Snow!

      In Maine in January we think a lot about SNOW!  Here are some books you can find in the Youth Services Room at the Scarborough Public Library that touch on snow.

After the Snow  by  S. D.Crockett

 
     Fifteen-year-old Willo Blake, born after the 2059 snows that ushered in a new ice age, encounters outlaws, halfmen, and an abandoned girl as he journeys in search of his family, who mysteriously disappeared from the freezing mountain that was their home.

Phantoms in the Snow by Kathleen Benner Duble

     In 1944, fifteen-year-old Noah Garrett, recently orphaned, is sent to live at Camp Hale, Colorado, with an uncle he has never met, and there he finds his pacifist views put to the test.

Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin

      After her stepfather is arrested for child abuse, thirteen-year-old Karina's home life improves but while the severity of her older sister's injuries and the urging of her younger sister, their uncle, and a friend tempt her to testify against him, her mother and other well-meaning adults persuade her to claim responsibility.


Snow : a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs  by Tracy Lynn.

Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan

       In 1940, when the Nazi invasion of Norway reaches their village in the far north, twelve-year-old Peter and his friends use their sleds to transport nine million dollars worth of gold bullion past the German soldiers to the secret harbor where Peter's uncle keeps his ship ready to take the gold for safekeeping in the United States.


The Snow Pony by Alison Lester

       Prolonged drought has strained Dusty's ranching family to the breaking point, but she finds consolation with her wild and beautiful horse.

The Winter of Red Snow:  The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart by Kristiana Gregory

       Eleven-year-old Abigail presents a diary account of life in Valley Forge from December 1777 to July 1778 as General Washington prepares his troops to fight the British.


Enjoy the snow!


Happy reading, 
Connie

Every December...

          Every December I re-read out loud Dylan Thomas’s famous story, A Child’s Christmas in Wales. Using beautiful language, the author describes a young Welsh boy’s memories of Christmas, with mounds of snow, aunts and uncles, red-nosed postmen, and of course presents.  The holiday season wouldn’t feel as special to me if I didn’t read this book each December.

         There are so many wonderful Christmas books, from How the Grinch Stole Christmas to The Polar Express.  What are your favorites?

  
         A new favorite of mine is Jim Murphy’s Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting.  This is a non-fiction book about a miracle on Christmas Eve, 1914, in the midst of World War I. In World War I trenches were used to help shelter soldiers from bullets and bombs. Trenches ran from the North Sea Coast all the way to the Swiss border, with the trenches being from 50 to 1000 yards apart. The Germans were on one side of the trench and the French, English and Belgians were on the other. Originally both sides thought the war would be over by Christmas, each side shelling, bombing and launching raids on the other. Massive losses on both sides contributed to doubt among those on the front lines. Then on Christmas Eve of 1914, a miracle happened. Almost all the way along the lines a spontaneous peace erupted; for more than 24 hours no fighting took place  The soldiers met in the middle of no-man's land between the trenches and exchanged gifts and songs and Christmas greetings and wishes.

         With lots of historical photographs, this book tells of politicians and military leaders who wanted to continue fighting and soldiers who did not obey orders and had a Christmas miracle.

Whatever holidays you celebrate, I wish you. ..and the world…peace in this special season.

Happy reading,
Connie