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New Materials:

Poison, Your Grace  by Peg Herring
Book 2 of the Five Star Mystery Series
Book Description

As England's young king struggles with illness, one of his advisors is poisoned. Elizabeth Tudor, fearing her brother was the target, asks her old friend Simon Maldon to investigate the crime.
With the help of his fiancee, Hannah, Simon, now an apothecary's apprentice, braves the corridors of power to protect the king. In the days after the first murder, a knight, a baron, and a serving girl also die in mysterious circumstances, but it is unclear how their deaths benefit any of the possible suspects.
In order to find out, Simon employs various (sometimes embarrassing) disguises, and Hannah uses her position as Elizabeth s newest chambermaid. As the crimes multiply, the danger they face grows. In the end, Elizabeth herself is accused of the murders. To save the princess he admires, Simon faces a fight for his life against a wickedly clever adversary who will not be caught.
This fast-paced historical will delight mystery lovers, Tudor admirers, and all who love a whodunit with (to quote one critic) "panache."

Tides of War  by Stella Tillyard
Book Description

A Library Journal Top Ten Best Books of 2011

An epic novel about love and war, set in Regency England and Spain during the Peninsular War (1812-15), by the acclaimed historian and bestselling author of Aristocrats 

Tides of War opens in England with the recently married, charmingly unconventional Harriet preparing to say goodbye to her husband, James, as he leaves to join the Duke of Wellington's troops in Spain.
Harriet and James's interwoven stories of love and betrayal propel this sweeping and dramatic novel as it moves between Regency London on the cusp of modernity—a city in love with science, the machine, money—and the shocking violence of war in Spain. With dazzling skill Stella Tillyard explores not only the effects of war on the men at the front but also the freedoms it offers the women left behind. As Harriet befriends the older and protective Kitty, Lady Wellington, her life begins to change in unexpected ways. Meanwhile, James is seduced by the violence of battle, and then by love in Seville.
As the novel moves between war and peace, Spain and London, its large cast of characters includes the serial adulterer and war hero the Duke of Wellington, and the émigrés Nathan Rothschild and Frederic Winsor who will usher in the future, creating a world brightly lit by gaslight where credit and financial speculation rule. Whether describing the daily lives and desires of strong female characters or the horror of battle, Tides of War is set to be the fiction debut of the year.

Juvenile

Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster In Salem  by Rosalyn Schanzer
Reading level: Ages 10 and up
Book Description
The invisible world surrounds us. It's everywhere. Things happen that are unseen. We can feel their presence but we can't see that unknown entity that lurks in the shadows. Is it demons or witches that are causing the hot

flashes or cold sweats that we occasionally feel? What about violent fits? Do you know anyone whose had any of those? If so, you can be sure that witches are nearby, casing spells upon you with a single touch.
In the mid 1600's Puritans were experiencing all sorts of pain, visions, fits and bizarre contortions, to name a few. The Puritans felt the natural world had been infiltrated by the Invisible world. These fears of the witch created new laws that made witchcraft punishable by death. Three women who were accused of casting spells were placed on trial. Hordes of crowds gathered to watch and witness the occasion. Midwives and homeless beggars were the first to be tried.
Schanzer takes readers on a trip back to early Salem where history set the stage for the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Bible thumpers wreaked havoc accusing everyone and anyone who was pointed out. So many were pointing a finger to save themselves from accusation. It was so out of control that the King of England sent Governor Phips, who then established a Court of Oyer and Terminer. The new trials had begun.
Black, white and red scratch board illustrations will have readers flipping and examining the pages and reading all of the researched facts that created such mass hysteria and death. 

The Mighty Miss Malone  by Christopher Paul Curtis
Reading level: Ages 9 and up
Book Descriptionn"

We are a family on a journey to a place called wonderful" is the motto of Deza Malone's family. Deza is the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, singled out by teachers for a special path in life. But the Great Depression hit Gary hard, and there are no jobs for black men. When her beloved father leaves to find work, Deza, Mother, and her older brother Jimmie go in search of him, and end up in a Hooverville outside Flint, Michigan. Jimmie's beautiful voice inspires him to leave the camp to be a performer, while Deza and Mother find a new home, and cling to the hope that they will find Father. The twists and turns of their story reveal the devastation of the Depression and prove that Deza truly is the Mighty Miss Malone.

Picture Books

That's When I'm Happy  by Beth Soshan
Recomended tfor children ages 0-7
Book Description

Yep, a great short story (with adorable illustrations) of a bear family doing meaningful activities together. Kind of radical in its wholesome simplicity. Those really ARE the activities that are meaningful to kids (and parents) and what we all need to make time for. Personally, I don't think twice about the one illustration of a family bed scene at the end, our kids seem to understand that how the bear family sleeps might not be how we sleep (same deal with photos of litters of baby animals, you name it). No peril and not over sentimental, just warm fuzzy story. Well worth it.


If Big Can... ...I Can  by Beth Shoshan
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