Library Director Rachel Davis was TML’s Children’s Librarian for 27 years. Join her at this monthly book group for adults, featuring outstanding literature for children. The same qualities that make an excellent book for adults are also true for books written for children– complex, beautifully written stories that speak to the universality of human experience. The only difference is that children’s literature is firmly grounded in the immediacy of the experience of childhood.  We were all children once–come explore childhood again as Rachel leads a monthly discussion on some of her favorite books. All books can be requested through Minerva, the library’s online catalog.

This month’s book selections are Wolf Hollow and Those Who Favor Fire by Lauren Wolk. 

About Wolf Hollow

Despite growing up in the shadows cast by two world wars, Annabelle has lived a mostly quiet, steady life in her small Pennsylvania town. Until the day new student Betty Glengarry walks into her class. Betty quickly reveals herself to be cruel and manipulative, and though her bullying seems isolated at first, it quickly escalates. Toby, a reclusive World War I veteran, soon becomes the target of Betty’s attacks. While others see Toby’s strangeness, Annabelle knows only kindness. And as tensions mount in their small community, Annabelle must find the courage to stand as a lone voice for justice.

The brilliantly crafted debut of Newbery Honor– and Scott O’Dell Award–winning author Lauren Wolk (Beyond the Bright Sea, Echo Mountain), Wolf Hollow is a haunting tale of America at a crossroads and a time when one girl’s resilience, strength, and compassion help to illuminate the darkest corners of history. 

Reserve your copy of Wolf Hollow by clicking here. 

About Those Who Favor Fire

People feel at home in Belle Haven, and in many ways it is like any other small town, with a café where regulars come for the fresh cinnamon rolls and to talk about the weather, or one another, often staying all day. It’s a town with the usual collection of quirky characters–the people everyone knows who, by staying in one place long enough, have become part of its landscape. But what sets Belle Haven apart is its especially strong sense of community, which is both strengthened and tested by the uncontrollable mine fire that burns below the town. Sometimes it breaks through the earth’s surface to swallow somebody’s garden or a garbage can, even a beloved pet, or to threaten a house.
        
Those Who Favor Fire is the love story of Rachel Hearn, who has lived in Belle Haven all her life, and the man everyone calls Just Joe, who has arrived only recently–and the story of their love for the town that has brought them together. But as the fire intensifies, endangering Belle Haven and its people, it also threatens what Joe and Rachel have found together. Though some reluctantly consider relocating, Rachel refuses to leave the only place she’s ever called home, the place that holds her richest memories. But Joe knows the danger of becoming too firmly rooted in a place. Ultimately, Rachel and Joe must decide whether to abandon their beloved town.
        
In her wonderful debut novel, Lauren Wolk has created a town every bit as real as the Mitford of Jan Karon’s novels and populated it with characters as quirky, lively, and endearing as Fannie Flagg’s.

Reserve your copy of Those Who Favor Fire by clicking here. 

Please register by filling out the form below and we’ll send you a link to join the meeting.