And The Winner Is.....

Beehive Book Winners for 2012-2013

 In Picture Book...

Young Adult...

Informational...

Poetry...

And last but not least,  Children's Fiction...

Wonder

"Wonder" by R.J. Palacio

Wonder is a book we have in a the intermediate section of our Library. It is also a Beehive Book Nominee in the Children's Fiction category for 2013-14. Ten year old August is an ordinary boy who was born with a severe facial deformity. Because of his deformity and the many surgeries he has had to correct them, he has always been home schooled. But now, he is finally going to go to his first year of school as a fifth grader.

Not only does he have to deal with all the drama of being the new kid in school, he has the added dimension of his exceptional face. We get to tag along as he navigates the halls of his new school, and we find out that there are a lot of good kids, as well as a few not so nice kids that he runs into.

This is an uplifing book that I enjoyed reading.

Beehive Book Winners for Lehi Library

Today was the last day to vote for your favorite Beehive Book for 2012-2013. The Children's Literature Association of Utah will announce their winners on April 26th.

We tallied the votes from our patrons here at the Lehi Library and here are the books our patrons liked the most:

Children's Fiction:  Turtle in Paradise

Picture Books:  Press Here

Informational:  Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum

Children's Poetry:  Pocketful of Posies:  A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes

Young Adult:  Ruby Red

Now we will just have to wait and see how we compare with the official results.

the girl with no name

This is a memoir of a four year old girl who was kidnapped and then abandoned deep in the Colombian jungle. She wandered in the wilderness for days, scared and hungry, until she was discovered by a troop of capuchin monkeys.  She was taken in by the monkeys and learned to eat and survive by following their example. She becomes one with the monkeys until approximately five years later when she is found by illegal hunters who take her to Cucuta and sell her to a brothel. The story continues with her struggle to adapt and understand the ways of humans while being abused and beaten.

Her daughter and the author try to piece together, from her fragile memories, the events that took place after she was abandoned. This is an amazing story that shows the resiliency of a young child who defies all odds to survive and flourish in unimaginable circumstances.  Unfortunately, it also shows the extreme cruelty that some people are willing to inflict on the helpless and innocent.

It was definitely a good read that left wanting to know "the rest of the story".

Last Week To Vote

This is the last week to vote for the books that you enjoyed reading that are on the Beehive Book Nominee list for 2012-2013. We have voting sheets in the Front Lobby that are quick and easy to fill out. Come in and let us know which books you liked or didn't like. We would love to know your opinion.

Legend

One of the Beehive Nominees in the Young Adult category for 2013-2014 is Legend by Marie Lu. Dystopian societies seem to be a hot topic right now and that is exactly what Legend is about. This story has two fifteen year old characters, June, born into the elite society and Day, born into the downtrodden. They are living on the West Coast of the United States, now known as the Republic.

Day is wanted by the Republic and spends his days hiding from the government while trying to feed his family and help his community. June, though slightly rebellious, is top in her class and has a very bright future in this tyrannical government.  Day's precarious situation begins to unravel when he breaks into a hospital to get medicine for his family. During the break-in, Metias, June's older brother is killed and she vows to find Day and make him pay for the death of her brother.

Some of Day's getaways are a little over the top and June's unshakeable belief in her society is a little extreme, but overall it is a good book and one I enjoyed reading. Definitely put yourself on hold and give this book a try.

Run

Run by Ann Patchett

Bernard Doyle is the father of three boys, Sullivan, the oldest is his biological son and two much younger sons, Tip and Teddy, who are biological brothers that he and his wife adopted as babies. Soon after the adoption, his wife passes away. This story takes place many years later when the two youngest boys are 20 and 21. Bernard is very passionate about politices and none of the boys share that interest. Tip and Bernard get in an argument about his desire for them to be involved with politics, which leads to an accident and a discovery that will change their future.

This is the first book I have read by Ann Patchett, she was able to develop characters that were interesting and that you cared about and wanted to be successful. I thought it was a very good read. Unfortunately, she would occasionally use words that were not at all necessary and offensive.