Library Loot ~ November 9-15

The Old Woman Who Named Things ~ by Cynthia Rylant, 1996, children's, 9/10

How does an old woman who has outlived all her friends keep from being lonely?  By naming the things in her life she knows she will never outlive — like her house, Franklin, and her bed, Roxanne.  When a shy brown puppy appears at her front gate, the old woman won’t name it, because it might not outlive her.  Tender watercolors capture the charm of this heartwarming story of an old woman who doesn’t know she’s lonely until she meets a plucky puppy who needs a name — and someone to love.

My Petition for More Space ~ by John Hersey, 1974, dystopian fiction (Connecticut)

A street in New Haven.  A line of people, blocks long, more closely packed than the rush-hour subways of the good old times.  Poyner has been on the line since before dawn, as are thousands of others, pressed together, waiting their turns at the window to present their individual petitions.  His is for more space — a notion so preposterous that when it is discovered it shocks, reverberates down the line, almost triggering violent reactions.  In front of Poynter, so tightly jammed against him that he can see no more than the side of her face, is a girl petitioning to change her job.  And, locked together in this fearful proximity, they talk, explore their predicaments, and perhaps fall in love.  The world has grown so crowded that dissent is an inconceivable crime and acquiescence the law of survival.

A Slant of Sun: One Child's Courage ~ by Beth Kephart, 1998, memoir

Nearly one in five children grow up facing a developmental or behavioral challenge, and like them, Beth Kephart's son, Jeremy, showed early signs of being different: language eluded him, he preferred playing alone to an afternoon on the jungle gym. Doctors diagnosed Jeremy with a mild form of autism called Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified. A Slant of Sun is a passionate memoir about how Kephart, guided by the twin tools of intuition and imagination, helped lead her son toward wholeness.

Into the Tangle of Friendship: A Memoir of the Things that Matter ~ by Beth Kephart, 2000, memoir

Kephart is concerned with the haphazard ways we find one another, the tragedy, boredom, and sheer carelessness that break us apart, the myriad reasons people stay together and grow.  What is friendship, and what is its secret calculus?  Telling stories to illuminate this question, she also engages us in an essential dialogue about what it means to be fully alive.

Still Love in Strange Places ~ by Beth Kephart, 2002, memoir

When Beth Kephart met and fell in love with the artist who would become her husband, she had little knowledge of the place he came from — an exotic coffee farm high in the jungle hills of El Salvador, a place of terrifying myths and even more frightening realities, of civil war and devastating earthquakes.  Yet, marriage, she finds, means taking in not only the stranger who is one's lover but also a stranger's history — in this case, a country, language, people, and culture utterly foreign to a young American woman.

Seeing Past Z: Nurturing the Imagination in a Fast-Forward World ~ by Beth Kephart, 2004, memoir

Kids today seem to be under more competitive pressure than ever, while studies show that reading, writing, and the arts in schools are suffering.  Is there any place for imagination in kids' lives anymore?  In a dog-eat-dog world, why dream things that aren't there?

Ghosts in the Garden: Reflections on Endings, Beginnings, and the Unearthing of Self ~ by Beth Kephart, 2005, memoir

Kephart writes about questions we all ask ourselves:  How do we remember who we used to be?  How do we imagine who we'll become?  Have we lived our lives as we set out to do?  What legacies do we wish to leave behind?

Dangerous Neighbors ~ by Beth Kephart, 2010, YA fiction

It is 1876, the year of the Centennial in Philadelphia.  Katherine has lost her twin sister Anna in a tragic skating accident.  One wickedly hot September day, Katherine sets out for the exhibition grounds to cut short the haunted life she no longer wants to live.

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.  Claire has the Mister Linky this week, if you'd like to share a list of the loot you brought home.  You may submit your list any time during the week.