Angels & Demons is Dan Brown’s action-packed thriller published in 2000. This story takes symbologist Robert Langdon to a research facility in Switzerland to examine a mysterious symbol. A physicist has been murdered, and the symbol has been burned into his chest. Robert recognizes it as one used by an ancient organization: The Illuminati. It was widely believed that they had … Read more
And Tango Makes Three, written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, and illustrated by Henry Cole, is a children’s picture book about two male penguins that hatch and raise a baby penguin. This 2000 book is a true story that happened in the Central Park zoo in New York City. Roy and Silo live together in … Read more
Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, is a chilling story of what a possible future America could be like if religious fundamentalists took over the government. The men in charge of what was formerly the United States – now called “The Republic of Gilead”- have stripped away all women’s rights. They are no longer allowed … Read more
Pecola considers herself ugly, and already thinks so little of herself, that from the very beginning, it seems there is little hope for her. And in this story there isn’t. As a little black girl from a poor and violent family, growing up in a white world, she believes that all could be made right if only … Read more
Bless Me, Ultima, written by Rudolfo Anaya, published in 1972, is the story of Antonio Juan Marez. His life is changed at the age of six, when a Curandera, or folk healer, comes to live with the family. Bless Me, Ultima is set in New Mexico during the 1940s, Antonio is already struggling with questions of who he … Read more
The Prince of Tides, written by Pat Conroy, published in 1986, spans three generations of Wingos. The story is told by Tom, the youngest son of Henry Wingo, who owns and operates a shrimp boat, and Lila Wingo, a housewife who aspires to a much higher social standing, and never lets her husband forget that she married a “loser”. The Prince of Tides begins … Read more
Charlotte’s Web, E. B. White’s 1952 children’s novel, is the story of a little girl named Fern, her pig, Wilbur, and Wilbur’s friend, a spider named Charlotte. Fern Arable is eight years old. She lives on a farm with her mother, father, and brother, Avery. One morning, when Fern learns that her father is about to … Read more
In Cold Blood is the 1966 book by Truman Capote about the murders of four members of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas on November 15, 1959. This book was banned for a short time in Savanna, Georgia, after a parent complained about sex, violence, and profanity. Members of the community protested, and the ban was reversed. This gruesome tale is a true story of the murder of Herbert … Read more
Some people think this 1971 book, The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, attempts to influence children to think of the logging industry in a negative way. Actually, it is a story of what happens when people are careless and wasteful of earth’s natural resources. What is the Lorax? Why was it there? Why is it gone? These are questions … Read more
Heather Has Two Mommies, written by Leslea Newman, is the story of a little girl whose favorite number is two. She has two pets, a cat named Gingersnap, and a dog named Midnight. She and her two pets live with her two mommies, Mama Jane and Mama Kate, in a little house with an apple tree … Read more