by HAL 9000, an artificially intelligent supercomputer capable of the highest level of cognitive functioning that rivals—and perhaps threatens—the human mind.

We Could Be Heroes. When the archrivals meet in a memory-loss support group, they realize the only way to reveal their hidden pasts might be through each other. As they uncover an ongoing threat, suddenly much more is at stake than their fragile friendship. With countless people at risk, Zoe and Jamie will have to recognize that sometimes being a hero starts with trusting someone else—and yourself.

Red Cover
This one also has many options. There are many mystery or thrillers with red covers along with romance and regular fiction.

Beneath a Scarlet Sky. Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He’s a normal Italian teenager—obsessed with music, food, and girls—but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior.

Dark Matter. In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. Hiswife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

A Cozy Read
Have fun with this one. Something light hearted that makes you feel like fall is in the air.

The Bookshop on the Corner. Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile — a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling.

The Dead Romantics. Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.

Happy Reading!

Wednesday August 3, 2022

Back to School Reads

This month our challenge is back to school. So we are taking a dive into books that we read in school. Here are some of our favorites from school. 

A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression. They are an unlikely pair: George is “small and quick and dark of face”; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a “family,” clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Laborers in California’s dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations of a flirtatious woman, nor predict the consequences of Lennie’s unswerving obedience to the things George taught him.

.An “A” for “adultery” marks Hester Prynne as an outcast from the society of colonial Boston. Although forced by the puritanical town fathers to wear a bright red badge of shame, Hester steadfastly resists their efforts to discover the identity of her baby’s father. The return of her long-absent spouse brings new pressure on the young mother, as the aggrieved husband undertakes a long-term plot to reveal Hester’s partner in adultery and force him to share her disgrace. Masterful in its symbolism and compelling in its character studies, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale of punishment and reconciliation examines the concepts of sin, guilt, and pride. The Scarlet Letter was published to immediate acclaim in 1850. Its timeless exploration of moral and spiritual issues, along with its philosophical and psychological insights, keep it ever relevant for students of American literature and lovers of fiction.

The Red Badge of Courage. A war novel by American author Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage is set during the American Civil War and is centered on the experiences of a young Union Army private, Henry Fleming, who longs to be wounded — to earn a “red badge of courage” — to compensate for his feelings of cowardice. The Red Badge of Courage was a ground-breaking work in how it engaged with the inner psychological life of its protagonist, providing an unprecedented psychological portrayal of fear. The novel was also known for its distinctive style, with realistic battle sequences and repeated use of color imagery and symbolic motifs, juxtaposed against an ironic tone

In the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s, six-year-old Scout Finch and her older brother Jem become the beneficiaries of gifts left by an anonymous giver who deposits them in the hollowed tree outside the Radley house. While Scout and and Jem ponder the identity of their generous secret sharer and his relationship to the reclusive Radley family, their lawyer father, Atticus, is appointed defense attorney for Tom Robinson, a young black man accused of raping a white woman in a case that has brought the town’s simmering racial tensions to a boil. Slowly, ineluctably, the worlds of innocence and experience known to the members of the Finch family come into violent collision, shaking their beliefs in the inevitability of justice and the ultimate triumph of truth over hypocrisy and prejudice.

At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate. This far from civilization they can do anything they want. Anything. But as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far removed from reality as the hope of being rescued.

Happy Reading

Tuesday July 5, 2022

American Historical Fiction 

This month’s challenge read is Historical Fictions

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In this big-hearted odyssey, four homeless children set out during the Great Depression on a journey down the Mississippi River. Odie, an orphan trapped at the Lincoln Indian Training School, sets out with his brother, his best friend, and a mysterious girl named Emmy on a journey of self-discovery, and a trip to uncover if there is a place left in America for them to call home. A heartfelt portrait of the America that both inspires and haunts us, THIS TENDER LAND is a classic coming-of-age adventure story.

Inspire by true events, AMERICAN SPY is the story of FBI agent Marie Mitchell, a brilliant young black woman trapped between her country and her beliefs. Marie is tired of paperwork, so she jumps at the opportunity to join a task force aimed at bringing down Thomas Sankara, the Communist president of Burkina Faso. But as Marie turns spy and becomes Sankara’s lover, she begins to see that her own ideology aligns more with his than with her employer’s. Lauren Wilkinson’s novel is a poignant family drama, passionate romance, and bracing spy thriller, all in one. 

The author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be delivers her most ambitious and powerful novel to date: a captivating story of two very different women who build an unexpected friendship: a 91-year-old woman with a hidden past as an orphan-train rider and the teenage girl whose own troubled adolescence leads her to seek answers to questions no one has ever thought to ask.

Based on local history & family stories passed down by Frazier’s great-great-grandfather, Cold Mountain is the tale of a wounded Confederate soldier, Inman, who walks away from the ravages of the war & back home to his prewar sweetheart, Ada. His odyssey thru the devastated landscape of the soon-to-be-defeated South interweaves with Ada’s struggle to revive her father’s farm, with the help of an intrepid young drifter named Ruby. As their long-separated lives begin to converge at the close of the war, Inman & Ada confront the vastly transformed world they’ve been delivered.

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force. Following his massively successful novel Under the Dome, King sweeps readers back in time to another moment—a real life moment—when everything went wrong: the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has the power to change the course of history.

Happy Reading!

Thursday June 2, 2022

Beach Reads

June is the month to relax and take in a chill book. This month’s theme is beach reads. Here are some fun recommendations!

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Set against the backdrop of the Malibu surf culture of the 1980s Malibu Burning follows the daughter of a famous singer who, once she finds fame, must grapple with the fact that her father abandoned her and her siblings when they were young.

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

Polly Waterford flees to the Cornish coast to escape a ruined relationship. To keep her mind off her troubles, she throws herself into her favorite hobby: making bread. But her relaxing weekend diversion quickly develops into a passion. As she pours her emotions into kneading and pounding the dough, each loaf becomes better than the last. Soon, Polly is working her magic with nuts and seeds, chocolate and sugar, and the local honey–courtesy of a handsome beekeeper. Packed with laughter and emotion, Little Beach Street Bakery is the story of how one woman discovered bright new life where she least expected it.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

When Poppy met Alex, there was no spark, no chemistry, and no reason to think they’d ever talk again. Alex is quiet, studious, and destined for a future in academia. Poppy is a wild child who only came to U of Chicago to escape small-town life. But after sharing a ride home for the summer, the two form a surprising friendship. After all, who better to confide in than someone you could never, ever date? Over the years, Alex and Poppy’s lives take them in different directions, but every summer the two find their way back to each other for a magical week long vacation. Until one trip goes awry, and in the fallout, they lose touch. Now, two years later, Poppy’s in a rut. Her dream job, her relationships, her life – none of it is making her happy. In fact, the last time she remembers feeling truly happy was on that final, ill-fated Summer Trip. The answer to all her problems is obvious: She needs one last vacation to win back her best friend. As a hilariously disastrous week unfolds and tensions rise, Poppy and Alex are forced to confront what drove them apart – and decide what they’re willing to risk for the chance to be together.

Summer by Ali Smith

“In the present, Sacha knows the world’s in trouble. Her brother Robert just is trouble. Their mother and father are having trouble. Meanwhile, the world’s in meltdown–and the real meltdown hasn’t even started yet. In the past, a lovely summer. A different brother and sister know they’re living on borrowed time. This is a story about people on the brink of change. They’re family, but they think they’re strangers. So: Where does family begin? And what do people who think they’ve got nothing in common have in common? Summer.

June is also the start of the Summer Reading Challenge. Novel Destinations is the challenge this year. Patrons are tasked to read 5 books set in 5 different countries. Here are some recommendations to get you started.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco : Italy

It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, and an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies, and literary theory. It was translated into English by William Weaver in 1983.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: Germany

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel–a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer: Timbuktu

In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that had fallen into obscurity. The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu tells the story of how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist and historian from the legendary city of Timbuktu, later became one of the world’s greatest and most brazen smugglers. In 2012, thousands of Al-Qaeda militants from northwest Africa seized control of most of Mali, including Timbuktu. They imposed Sharia law, chopped off the hands of accused thieves, stoned to death unmarried couples, and threatened to destroy the great manuscripts. As the militants tightened their control over Timbuktu, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali.

