Alameda Free Library Book Lists

The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt

2008-06-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

Tony DiTerlizzi illustrates the poem about a wily spider that preys on the vanity and innocence of a little fly. A Caldecott Honor book.

Insectigations: 40 Hands-On Activities by Cindy Blobaum

2008-06-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

...Explore the Insect World

A collection of experiments, art projects, and games includes sketching insects, making a terrarium for observation, raising mealworms, and using math to measure bug strength.

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

2008-06-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

Chester, a country cricket who never intended to travel to New York, embarks on a series of adventures with new friends in the Times Square subway station. A Newbery Honor book.

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

2008-06-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

Two boys set out to prove that worms can make a delicious meal.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

2008-06-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.

Magic by the Book by Nina Bernstein

2008-06-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

After returning from a trip to the library, eleven-year-old Anne and her younger brother and sister discover a magic book which sends them on adventures in which they meet Robin Hood, giant bugs, and a dark, sinister man with a wolfish face.

Cockroach cooties by Laurence Yep

2008-06-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

Teddy and his little brother Bobby devise strategies using bugs to defeat the school bully.

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

2008-06-18T16:55:00.000-07:00

A compassionate girl, a charming runt pig, and a spider who weaves words form unforgettable friendships. A Newbery Award book.

Maybelle in the Soup by Katie Speck

2008-06-18T16:54:00.000-07:00

When Mr. and Mrs. Peabody invite a guest to dinner, Maybelle the cockroach, who lives under their refrigerator, ignores the warnings of Henry the flea and ends up “splashing” into a big adventure.

Spider Kane and the Mystery at... by Mary Pope Osborne

2008-06-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

...Jumbo Nightcrawler’s

Lieutenant Leon Leafwing and Detective Spider Kane investigate the mysterious disappearance of Leon’s mother and members of the Order of the Moth.

Breakout at the Bug Lab by Ruth Horowitz

2008-06-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

When a giant cockroach named Max escapes from their mother’s bug laboratory, Leo and his brother receive help from a mysterious stranger who advises them to think like a bug in order to recapture the runaway roach.

Busy Bugs: A Book About Patterns by Jayne Harvey

2008-06-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

The busy bugs arrange themselves in different ways to make a show.

Inspector Hopper’s Mystery Year by Doug Cushman

2008-06-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

Inspector Hopper and his partner McBugg solve a mystery in each season of the year.

I Love Bugs! by Philemon Sturges

2008-06-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

A boy extols the various characteristics of insects, all of which he loves.

The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini

2008-06-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

After Elizabeth’s parents do not agree with her various suggestions for the perfect pet, she discovers a solution.

The Jazz Fly by Matthew Gollub

2008-06-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

While seeking directions to town, a fly picks up the rhythm of the answers he gets from a frog, a hog, a donkey, and a dog, and then uses these sounds to jazz up his band’s music.

Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin

2008-06-18T16:34:00.001-07:00

A young spider discovers, day by day, that there is a lot to learn about being a spider, including how to spin webs and avoid vacuum cleaners.

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand

2008-06-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

Its summer on Nantucket, and as the season begins, three women arrive at the local airport, observed by Josh, a local boy home from college. They're all trying to escape their problems, when Josh enters their lives and becomes a confidant and, eventually, something more.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

2008-06-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island off the coast of California, a young Indian girl spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life.

Naked came the manatee by Carl Hiaasen

2008-06-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

In South Florida, everyone wants to get a head. But not just any head. A very famous human head--severed and snugged away in a cryonic container. A head that could spark a revolution and change the course of history.

Beach boy by Ardashir Vakil

2008-06-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

Cyrus Readymoney, the eight-year-old son of a successful shipping broker and a beautiful former tennis star, introduces us to his magical universe of movies and mischief, sex and samosas, tennis tournaments and truancy from school.

A trip to the beach :...by Melinda Blanchard

2008-06-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

...living on island time in the Caribbean

Reminiscent of "A Year in Provence" and "Under the Tuscan Sun, " this is the delightfully written true story of a husband and wife who ran away to a Caribbean island, started a little restaurant on the beach, became successful, and lived out everyone's favorite escapist fantasy.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

2008-06-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

A celebrated writer pens an irresistible, candid, and eloquent account of her pursuit of worldly pleasure, spiritual devotion, and what she really wanted out of life.

