Cathy recommends: Winter’s Gift by Jane Monroe Donovan
Genre: Picture book
Reading Level: Preschool
Summary: A man living alone rescues a horse in distress.
Cathy says: It’s a feel-good story. Fit for Christmas, for anyone who loves horses, for anyone who wonders why they help others, and for compassion for the elderly.
This title is available at Tyler Free Library.
Cathy recommends: Penguin and Pinecone by Salina Yoon
Genre: Picture book
Reading Level: Preschool
Summary: Friendships can spring up at any time, but what happens when one friend moves away?
Cathy says: It’s a sweet story of caring and dealing with physical separation of two friends. It also looks at the affects of the passage of time on each of the friends.
This title is available at Tyler Free Library.
Cathy recommends: The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir (translated by Mary Robinette Kowal)
Genre: Psychological thriller
Reading level: Adult
Summary: One woman’s search for the cause of her chronic fatigue leads to answers she cannot accept.
Cathy says: The reader is brought in with concern for the protagonist’s common malady. One can’t help but follow, with increasing horror, her journey to the shocking conclusion.
This title is available at Tyler Free Library.
Cathy recommends: The Spectacular by Fiona Davis
Genre: Historical fiction
Reading level: Adult
Summary: A thrilling story about the dreams and drive of one woman’s journey in the mid to late 1900s.
Cathy says: I chose this book because I know of one Foster native who became a Rockette, plus I’m always up for a good story. It’s interesting seeing the changing mores of family life during those years, as well as the grueling life of a dance performer. The author opens up the dancer’s life through back and forth visits from 1956 and present day (1992). It has a most satisfying ending.
This title is available at Tyler Free Library.
Cathy recommends: Home Front by Kristin Hannah
Genre: Fiction
Reading level: Adult
Summary: One family’s journey to peace when the soldier mom goes to war.
Cathy says: Kristin Hannah knows how to wring her readers dry of tears! Each member of this family must deal with the mom’s life as a Black Hawk pilot deployed to a war zone. The characters are strong; from the excitable 4 year old daughter to the calming ever helpful mother-in-law. The joy of a best friend, the peer pressures experienced by an adolescent, as well as marital difficulties are addressed in this book as well. An emotional ride.
This title is available at Tyler Free Library.
Cathy recommends: The Love of my Life by Rosie Walsh
Genre: Fiction
Reading Level: Adult
Summary: Well-meaning omissions of the truth will explode at the worst possible times.
Cathy says: It’s a thriller; it’s a mystery which is unravelling one page and one shock after another. This book truly changed and morphed with every revealed factoid. There was never a hint, never foreshadowing, never following to a logical conclusion. This reader could not put it down!
This title is available at Tyler Free Library.
Cathy recommends: Marvelous Marvin by E. J. Finocchio, D.V.M.
Genre: “Canine autobiography”
Reading level: School-age readers
Summary: The true story of an unwanted dog as he tells of his journey to become an official greeter for the RISPCA.
Cathy says: This book gives children insight as to the minds of dogs, instilling knowledge of canines and hopefully, compassion for those animals who are not physically perfect. Dr. Finocchio was the director of the RISPCA when he wrote the book.
This title is available at Tyler Free Library.
Cathy recommends: Do Fish Sleep? by Jens Raschke, illustrated by Jens Rassmus
Genre: Fiction
Reading Level: Early chapter book
Summary: One child’s journey through her changing feelings about her little brother, who has leukemia.
Cathy says: Simple language dealing with a complicated and highly emotional situation.
This title is available at Tyler Free Library.
Cathy recommends: Stop and Smell the Cookies by Gibson Frazier
Genre: Picture book
Reading level: Age 4-8
Summary: A young boy suffers from lack of impulse control and learns to deal with it.
Cathy says: Many young children act out inappropriately from time to time. This sweet book gives children a positive way to control the impulses.
This title is available at Tyler Free Library.
Cathy recommends: Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy
Genre: Sci-fi suspense
Reading level: Adult
Summary: First-person story of one special woman and her journey into self-discovery while looking for her missing mother.
Cathy says: I was captivated by the details of the creation of this special woman, her discoveries, and the power of love. This book reminded me again that relatives are bound together by blood, but family is bound by the heart. I could not put this book down.
This title is available at Tyler Free Library.
