ABBY
Children
1991 Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter
The best-selling 1976 memoir of life growing up as an orphan on a Cherokee reservation in backwoods Tennessee during the Great Depression. Later made into a movie, the story was eventually revealed to be a hoax in one of the most celebrated literary scandals of modern times. Forrest Carter was in fact the pseudonym of Asa Carter, a white supremacist and Ku Klux Klan member.
1992 Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Susan Jeffers
A picture book version of a speech given by Chief Seattle. The Chief's plea for the respectful preservation of nature was originally presented before the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the 1850s in response to United States Government attempts to purchase land from his people. Illustrated with colorful ink drawings.
1993 Old Turtle by Douglas Wood
All of nature argues about the forms of God, so people are sent as a reminder of all that God is, although they do not seem to understand the message themselves.
1994 Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
After becoming separated from her mother, a baby fruit bat named Stellaluna is taken in and raised by a family of birds. Stellaluna tries to fit in with her adoptive family, but she is still a bat at heart, and when she is finally reunited with her bat mother she is overjoyed. Happily, Stellaluna and the birds remain friends even though they are different from each other. Illustrated with color paintings.
1995 The Rainbow Fish = Tus Ntses Leesbo by Marcus Pfister
A beautiful fish with rainbow-colored scales has no friends because he is vain and selfishly refuses to share his scales with the other fish. When an octopus teaches him a lesson about sharing, the rainbow fish learns what it is like to be, and have, a friend. Watercolor paintings with holograph inlays that create the shimmery fish scales accompany the text.
1996 Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
A bestselling bedtime book, GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU tells the sweet tale of tiny Little Nutbrown Hare putting off sleep just a little longer by sharing his feelings of love for his father, Big Nutbrown Hare. The two engage in an endearing, heartfelt competition about who loves the other more. With gentle, energetic full-color illustrations.
1997 Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Lilly the mouse is excited about attending school. She loves everything about the place including the pointy pencils, the squeaky chalk, the long hallways, her own desk, and most of all her teacher, Mr. Slinger. However, on one fateful Monday, Lilly brings her new prized possession to school--a purple plastic purse that plays a tune whenever it is opened. When Lilly ignores Mr. Slinger's request that she stop opening the purse, he eventually has to take it away from her. Now Lilly thinks of Mr. Slinger as nothing more than "Big fat mean Mr. Stealing Teacher." Will Lilly and Mr. Slinger find a way to become friends again? Color illustrations accompany the text.
1998 The Hat by Jan Brett
A girl's woolen stocking flies off the clothesline where it is drying and is soon found by a hedgehog named Hedgie. Curious about what the stocking could be, Hedgie sticks his nose into it and before too long the stocking is stuck on his head. All the farm animals laugh at Hedgie, especially after he tries to pretend that he's wearing a stocking on his head on purpose. Meanwhile, the girl who owns the stocking is getting dressed to go out and play. What will she do when she discovers her stocking is missing? Illustrated with color paintings.
1999 Harry Potter Und Der Stein Der Weisen / Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
Eleven-year-old Harry Potter was a baby when his parents died and since that time he has been living with his horrible Uncle Vernon, dislikable Aunt Petunia, and truly disgusting cousin Dudley. Miserable and lonely, Harry is shocked when he receives a letter inviting him to attend the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now living at this special school, which is kept a secret from all those not involved in the worlds of magic, Harry begins to learn the truth about the death of his parents and discovers his truly amazing family history. This book is the first entry in the phenomenally popular Harry Potter series of books. Enjoyed by both children and adults, these books literally changed the face of children's publishing when, as a result of their stunning popularity, the New York Times actually began compiling and publishing a list of best-selling children's books--for the first time in that newspaper's history.
2000 Quiltmaker's Gift Box by Gail De Marcken, Jeff Brumbeau
A kind and generous woman spends her days making beautiful quilts which she then gives away to the poor. When a rich and greedy king learns about this talented seamstress he orders her to make him a special quilt. However, the quiltmaker won't make him a quilt unless he agrees to share some of his riches with the poor of his kingdom. Will the king agree to the quiltmaker's request? Color illustrations accompany the text.
