Non-fiction

Sandhills Kid in the City, 1927-1938
RC 971

by Billie Lee Snyder Thornburg

read by Janet Remmenga

1 cassette

When the author was 15, she moved with her family from their ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills near North Platte to the big West Coast city of Salem, Oregon. As she comes of age, she and her family return to North Platte where she teaches dancing and discovers her hometown has come of age as well.

Medicine Creek Journals: Ena and the Plainsmen
RC 972

by D. Jean Smith

read by Judy Hanefeldt

2 cassettes

Southern-belle and sharp-shooter Ena Raymonde knew she had found her new home when she stepped off the train at McPherson Station in southwest Nebraska. Based on journals and letters from the 1870s, this biography presents life of a frontier woman who crossed paths with Buffalo Bill Cody, Texas Jack Omohundro, Doc Carver, and other legends of the Old West.

Your Name Is Hughes Hannibal Shanks: A Caregiver's Guide to Alzheimer's
RC 978

by Lela Knox Shanks

read by Carol Yoakum

2 cassettes

The author spent thirteen years caring for her husband, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Never losing sight of the patient's humanity, the author describes the symptoms and stages of the disease and offers coping and survival strategies for caregivers.

The holiday season is the favorite time of year for many people, including authors. Here are some great books for the season of celebrations.
 

RC 44446 Journey into Christmas and Other Stories, by Bess Streeter Aldrich

A dozen short stories that embody the traditional warmth and sentimentality of the Christmas season. In addition to the title story, includes "The Drum Goes Dead," "The Man Who Caught the Weather," and recollections of an Iowa childhood in "I Remember."

RC 45103 How to Be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies, Volume 1, edited by Arthur J. Magida

A guide to the beliefs, life-cycle events, and celebrations of major religious denominations within the United States, designed to help visitors feel comfortable and participate in services. Includes Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Baptist, Episcopalian, Jewish, Presbyterian, Quaker, and Mormon practices.

RC 45104 How to be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies, Volume 2, edited by Arthur J. Magida and Stuart M. Matlins

This sequel focuses on smaller denominations within the United States, such as Native American, Amish, Mennonite, and Pentecostal Church of God, answering basic questions on their beliefs and describing what to expect during the service.

RC 47086 For Kings and Planets, by Ethan Canin

When Orno Tarcher arrives at Columbia University, New York, from Missouri, the first student he meets is Marshall Emerson. Marshall dazzles Orno with his cosmopolitan ways and photographic memory, but Orno sees his dark side when he spends Thanksgiving Day with the Emerson family. The relationship becomes more complex when Orno falls in love with Marshall's sister, Simone.

RC 53307 Christmas in Plains: Memories, by Jimmy Carter

Carter, who served as the thirty-ninth president of the United States, reminisces about family Christmases over the years, beginning with his childhood on a Georgia farm, through his years in the U.S. Navy, the Georgia governor's mansion, the White House, and then back to Plains.

RC 56463 Alexandra's Scroll: The Story of the First Hanukkah, by Miriam Chaikin

Alexandra is unusual because she can read and write in the Jerusalem of some two thousand years ago. She tells the story of the dangers facing Jews and the events of 165 B.C.E. that are commemorated in the holiday of Hanukkah. For grades 4-7.

RC 57518 Something to Celebrate, by Felicia Mason, Margie Walker, and Monica Jackson

Three stories of holiday romance by African American authors. As the New Year approaches in Monica Jackson's "Truly Everlasting," Trask and Felicia discover they are meant for each other. Others find love in "The First Noel" by Felicia Mason and Margie Walker's "Kwanzaa Kupendi." Some explicit descriptions of sex.

RC 57538 Christmas at The New Yorker: Stories, Poems, Humor, and Art from the Editors of The New Yorker
 
Anthology of holiday writing featured in The New Yorker magazine from 1925 to 2002. Seasonal poetry and prose highlight themes like the spirit of giving, family, Santa Claus, and Christmas carols. Contributing authors include James Thurber, H. L. Menchen, Alice Munro, E. B. White, and foreword by John Updike.

RC 57552 Turkey Monster Thanksgiving, by Anne Warren Smith

Fourth grader Katie accidentally invites her teacher over for Thanksgiving dinner, even though Katie, her three-year-old brother, and their dad usually only watch football in their pajamas and eat pizza. The motherless household's cooking is a disaster but everyone still has fun. For grades 3-6.

RC 59352 A Foxfire Christmas, edited by Eliot Wigginton and his students

Appalachian high school students of the Foxfire learning tradition assemble holiday memories from the mountains of northeast Georgia. Based on interviews with neighbors and family members. Includes instructions for recreating simple ornaments, gifts and toys, and recipes and menus.
 

Playboy: Entertainment for Men, is a new magazine on cassette. Produced by the Iowa Regional Library and published monthly, this magazine offers fiction, interviews, and articles with a male perspective.

Seventeen, also a monthly magazine, is produced by the Florida Regional Library. It offers beauty and fashion tips for young women, plus articles on careers, education, family, social relations, and diet. Playboy and Seventeen both come to us through the Library of Congress Quality Assurance Program.

To sign up for either of these new cassette magazines, please use the order form below or contact your Readers Advisor.
 

Here are some more great books recorded in our own studios during past years. To order, please check the box next to the RC number and mail this page to the Talking Book and Braille Service, or contact your Readers Advisor.