Mediterranean summer :... by David Shalleck

2008-06-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

...a season on France's Côte d'Azur and Italy's Costa Bella.

Here is an alluring, evocative summer voyage on the Mediterranean and into the seaside towns of the Cote d'Azur and Costa Bella by a young American chef who offers a memorable portrait of old world elegance and life at sea, as well recipes and tips to recreate the delectable food.

Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

2008-06-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

Fitzgerald's 1920's classic story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

2008-06-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

The classic study of human nature which depicts the degeneration of a group of schoolboys marooned on a desert island.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

2008-06-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

In early nineteenth-century England, an orphaned young woman accepts employment as a governess at Thornfield Hall, a country estate owned bt the mysteriously remote Mr. Rochester.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

2008-06-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

The most controversial classic novel of the 20th century, Lolita tells the story of Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged man who is aroused to erotic desire only by a young girl.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

2008-06-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2008-06-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

Lawyer Atticus Finch defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's novel, a black man charged with the rape of a white woman.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

2008-06-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

In the relationship of Cathy and Heathcliff, and in the wild, bleak Yorkshire Moors of its setting, Wuthering Heights creates a world of its own, conceived with a disregard for convention, an instinct for poetry and for the dark depths of human psychology that make it one of the greatest novels of passion ever written.

Your Inner Fish: A Journey ... by Neil Shubin

2008-06-16T18:51:00.001-07:00

...into the 3.5 Billion Year History of the Human Body

A Fish paleontologist illuminates the subject of evolution with humor and clarity in this look at how the human body evolved into its present state.

Not Quite What I was Planning: ... by Larry Smith

2008-06-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

...Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure

Can you describe your life in six words? The editors of a storytelling magazine asked readers and the results make for compulsive reading and prove arguably as insightful as any +300 page biography.

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan

2008-06-16T18:49:00.002-07:00

A series of wonderfully clear and thoughtful answers on food that helps us navigate the nutritional minefield that’s come to typify our food culture.

Manic: A Memoir by Terry Cheney

2008-06-16T18:49:00.001-07:00

A harrowing, yet hopeful, insider’s account of what it’s really like to live with bipolar disorder.

The Thing About Life is That One Day... by David Sheilds

2008-06-16T18:48:00.002-07:00

...You’ll Be Dead

Manages to meld personal history with frank biological data about every stage of life, creating an “autobiography about my body” that seeks meaning in death, but is a surprisingly moving and life-affirming embrace of the human condition.

Dreams from My Father:... by Barack Obama

2008-06-16T18:48:00.001-07:00

...A Story of Race and Inheritance

In this lyrical, unsentimental and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American.

Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeanette Walls

2008-06-16T18:47:00.002-07:00

A story of triumph after growing up with two dysfunctional parents, this is also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave the author the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden

2008-06-16T18:47:00.001-07:00

Equal parts droll, gorgeous nostalgia book and heartfelt plea for a renewed sense of adventure in the lives of boys and men. Also: The Daring Book for Girls.

How of Happiness: A Scientific... by Sonja Lyubomirs

2008-06-16T18:46:00.001-07:00

A research psychologist and UC professor of psychology has pioneered a detailed yet easy to follow plan to increase happiness in our daily lives.

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

2008-06-16T18:45:00.001-07:00

Holden, knowing he is to be expelled from school, decides to leave early. He spends three days in New York City and tells the story of what he did and suffered there.

Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner

2008-06-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

The subtitle of this book explains it all – One grump’s search for the happiest places in the world. Eric Weiner, a self-described mope and a NPR correspondent, takes on the quest of a lifetime trying to find the happiest country in the world. Written in a tongue-in-cheek manner similar to Bill Bryson, Weiner travels to the Netherlands, Switzerland, Bhutan, Qatar, Iceland, Moldova, Thailand, Great Britain, and India in search of what makes people happy (or unhappy, in the case of Moldova). He talks to the locals and academics in an attempt to answer the age-old question – what is the secret to happiness? He searches for the common factors necessary to make the majority of the population in any given country happy. This book is part sociological study and part humorous travelogue and it’s a terrific read.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

2008-06-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” So begins Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's witty comedy of manners.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

2008-06-16T18:42:00.001-07:00

Recounts the adventures of a young boy and an escaped slave as they travel down the Mississippi River on a raft.