2001 Olivia by Ian Falconer
Olivia the pig has to do many things during the day including: painting on the walls, playing dress up, singing songs, and (maybe) even taking a nap. The charcoal drawings are highlighted with red paint. Named one of the Best Children's Books 2000 by Publishers Weekly. A 2001 Caldecott Honor Book.
Fiction
1993 The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, the highly romantic tale of a roaming photographer and a lonely housewife, was Robert James Waller's first novel. Its sensitive exploration of a four-day encounter between star-crossed lovers touched hearts everywhere, and gallons of tears were shed at the sad ending. By the time its popularity began to ebb, the book had set astounding records, with 162 consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, 38 at number one (in hardcover). It has been translated into 25 languages and sold over 12 million copies. It was also made into a highly successful 1995 movie starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood (who also directed).
1994 Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Peppered with recipes, remedies and folky digressions, this novel is a treat. The heroine of this fantastical love story, Tita, the youngest of three Mexican daughters, is expected to devote her life to her widowed mother. When her lover, Pedro, asks her to marry him, her mother denies her permission and offers Rosaura, her sister, instead. Pedro accepts in hopes of living close to Tita, but she is unaware of his intentions. When her tears get baked into the cake, and everyone has a slice, they are moved--emotionally, erotically, and physically.
1995 Chicken Soup for the Soul by Mark Victor Hansen
A collection of inspirational and motivational stories--some from previously published books, and by the famous as well as ordinary people--organized around topics such as "Learning to Love Yourself," "On Parenting," "On Learning," etc. Gloria Steinem, Les Brown,Tom Robbins, and Art Buchwald are among the famous contributors to this first collection in the "Chicken Soup" series.
1996 Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
In the midst of a raging snowstorm, a trial on Puget Sound in the 1950s pits the island's Japanese-American inhabitants against the local fisherman: a courtroom drama plus a study of conflicts between cultures and generations.
1997 Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
After years of teaching creative writing, Frank McCourt published his first book, thus obliging his many friends who had been urging him to write about his childhood--a subject they knew from the many uproarious and affecting stories he told about it. ANGELA'S ASHES traces the tortuous path of his life from his days in abysmal poverty in Limerick, Ireland, to his arrival in New York as a teenager, eager to start a new life.
1998 Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
Based on stories in the author's family, this novel is about a wounded Civil War soldier who walks away from the hospital and finds his arduous way home to his sweetheart--a cultured young woman who has been forced to learn the brutal ways of farm life. The stories of the two lovers are intertwined; when they converge, they find that their worlds have changed radically, and so have they. Winner of the 1997 National Book Award for fiction.
1999 Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
SiddaLee Walker, at 39, is a creative theatrical director. She prides herself on having escaped her Louisiana hometown and her mother, Vivi Abbot Walker, a local beauty and performer who, in a recent "New York Times" article, is called a "tap-dancing child abuser." A fight over this article erupts between Sidda and Vivi, just when Sidda needs her mother's help with a play she's writing about women's friendships. Eventually, Vivi sends her daughter letters, photos, journals, and souvenirs form the Ya-Ya sisterhood. This group of girlfriends was wild and clever, and stuck in a small town where they were expected to raise babies, not Cain.
2000 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
In 1959, a missionary named Nathan Price transports his wife and four daughters to a remote village in the Belgian Congo to convert the natives. The family is met with hostility from the locals, particularly a vengeful witch doctor. They also face bands of desperate rebels, dangerous wildlife, and the inevitable petty inconveniences a hyper-conventional Midwestern family might expect to face in an alien land. After tragedy strikes, the family leaves the Congo and Kingsolver details the subsequent fates of each of the female members, each narrating in her own distinctive voice. Besides being a vivid novel about family and a tour de force of characterization, THE POISONWOOD BIBLE is also a vehicle for Kingsolver's ideas about the Congo's disastrous history and America's role in it.
2001 Red Tent by Anita Diamant
A novel set in Biblical times about Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah.