Reading Room Blog

In this continuation to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, one of the best-loved novels in the English language, Elizabeth Bennet, now Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy and mistress of Pemberley, finds herself in a very different league of wealth and privilege. Writing to her sister, Jane, she confides her uncertainty and anxieties, and describes the every-day of her new life. Her first year at Pemberley is sometimes bewildering but Lizzy's spirited sense of humor and satirical eye never desert her.

The Newbery Medal, the world's oldest and most prestigious award for children's books, has come under fire recently.  Last fall children's literature expert Anita Silvey wrote a widely read article, "Has the Newbery Lost Its Way?", that questioned the recent medal winners.  She quoted librarians who claim the winners are too special, with appeal to only a few readers.  Sales figures do bear out the fact that recent winners have sold less well than many earlier selections.

This historic Inauguration Day has inspired me to gather up a few of the best children’s books on American history. Check them out (the library’s open today) and share them with your family while you watch the festivities on television.

The spirit of the season shines through several beautifully illustrated picture books. Stephen Krensky’s “Hanukkah at Valley Forge” retells the story of a documented encounter between George Washington and a Jewish soldier during the harrowing winter of 1777. Washington notices a man lighting a candle and praying in his tent and stops to ask what he’s doing. As the soldier explains the meaning of Hanukkah, the general sees the parallel between the Jews battling the Maccabees and the Americans battling the British.