Every 1 Reads

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Jan 312019
 

This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm by Ted Genoways.  

All politics aside, this One Book One Nebraska selection is just what it says on the tin.  Genoways spent time planting, harvesting, and working cattle alongside one Nebraska family and details the challenges they have faced and overcome and the obstacles which remain. Additionally, the author describes the history of farming in Nebraska, the industrialization of farming, the introduction of agribusiness corporations, and the changes made in farming following the Great Depression. Anyone interested in farming or Nebraska history would enjoy this book and it would be a great book club selection.

 

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is a book written in verse with an almost mythical intensity. Xiomara is a teenage girl dealing with a changing body and the reactions of boys and men to those changes. Toss in family strife and disagreements regarding religion and you have a great teen book racking up awards right and left. This book has won the 2019 Michael L. Printz Award and the Odyssey Award. As evidenced by the Odyssey Award, it is great on Audio.

Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech.

The author didn’t stint on the beautiful writing in this little book about a young boy caring for a sickly, newborn donkey. Louie learns how to provide the emotional and physical care the young donkey needs. There are themes of responsibility, making friends, and missing a sibling; however, they are offset by humorous writing and a sweet little donkey who will steal your heart.

  

Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts. 

A young boy desires a pair of shoes just like all of the cool kids in school wear; however, his family can’t afford to buy them.  He finds a pair at the local thrift shop but they are too small.  A wonderful tale of generosity, friendship, and the difficulties of fitting in when you don’t have the funds to buy the “latest thing”.

 

I’m Still Here. Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown.      https://www.overdrive.com/

This digital audiobook was an informative and honest look at what it means to wake up and walk out into America as a Black Woman, Mother, and Coworker.