Library Loot ~ November 16-22

The Devil Amongst the Lawyers ~ by Sharyn McCrumb, 2010, fiction (Virginia)

In 1935, when Erma Morton, a beautiful young woman with a teaching degree, is charged with the murder of her father in a remote Virginia mountain community, the case becomes a cause célèbre for the national press. Eager for a case to replace the Lindbergh trial in the public’s imagination, the journalists descend on the mountain county intent on infusing their stories with quaint local color: horse-drawn buggies, rundown shacks, children in threadbare clothes. They need tales of rural poverty to give their Depression-era readers people whom they can feel superior to. The untruth of these cultural stereotypes did not deter the big-city reporters, but a local journalist, Carl Jennings, fresh out of college and covering his first major story, reports what he sees: an ordinary town and a defendant who is probably guilty.

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter ~ by Sharyn McCrumb, 1992, fiction (Tennessee)

Everyone in Dark Hollow, Tennesee, knew that old Nora Bonesteel had "the Sight." So naturally she was the first to know about the murder-suicide. Four members of the Underhill family lay dead on a run-down farm, and the two children who survived had no one left. Only the minister's wife, Laura Bruce, was willing to be their guardian.

The Ballad of Tom Dooley ~ by Sharyn McCrumb, 2011, fiction (North Carolina)

Laura Foster, a simple country girl, was murdered and her lover Tom Dula was hanged for the crime. With the help of historians, lawyers, and researchers, McCrumb visited the actual sites, studied the legal evidence, and uncovered a missing piece of the story that will shock those who think they already know what happened.  This book is an Okra Pick. Would anyone like to join me in reading some of the books on this Okra Pick list?

Coming Up for Air ~ by Patti Callahan Henry, 2011, fiction (Alabama)

Ellie Calvin is caught in a dying marriage, and she knows this. With her beloved daughter away at college and a growing gap between her and her husband - between her reality and the woman she wants to be - she doesn't quite seem to fit into her own life. But everything changes after her controlling mother, Lillian, passes away. Ellie's world turns upside down when she sees her ex-boyfriend, Hutch, at her mother's funeral and learns that he is in charge of a documentary that involved Lillian before her death. He wants answers to questions that Ellie's not sure she can face, until, in the painful midst of going through her mother's things, she discovers a hidden diary - and a window onto stories buried long ago. This book is anther Okra Pick.  If it sounds interesting to you, consider joining the Okra Picks challenge.

I discovered Kids Konnection and promptly ran to the library to get some children's books.  Kiki thinks one of the books was for her.  See if you can figure out which one.

Porky and Bess ~ by Ellen Weiss and Mel Friedman, 2010, children's reader, 8/10

Despite their differences, Porky the messy pig and Bess the fussy cat are best friends and support each other in all their endeavors, from poetry writing to cake baking.

Te Amo, Bebe, Little One ~ by Lisa Wheeler, 2004, children's, 8/10

In rhyming verse with Mexican imagery and a Spanish refrain, a mother repeatedly says how much she loves her baby.  (The only Spanish in the refrain is te amo, bebé, which mean "I love you, baby.")

Peony's Rainbow ~ by Martha Weston, 1981, children's, 7/10

Peony Pig wanted a rainbow of her very own, thinking that would make her famous.  When she got one, all sorts of exciting adventures happen, but not what Peony had hoped for.  The rainbow had ideas of its own.

Abdul ~ by Rosemary Wells, 1975, children's, 9/10

Mother camel Gilda gives birth to a white Arabian horse, causing all sorts of consternation at the arrival of such a funny-looking "camel.''  The other camel riders laugh at little Abdul.  By the end of the book, Gilda and her owner Feisel and baby Abdul are with another group of people who don't laugh at the horse, but at Gilda, thinking she's a funny-looking horse.

You Can't Take a Balloon Into the National Gallery ~ by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman, 2000, children's, 10/10 (Washington, DC), 10/10

While a brother and sister, along with their grandmother, visit the National Gallery of Art, the balloon they were not allowed to bring into the museum floats around Washington, D.C., causing a series of mishaps at various tourist sites.  Reviewed here.

You Can't Take a Balloon into The Metropolitan Museum ~ by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman, 1998, children's (New York), 9/10

In this wordless story a young girl and her grandmother view works inside The Metropolitan Museum of Art, while the balloon she has been forced to leave outside floats around New York City causing a series of mishaps that mirror scenes in the museum's artworks.

You Can't Take a Balloon into The Museum of Fine Arts ~ by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman, 2002, children's (Massachusetts), 9/10

While a brother and sister, alopng with their grandparents, visit the Museum of Fine Arts, the balloon they were not allowed to bring into the museum floats around Boston, causing a series of mishaps at various tourist sites.

Bookstore Cat ~ by Cindy Wheeler, 1994, children's, 9/10

Mulligan, the bookstore cat, has an exciting day when a pigeon wanders into the store.  The cat and the people in the bookstore had different agendas, obvious to everyone but Mulligan.

One Little Chicken ~ by Elka Weber, 2011, children's, 8/10

When Leora finds a chicken in her front yard, she imagines keeping it as a pet and gathering eggs for breakfast every morning. But her mother has a very different view. Following a Jewish law that says ”finders aren’t keepers,” Mrs. Bendosa is determined that the family should care for the chicken just until its rightful owner returns.

Library Loot is a weekly meme co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.  If you would like to share a list of the loot you brought home from the library, Marg has the Mister Linky this week.