From the Librarian's Desk: New Books and Films
We added over 50 new books and films to the Primary Source Library collection this summer. Read about some of these new resources below. To check out a book or film, or to sign up for a library card, email our Librarian at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Forget Sorrow: An Ancestral Tale by Belle Yang
Children's author Belle Yang explores her Chinese family's history in this graphic novel. Yang's black and white illustrations display Chinese artistic influences and set the tone of the book. For high school and adult readers, especially those who enjoyed Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis.
The Firefly Letters: A Sufragette's Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle
Engle tells the story of Frederika Bremer, a Swede visiting Cuba in the middle of the 19th century. Like The Surrender Tree and The Poet Slave of Cuba before, Engle uses narrative poetry to powerfully tell the story of three women of different backgrounds grappling with the role of women in Cuban society and in the world. Recommended for middle school readers and older.
This Child, Every Child: A Book about the World's Children by David J. Smith
Smith, the author of If the World Were a Village and If America Were a Village, uses statistics and stories to illustrate the lives of children around the world. A great book for all children and a wonderful way to introduce young people to the world around them.
Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed
Jama and his mother live in Aden, Yemen, with family that barely acknowledges their existence. Set in the 1930s, Mohamed's novel takes readers on a journey with Jama through Yemen, Eritrea, and Egypt during a significant period in African history. For high school and adult readers.
Freedom Riders, PBS
This new American Experience documentary from PBS chronicles the 1961 bus ride from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans that brought national attention to racial inequality in the United States. A companion website is available as well as Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice, a new book by Raymond Arsenault.
