Celebrate Earth Day Everyday

Earth Day

It's Earth Day tomorrow, April 22. To get in the spirit here are a few reading recommendations.

Exodus by Julie Bertagna
Mara struggles to save her village and other refugees from the rising ocean.

They Came From Below by Blake Nelson
Two girls learn a lot about global pollution from two out-of-this world guys.

The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride novel by James Patterson
While on a mission to save the planet from global warming, Maximum Ride must also protect her friends.

Teen, Inc. by Stefan Petrucha
Jaiden takes a stand against the corporation that raised him when he learns they are illegally polluting.

Hoot and Flush by Carl Hiaasen
Both novels deal with environmental issues, including endangered animals and water pollution.

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
The classic children's story of pollution.

An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
Watch the movie and read the book.

The library owns all of these books, so stop in and pick one up to celebrate Earth Day!

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

One of my favorite authors, E. Lockhart, has a great new book out, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and it’s definitely one of her best. Frankie, known to her family as “bunny rabbit,” is a seemingly sweet, innocent, rather nerdy sophomore at Alabaster Prep School. Not your typical criminal mastermind, but Frankie is much smarter and more determined than anyone ever knew. Shortly after she begins dating her crush, Matthew, a popular senior, she realizes he is lying to her about why he cancels dates and where he’s spending his time. She finds out Matthew is a member of a secret society that she is excluded from because she’s a girl. Feeling the forces of new love while resisting her exclusion from the group; Frankie comes up with a clever and diabolical plan. She will show her family, Matthew, and all of Alabaster Prep that she may look sweet and innocent, but she’s not a bunny rabbit!

FreeRice

Improve your vocabulary and have some fun, all while donating rice through the UN World Food Program to help alleviate hunger around the world. For each word you correctly match with its synonym, Freerice.com will donate 20 grains of rice. Since it began in October of 2007 Free Rice has donated 26,483,813,110 grains of rice! With your help that incredible number can continue to grow and more people will get much needed sustenance. So have fun at Freerice.com, an amazing way to better yourself while making the world a better place.

A Few Good Books

I've read a few good fantasy & sci-fi books lately...

A book group member recommended Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. It's the first in a fantasy series about humans who can change into animals. Danica is the leader of the Avians, a group that turns into birds, and will do whatever is necessary to stop the war between her race and the Serpiente, a group that turns in snakes. Exciting and ultimately quite romantic.

The Declaration by Gemma Malley is an exciting dystopian novel about a teenage girl who lives in a society where drugs allow people to live forever and having children is against the law. She is an illegal "surplus" being trained as a servant when she discovers her birth parents are looking for her. Anna must choose between the life she knows and breaking the law to be with her family. A fascinating look into a possible future.

If you like Eragon, you'll love Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan. Will, an orphan, longs to go to Battle School to become a knight, like his father who died in battle. But when it comes time for a job to be assigned, Will is apprenticed as a Ranger, a mysterious group of spies. Through intense training, Will learns about being a Ranger and protecting the kingdom from the terror of Morgorath. Action-packed and the beginning of a great series.