A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier: Sweden

Way up in the Swiss mountains, there’s an old grand hotel steeped in tradition and faded splendor. Once a year, when the famous New Year’s Eve Ball takes place, and guests from all over the world arrive, excitement returns to the vast hallways. Sophie, who works at the hotel as an intern, is busy making sure that everything goes according to plan. But unexpected problems keep arising, and some of the guests are not who they pretend to be. Very soon, Sophie finds herself right in the middle of a perilous adventure, and at risk of losing not only her job but also her heart.

Happy Reading! 

Tuesday May 3rd, 2022

Spring is in the Air.

Here are some books that fill like springtime.

Spring by Ali Smith. What unites Katherine Mansfield, Charlie Chaplin, Shakespeare, Rilke, Beethoven, Brexit, the present, the past, the north, the south, the east, the west, a man mourning lost times, a woman trapped in modern times? Spring. The great connective. With an eye to the migrancy of story over time and riffing on Pericles, one of Shakespeare’s most resistant and rollicking works, Ali Smith tell the impossible tale of an impossible time. In a time of walls and lockdown, Smith opens the door. The time we’re living in is changing nature. Will it change the nature of story? Hope springs eternal.

Lock and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch. In Ireland for a wedding, Addie hopes to move past something she did that has left her miserable and threatens her future, but her brother Ian isn’t letting her forget, a situation that is transformed by a road trip and an unusual travel guidebook.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. Mr. Bennet, owner of the Longbourn estate in Hertfordshire, has five daughters, but his property is entailed and can only be passed to a male heir. His wife also lacks an inheritance, so his family faces becoming very poor upon his death. Thus, it is imperative that at least one of the girls marry well to support the others, which is a motivation that drives the plot.

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly. On a September day in Manhattan in 1939, twenty-something Caroline Ferriday is consumed by her efforts to secure the perfect boutonniere for an important French diplomat and resisting the romantic advances of a married actor. Meanwhile across the Atlantic, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish Catholic teenager, is nervously anticipating the changes that are sure to come since Germany has declared war on Poland. As tensions rise abroad – and in her personal life – Caroline’s interest in aiding the war effort in France grows and she eventually comes to hear about the dire situation at the Ravensbruck all-female concentration camp. At the same time, Kasia’s carefree youth is quickly slipping away, only to be replaced by a fervor for the Polish resistance movement. Through Ravensbruck – and the horrific atrocities taking place there told in part by an infamous German surgeon, Herta Oberheuser – the two women’s lives will converge in unprecedented ways and a novel of redemption and hope emerges that is breathtaking in scope and depth

Middlemarch by George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans). Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midland town, in 1829 to 1832, it follows distinct, intersecting stories with many characters. Issues include the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism, self-interest, religion, hypocrisy, political reform, and education. Despite comic elements, Middlemarch uses realism to encompass historical events: the 1832 Reform Act, early railways, and the accession of King William IV.

May is the month to Celebrate mothers!

If you are following along with the reading challenge this month’s book is about moms. Here are some recommendations to celebrate moms!

The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy. An addictive psychological thriller about a group of women whose lives become unexpectedly connected when one of their newborns goes missing.

Mrs Fletcher by Tom Perrotta. A forty-six-year-old divorcee whose beloved only child has just left for college, Eve Fletcher is struggling to adjust to her empty nest. One night she receives a text from an anonymous number that says, “U R my MILF!” Over the months that follow, that message comes to obsess Eve.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who’s “saying” the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. “To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable.” Forty years later the stories and history continue.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned—from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.Enter Mia Warren—an enigmatic artist and single mother—who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

HAPPY READING!

Friday April 1st, 2022

The Book Challenge this month is APRIL SHOWERS or something with “Rain” in the title. Here are a few recommendations to get your feet wet.

Dinah Taylor has an orderly life that is just how she likes it. A perfectly furnished luxury apartment, a satisfying career as a scientist and CEO of her own company, and an uncomplicated personal life. But all of that changes when she meets seven-year-old Jonah. The boy shows up one day, a scruffy dog by his side, in front of her office building. Dinah knows nothing about kids and even less about animals, but after she buys him breakfast, he shows up the next day…and the next. She tries to learn more about him, to help him, but he’s remarkably skilled at evading her questions

In the title novella of this collection, Burt Crownover causes quite a stir when he steals into Rain Valley in the middle of the night. It’s no surprise the ranchers are suspicious. They’ve got a herd of highly valuable cattle and any stranger could be a thief. But is Burt a rustler out to con them, or just the man they need to help protect their stock?

