Staff picks are selected each month and archived here. Check back often to find more suggestions for great reading.
To view previous staff picks, please click on the dates below:
FALL 2006
The Loud Silence of Francine Green (Clarion, $16.00)
For adults old enough to remember the Cold War, Karen Cushman's new engaging novel will be a step back in time to their youth (rootbeer floats, saddle shoes, the jitterbug, duck and cover, and most importantly McCarthyism and the Red Scare). For the rest of the population, The Loud Silence of Francine Green will be an intriguing story told through the eyes of a spunky 12 year old taking place in an era when we as a nation should have learned some lessons about scare tactics and intimidation. That lesson seems so relevant to today's world that this fast paced story becomes not just a period piece but an allegory for our time. (Ages 10 and up)
Flotsam (Clarion, $17.00)
Davis Wiesner, illustrator of Caldecott Award winners, Tuesday and The Three Pigs has created another visual masterpiece with Flotsam. Wordless, yet full of story, this stunning and intriguing book will please all ages.
From the fly leaf of Flotsam: "Flotsam: something that floats. If it floats in the ocean it may wash up on the beach, where someone may find it and be astonished, and share the discovery with someone else-- as David Wiesner shares it with you."
Each new book by David Wiesner reinforces the fact that he is one of the most original and creative book people of our time.