Guest post by Henry Young.
Are you looking for book recommendations for April? Henry the East Sussex Librarian has got you covered this spring…
With the weather warming up, the birds singing, and the daffodils blooming, there’s a host of activities and events in Libraries promising family fun during April.
We have storytellers, singers, musicians, finger puppets, character masks, and much more.
Maybe it’s just about warm enough to read outside if you wrap up and drink lots of tea! This month our Library team has selected books featuring geese, monsters, and a talking horse!
Top fiction chosen by Annisette
Thorn by Intisar Khanani
Inspired by The Goose Girl fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm.
Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future. When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.
This is a dark, Middle-Eastern-influenced high fantasy, with dangerous secrets, mistaken identities, and a talking horse!
Thorn is exclusive to Borrowbox (so borrow during April without any waitlists or holds).
Listen to the eAudio of ‘Thorn’
Top non-fiction chosen by Christobel
Hags: The Demonisation of Middle-Aged Women by Victoria Smith
What is about about women in their forties and beyond that seems to enrage – almost everyone?
In the last few years, as identity politics has taken hold, middle-aged women have found themselves talked and written about as morally inferior beings, the face of bigotry, entitlement, and selfishness, to be ignored, pitied, or abused.
Victoria Smith traces the attitudes she describes back to the same anxieties about older women that drove Early Modern witch hunts and explores the very specific reasons why this type of misogyny is so powerful today. The demonisation of hags has never felt more relevant.
Reserve the pBook of Hags: The Demonisation of Middle-Aged Women
Top audio chosen by Dawn
There is nothing unusual or remarkable about the Swart family, oh no, they resemble the family from the next farm and the one beyond that, just an ordinary bunch of white South Africans, and if you don’t believe it then listen to us speak …
The many voices of The Promise tell a story in four snapshots, each one centred on a family funeral, each one happening in a different decade. In the background, a different president is in power, and a different spirit hangs over the country, while in the foreground the family fights over what they call their farm, on a worthless piece of land outside Pretoria.
The Promise is such a clever book, moving swiftly through the thoughts of an ensemble cast, without ever losing narrative momentum. Narrator Peter Noble has an impressive range of voices.
Listen to the eAudio ‘The Promise’
Reserve the pBook ‘The Promise’
Borrow the eBook ‘The Promise’
Top children’s fiction chosen by Chantilly
Are you a monster? By Guiherme Karsten
Warning! This book contains a monster. A really angry, really scary, really bad monster… or so the monster says. And the monster has a very important question: are you a monster too?
See, there is a very long checklist to determine if you are indeed a big, scary monster. Do you have a long pointy tail? Big yellow eyes? No? Wait, can you make a big, loud noise? You can! Oh no… you might just be a monster! Eek!
This is a wonderful and fun read-aloud story with plenty of movements, noises, and questions that will have children of all ages roaring and stomping along, as the monster encourages them to be the scariest monster possible. The illustrations are simple and eye-catching and will keep even the little ones enthralled.
Reserve the pBook ‘Are you a monster?’
Top children’s non-fiction chosen by Tony
1001 birds by Joanna Rzezak
A colourful, fact-filled introduction to the world of birds. Where are all those swallows going? Let’s join them on their long journey south and learn about the world of birds along the way. Swoop in on a tawny owl, soar with a golden eagle and discover where the lovebirds nest. The colourful, musical world of birds is waiting! Brimming with lively illustrations and full of fascinating facts, this fun narrative-based book is a must for inquisitive children with a love of the natural world.
Reserve the pBook of ‘1001 birds’
Looking for more book recommendations?
Check out our Good Book recommendations so far this year!
Get in our Good Books – February 2024
Get in our Good Books – March 2024