One beautiful summer afternoon, Jody Linder receives shocking news: The man convicted of murdering her father is being released from prison and returning to the small town of Rose, Kansas. It has been twenty-three years since that stormy night when her father was shot and killed and her mother disappeared, presumed dead. Neither the protective embrace of Jody’s three uncles nor the safe haven of her grandparents’ ranch could erase the pain caused by Billy Crosby on that catastrophic night.

Danielle Monroe is determined to use her new job in DC as a stepping-stone to a high-powered political career. But the secrets surrounding her father’s death continue to overshadow her goals. Her family thinks she holds the final piece of the puzzle, but she doesn’t even know what the puzzle is…until an attractive and possibly dangerous stranger shows up in her life. Patrick Kane is searching for answers about his own dark tragedy, not realizing that the beautiful Danielle may not just hold the key to his mystery but also his heart. They have to stay alive long enough to find out.

Happy Reading! 

Monday March 7th, 2022

March is Irish Authors month. For those who are following along with the Book Challenge here are recommendations for you.

A Week in Winter was Maeve Binchy’s last novel before she died in 2012. Binchy takes her readers to Stoneybridge village in Ireland, the hometown of the female protagonist, Chicky Starr. Chicky opens up a holiday hotel as a safe haven for guests and natives. The heartwarming story introduces all the beloved characters and townsfolk who help to make Chicky’s dreams turn into a reality. Binchy wrote 16 novels in total, all known for their warmth.

Dubliners by James Joyce. James Joyce’s short story collection brings Dublin to life. Start with “The Dead,” the longest story in the book and arguably James’s most famous. It’s about a husband and wife going to a party on a snowy evening, and so much more.

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín. Colm Tóibín’s sixth novel takes place after World War II. It traces the story of Eilis Lacey, a young working-class woman who moves by herself from Ireland to Brooklyn in search of a better life and career opportunity. The coming-of-age story was adapted into a 2015 film, starring Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen.

Winner of the 2018 Booker Prize, Milkman is set amid the Troubles in 1970s Northern Ireland—although the narrator never directly names the tension erupting in violence all around her. None of the characters are named, either. The effect of all this is a book steeped in fear. The action begins when the 18-year-old middle sister attracts the unwanted attention of a senior paramilitary figure known only as the milkman, and is forced into a position of danger.

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. In this touching memoir, Frank McCourt recounts his early childhood growing up in both Brooklyn and Limerick, Ireland. Almost written like a lyrical essay, McCourt discusses everything from poverty to living with a neglectful and alcoholic father. The book won a Pulitzer Prize in 1997 in the autobiography category.

March is also Women’s History Month. If Irish authors aren’t your thing here a few recommendations on women’s history!

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World. Women inventors and scientists are not discussed that much in the news, but the immense contribution of female innovators in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is something every generation must be aware of. And this book offers you just that. Written by New York Times Bestselling author Rachel Ignotofsky, Women in Science talks about 50 female scientists whose efforts shaped the technological capabilities achieved by humanity.

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women. If you want to educate your children about women’s role in strengthening our society, culture, and economy, this book is the best gift you can give them this Women’s History Month. Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls is a collection of 100 inspiring stories from the lives of great women from both past and present. From Frida Kahlo to Marie Curie and Michelle Obama, the book features stories of 100 courageous female leaders, scientists, artists, lawyers, etc., whose stories are worth telling. Written by Italian authors Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli, this New York Times bestseller also contains illustrations from 60 female artists from across the globe.

Jane Eyre. A classic Women’s History Month book that presents the story of a brave female survivor named Jane who grew up as an orphan and faced extreme cruelty and injustice. Yet she manages to emerge as a strong and spirited independent woman by following her conviction. This heart-throbbing novel was written by English writer Charlotte Brontë and although it was published in the year 1847, Jane’s story is relevant even today because of the way it realistically depicts a women’s emotions while she struggles for finding purpose and love in her life.

Happy Reading!!