Sequoia Booktalks

Here is the list of books brought to Sequoia's Language Arts class this morning. If you'd like to check out or reserve any of these, please come see us in the library.

Nonfictional Fiction or Fictional Nonfiction?

What are we to make of fiction inspired by actual events? This can be a difficult genre for many of us to digest. We may be asking ourselves as we read just how much of the story is real and how much of it comes from the author's imagination. However, if we keep our focus on the word "story," it helps to gloss over the questions. Also, authors of this type of fiction usually include a note explaining what aspects of the story are true and what aspects are imagined. With that said, here are a couple great examples of this sub-genre:

When I Met the Wolf Girls by Deb Noyes and illustrated by August Hall. Based on the real discovery of two girls in northwestern India in 1920 who seemed to have been raised by wolves, the story focuses on the impact of their discovery on the orphanage to which they were brought. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story is heartbreaking, all the more because it is essentially true.

One-Handed Catch by MJ Auch.

Based on the experiences of the author's husband when he was 11 years old, Auch tells the story of Norm, who struggles to return to a normal life after a serious accident in his family's store. Told with humor and compassion, Norm's story reminds us of the many ways that courage shows itself.

In a world where we see science fiction become science fact, where we hear fictions used to support facts, it is sometimes difficult to tell the two apart. Thankfully, in literature, there are times when we can put aside the analysis and focus on the story. Here are two good examples.

What's In the Irish Water? Give Us More Of It!!

Two of the new books in the CHMS Library are by Irish writers, and they're knockouts. The New Policeman by Kate Thompson is a wonderful look at traditional Irish heritage and folklore told in modern times. It tells the story of J.J. Liddy, whose family has played music for generations, and how a family heirloom holds the key to time. Or TIME, in a very large sense. J.J.'s attempts to buy his mother some time for her birthday may seem ridiculous at first, but, as Aengus Og, the Celtic god of love, youth, and beauty, says to J.J., "Believe the things you remember, J.J. Even if they don't make sense."

Although many books have been written in the vein of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series since it began nearly ten years ago, Michael Scott's The Alchemyst is the first to my knowledge to take a reference from one of those books and turn it into a new series. In this case, the title character is Nicholas Flamel, born around 1330, who made his living as a bookseller and pursued his passion for alchemy. When twins Sophie and Josh make his acquaintance in present-day San Francisco, we come to understand the impossible: that he and his wife Perenelle have cheated death for nearly 700 years. But their secret is not safe; there are others who will exact almost any price to lay hands on the Codex which has allowed the Flamels to experience such extended adulthoods. Anyone interested in fantasy, alchemy, world mythology, or adventure will find themselves repeatedly asking this question: When will the next one be out?

See if these books are in by clicking on the catalog HERE